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As members of Congress continue to play the partisan "blame-game" as part of their methodology to resolve the devastating financial crisis facing America, the clock keeps ticking with no real solutions in sight.

Despite the dire urgency to find workable solutions to avoid the imminent dangers related to a host of issues (military strategy, the recession, healthcare, energy, bailouts, the housing crisis, unemployment, and much more), we turn on the TV only to hear members of Congress debating issues in terms of party allegiance and platform positions as opposed to the actual merits of a given issue.

In many instances it painfully obvious that finding common ground or a timely solution is, in fact, only a secondary priority.

The first priority, all too often, is to affirm their party's political ideology and denounce anything that comes from the other side of the aisle; no matter what it is, what it says, or what is at stake.

It seems that Congressional debates, especially Senate debates, are becoming more and more like a divorce proceeding where the parties stop trying to reach a resolution and, instead, become incensed with "getting even with each other". As a result, of course, the rest of the entire family pays the price. In this case, that family is comprised of more than 306,000,000 Americans and the entire foreign community that are (or were?) depending on the American legislative process for sound direction.

While this partisan bickering is notorious for slowing down, to a snail's pace, any real progress of actually resolving our nation's financial problems; Congress, nevertheless, always seems to find the time to authorize Uncle Sam to spend more money. Unfortunately, the ferderal government is now spending money at a pace that is unsustainable.

That pace, by the way, is now approaching a mind-boggling $100,000 per second.

- Ed Smith, Publisher
The EHS Letter Manual