For every left-wing/right-wing ranter out there - and there are plenty on all sides - there is barely a voice attempting to point out one or two simple facts. The Dow Index is over 10000. OK.

Unemployment is over 10%. Yep.

How are these related?

Has the "government" (oh, eveil, eveil, government) decreed that "ALL THOU STOCKS SHALL RISE, AND ALL THEE SPECULATORS SHALL ENJOY WHILST ALL THOU REST OF YAS CAN STUFF IT"??? Nooooo....

Before people can get jobs making stuff, there has to be a demand for what they are making.

If them's that got money just sits on it, there's no demand for the stuff. If them puts their money in the market and they takes some profit, they will have money to SPEND on stuff. Like it or not, that's how it works.

On the other hand, yes, we SHOULD, as a society be spending COMMON treasure on our schools, roads, HEALTH CARE, etc. But does bashing the Dow Jones have ANYTHING to do with any of those public goods???

Nope. If the markets rise, the profits of the companies, and the capital gains of the investors will be taxed (MUST be taxed) and that will help to pay for the common good. Yes, we need more public spending (as Paul Krugman argues regularly), but again, bashing Wall Street gains nothing. Tax the bastards sure, but don't kvetch about their investing. It just smells of sour grapes.

Now, the selfish 'freedom-loaders' of the ranting Rasputin right, who want the society to pay for all their money-making infrastructure, but only by taxing SOMEBODY ELSE, are hypocrites and foul-players all the way down.

Their aim is to disable any and all progress by the new President, firstly so they can return to the corruption of their slimy-palmed ways (see Bush Interior Department, Division of Mines, for example), and secondly because they are unrepentant racists.

Doesn't matter if the Democrat is black or not, the right uses their loaded codes for 'welfare cheats' 'speak English' 'unwed mothers' 'pervert marriage' to solidly jab the elbow into their under-educated barely literate base. Get 'those people' out of power at any cost, they say, and you'll "Love America" - meaning, simply, "Hah, now we've got the cookie jar for ourselves again!"

My dear friends on the Obama-bashing LEFT, on the other hand are, as usual, guilty of good, even wonderful, idealistic intentions, and all too often blithering idiots when it comes to ACTUAL PEOPLE and EVENTS in the REAL WORLD. It's "progress not perfection", people, ok??? Or will you stamp your feet and take your ball and go home???

I am no apologist for capitalism nor for stupid Democratic strategists who seem to be congenitally incapable of grabbing the bull by the horns and making good use of the historic opportunities they now have. And I do believe we need to keep reminding them that - as George Lakoff said - there IS NO CENTER in politics. If you can't keep your own base enthusiastic, you have made a miserable mess of all your potential.

Still, I think that our new President is a hell of a lot smarter than 98% of his critics.

The idiots who captained the ship of state between 2000 and 2008 ran it three miles up on the shore. Before you can turn the damned ship around and actually go somewhere useful, you have to GET IT OFF THE BEACH!