True Blood

I’m obsessed.

So obsessed that after a 6-month plus absence from the blogsphere, I’m moved to write after just watching the third to last episode of “True Blood,”  Episode 10.

It was sick.  Delightful.  Spectacular.

So many good things.  One of the best parts was Jason Stackhouse standing up on the truck proclaiming he was the God who has come (the devil?), “smiting” Sam at Sam’s direction, and then walking around the parking lot staring at the ground where Sam had been but a moment ago, rubbing his head in the way he does when he’s trying to think.  I actually half leaped off the couch in a cheer.  It was so good.

And, what of Sookie’s new magical power?  I want to know what she is too.  She can read human minds but not vampires, the vampires think she’s not human, she has a human brother (maybe Jason will develop powers), and tonight she zapped Maryanne with light energy out of the palm of her hand.  So cool.  I want to zap people with light energy.   It’s not clear whether Maryanne backed off because she had to or because she was simply so fascinated by Sookie.

Speaking of fascination, could they have picked a better actor to play a Swedish-viking turned Vampire?  I think not.  By the way, did everyone catch that Eric speaks Swedish?  So cool.  I love that things are getting steamy between Sookie and Eric.

I’m definitely a fan of Bill, but he has to get better hair.  It’s ridiculous.  He looks like he just crawled out of a grave every time we see him.  Deep condition.  Blow dry.  Eric does it, so can you.  Plus, Bill is pasty. His skin has a grayish pallor to it that is not attractive, even for a vampire. Eric on the other hand, has a little bit of warmth to him. A little bit of heat.

The character I like best might just be Lafayette.  He is so funny, and the themes that he and Tara play with in their conversation are fantastic.  Tara’s whole thing about how sick it was that she was named after a white plantation that owned slaves was, and her indignant frustration over it, was hilarious.  And, today, while they were all rooting for Bill to glamour Tara, Lafayette says something to the effect of, “If there was one time to listen to a white man, this is the time.”  I love how they play with gender, race, and even sexuality.

It is such a smart, funny, intense show.  On top of that, it’s a sci-fi fan’s dream come true.  Watching it today, I had this surreal feeling like I was suddenly seeing in “true life” what before I had only seen in my books.  I’m not sure why I had this feeling because there certainly many, many science fiction and fantasy movies and TV shoes out there, including of course “Twilight” (B- Movie).

True Blood is not the first, nor will it be the last depiction of a paranormal world, but the way it’s carrying off vampires, shape-shifters, possession and evil spirits, not to mention love, sex, and family dynamics, is one of the best I’ve ever seen.

As you can see, I feel so strongly about it that I was moved to write after a 7 + month hiatus.  If next week’s episode is as good as this week’s, watch out Blogsphere, I just might come back!

Semi-Colon

I’m realizing how important and potentially useful it can be to know your family’s health history.  Once I started asking questions, I found a number of things that surprised me.  I guess when something bad or difficult happens, people deal with it and then, assuming they survive and their is a happy ending, they move on and put that scary episode out of their minds.  It makes sense.

For me, it’s relevant not only whether someone in my extended family has had cancer, but also whether people have had colonoscopies and been found free of polyps.  The flip of cancer – no cancer – is just as useful, at least at this stage when I’m trying to think of potential risks and my doctors are asking me all these questions.  If a family member has had a colonoscopy and they’re fine, that’s a plus in my category of (less risk).   It doesn’t work out exactly like that. There’s no mathematical formula of which I’m aware, but any information adds to the general picture of your family history, and that can be helpful.

I think the main reason people don’t want to get colonoscopies is because our butts are still so taboo.  It’s true, they are.  I felt the same way.  I don’t know what weirded me out more before I had my colonoscopy, envisioning my doctor looking at my butt, or having a tube inserted into me.  The whole thing gave me an uncomfortable feeling.  That combined with the prep you have to do in which you have to not eat for a day before and drink some nasty swill to clean out your bowels made me almost bail on the procedure.  It seemed like such a hassle.

