In Other News, Air Necessary For Breathing

In what has got to win the award for the most blatantly obvious headline stated as if it were news, we ran across this scurrying its slithery way through the intertoobz today:

Panel finds financial crisis was avoidable

You don't say. What was your first clue?

The deals grew so complex that bank executives and regulators did not understand them, the report found, and banks discouraged aggressive oversight of their activities, saying the government's interference would stifle financial innovation.

We don't know what's going on, but don't look at it too closely because it might inhibit our ability to think up other "products" we don't understand. Yeah. No warning signs in that behavior.

Still, the commission's findings were tainted by partisan politics. Six Democrats on the panel supported the conclusions; the four Republicans dissented.

Well of course they did. Not having the faintest idea is a key plank in the republican platform and underlies most of their positions on current issues. Also illegality.

The conclusions contradicted a parade of witnesses in the panel's hearings who said the crisis couldn't have been avoided or prevented.Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein were among those asserting that defense.

Gee. The people who caused the problem, or ignored it until it blew up in our faces say it's not their fault. Didn't see that one coming.

The panel has referred cases of possible criminal wrongdoing to the Justice Department for investigation.

 Oh. Well, that explains sudden helplessness.

"The greatest tragedy would be to accept the refrain that no one could have seen this coming and thus nothing could have been done," the report said. "If we accept this notion, it will happen again."

Is it just us, or does the fact that no one is in jail, or even in trouble and banksters are handing out bonuses like  candy at a NAMBLA convention mean we've already accepted that it is going to happen again?

The commission criticized the view held by some regulators that markets are "self-correcting" and banks can police themselves.

See, now that's just harsh. The markets are self correcting provided they get billions in Federal subsidies and are able to bankrupt millions of people from time to time. Hey, omelet, eggs, you know?