Excuse me?

First, and probably most importantly, the story the documentary is trying to tell is the blow-by-blow of what happened last year. How we got from a place where most people thought was good, or at least not FAIL, to where we are now.

But secondly, and the part that I find most audacious from Chicken Little johnny-come-latelies, is where were you 5 years ago. Oh, that’s right, at anti-Iraq war rallies. If the regulatory system was really a problem why didn’t we hear anything from you then?

Maybe you’ll stop reading, because these are from the so-called MSM (also known as THE ONLY PEOPLE ACTUALLY CALLING AND INTERVIEWING PEOPLE, SO MAYBE THEY AREN’T THE DEVIL)…but I highly recommend the following:

Vanity Fair on Bear Stearns failure.

Washington Post on what led to the housing collapse.

New Yorker on Ben Bernanke and the crisis. (most important reading of the past 2 years.)

New York Times on the role of regulatory agencies and quasi-governmental companies.

New York Times on Paulson’s transformation.

New York Times on the day the government started to privatize the banks.

There’s a telling political anecdote about Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, when he walked into the first day of teaching at a politics class at the University of Louisville:

“He didn’t introduce himself to his students. He went straight to the chalkboard and scribbled.

‘I am going to teach you the three things you need to build a political party,’ he said, and backed away to reveal the words: ‘Money, money, money.’”

All of that is very clear right now, as election season enters the stretch run:

A) Business money is following the CW, and the Democrats.

B) Businesses are spending money and lobbying power ready to roll back Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory moves, post-Enron.

C) Money, money, money.

He got a year less than WorldCom’s Bernie Ebbers, so at least the U.S. Justice system is consistent.

But Jeff Skilling won’t go to prison without a fight, so keep your eyes peeled to the Houston Chronicle’s blog to make sure he gets what he deserves.

Actually in WorldCom news, the SEC laid something off an egg today in terms of WorldCom’s fraud payout. And its not the only test the SEC is facing in terms of regulatory issues.

Ken Lay’s verdict is vacated.

At least it won’t affect Skilling.

(But I still like the New York Post’s headline the best.)