The subprime mortgage crisis is so bad that:

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, battling the worst housing recession in a quarter century, urged lenders to forgive portions of mortgages held by homeowners at risk of defaulting.

“Efforts by both government and private-sector entities to reduce unnecessary foreclosures are helping, but more can, and should, be done,” Bernanke said in a speech to bankers in Orlando, Florida, today. “Principal reductions that restore some equity for the homeowner may be a relatively more effective means of avoiding delinquency and foreclosure.”

Maybe Ol’ Battlin’ Ben could ask the dollar and the stock market not to fall so much, too.

Then there’s Dubya telling OPEC to pump more gas and stop raising the price. Sure. All our "friends" in the Middle East give a rat’s ass that the US economy is slumping. In fact, the only really powerful weapon that that Middle Eastern countries have against the US is oil. And none of them, except Israel, see the US as a friend. You can bet that Sheikh Mohammad Whoever in every country in the region is laughing his ass off at America’s plight. And why, pray tell, should the Sheikh give a damn?