You know what would have been a bigger hassle?  Getting cancer.  

Cancer is scary.  I’ve been trying not to think to much about that.  Every time I have a scary thought I try to counter it with three repeats of “I’m healthy, I’m healthy, I’m healthy.”  But, it’s hard to shake fears about some globular darkness creeping into your organs; some amorphous scary force that you can’t control or defend against.  That’s what I envision.  And, then quickly try to mentally squash by picturing warm yellow light or purple light blasting away the darkness.  I’ll know after I have some more tests if I have to worry about that.  

I think I’ve felt myself up 20 times since Monday feeling my boobs, the weird little mushy, gelatinous bits, the ribs I can feel through them, the odd pieces of tissue that seem to float around under my skin.  Breast self exams are weird because boobs, when you really feel them, are weird.  They are sacs of skin filled with glands and tissue.  Unless you have a fist-full and you’re squeezing or caressing them in the heat of passion, any slower, more deliberate examination is going to reveal just how weird boobs are.  Anyway, I love mine, and they feel the same as they always have, so that’s positive.

The rest of me also feels quite healthy and strong, mainly because I just joined a new gym (Equinox) that I absolutely love.  They have kick ass classes that kick your ass.  Perfection.

Gyms and colonoscopies are good things, boobs feel weird, and knowing your family’s medical history is helpful.  That’s the bottom line of today’s post.

Unexpected

A couple of months ago, I wrote about a colonoscopy I had and the disturbing discovery that I had some polyps that had to be removed during that procedure.  The doctor removed the polyps while I was pleasantly sedated and then told me, as I was groggily waking up, that he would be performing a biopsy on the polyps to determine if there was anything to worry about.

“Anything to worry about” in this context means the dreaded c-word.  He assured me once again, as he had before I had the colonoscopy that he was sure I had nothing to worry about.  I was young, I was healthy (as far as I knew), and they were probably benign.

Wrong.

It turns out that going to get a colonoscopy definitely saved me from developing cancer (at least with these polyps), and quite probably saved my life.  (Although this experience has got me thinking about the phrase “saved my life.”  I saved my life by preventing myself from dying of colon cancer right now, but what does it mean truly to save one’s life.  In other words, what am I saving it for.  It’s like saving money; you can’t use it when you’re gone.  Do you save your life by preventing yourself from dying or does that just prolong life.  Wouldn’t saving your life mean something more than prolonging it, something more akin to tapping into the purpose of life, the passion in life?).

But, I digress.  On to the results.  I had three polyps, one was benign, and the other two were pre-cancerous.  The doctor told me that if I had not had them removed, they would have developed into cancer within 6 months.  That would have meant abdominal surgery, removal of a foot of my colon, and if it had reached to stage II, possibly additional treatment.  He also told me a bunch of other scary things, but I’m in the process of getting second opinions on all of this before I needlessly freak myself or my family out.

The point my dear friends, is that this whole bit about how everyone should stay on top of their digestive health and get regular colonoscopies actually turns out to be true.  It also turns out that waiting too long, being too distracted to take care of it right way, pushing it off for “later,” might make a difference.  If I had waited six months, according to this doctor, I would have had cancer.

I really do not want to get cancer.  I want to be healthy and live a long, happy, healthy life full of love.  I also want the same for my family and friends.  

If there’s a test you’ve been thinking about getting, that you know you should probably get, but have been putting off because you’re busy, or it’s too expensive, or maybe you’re nervous about the possible results, why not just do it?  

It could make a difference.

An Operatic New Year’s Eve

I’m still recovering from New Year’s Eve and the day after, both of which included a lot of fun but very little sleep. Thankfully, work was dead today so after checking my email and taking care of a few things, I had lunch with my co-workers and then hopped a cab back to my place where I promptly crawled into bed and curled up under the covers.  What a decadent Friday.

