JANET THE REGULATOR

That was the title of the show up on the Hill today as Ms. Yellen wandered up to testify about the actions that were being taken by the Fed to fulfill its mandate under the yet-to-be-completed Dodd/Frank bill which granted it heretofore unknown regulatory powers over the U.S. financial system.

Now it's really not supposed to be Ms. Yellen's job as she made rather clear in her superficial testimony; the job is really being done by our ol' buddy, Danny Tarullo, late of the Clinton administration and present go-and-fetch-it pup of Crazy Lizzy from Mass.  The occupier of the position is supposed to be appointed by the President with confirmation by the Senate, but Il Duce hasn't moved an inch to make the de facto appointment de jurie for the simple reason that there is no way in hell Danny gets confirmed.  Bernie Madoff would have a better chance.  You see, nobody likes Danny; rumor has it his dog doesn't like him.  Not that he's unintelligent--far from it--it's just that...well...nobody likes him.  So there was poor Janet wrestling with a subject about which she obviously didn't know in depth and miserable about playing the roll.  As very few people in Congress understand it either, no harm no foul unless you happen to be a financial institution that has to deal with the miserable Tarullo standing in for Crazy Lizzy and praying that the Dems win next November to avoid the Night of the Long Knives.  Such is the way of the world these days.

Things were grinding to perhaps an early end when up pops Clare McCaskill, Representative from New York to save the day.  Now Ms. McCaskill hasn't had an original idea since...well, figure that one out...but she knows how to do her boss' bidding and in this session devoted to financial regulation she somehow inserted the question of Fed Tightening.

Salvation!  The look on Janet's face was nothing short of pure joy!  In an instant she had removed a two page prepared statement from her make-believe Alan Greenspan attache case and waxed poetic on the chances for a December rate hike.  The world stood transfixed, while I sat there trying to convince myself that this wasn't cooked up well before hand and that the Fed was a truly independent organization and that Congress was exercising true oversight.  Janet said absolutely nothing she hadn't said before and I turned the telly off wondering if Bill the Dud, who was to speak later in the day had gotten the memo about the same page stuff and would say anything different.  Turns out he had and he didn't which represents a greater change for him as he started believing that everyone wanted him to be the spokesman and then realizing that his place as Dud had been assigned to him in perpetuity.  On this the two-year rose to record heights and the DOW slithered down 50.

This entire show is turning into a joke; can't some insignificant country, somewhere in the world,  default so we can have some fire works?  I'm tellin' ya, gang, this is getting hard.  At least the first play-off rankings came out last night.  I might try out for ESPN--The Magazine...If they are still around.