I visited both of my Senators’ local offices last week, where their staffers tried to sell me on the idea that the bailout will include “oversight and accountability measures.”  You know what accountability is?  Allowing these companies to go into bankruptcy as a consequence of their mismanagement.  You know what the opposite of accountability is?  PROVING THAT THEY WON’T SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES FOR STUPID DECISIONS.

Of course, the real issue here is that the government itself is in a very real way responsible for encouraging the irresponsible lending practices that led to this situation.  The government wanted a culture of ownership, where everyone had a chance to own a home — which is not a bad thing, so long as they can, you know, pay for it.  But to acheive this goal, the government pushed for lending policies that were patently absurd.  And Wall Street, sensing opportunity for a quick payoff in the outrageous inflation of home prices that resulted, went right along with it.

This is madness.  As Tuesday Morning Quarterback (who is also a fellow at the Brookings Institution, lest you question the credentials of a football columnist) noted last week, assuming the bailout bill passes, “in 2008 alone, $1.5 trillion will have been added to the national debt: every penny borrowed from your children and their children. Stated in today’s dollars, in 1979 the entire national debt was $1.5 trillion. George W. Bush and Congress have in a single year added an amount equal to the entire national debt one generation ago… the United States has borrowed more money in the past decade than in all our previous history combined.”

While there will almost certainly be short-term consequences to allowing these big corporations to fail, going forward with a massive, taxpayer-funded bailout will be like slamming down the accellerator as we approach the edge of a chasm of national financial ruin.

9:37 a.m.

How long?

Time is slower,
The world is rising toward me.

If I knew where to look,
I might see her somewhere out there.

I hope I don’t.

I’m scared…
God, I’m scared.

I’ve tried to live right.
God, I tried.

And as for this,
I had no choice.
There was only one way…

Down.

“Our Father (Please take care of my family)
Who Art in Heaven (Let someone kill the fuckers that did this)
Hallowed be Thy Name (It’s getting cold)
Thy Kingdom Come (Time is moving faster)
Thy Will be Done (God, I’m not ready for this yet…)
On Earth (Dammit, I just want a little more time…)
As it is in Heaven…” (OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOh…)

9:38 a.m.

UPDATE:

My friend, Shayna, wanted to add this comment:

“So I tried to post this on your blog, but failed.  I got a login id, but it wouldn’t accept it.  Don’t know.  Anyway . . . I get disliking political pundits, but I have to object to the clip as I know that at least in the case of Bill O’Reilly, the clips were taken out of context.  I know because I regularly watch the show and I make my decisions regarding him based on watching him and listening to him on an almost daily basis.  At the very least in that montage, I counted several jumps in editing where poor Bill was concerned.  Yes, I get it.  It is a comedy show.  But the number of people who get their news from these comedy shows is on the rise and this is what they see of Palin and O’Reilly.  Don’t worry, I don’t plan on defending Rove.  :-)  But I’m glad it made you laugh.”

I’m not laughing anymore.

However absurd it seems that a group of people would resist taking part in the freedoms offered by a Western-style government, the fact of the matter appears to be that both the South Ossetians and the Abkhazians would prefer home-grown (or Russian-administered) oppression to what they believe is a foreign government (Georgia’s) seeking to impose its rule upon them.  Each region fought mightily to gain independence in the early nineties, which resulted in a Russia-mediated ceasefire enforced by Russian peacekeeping forces.  The Georgian president, however, made it a central part of his policy efforts to bring Abkhazia and South Ossetia “back into the fold,” and, one way or another, his insistence on this point has led to the conflict taking place today.

As is frequently the case in war, we may never know who shot first - whether Russian sympathizers initiated attacks on pro-Georgian groups in order to draw Georgian forces into South Ossetia, or whether Georgia voluntarily initiated a crackdown in the breakaway region.  But we do know that Russia’s response seems, shall we say… disproportionate to the alleged offense, if not premeditated.  Whoever is ultimately at fault, it’s hard for me to believe that either side truly deserves to prevail.

A couple of years ago, when I was living in Washington, DC, I decided to take on a different kind of adventure.  Rather than heading to wilderness, I thought I’d plan an extended hike that stayed within the city.  This plan eventually developed into the “Monster Hike,” which took me 20 miles from my home in Clarendon, over the Potomac River, up through Rock Creek Park to the Maryland border, and back down to the White House before crossing back over the river into Arlington.  This route ended up being difficult in a totally different way than clambering over mountains and traversing boulder fields, and I kind of took a liking to it.  Over the past two years, however, I hadn’t taken much time to pursue similar hikes.  Two weeks ago, I was spurred back into action.

My friend Chris, who has been my stalwart companion on most of my backpacking adventures, emailed me a link to the journal of someone currently on the Appalachian Trail.  After reading it, I felt the fire rekindle inside me.  I was so stoked, that I decided to walk the three miles home from work that day, a trip that I have since repeated a half-dozen times.  Last weekend, I decided to take on a larger challenge, hiking from our home at the far west end of St. Louis down to the Gateway Arch on the Mississippi River, and back home, a circuit of some 14 miles.  And this weekend, having already journeyed east through the city, I set off to the south.  This time my path took me over and under two interstates and around the perimeters of Forest Park and Tower Grove Park, for a total of about 13.25 miles.