My contentment at being in bed lasted for approximately 2 minutes.  I’m just not a lie in bed, take a nap in the middle of the day kind of girl (except if there’s a delicious male involved – I’ll make exceptions for certain situations).  I start thinking about everything I could be doing to take advantage of my free time and I get restless.  Luckily, my Mac was nearby, and voila, here we are.

So, New Year’s Eve was unexpectedly terrific.  I had dinner with a group of people which included my date’s good friend, an internationally renowned opera star, and his date, also an opera singer.  The opera star was a terrific guy, and if it hadn’t been for my date conspiratorially whispering “He’s really famous” after I remarked what a fabulous voice he had, I never would have known.  Dinner was in a little studio apartment on the UWS and after dinner I came out of the restroom to find my date playing the piano while the opera star sang an absolutely beautiful song.  I didn’t even know the words but was emotionally moved by the beauty of his voice.  It was truly stunning.  The song, by the way, was  ”Una Furtiva Lagrima,” from the opera L’elisir d’Amora (The Elixir of Love).  Can you imagine walking out into a little studio apartment to an impromptu opera performance right in front of you?

After dinner, we went to a penthouse party which involved lots and lots of champagne and many girls milling about in the uniform of the evening, a little black dress (including me).  The crowd there, keeping with the theme of the evening, was also artsy, so the uniformity of the little black dresses was broken up by some spectacular tattoos.  It made me long for a huge dragon on my shoulder, but alas, all I had to offer was some lightly freckled skin and some killer earrings from Tiffany’s.  

From the penthouse party, we went to a society party filled with opera lovers who exploded with adoration when we arrived with the opera star.  He is apparently much loved in the opera world, and after hearing him sing I can understand why.  That party was also fantastic because, after repeated requests by his assembled fans, all of whom were crowded into the living room eating Christmas cookies and talking opera, he delighted us all by singing a number of songs.  In between there were amateur theatre performances and lots of entertaining carrying on.  When we left at 4:30 am, the party was still in full swing.  

I don’t know if it was the beauty of his voice, being able to hear it in such close quarters, or the enthusiasm of those around me, but I think I may have fallen in love with the opera on New Year’s Eve.  It’s like I glimpsed a world I didn’t even know existed, and now that I’m glimpsed it I can’t believe my life has been missing such beauty until now.

All in all, the evening was totally unexpected and different than anything I had ever experienced.  What a terrific way to close one year and began another, appreciating the beauty that we humans are capable of creating.

You Won’t Feel A Thing

I had a draft all set to go of a flippant post about how hot Edward the vampire from Twilight is, and how after seeing the Harry Potter movie with Cedric Diggory in it again yesterday, my assessment of Robert Pattinson’s acting abilities increased dramatically.  I mean, to go from a totally un-hot goody-two shoes with a dorky haircut to Edward Cullen, perfect male specimen extraordinaire, and hot vampire of the bed-head hair fame, is pretty impressive.  Apparently all that semi-awkward cringing and lip curling and melodramatic darkness was actually the product of good acting.  Brilliant!

Well, that was supposed to be the post, but then something a tad more serious happened, and I’ve decided to share.  Be forewarned, it’s semi-gross but not really.  Only gross in the way that cooties were in fifth grade, but man it’s hard to break those habits sometimes.  So, the focus of this post is on the, ahem, colon, and specifically, regarding a colonoscopy that I just had today. 

First, a little background is in order.  Most people my age (33) don’t have colonoscopies.  In fact, if you do a little research on the subject you will see that generally people don’t have colonoscopies until they are in their 40s, and colon cancer – the thing everyone’s trying to avoid by having colonoscopies – is most common in people 50 years old or more.  I’m sure you’ve heard frequently that colon cancer is one of the most preventable, if not the most preventable, form of cancer.  That’s apparently because it takes colon cancer approximately 5 years to develop.  Your intestinal wall, which is supposed to be smooth, can develop “polyps,” small growths of tissue that stick out into your intestinal cavity, and those polyps, if left unchecked, can later become cancerous.  However, regular screening of the colon, such as a colonoscopy, can detect polyps, and the doctor, upon finding a polyp, can snip it away before it has a chance to grow cancerous.  And, just like that, cancer is prevented.  Easy, right?

