Another Milepost On The Road To Oblivion

Via Atrios comes Helpful Advice From The Fed For Bank Directors.

While a director’s job is important and carries responsibility, it may not be as daunting as it first appears. In fact, you can effectively use your knowledge and experience gained from your own profession in your role as a director. It is likely you already possess many of the attributes of an effective director

• basic management experience and skills,

• an inquisitive attitude, and

• a willingness to commit time and energy to bank matters.

The only thing that may be missing is a basic knowledge of banking and what to consider in overseeing a bank. The discussion that follows focuses on the basics of being a director. The legendary Green Bay Packers football coach, Vince Lombardi, recognized the importance of teaching basics to his players. Even after winning championships and being surrounded by future Hall-of-Fame players, Lombardi had a tradition of beginning every preseason training camp the same way. He stood before his players, football in hand, and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” He assumed his players were a blank slate at the beginning of each season. With that in mind, we begin with the basic discussion, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a bank.”

We are so very, very screwed.  Also from Duncan's place:

More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.

The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.

Neighbors are encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers to local green spaces, because parks workers will mow them only once every two weeks. If that.

Water cutbacks mean most parks will be dead, brown turf by July; the flower and fertilizer budget is zero.

City recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools, and a handful of museums will close for good March 31 unless they find private funding to stay open. Buses no longer run on evenings and weekends. The city won't pay for any street paving, relying instead on a regional authority that can meet only about 10 percent of the need.

"I guess we're going to find out what the tolerance level is for people," said businessman Chuck Fowler, who is helping lead a private task force brainstorming for city budget fixes. "It's a new day."

Welcome to Dick Armey's Teabagger Utopia.  Coming soon to where you live, work, and play if the Teabaggers have their way in 2010 and beyond.  You thought our infrastructure and basic services problems were bad before?  You guys have no idea.  The best part will be the "turning to free market" follow-up where these parks and police and firefighter problems can be solved by subcontracting them to state or national companies with zero oversight.  Think "Blackwater running everything in your town" and you're getting close to the truth.