SENATE BAILOUT BILL KEEPS GETTING MORE AWFUL --Rules or no rules, the Senate is apparently bound and determined to sneak/ramrod the Bush bailout bill through.

Not only is the Senate . . .

1) Voting on the bill tonight (not "this evening," as friendly media outlets put it);

2) Attaching the bill to legislation bearing the name of the late Paul Wellstone;

3) Tacking the bailout on to legislation correcting the Alternate Minimum Tax for millions of middle-class families;

4) Incorporating into the bailout a common-sense provision raising the cap on bank deposits protected by the FDIC to $250,000;

5) Linking the bailout bill to legislation aimed at providing parity for mental health treatment in insurance programs;

6) and incorporating some financial aid to rural schools . . .

In the final act of conscienceless desperation and fiscal irresponsibility, the Senate version of the bailout even drops any effort to recoup costs of the bailout from Wall Street.