The Stock Men

A president once said,
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”
Now it seems like we’re supposed to be afraid
It’s patriotic in fact and color coded

--A Few Words in Defense of Our Country, Randy Newman

As candidate Edwards said in the last presidential election, there are two Americas--the haves and the have nots. And no party addresses the needs of the have nots in today's political arena. Both seem more interested in moderating Sunni/Shis squabbles than in facing the disarray of their own backyards.

Stockman, Lay, Cunningham, WorldCom and Enron are the tips of the iceberg. Men like Kenneth Lay and David Stockman are a far greater threat to America than a little piss ant like Jose Padilla ("Former Reagan Budget Director Charged with Fraud.")

These men lead a full frontal assault on middle America, and effectively transfer wealth from the middle to the top, generally with little personal risk. Billions disappear into their deep pockets through a variety of illegal and/or gray area scams; when cornered, they legal up and utilize every ploy to elude punishment.

There are those of us who work, pay taxes and struggle to get ahead, and those that prey off our work and honesty. Federal judges cut them every break, and in the meantime honest, hardworking investors bite the big one.

So Stockman does his deed and is in the news for two days after paying a $1 million personal recognizance bond. In the meantime, Padilla is in the news daily. Everybody hates him, federal prosecutors bend every point of law to the breaking point, but in the end to what avail?

Who is the greater threat to America? I contend it is Stockman and his ilk, and if I were the torturer and had a choice, Padilla would not be mine.