Sunday Roundup

This week brought what President Obama termed the "ridiculous spectacle" of executives from three companies involved in the catastrophic Gulf oil spill testifying in front of Congress, each desperately trying to blame the other. Think "The Three Stooges Go To Washington" -- Moe, Larry, and Halliburton. Seeing Dick Cheney's old company, the poster child for crony capitalism, back in the spotlight was like one of those horror movies where the crazed killer keeps popping back up from the grave. You thought they were dead and buried when government audits showed the company had bilked taxpayers out of hundreds of millions during the war in Iraq? Well, they're baaa-aack! This is how it works in America these days. Chronic corruption and incompetence are not a disqualifier. As Chris Matthews put it: "It seems like a third world banana republic would do things this way!"