Illustration by Victor Juha
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover/
MATT TAIBI – ROLLING STONES
It’s over — we’re officially, royally fucked. No empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock, which is what happened as of a few weeks ago, when the buffoons who have been running things in this country finally went one step too far. It happened when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was forced to admit that he was once again going to have to stuff billions of taxpayer dollars into a dying insurance giant called AIG, itself a profound symbol of our national decline — a corporation that got rich insuring the concrete and steel of American industry in the country’s heyday, only to destroy itself chasing phantom fortunes at the Wall Street card tables, like a dissolute nobleman gambling away the family estate in the waning days of the British Empire. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover/
GOATMILK: An intellectual playground 
I just read this article a few days ago. It’s an excellent analysis of the financial bailouts and the events leading up to them. Could have done without the swearing, but I guess it adds that attractive salty touch for the average American Joe who has migraines at the thought of reading more than a couple of paragraphs.
But it’s definitely worth the read.