New column: America's No. 1 export

SUBPRIME BAILOUT THRILLER
(Michael Jackson's Thriller)
WilliamBanzai7

It's Midnight this late September night and the night is full of Politicians, Lurking in the Dark.
Under The Moonlight, You See A Sight That Almost Stops Your Heart.
You Try To Scream, But Terror Takes The Sound Before You Make It.
Debt Markets Start To Freeze, As Horror Looks You Right Between The Eyes,
Your Paralyzed

You Hear The Door Slam, And Realize There's Nowhere Left To Run.
You Feel The Cold Take Hold, And Wonder If You'll See a Bear Run
You Close Your Eyes, And Hope That This Is Just Imagination,
But All The While, You Hear The GOP Pachydermata Creepin' Up Behind
You're Out Of Time

They're Out to Get You, There's Demons Closing In On Every Side.
They Will Possess You, Unless You Change The Number On Your Skype.
Now Is the Time for You and Your Trading Quants to huddle Close Together
All Thru The Night, It'll Save You From The Terror On The Reuter Screen,
It'll Make You See:

(narrated by Vincent Price)
Darkness Falls Across The Land, The Asian Trading Day Is Close At Hand.
Bottom Feeders Crawl In Search Of Blood To Foreclose on Your Neighborhood
And Whosoever Shall Be Found Without The Soul For Economic Bust
Must Stand And Face The Hounds Of Hell, And Rot Inside A Bankrupt Shell.

The Foulest Stench Is In The Air The Funk Of 700 Billion Bailout Bucks
And Shortselling Ghouls From Every Trading Room Are Closing In To Seal Your Doom
And Though You Fight To Stay Alive Your Net Worth Starts To Shiver
For No Mere Mortal Can Resist The Evil Of The TARP Bailout Thriller

'Cause this Is Thriller, TARP Bailout make or break Night
and No-ones Gonna Save You from the Beast about to Strike.
You Know its Thriller, TARP Bailout Thriller Night
You're fighting for Your Monetary Life inside a Killer, Thriller.

Thriller, Bailout Night
'Cause I can thrill you More Than Any Market Ghoul Could ever try. (Thriller, Bailout Night)
So Let Me Hold You Tight And Share A Killer, Chiller, Fiscal Massacre
Thriller Here Tonight.

'Cause this Is Thriller Bailout night
It Will Thrill You More Than Any Ghoul Could ever dare try
Any Ghoul could ever Dare Try

(Daddy, can I be TARP for Halloween? No deary...its too scary! Be something funny
like the McCain campaign )

Can't wait to read the article. All I have to say what a mess. A perfect storm of lobbying, greed and fiscal irresponsibility. I only hope we bounce back from this; bounce meaning at least two years from now. I hope this is the shake up Washington needs to reform, reform, reform and not bend to the whims of lobbyists and operate responsibly. Yeah, wishful thinking.

No. 2: bad American reality TV shows.

So does this point of view make it a financial crisis or a cultural crisis?

You may remember in Neal Stephenson's 1993 novel of the near future Snow Crash, he noted at the very beginning that America was better than anyone in the world at four things: music, movies, microcode (computer software), and fast pizza delivery.