S&P Rating is Worthless

It continues to amaze me that the latest from the S&P stating that the US Government's rating is "negative" though still AAA is being taken with such seriousness by the media and others. If I am not mistaken the S&P and other rating agencies were the main cause of the financial meltdown. Their rating of all the hocus pocus credit instruments as AAA which allowed the criminals on Wall Street to run their high crimes undeterred should have put them out of business and a lot of them should have done some prison time. Anyone with any sense would know that any "opinion" by the S&P is bullshit.