Reply #3: I got a call from my financial guy this morning

[Warpy]

in which he was honest enough to admit it was a feel-good call to calm nervous stockholders. This tells me there is real panic in the rarefied air of brokerages and banks. I've been telling him all along that I'm not falling for sucker rallies and I expect the trend to be down until Stupid is gone and the next administration either turns things around 180 degrees or allows the whole thing to collapse in order to build it up from the bottom again.

Tortillas in this town where most folks eat them instead of bread have increased in price 300%. Gas is holding steady at $3.15. I barely bother looking at fruit and veggie prices any more, just brace myself at the checkout stand for the final tab, but I did get some 20 cents a pound cabbage. Coleslaw will be on the menu all week, I guess.

The main pain I've seen in this town since the bottom dropped out of the McMansion market has been that the streets are getting much worse before they're fixed. The library and schools are still open and I hear plenty of sirens at night, indicating the cops are still on the job.