Polyps generally don’t grow in people until they’re in their 50s.  It’s unusual to find them in people younger than that, which is why doctors don’t start recommending colonoscopies, in general, until people reach their 40s or 50s, or earlier if they have certain risk factors such as:  (1) Being overweight; (2) eating a high fat diet; (3) not exercising; (4) smoking; or (5) having a relative that has had polyps or had colon cancer.  If any of those risk factors are present, the doctors might recommend a colonoscopy earlier to check out your intestine.  Oh, and also if you have symptoms.  Symptoms that something is not quite right in there include, but are not limited to, rectal bleeding and blood in the stool.  I told you this post would be a little gross.  Blood in the stool, for all you still reading this can appear as black coloring of the stool or as red streaks on the stool.  Yet another reason why it’s very important to take a quick glance at your stool just before you flush.  How else are you going to know what’s going on down there?

Well, as you can imagine, I looked, and I saw something that seemed a little funky.  I was told that it was probably nothing, but I was a little nervous because I happen to have a relative who had colon cancer at a very young age.   My dad and mom, neither of whom are squeamish about these kinds of things, told me to not mess around and go in and get it checked out.  My dad said it twice for good measure – he knows how I tend to procrastinate.  I dutifully made the appointment, and was told by the doctor that it was good I had decided to have a check up, given my family history, but not to worry because he was sure it was nothing.  Apparently all kinds of crazy non-dangerous things can happen in ones colon – things I do not want to know about – like internal hemorrhoids that go away with hot water baths.  Who knew?  I mean, I guess innies are better than outies as far as hemorrhoids go, but really, I would prefer neither.  

I told my brother Bacchus I was having a colonoscopy and he regaled me with stories of fire houses going into really small orifices, but then relented and swore the camera-thingie was super tiny.  Pleasant.  He asked me if I was getting knocked out and I realized in horror that I didn’t know.  I  hadn’t realized there were different ways of doing colonoscopies (apparently you can get anesthesia or get a Valium IV).  

Last night, after eating nothing all day, I started the “medicine” (i.e. heinously disgusting laxative drink regiment).  I had to drink 2 liters of salty lemonade – trust me, it’s far more disgusting than it sounds – and then be on toilet alert as the repulsive liquid made its way through my system.  It was somewhere in the middle of that terribly un-fun process that I started wondering why in the heck I was even subjecting myself to this ordeal.  I don’t smoke, I’m not a big drinker, I’m a vegetarian and my diet is not high in fat (albeit high in sugar at times), and I exercise – not as much as I could or should – but pretty frequently.  I run, I do yoga, I eat nuts, whole grains, I get 8 hours of sleep as often as I can.  I even meditate on occasion and work on letting go of toxic mental and emotional energy.   In short, I’m pretty damn healthy.  The chances of moi having polyps, much less colon cancer, (even with my family history) I imagined were basically slim to none.  

I woke up this morning not sure if I was going to go through with it but trucked my butt through the freezing cold across town to the doctor’s office anyway.  Once I arrived, he was friendly and reassuring and promised that the Valium IV would be a breeze.  I was there, it was cold outside, and it’s better to be safe than sorry, so I decided to stay.  The Valium went in, and voila the next thing I remember, I was waking up, and the nurse was telling me I did great.  Bravo!  Apparently, I’m excellent when passed out half naked.

The Doctor came in shortly thereafter, as I was still struggling with the lingering effects of the Valium, trying not to fall over as I stubbornly pulled on my clothes.  I asked him if everything was OK, and he said yes, but he wanted to talk to me after the effects of the drugs had worn off.  I said I was fine and asked again if everything was OK.  He said yes, but guess what?  He found and removed some polyps. [Cue the dramatic music].  At my request, he showed them to me.  Two bright red balls the size of pencil erasers and a third smaller one floating in a tiny vial of clear liquid.  Ewh.  He said “everything is OK now,” but I paid attention to the “now” part, because qualifying the “everything is OK” with “now” meant that everything had not been OK before.  When I told my Dad they found polyps, he said the same thing – it’s good they got them out, you’re OK now.

I guess they’re right.  I am in fact OK.  I might as well just start dancing around Julie Andrews style.  I’m clear of polyps!  Woo-hee.  But, the experience has made me feel a little wobbly.  I just don’t get it.  I am healthy (for the most part), and I’m (relatively) young.  Why in the heck did those polyps decide to grow in me?  Maybe the answer is not complicated.  Maybe it’s simply that this kind of gene runs in my family and I had a certain percentage chance of having polyps grow, and then grew.  But, I don’t believe things are that simple.  I believe in things like karma and fate and getting back from the universe what you put out into it.  I find myself wondering, Have I been putting polyps into the Universe?  Goodness, I hope not.

I’ll have to figure that one out on my own, but to you, my dear friends in the blogsphere, please take a second and think about the symptoms and risk factors associated with colon cancer.  Yes, polyps and colon cancer are rare in young people, but, as that little vial of red balls made clear to me, it happens in young people too.  If you have any reason to think you might be at risk, or feel like something is a bit strange, go check it out. Get a colonoscopy.  They use good drugs, they’re covered by insurance, and you don’t feel a thing.  It’s just your life.  

Twilight

I am so excited to see “Twilight” this weekend!  I’ve been sneaking minutes to watch MSNBC interviews with Robert Pattinson and Kristin Stewart, pausing my shower to listen to NPR’s latest buzz about the film, and daydreaming about the ideal Edward.  I can’t help it! 

When I first started to hear a buzz about the books, I dismissed them out of hand as just another fluffy pop craze.  But, then my fascination for vampires, love and the darkness within got the best of me and I picked up the first book in the series, Twilight.  Twenty pages into it, I was hooked.  Suddenly, I was back in highschool, staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning reading until exhaustion forced me to sleep.  Book 3 I read in Africa, during the hot, hazy afternoons lying in my tent overlooking the bush, in between game drives.  I finished Book 3, days before I was set to go home, and it became my single-minded purpose to buy the 4th book as soon as I got to an airport that sold them.

The fourth book, which I was unable to find until I got back to the States (because it was sold out everywhere), I started immediately after I got back from Africa, but I was having so much fun reading it, I stretched it out for as long as I could.   Wanting to fully revel in the story, I rationed my Twilight reading time, reading other books when I was sleepy or distracted, and saving Book 4 for times when I could devote my full attention to it.  But, alas, all good things come to an end, as did the Twilight books – an excellent end I might add.

Now, the movie’s out, so I get yet another chance to immerse myself in the world of Edward and Bella and their star-crossed, wonderful, dramatic, transcendent love.   From what I’ve seen of Pattinson and Stewart, they’re both well suited to the roles.  Sunday afternoon, me and two of my girl friends, and junior mints.  Can’t wait!

Waiting

I’m trying to concentrate on work but every 5 minutes I click back to CNN, seeing again the familiar “0″s next to both candidates showing that zero returns have come in yet.  Of course not, it’s only 4:56 pm EST and the polls do not close for a few more hours. 

After some debate, I’ve decided to forego election parties in favor of parking myself on my couch in front of CNN for the duration.  The duration being as late as I can stay up tonight before crashing.  Even if it looks like a landslide victory – dare I say it – for Obama tonight, I will not feel assured until all the polls are all closed and tallied.  I still vividly remember the searing burn of 2000, when the media presumptuously and irresponsibly called Florida for Gore.

I’m on tenderhooks but allowing myself to feel cautiously optimistic.  My fingers are crossed and I’m hopeful.  We stand on the brink of a precipice.  Can we bring it home?

Blood Lust

For the last four months, I’ve been totally obsessed with vampires.   It started with Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, which lasted for quite some time because they’re over 14 books in the series.  Interspersed among the vampire books, I read a few of her’s on faeries, which were good, but not as engrossing as the vampire books. 

