WHY IS A RAVEN LIKE A WRITING DESK?

That is a line from Louis Carroll's, "Alice In Wonderland," my personal favorite tale of all time (because it is not really a fairy tale, but political satire). It is asked of Alice by the Mad Hatter.

Originally the riddle had no answer, but Carroll made one up later. Many readers have invented their own answers ever since, including the most famous: "because Poe wrote on both", and "because there's a B in both and an N in neither" (you may have to think on this one for a bit).

All of the surreal nonsense in "Alice In Wonderland" has its counterpart in British politics of the day.

I particularly loved the Walrus and the Carpenter, as told by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

The walrus is an amalgamation of politicians. However, let me suggest that you view it as follows: The walrus = Barack Obama; the mother oyster = conservative voices (bloggers, etc.); the little oysters = you and me...Mr. & Mrs. citizen; and the carpenter = the mainstream media.

You can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvOThKOJdas .

The Mad Hatter ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InSn2BLDwfQ ) might well represent Ben Bernanke in today's political climate.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said while the U.S. government may take “substantial” stakes in Citigroup Inc. and other banks, it doesn’t plan a full- scale nationalization that wipes out stockholders.

Nationalization is when the government “seizes” a company, “zeroes out the shareholders and begins to manage and run the bank, and we don’t plan anything like that,” Bernanke told lawmakers in Washington today.

So, if I understand it correctly, the fact that the federal government assumes control of 30% - 40% of a bank's stock, therefore has control of the bank by virtue of being it's largest stockholder, is not the same as taking over or nationalizing the bank.

Which begs the question: Why is a raven like a writing desk?