Then the market tumbled

Slated on Backbone Radio, Sept. 21 Listen every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver... 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs... and streaming live at 710knus.com.

You can't repeal human nature, warned Lincoln. Nor can you cancel the laws of mathematics and the hard truths that Kipling called "the gods of the copybook headings." All forty lines of his poem by that name are worth pondering; it's posted in the center column of our home page. Amid the current financial turmoil, these lines stood out to me: "In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all, By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul," But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

Of course we're now well into the blaming, the excuses, and the promises to make it all better, most of them worthless. Backbone Radio this Sunday will claim no secrets on how to invest safely or how to legislate against stupidity. But our guests bring a wealth of wisdom about how to keep your backbone when others are losing theirs.

** I'll talk with Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) about the election and beyond. Also with his colleague, Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX), ranking Republican on House Judiciary.

** Fred Barnes of Fox News and the Weekly Standard will talk about his important article a few weeks ago on the "Colorado Model" for turning red states blue.

** Plus liberal columnist & author David Sirota on his big left-right debate with talk show host Dennis Prager, coming up Monday at 7pm, South HS in Denver.

Be of good cheer, America is resilient! JOHN ANDREWS