This is not the first time I’ve become obsessed with vampires.  Back when Anne Rice’s Interview With a Vampire came out, I was completely in love with those books and I flew through them, reading in cars at night by the light of distant headlights, at the dinner table, and when I was supposed to be doing homework.  I didn’t just read the Interview With a Vampirebooks; I devoured them, living in their world for a while, imagining that I was Lestat’s vampire lover or little Claudia, imprisoned for eternity in the body of child.  I wanted to love Louie, and I think I did, especially when Brad Pitt played him, but my true Love was Lestat.  Thankfully, Tom Cruise didn’t let his future Scientology predilections ruin that role.

After the Interview With a Vampirebooks, I read some of Anne Rice’s books on witches, which were pretty good, but again not as compelling as the stories about Lestat, Louie and Claudia, struggling with an eternity, damned but not evil, struggling with the same thing we all struggle with – trying to understand the meaning of life, why we live, why we die, and what it all means.  The idea that eternal life, what we as humans sometimes long for, was more of a torture than a gift for the vampires was something I found endlessly fascinating.  Living forever sounds awesome, but if I was forced to live forever, if I simply couldn’t die, I wonder if it would feel like torture eventually.  Not the living part, but the living without knowning, and knowing that you were never going to die to find out what happened next.

I’m in no rush to die. I love and relish this life, but I do hold on to the fond hope that when I do die – hopefully a long, long time from now – I’ll discover, for at least just a moment, an answer to that question, about why we are all here.  Some people think it ends with our deaths, but I don’t believe that.  To believe that makes our lives seem so inconsequential, all of our silly dramas, our infighting, our pettiness and jealousy.  If we’re all going to die and it’s all going to end, just like that, why are we torturing ourselves with our small worries?  We whould be doing all that we can to enjoy this life.

But, even the enjoyments – even this recent vampire obsession resurgence, which I find thoroughly entertaining – those also are reduced to a level of meaninglessness.  If I only have 100 years or less, if I only have this one life, why would I spend it reading vampire books – a world that doesn’ t exist, and a world that will never be?  I mean, what’s the point of that? 

And, then I come back to what I think is the point – happiness.  Happiness and peace (the internal state of bliss kind of peace).  Maybe, just maybe, we are all here to enjoy life, to find what we love and love it, to create as much happiness and peace for ourselves and those around us that we can?  And, just why are we supposed to do that?  It feels good?  It’s fun?  There could be way worse things to do?

In any event, after several years, my vampire obsession has resurfaced, and, conveniently, it appears to now be trendy!  If I want a new vampire book, all I do is walk into Barnes & Noble and I have 20 to choose from (I can’t believe I didn’t think to write a vampire series of my own!).  Everywhere I look, all I see are vampires.  The Laurell K. Hamilton books, the Twilight series,  and a new HBO show called “True Blood.” 

The Twilight series is as great as everyone says it is.  It’s the story of  a young girl, a junior in high school, who falls in love with another junior in high school who just happens to be a vampire.  It captures all of the teenage drama of high school and new love, but injects a fascinating twist with the introduction of the vampire angle.   It took just two days to read the first book, and I too fell in love with Edward.  How could you not?  What is it about Vampires that make them so attractive? (The good ones I mean).  They are the tragic, beautiful anti-heroes, hyper masculine in their strength, with seductive powers honed over centuries.  Of course a mere mortal is no match for them.

For those of you who have not yet checked out “True Blood” on HBO, it’s awesome.  I love Anna Paquin as Sookie and Bill is sexy as hell.  When I first saw him, I though he looked a little too strung out, but he and his genteel manners and penetrating eyes have grown on me.  I wouldn’t mind having him guard my back, although I could do without the evil coven of hangers-on.  I also love Sookie’s character, her ability to read minds, her prim and proper Southern manners, and her sass.  The whole show is terrific.  Even the theme song, “Bad Things,” which I downloaded and play on repeat on my way to work, is great.

