This wonderful collection of cartoons were by Michael Ramirez at the Los Angeles Times around the time of the Nasdaq crash of 2000 and the brief recession of 2001. I'll try and keep these up until the Los Angeles Times complains. It's a pity these aren't online at the newspaper's website.

December 4, 2000. Mr. Greenspan, your 12 o'clock is here. I love the bear in this first cartoon. Notice the jagged teeth, the drool dripping from the bear's jaw, the fine detail in the way the hair is drawn. He seems out of proportion for the recession he represented, but Michael Ramirez didn't know that at the time.

December 27, 2000. Now You've Done It! Shortly after the 2000 election, President-elect Bush was criticized for mentioning the r- word, as if merely uttering the word "recession" would somehow jinx us and cause one.

January 2, 2001. It's all yours. I'm not sure who the characters are supposed to be, unless the guy jumping is supposed to be outgoing President Clinton and the guy piloting is President-elect Bush. Or maybe they are just old year 2000 and new year 2001.

January 5, 2001. Fed to the Rescue. On January 31, 2006, Alan Greenspan retired as chairman of the Federal Reserve, revered and adored worldwide. This cartoon from five years earlier is a stark reminder that it wasn't always that way. When times got a little tough we complained that the Federal Reserve wasn't doing enough fast enough. Whether Greenspan's stellar reputation will remain intact remains to be seen.

February 7, 2001. Something a little larger. Again, I love the way the bear is drawn, though he seems a bit too large for the size of that recession. Ramirez did not know how deep a recession we were facing, however. Unfortunately, the tax cuts were probably just a temporary palliative. We aren't going to have room to fire that ammunition again when the next downturn hits, at least not without growing our deficit to even huger unsustainable proportions.

March 4, 2001. Stock Market Swing. This is less political and a bit more light-hearted. What happened to those volatile stock market days?  Will they (gulp) return?

March 13, 2001. You May Have Bottomed Out. Shades of Wile E. Coyote, perhaps, in the way the broker smashed through the sidewalk. I confess I kind of prefer these cartoons to the more politically-oriented cartoons. The latter tend to point the finger of blame at someone, but a few of these Wall Street guys I think we can sort of feel sorry for and relate to, as so many of us aspire to be rich.

March 15, 2001. Foot in Mouth Disease. Another reminder that we were ready to crucify Alan Greenspan for not reacting fast enough to the downturn. Around the time of this cartoon there was much animal culling going on worldwide in order to prevent the spread of Hoof and Mouth Disease.