I have been trying to figure out why the attitude of CITIgroup, the Detroit automakers, and AIG seem so very familiar. Some time, in the lantern hours of the night, it came to me. I could have waited for something classier, but this is the connection, and I'm somewhat stuck with it.

[CAVEAT: If you have not seen the classic film "Blazing Saddles" yet, or even recently, go and do so now. Go on, I'll wait.]

OK, everyone on the same page? Good, but crowded, so let's get it over with. Sheriff Bart gets into his welcome ceremony as the first Black Sheriff of Rock Ridge, looks up, and sees a forest of those nasty little holes in the end of gun barrels. The Preacher encourages him with "Son, you're on yer own."

Bart whips out his pistol, points it at his own head and snarls "Next one makes a move and the n------ gets it." Amidst screams of "Listen to him, he means it!" and "Won't somebody save that poor man?" Bart backs himself into the Sheriff's office and closes the door with two conclusions: he's good, and the townspeople are so dumb.

So why is it nobody calls the various bluffs of the businesses? It is that they're so good, and we're............. ?