I told you, I’m obsessed.

Banker’s Greed

Bear Sterns, Fannie and Freddie, AIG, and now an additional massive Government bailout of the economy that the taxpayers are going to have to pay for.  Almost a half a trillion dollars later, with talk of an additional trillion dollars necessary to bail out America’s banks, I’m starting to get really pissed at the bankers who put us into the spot where we are today.

Why are we here exactly?  It’s not just that a lot of people who had bad credit and couldn’t afford to buy their own homes or homes as large as they wanted sought mortgages so that they could buy what they could not afford.  And, it’s not just because mortgage brokers willingly lent money to people who could not afford it, sometimes luring people through “bait and switch” tactics into signing up for loans with, among other things, interest rates higher than those initially promised to them.

We are here because after those mortgage brokers made a lot of bad loans, some bankers got the brilliant (*insert sarcasm*) idea to bundle those worthless loans into financial packages to sell to other financial institutions for a hefty profit, who in turn rebundled those same bad loans and sold them to other financial institutions for yet another hefty profit.   

The whole system worked well for a while.  The people kept seeking money for homes, the mortgage brokers kept lending to them regardless of their bad credit, the banks kept buying the bad loans and then selling them in bundles to other financial institutions, and so on down the line.  As long as the money was flowing, everyone was happy, and, apparently, no one asked any questions or looked too deep into what was actually being sold around the market for such a hefty profit making many, many people very, very rich.

America’s banks, who are entrusted with keeping our money safe, failed to ask the key questions.  They failed to ask:  What are going to be the consequences of selling bundles of what boils down to nothing but bad loans for such exorbitant profits?  Wont’ someone at some point figure out that what we are selling them, and buying from others, is worthless?  And, when they do figure that out – that this Emperor also is not wearing any clothes – what’s going to happen when the shit hits the fan?

I don’t think the bankers were too dense to figure out the obvious, that if you sell something that’s worthless, eventually it’s going to come back to bite you.  The problem here was not lack of smarts, it was greed.  Greed for commissions, greed for recognition, and greed for insanely disproportional year-end bonuses.  Up until recently, before the whole system started to crumble, young bankers frequently expected year-end bonuses of up to several hundred thousand dollars.  For doing what?  For buying, selling and making the largest temporary profits possible.  The banking system did not care about long-term profits or long-term risks.  The name of the game was get in, make money, get out.

All of this would have worked reasonably well if the banks hadn’t gotten into bad mortgages and passed them on to other banks, in some cases buying the bad mortgages, selling them, and then buying them back again.

In sum, during the last couple of years most of America’s financial institutions made billions of dollars in profits from selling completely worthless investments.  They were not cautious, they were not responsible.  They did not act like banks – respectable institutions who are entrusted to keep our money safe. 

And, now, the Federal Government is bailing all of them out.  If the bail-out – essentially socializing the losses of America’s financial private sector – increases investor confidence and turns around the crashing economy, It will have been worth it.  However, the banks should pay for this because an injustice has occurred.  It’s a tricky situation though, when in order to keep the economy afloat, the Government must save the very entities responsible for its crash.

What’s the solution?  Not some Federal Agency that will help financial institutions avoid bankruptcy, like McCain suggests.  I mean, come on, the way to fix the economy is to reform it, not to create some federal agency that’s going to keep greedy institutions from going bankrupt as a result of reckless behavior. 

I’m not an economic expert so I don’t know what will solve it, or what will prevent this from happening again.  I am getting very sick of Wall Street packaging shit and selling it under the label “gold” (remember Enron?) and no one – not a single person – asking the questions that need to be asked until well after the fact. 

At a minimum, I believe we need regulations that will provide some oversight of our financial institutions and curb their greed so that it can not run unchecked to this extent again.

Election, Election, Election

No to Palin.

No to McCain.

Yes to Obama and Biden.

That’s what I’ve been writing about here.