Wall St. Bonuses; Healthcare Deal?; China; Race and Beer

Andrew Cuomo discovered that $33 billion in bonuses were paid by Wall Street firms during the height of the meltdown and the public bailout. Where's the outrage? The real economy versus mainstream media's good-news reportage: what about that $1.86 trillion deficit? Has Henry Waxman really gotten the Blue Dog Dem's on board with a healthcare reform plan? China lectured the US about its debt; communist capitalism appears to be growing at 7% or 8% while our GDP "only dropped" by 1%. Plus, was it race or class conflict? What kind of teachable moment can we get out of the "beer summit" at the White House between the President, the Professor and the Policeman?

Banner image: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo upon his arrival at the State Department for Strategic Track Discussions of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images