Not Dazed, just confused...

How do you spend $80 million too much? That much money doesn't just slip through the cracks. The Washington Independent reported this morning that the treasury department overpaid trouble banks:

In efforts to stabilize troubled banks, the Treasury Department overpaid those institutions by nearly $80 billion, the head of a bailout oversight panel told lawmakers Thursday.

Elizabeth Warren, who chairs the congressional panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said Treasury officials chose not to risk-adjust the government’s investments in troubled banks, instead paying “a uniform price” regardless of each bank’s health. As a result, she estimates, taxpayers have spent $254 billion on capital investments worth just $176 billion — a difference of roughly $78 billion.

Seems like if you are doing your homework, this can be avoided.

Also, Andrew Sullivan asks how often can you lie and still be considered for president in 2012. Evidently at least once or twice. I'll stop now before I get going.

One bright spot was this text of a speech our president gave at the Nation Prayer Breakfast. My favorite:

There is no doubt that the very nature of faith means that some of our beliefs will never be the same. We read from different texts. We follow different edicts. We subscribe to different accounts of how we came to be here and where we're going next – and some subscribe to no faith at all.

But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate. There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.

Amen. Have a great weekend!