If you think it depressing that the House failed to pass a bailout plan that some argue just might save the U.S. (world?) economy from total devastation, consider this: If we do all survive the economic fallout, we will be left with a nation in which just a small, handful of large commercial banks will rule the day, not to mention your checking, savings and credit cards accounts.

The consolidation of the banking industry in just a few short weeks in this country is breathtaking.

Last week, Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest savings and thrift, bit the dust and was bought by Chase.

Now, it is time to wave bye-bye to Wachovia as Citigroup buys that institution.

Well Fargo, Bank of America, Chase and Citibank…that is pretty much it now. Smaller banks just will not stand a chance matched against these giants. And, guess what? That means we consumers don’t stand a chance, either!

“Veteran journalists Rosenberg and Feldman examine the shrinking news cycle-the period of time between when a news event occurs and its reportage-through a series of incisive essays. They decry the reckless speed at which stories appear in print, electronic, and broadcast media, which sacrifices journalistic integrity and fact-checking processes. They trace this need for speed back to the advent of 24/7 cable news networks like CNN, which was founded in 1980. Under pressure to fill hours of airtime, networks began inflating stories by constantly updating them, magnifying non-news events, and injecting personal conjecture from anchors. The Internet, blogs, and the birth of citizen journalism led to even higher stakes for the professionals. Rosenberg and Feldman suggest that while speed itself is not bad, the resultant erosion of professional standards affects public perception of what is newsworthy. Similar in tone to Rosenberg’s earlier Not So Prime Time: Chasing the Trivial on American Television, this book pulls no punches in its assessment of the profession. Recommended for academic and public libraries.”

-Library Journal

U.S. lawmakers are being given little time to think about either the jaw dropping price or the ramifications of the government’s bailout plan aimed at dealing with the worst financial crisis this nation has had since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“We must act now,” says President Bush.  And, he all but said, we must do it his way.

No one really knows how much this scheme will end up costing American taxpayers, but one reporter on ABC News said probably fewer than one trillion dollars.  Now, that’s a relief.

The administration argues that the alternative to this enormous bailout would be far worse, perhaps a meltdown of the entire U.S. financial system. Already, banks had basically turned off the spigot of credit that greases our consumer driven economy which has had an impact not only here but overseas as well.

But lawmakers are being asked to act with uncommon and probably unwise speed to come up with the requisite legislation needed to permit the government to use our tax dollars to buy up troubled mortgages and mortgage backed securities from banks and  other financial institutions.

It is hard to argue with predictions of pending catastrophic doom in the event a bailout is not approved by Congress: the cascading and dizzying events of the past few weeks are proof of that. The government, meaning taxpayers, has already taken control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as insurance giant American International Group.

But considering the profound changes such an enormous bailout plan will have on the U.S. economy for years, maybe even generations, to come, surely lawmakers should exercise more rather than less caution in arriving at some solution?

Where is the rescue package for beleaguered home owners who would still be unable to pay their mortgages? Where is the helping hand for the out of work American who cannot find a job? Is it only big banks that deserve a chance for a fresh start?

It may very well be that a bailout of such historic proportions is the best medicine for what ails us, and yet, given the government’s track record, how could one not be suspicious that Congress is being railroaded into adopting a plan that is basically welfare for the rich?

Sean Hannity was brutal tonght. So brutal that he couldn’t stop drooling over Sarah Palin. For a minute I thought she’d have to put on galoshes and call for an umbrella.

The occasion on the Fox News Channel was the second half of what Hannity and Fox repeatedly called his “exclusive” interview with Palin. Say what? They called it an “exclusive” even after Hannity referred to questions that Charles Gibson had asked Palin in an earlier ABC News interview. Did that interview not count? Is this the old tree-in-the-forest thing? If something happens that isn’t on Fox, it never happened?

I finally decoded Fox’s and Hannity’s definition of “exclusive.” If someone else wasn’t interviewing Palin at precisely the moment Hannity was interviewing her, it was “exclusive.” So let’s call this Hannity’s “exclusive” I-love-ya-Sarahfest interview and leave it at that. 

At one point, he exclusively ticked off Democratic rebuttals of claims Palin had made in speeches. ”The Bridge to Nowhere,” Hannity began exclusively. “Did you originally support it and did you change your view on it.”

 Palin flashed that 500-wattt smile, exclusively for Hannity, and gave an answer to nowhere. In other words, she never answered, and instead repeated her mantra that she killed the Bridge to Nowhere. Then she talked about a ferry system.

Hannity smiled himself, contentedly, and exclusively let her get away with it, not mentioning the public record showing that she, indeed, had first supported the Bridge to Nowhere before opposing it. 

After tonight’s interview, Newt Gingrich gave his thoughts on Palin, exclusively to Fox. He liked her lot. Hannity, in another exclusive, said he found her “authentic.” This from arguably the least authentic, least exclusive guy on television.

