Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead...

And in other news today, former Fannie and Freddie execs still have not given back their bonuses.

While the two aforementioned points are unassailable facts, they also miss the point regarding executive bonuses

There are far more politicians and government employees who are in a position to help their former companies and campaign contributors than those who don't have a conflict of interest. The idea of a neutral government not picking winners or losers based on political favoritism is a joke, and so is the assumption that only the government can figure out where trillions of dollars need to go and which companies deserve to live. The real outrage in today's society should not be over a single corporation's corruption, but the crony corporatism that is the result of unhealthy blurring of the private and public sectors.

We know we sound like a broken record at times and we would apologize for it except for the fact that we continue to hear of the “failure of Capitalism” and “dangers of deregulation”. What was it precisely about the system circa pre-Obama with the way that Congress effectively ran the housing and banking industries that would suggest in any way this blurring of private and public sectors was “free” let alone run-away unbridled and unchecked capitalism?

Whatever "deregulation" that occurred during the Clinton and Bush years appeared only to expose these industries more and more to the increasing whim and fancy of their Congressional overseers.

Don’t confuse greed and avarice with capitalism. One can be a greedy capitalist just as easily as one can be a greedy politician who owes no allegiance to any socio-political stripe outside of one’s own lust for power.

And now this cozy little relationship will be strengthened and legitimized under the guise of increased regulation. As we’ve mentioned before, regulation… deregulation… it’s all really a moot if governed and overseen by this Parliament of whores.