Independent watchdog at the Treasury Department Neil Barofsky warned that the government's response to the financial meltdown has made it MORE likely the United States will face a deeper crisis in the future. He says, "The problems that led to the last crisis have not yet been addressed, and in some cases have grown worse." Barofsky wrote, in his quarterly report to Congress, released Sunday, "Even if TARP saved our financial system from driving off a cliff back in 2008, absent meaningful reform, we are still driving on the same winding mountain road, but this time in a faster car."  He's right, but don't expect Congress to do anything about it, now that the Supreme Court says banksters can use unlimited amounts of money to advertise and lobby against being regulated.

In Strange news... Paleoconservative Ben Stein is suggesting that James O’Keefe — the young conservative who made his name with video stings on ACORN offices — shouldn’t be charged for tampering with the phones at Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office … because two New Black Panthers who stood outside a Philly polling station on Election Day 2008 and weren’t charged with any crimes.  Of course, they didn't commit any crimes - they were there as election observers, just like thousands of Republicans nationwide. Hmmm...Let's see.  O"keefe posed as a telephone employee and tampered with a US Senator's phone and that's the same as election observers? Somebody needs to check out what Ben Stein's been smoking.