Like Lambs to Slaughter

To sleep, perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
--Hamlet (III,i), Shakespeare

“Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?”
And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle
--Like a Lamb to Slaughter, Roald Dahl
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Ranger is not an economist. (To read one who is, see Dark Wraith in the sidebar.)

But he sees a simple trend: It does not matter whether the administration is Democratic or Republican, the bottom line is always the same. We the People are treated as objects which exist solely to provide the money for the Big Guys to play with. We are like Heidegger's Being-as-tool, a perversion of our rightful state of existence.

"The inspector general who oversees the government’s bailout of the banking system [Neil M. Barofsky] is criticizing the Treasury Department for some misleading public statements last fall and raising the possibility that it had unfairly disbursed money to the biggest banks."

"Mr. Barofsky’s office also says that regulators were wrong to tell the public last year that the earliest bailout recipients were all healthy.

"Former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., for instance, said on Oct. 14 that the banks were “healthy,” and that they accepted the money for “the good of the U.S. economy.” The banks, he said, would be better able to increase their lending to consumers and businesses.

"In truth, regulators were concerned about the health of several banks that received that first bailout, the inspector general writes."

The inspector general said government officials need to be more careful when describing their actions and rationale. In a letter included with the report, the Federal Reserve concurred with Mr. Barofsky’s concern about the statements made last year, but the Treasury Department said that any review of announcements last year 'must be considered in light of the unprecedented circumstances in which they were made' (Report on Bailouts Says Treasury Misled Public.)”

It is the whore's promise: "Daddy, I'll always love you if you'll buy me this diamond necklace," and we continue to toe the line, feeling we are receiving our rightful due even when we are pinched almost beyond our ability to sustain. We gain an uneasy sleep with Ambien or Lunesta knowing that all is not right, but grateful for the purchase, nonetheless.

When elected and appointed officials are less than truthful and deliberately misleading, how can we pretend we are living in a democracy?

Democracy is not based upon lies.