(Paul Greenwood served as treasurer at St. James Episcopal Church in North Salem, New York and his wife was at one time a Sunday school teacher there also)–KSH.

Here in this tiny town of horse farms and rambling historic houses, town supervisor Paul Greenwood shared his wealth and was turning around the town, by some accounts.

But on Wednesday, the 61-year-old horse aficionado was arrested for an alleged investment scam, giving this small, elite town north of New York City a first-hand taste of the financial scandals rocking the country.

Mr. Greenwood and a partner at Westridge Capital Management, Stephen Walsh, were charged with conspiracy and wire fraud for an alleged scheme that may have cost investors at least $553 million. They are free on $7 million bond.

They also were sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Prosecutors allege that client money was used for horses, homes, collectible teddy bears and other luxuries.

Read it all and there is more there also.

Amid this bad news, however, never forget that our country has faced far worse travails in the past. In the 20th century alone, we dealt with two great wars (one of which we initially appeared to be losing); a dozen or so panics and recessions; virulent inflation that led to a 21.5 prime rate in 1980; and the Great Depression of the 1930s, when unemployment ranged between 15 percent and 25 percent for many years. America has had no shortage of challenges.

Without fail, however, we’ve overcome them. In the face of those obstacles ”“ and many others ”“ the real standard of living for Americans improved nearly seven-fold during the 1900s, while the Dow Jones Industrials rose from 66 to 11,497. Compare the record of this period with the dozens of centuries during which humans secured only tiny gains, if any, in how they lived. Though the path has not been smooth, our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so. America’s best days lie ahead.

It really is worth the time–read it all (22 page pdf).

Update: “Buffett Accepts Blame and Faults Others” is the title of the New York Times article on this here.

Most members of Congress and lobbyists are delighted that the White House has surrendered so much authority to Capitol Hill. Everybody is working on a way to push their own particular vision of reform through the muddle.

There are good plans on offer, but it won’t take long for this to get ugly. We’ll either get an irresponsible bill produced by the Old Order or no bill at all. It could be that even with a thousand “conversations,” no consensus will automatically emerge from the hundreds of players who have produced the gridlock of the past 30 years.

Even though the budget is not all one would have hoped, I’d trust the folks in the Obama administration to craft a decent health care plan before I’d trust the Congressional Old Bulls.

Obama blew a mighty trumpet Tuesday night, but after you blow the trumpet, you actually have to charge.

Read it all.

Watch it all–makes the heart glad.