Expecting Sarah Palin to get a tough interview from Sean Hannity is like expecting a Cyclops to be grilled on homeliness by the Elephant Man. Ain’t gonna happen.

And didn’t.

There they were in Cleveland Wednesday on the Fox News Channel, Palin’s handlers having granted rigidly partisan Hannity her second sit-down since being named John McCain’s running mate, following her interview with Charles Gibson for ABC News. Next for Palin, CBS News anchor Katie Couric, as the unqualified Alaska governor is parceled out like breadcrumbs to ravenous media.

If Palin/Gibson was softball, Part 1 of Palin/Hannity (Part 2 is scheduled for tonight) was wiffleball. Or better yet volleyball, with Hannity (after declaring that Palin had been “the target of left-wing smears”) delivering perfect set-ups for her to smash at Barack Obama.

Example: “Is Sen. Obama…using what happened on Wall Street this week?” Hannity fed Palin. “Is he using it for political gain? Is there a danger of a presidential candidate…saying to the world that America’s situation of economic crisis is the worst that we’ve seen in decades–which was words that he was using yesterday? Is there a danger of the world hearing that?”

Surprise! Palin thought there was.

On and on it went, with another especially notable moment coming when Hannity singled out Obama attacks on McCain (conveniently omitting McCain’s on Obama) before asking Palin, his face a mask of sincerety: “Do you think these attacks, racheting up these attacks by Barack Obama…do you think these attacks will be effective?”

Surprise! Palin thought America would “see through the rhetoric” and “political cheap shots.”

No challenges here from Hannity, himself a maestro of cheap shots who ranks with MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann on the left as the most ideological news demagogue on national TV, brutal toward Democrats, worshipful of conservative Republicans. 

And they call it journalism.

I am certainly no economist, I can barely balance my nearly empty checking account, but even I can tell you that the government bailout of AIG, the giant, global insurance company from Hell, backfired big time!

Investors (amazing there are any left frankly) didn’t seem to buy all the assurances, driving the Dow down nearly 450 points. Meantime, the government’s, shall we say “generous”, rescue of AIG from the clutches of death has left taxpayers (that would be you and me, but hopefully mostly you) potentially holding an empty bag.   Nice!

While all this was going on, the reports flashed across computer screens from coast to coast that Washington Mutual may be up for sale. That is, provided Wamu can find someone willing to buy it.

One possible buyer, JPMorgan Chase, reportedly wants government (that would be taxpayers again) backing before making an offer for Wamu. Seems like just about every major financial institution nowadays is getting bailed by Uncle Sam. Don’t you wish YOU had a relative as nice as that?

Of course, Wamu could just be allowed to go to that great big teller’s window in the sky, except for one very important thing: by one estimate, a Wamu failure would translate into something like a $20 billion loss for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, says the Associated Press. The FDIC is already apparently at a five year low.

If you would like to read further analysis of Charles Gibson’s interview with Sarah Palin, Howard Rosenberg tackles the subject in his monthly column on the news media in the Los Angeles Times, which you can read here.

For an archive of Rosenberg’s recent columns on the media and the news, click here.

Faster and faster. What began as a subprime mortgage crisis morphed into a housing and then a global credit crisis. And, after a very long year, events are now moving seemingly at light speed with little time for “experts” –if there are any left?–to fully grasp the ramifications of all this.

Just in the space of this past weekend, the famed Lehman Brothers tossed in its chips and filed for bankruptcy;Merrrill Lynch had a shotgun wedding with Bank of America which took it over; and insurance giant AIG was doing its best just to survive let alone thrive.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell off a cliff Monday, dropping 504.48 points.

It’s being called Wall Street’s worst day since right after the market re-opened following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

More to come?

You bet.

Some experts think by buying Merrill Lynch, Bank of America may now be at risk.

And, Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest savings and loan had its credit rating sliced down to junk.

And this is all just since Friday of last week!

Faster and faster it goes. Where it stops………

“Pulitzer Prize winner Rosenberg teams with veteran journalist Feldman to argue that the 24-hour news cycle has degraded the news media and failed consumers in this indignant, often reactionary examination. The authors’ premise, that a demand for a constant flow of information via the Internet and cable news networks has led to inaccuracies in reporting, is a popular refrain and one with merit. The many quotes the authors have collected from media giants such as Jim Lehrer and Arianna Huffington present the challenges facing news outlets as changing technologies, most notably the Internet, interact with traditional media.”

–Publishers Weekly

Charlie Gibson is certainly no Mike Wallace. But his interview with Sarah Palin for ABC News, nonetheless, managed to get somewhat beneath her facade only to find….another facade.

She knows how to repeat answers that were clearly scripted. She knows how to turn a phrase (that was no doubt written for her). She knows how to smile and when to snarl. She knows her lines and knows where to stand when the spotlight is on her.

But are these the traits we really want for someone who could end up President of the United States in the not too distant future?

