Not following Standards is very Poor

I don't know if they were really sticking doing what they are supposed to do in the way that they follows their standard practice or not, but Standards & Poor action of downgrading the USA leaves me with pause.

On the one hand I think, well they're just doing what they are supposed to do in giving guidance to investors. On the other hand, they could be just trying to put more pressure on the American government to do what they want the government to do.

My sarcastic thoughts around this though turns to Patriotism. Is it Patriotic to downgrade and endanger your own country like they have? There has been plenty of talk lately around the lack of Patriotism and who is more Patriotic than others. Maybe I'm way off base here tying the financial market and Patriotism together like this but this is the first time this sort of thing has happened. I understand that not to downgrade when it may be required would lay claims to unfair play. Going further though, doesn't it also lend itself to thoughts of treason against ones country to make it so vulnerable? Couldn't we even use the term 'holding the government hostage' until they get what they want thus bringing up the term terrorism?

I'm not going that far down the path. For now I'm only stopping at the selfish zone of trying to take advantage of a situation, manipulate it and get what you want. Maybe it will become the new form of lobbying. I sure hope not.

So there you have it. My thoughts on the subject. Following business standards with a sense of fairness, applying pressure to get what you want, being Un-Patriotic, committing treason or just down right terrorism. Who's to say. One thing we may all be able to agree on is that it certainly doesn't help solve any problems and may just be creating more.