I know I said I was checking out, but couldn't help being pleased as punch that Hillary actually blogged for the Roma (Gypsies for the uninitiated).

Just a few days ago I was trying to come up with some simple Roma phrases for my kids to learn, which is tough simply because there are so many Roma dialects.

And probably we'll never get around to really recognizing that a half million Roma were knocked off in WWII, just as a significant number of gays and other repressed and tormented groups were taken out (though gays in Germany were quite well received prior to 1933, while Roma.... it will be a long time coming).

So here's for the recognition and hoping that it brings things up a level. The Roma are a complicated people, but deeply beautiful. A couple of links to take away, here and here. Long live the Gypsies.

Glenn Greenwald and others are pointing out Larry Summers
scored about $8 million last year from the financial companies
he's supposed to regulate and revamp. Fat chance.

OpenLeft publishes the drastic increase in the Financial sector's
share of all profits over the last 8 years. As Greenwald repeats,
our government has been captured by the financial sector, and
none of this kabuki we're doing now is changing that. It's just
le big payout, the Big Score, le Grand Boeuf or la Grande Bouffe.

Obama goes to familiar waters yet again, by scolding Europe
to stop blaming America for its problems. Like Europe shared
blame for wanting to rush into Iraq and blaming Hussein for
WMD's and connections to Al Qaeda. Like Europe is to blame for
Bush and the Republicans' tearing apart financial regulation
the last 8 years, Fannie Mae, the demise of Bear Stearns, AIG.

But that's just backdrop to ginning up the deal in Afghanistan,
the new-old-front lines against terror. "British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown echoed Obama's argument that Afghanistan was key
to Europe's security." Poodle 1, meet Poodle 2. Brits in our
hip pocket in our rush to stupidity yet again. Mix a little
Islamic Jihad fear with:

Obama's new big proposal is a call to drop nuclear weapons while
North Korea is testing another missile, and Putin is turning off
gas to Europe, China is doing who knows what, and the Pakistanis
are of course listening to every piece of advice we give. Oh,
forgot Israel. At least Iran's likely to be reasonable in the end.
World peace? End to poverty for children? More protein in every diet?
Colonize Mars?

The "reforms" to the Cuban embargo were rather disappointing.
Democrats are still catering to rabid Batista voters after all
these years. We will continue this nonsense into the next century.
How fun.

These are just the last few days' gems.

We're going to get Bush Lite the next 8 years or just strange
marketing balloons and I just have to break myself of paying attention
and tuck whatever money I have under the mattress. If I'm successful,
you'll see much less of me. Who knows, maybe I can go back to
creating art.