Gibson’s interview made abundantly clear that Palin does not really think on her feet. A more accomplished politician would have figured out how to answer Gibson’s –What is the Bush Doctrine? –question without looking like a dear caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

Shame on her media advisers not to prepare her for this obvious question, considering the state of the world at the moment. Or, maybe they did and she just forgot the answer. Happens to all students at times.

And, that is what Palin is–a student. She is trying to cram for the big exam–November–and is probably burning the candle at both ends doing so.

While certainly anyone becoming president or vice-president will have a learning curve about how the job is done, that is not the same thing as first learning about the world in which we all reside and the proper place for the U.S. in that world.

Palin doesn’t know enough about the world…and doesn’t seem to realize she doesn’t know enough. Even worse!

She says Americans don’t want someone with a thick resume (experience)–Funny. Most would want a doctor or lawyer or dentist or even a hair dresser with experience. Why not someone who someday may be in a position to actually push the button….if she can find it, or even knows what it is?

The latest opinion polls are apparently driving Barack Obama right into the arms of none other than former president Bill Clinton…and, it would appear, on Clinton’s terms.

No great secret the two are not exactly fond of one another after a bruising presidential primary season and the failure of Obama to pick Hillary Clinton as his running mate.

But the Financial Times is reporting out of Washington tonight that Obama and Clinton will apparently bury the hatchet, and not in each other’s head!

FT says Obama will meet with Clinton at Clinton’s Harlem office building Thursday to seek advice on how best to win against John McCain in the remaining days left before the November election.

New polls showing McCain firmly in the lead for the first time–no doubt largely due to his pick of Sarah Palin as his Veep–apparently, says FT, causing “jitters” among Democratic Party big wigs and maybe even Obama himself?

So I was watching this one cable news channel earlier and overheard the anchors talking about how Sarah Palin is the new star of the political world, pushing Barack Obama out of the known universe.

It gets better. They also said the boy friend who got Palin’s 17 year old daughter pregnant is “America’s new hunk!”

Things are moving so fast, I have to admit I looked at my watch and started wondering who would be the political “star” by this weekend? Hell with that. What about by this morning!

If you thought Obama’s rise seemed pretty fast, Palin’s has got to make your head spin.

People can’t seem to stop talking about her. Television news shows can’t seem to stop talking about how people can’t seem to stop talking about her. Magazine covers (her face nows graces several) can’t seem to stop talking about how people can’t seem to stop talking about her and how other magazines can’t seem to stop talking about how television news shows can’t seem to stop talking about how people can’t seem to stop talking about her. 

And now, God help me, even I can’t seem to stop talking about how people can’t seem to stop talking about her.

What is truly amazing, of course, is the speed at which this has all happened. In fact, if this were a movie, you’d walk out about now thinking the script far to silly to be believable.

And, what is even more amazing than this, is that only the week before last, Obama was the political star people couldn’t stop talking about.

Information about Palin is coming at us so fast, there really isn’t any time to think (shameless book promotion here!) about what it all means.

In just the past few days,we have learned about her affinity for killing moose; about her desire to kill the teaching of evolution in public schools; and about her failure to kill the young man who got her daughter pumped with the seeds of Republican youth.

We are being told that America has fallen in love with Sarah Palin. But didn’t America only recently fall in love with Obama? When did the romance end?

Palin was whisked from announcement of her new supporting role for John McCain, to her acceptance speech days later at the convention without so much as a single press conference so that all those media elites she is scornful of could ask her a few questions….maybe even a few more questions than the McCain camp apparently did in the so-called vetting process.

I did some calculations and figure, at this rate of speed, by the end of the month ,yours truly will be the new  political star  and maybe even be offered a high ranking political position? But I don’t kill moose! One has to draw a line in the sand somewhere!!!

But, of course, this could all change in the next minute or so.

So fast was the selection of Sarah Palin to be John McCain’s running mate,  she needed to use her speech before the Republican Convention to tell people who the hell she is! Oh, and if you haven’t heard, she may become Vice-President of the United States!

In her prepared speech accepting her party’s nomination, Palin talks about her “small town roots” in Alaska, her small town job as mayor of a “city” with about 7 thousand residents and her big time and current job as Governor of Alaska.

Ten days ago, hardly anyone outside her home state knew her name, now she may be a heart beat away from being president. If that ain’t fast, I don’t know what is!

Palin, in her speech, called her critics “the Washington elite,” which, if you think about it, is sort of a strange thing to say since she is running for one of the most elite positions in Washington.

The McCain campaign would like nothing better than  for the national news media to stop its just begun look into who the “real” Sarah Palin is…since all politicians have a public as well as private side.

McCain adviser Steve Schmidt is quoted by Reuters as saying, “This vetting controversy is a faux media scandal designed to destroy the first female Republican nominee for vice president of the United States, who has never been a part of the old boys’ network.”

Without doubt, Palin’s “performance” at the convention tonight was a “star turn”–you may or may not agree with her politics, but she knows how to command a stage and captivate an audience.