The Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece today slamming government regulators for forcing Bank of America to acquire Merill Lynch. Before I get into my tirade, let me disclose that I own Bank of America stock, and have owned some of it for quite awhile.

The newest chic is to call everything "2.0," as though adding a major version number actually changes anything. Of course, sometimes it changes things completely.

A few days ago, Boing Boing guest blogger Richard Metzger pronounced the stunning revelation that "Marx was right!" Of course, he doesn't go on to actually tell us how Marx was right, instead preferring merely to make a series of assertions about the degree of his verisimilitude (bold added by me).

I like the Freakonomics blog, even though I often disagree with some of the conclusions they make (or at least imply). For example, Wednesday's post about how the recession will affect "clean" technology is somewhat lacking.

Fortunately, I don't have to explain my position, because I agree 100% with my good friend Dave, who gave me the following response:

I will admit that I returned a few Christmas gifts this year. There's usually a couple in my pile each year that I find aren't quite what I wanted. This year only three things begged to be brought back: Two movies and a shirt.

In response to the failure to pass a bailout for the Big 3 auto makers, VP Dick Cheney make the comment, "It's Herbert Hoover time." (Doesn't have quite the same ring as "It's Miller time!") The implication is that by not passing the aid, we will face a period of extended recession, much like the Great Depression, which many people believe was protracted by President Hoover's economic policy.

In other words, this is the worst form of double speak.

I came across a Reuter's article today that explains what deflation is and why people fear it. Like most popular journalism, it's a little scant on some of the details (there's no single agreed-upon definition or indicator of deflation), and it beefs up the FUD.

I love Dilbert. I mean the comic strip, of course – I don't have any special affinity or sexual feelings for the middle-age, overweight, cubicle-dwelling, fictional software engineer. But to the point I was making, the comic strip is a fantastic mix of humor, political and social commentary, and convex mirror of the strangeness that is the corporate workplace.

Kent Thune, a.k.a. Financial Philosopher, has a post containing, um, "evidence" that financial blogs are making markets more efficient. Basically, his argument goes: