About Secret History

Commentary on Latin America.
Mostly about Mexico - but not always.
Designed to encourage readers to learn about
the apparently "secret history" of 500 million people
spread across two continents
- but not always.
You can always count on a little snark.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Kidnap victims held for 350 big ones. Ack!

With an economy based on consumerism and Americans’ insatiable appetite for debt, it’s only natural that Treasury secretary Henry Paulson’s TARP gifts would exceed the actual amount in his $350 billion coin purse. The only question now is, by how much? And where did all those funds go? (Read More)
Great. Everyday I take a few minutes to browse the news in Mexico and the US, and the US papers are obsessed with the idea of kidnapping in Mexico (if Mexico gets a mention). Express kidnapping, the kidnapping of an anti-kidnapping consultant, kidnapping US citizens...and then I go a few pages down, and I see business extorting Americans (and the world, really) for huge amounts of cash. If I threatened to destroy a segment of the economy I'd be a radical terrorist. If I held people hostage for cash I'd be a kidnapper. Here we call it business men.

When I graduated from college with my BA in history, the commencement speaker stood up and said he only wanted to speak to tech and business graduates, because they were the only groups that mattered for the future of this country. He was trying to be prophetic, but it turns out he was a freakin' prophet of doom. They matter, all right, like Israel matters to Gaza, like Gaza matters to Israel, like the KKK matters to African Americans, like China matters to Tibet.

Help, help, I've been kidnapped. Ack, as Bill the Cat used to say.

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