I must admit that the news stories today about the G20 reaction to "QE2" and about the political reaction to the advance report from the deficit commission left me with queasy feelings. Of course, I've been convinced that the complete meltdown of the American economy would probably happen next week since back in the Reagan administration when I first twigged that Washington no longer saw deficit spending as an emergency measure, but as standard practice under all circumstances, and it hasn't happened yet, so I'm beginning to suspect that the collective of high-powered economists might know something I don't and I'm just wallowing in my natural pessimism. Who knows, maybe the chewing gum and duct tape really will hold the economic system together until Antarctica melts.