In these recent hikes, I learned a lot about the city of St. Louis.  As I was walking east toward the downtown corridor last week, I saw a startling number of vacant buildings and lots, most of which looked like they had been empty for a long, long time.  I kid you not, on the side of one of the decrepit buildings there was the faint remains of an advertisement for horseshoeing!  While the population of St. Louis is less than half of what it used to be (354,000 today versus 857,000 in 1950), it just seems crazy that all these properties would have remained neglected for so long.  Still, there were definitely signs of revitalization in various parts of the city, which does give one hope that decades of decline will begin to reverse themselves.

The southbound trip was a whole different experience.  There were areas composed of smaller, ill-kept homes, and there were definitely a few vacant buildings, but nowhere near the number that existed toward the city center.  For the most part, the homes that I passed were actually very well maintained and the neighborhoods seemed lively–especially the neighborhood surrounding Tower Grove Park.  The difference between the parts of town was pretty stark.

The other really intriguing element of yesterday’s hike was the “Pagan Picnic” that was taking place at Tower Grove Park.  I had several Wiccan friends in my days studying at the Vanderbilt Divinity School, although I think that most of the folks at this festival were cut from a rather different cloth.  Especially the big white dude dressed in what appeared to be a homemade Native American costume and wielding a big sword.  But the music was good, the people were friendly, and it seemed like everyone was having a great time.

So, despite the sunburn that I got from five hours in the great outdoors, I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed  both the exercise and the education that I’ve been gaining from these urban jaunts.  One of these days I’ll take a camera with me so I can give you guys a similar glimpse of this city.

I recently started seeing another commercial that I really like, this one for one of my favorite television networks. You see, Jenifer and I are geeks, meaning that we watch a whole lot of the History Channel, the Science Channel, and, of course, Discovery Channel. The most recent Discovery Channel commercial features many of their most recognizable personalities singing a kind of goofy song about the odd things they love about the world. I think it really captures and celebrates the oddness, yet coolness, of the shows on the network. Have a look for yourself and, if you’d like, share your thoughts in the comments.

I never had any doubts that we would be a wonderful couple, but neither did I expect just how wonderful it would be to get to share my life so completely with my best friend.  What with our move from Washington, DC, to St. Louis, Missouri, and all the turmoil and job changes that such a move entailed, we definitely had strained moments, but neither of us ever doubted our love for each other or that we would come through the rough patches even stronger than we had been before.  While before our wedding I never would have thought this really possible, I can honestly say that this past year has been the best of my life.

I love you very much, Sweet Girl, and I can’t wait to see all the wonderful things that God has for us in our future.

We arrived on Friday evening.  Brian welcomed us with an admonition to take full advantage of the entire building, telling us, “You’re home now. Relax and enjoy yourselves.”  How true his statement was! Throughout our visit, my wife and I felt very much like we were visiting our own summer home, and Brian made sure that our every need was met.

We stayed in the Harriet Schaff room, in which Brian had (per my prior request) set out fresh roses for my wife as well as a nice, chilled bottle of champagne.  The room is, in a word, splendid.  Far more spacious than most hotel rooms, our accommodations fairly sparkled in the early-evening light.  The two concessions that the lovely space made to modernity were a small flat-screen TV and a small refrigerator.  The bed was beautiful and very, very comfortable.  As you will see from the pictures, the bedroom is extremely well-lit, which is precisely what my wife enjoys.

While we were thrilled with the bedroom, I was amazed by the elegance and attention to detail that was evidenced in the common spaces.  The library is a revelation, filled with stately, yet comfortable furniture, as well as a treasure trove of beautifully bound classic books.  The parlor is also the very definition of refined understatement.  And the formal dining room!  It is filled with spectacular antique china and silver, all of which amplifies the aura of period luxury while you enjoy your meals.

Of course, the meals are the proverbial icing on the cake.  Brian’s background includes training in culinary school, and it shows.  We were lucky enough to schedule four meals at the inn, every one of which was spectacular.  The first evening brought a scrumptious blueberry salad and shrimp pasta with a Tuscan sauce — light, yet flavorful.  Saturday morning we enjoyed the full champagne breakfast, with bacon-wrapped fillet mignon, English muffins, fresh fruit, eggs, and potatoes, a meal that far exceeded our already-high expectations.  Saturday evening we were graced with the deluxe three-course dinner, consisting of a tangerine and red bean salad with homemade Caesar dressing, expertly prepared rosemary chicken accompanied by roasted carrots and an incredible potato dish as sides, and finished off with lemon Charlotte, a delectable dessert with which I was not previously acquainted.  Sunday morning, Brian prepared hot homemade biscuits, fresh fruit, and the house specialty: chicken and cheese omelets.  Every meal was plentiful and excellent.

As an added bonus, Brian shared with us the history of the house, which in many ways is also the history of St. Mary.  He has painstakingly researched the Schaff family, who built the house, and the restoration of the house itself is the fruit of that research, as Brian went so far as to discover and replicate the original colors of the walls within the structure.

In short, our stay at White Cliff Manor was the most satisfying, relaxing experience we have ever had.  We enjoyed it so much that we have already made reservations for next year’s anniversary celebration.  I could not offer a higher recommendation for anyone desiring to visit southeastern Missouri.  If you give Brian the opportunity to impress you, he will not disappoint.