His Bertness is now a statistic. Alas.

Well. It could be worse. Really. Of this I am sure. But His Bertness has now joined the 13 million Americans officially counted as unemployed. Yup. He's been laid off, his job outsourced. Sigh. Whatever happened to loyalty to those who work hard?

For a good look at the erosion of the American Dream, do read America: What Went Wrong by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele.

And don't miss Bob Herbert's column, Workers Walk the Plank, in today's New York Times. Excellent.