“Regulators closed Silver State Bank on Friday, the 11th US bank to fail this year as the struggling economy and falling home prices take their toll on financial institutions.

An adopted son of Republican presidential candidate John McCain formerly served as a director of the Henderson, Nevada, bank, which was closed by Nevada state officials and taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (Reuters)” (Read more from ynetnews.com)

“WASHINGTON (AP) — Banks borrowed more over the past week from the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending program, while Wall Street firms took a pass for the fifth week in a row.

A Fed report released Thursday said commercial banks averaged $18.98 billion in daily borrowing over the past week. That compared with a daily average of $18.47 billion in the previous week.

For the week ending Sept. 3, Wall Street firms didn’t take out any loans, the fifth straight period of no action. Their borrowing, however, averaged as high as $38.1 billion a day over the course of a week in early April.

Investment houses in March were given similar loan privileges as commercial banks after a run on Bear Stearns pushed what was the nation’s fifth-largest investment bank to the brink of bankruptcy. The situation raised fears that other Wall Street firms might be in jeopardy.

Bear Stearns was eventually taken over by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a deal that involved the Fed’s financial backing.

The identities of commercial banks and investment houses that borrow are not released. Commercial banks and investment companies now pay 2.25 percent in interest for the loans.

In the broadest use of the central bank’s lending power since the 1930s, the Fed in March scrambled to avert a market meltdown by giving investment houses a place to go for emergency overnight loans. The Fed has since extended those loan privileges into next year.” (Read more from biz.yahoo.com)

My favorite part is that we taxpayers don’t get to know the identities of the institutions propped up by our largess. Abolish the fed. If rich NY finance types act reckless, let them go out of business.

-”Sept. 3, 2008 | MINNEAPOLIS — If you were in the Twin Cities on Tuesday, you could be forgiven for thinking that Republicans had to come to Minnesota to nominate Ron Paul instead of John McCain. At St. Paul’s Xcel Center, where the real Republican convention is being held, a substantial number of seats remained empty. Next door in Minneapolis, however, a wildly enthusiastic crowd came close to filling the Target Center, capacity 10,000, where the Paul-ist faithful had gathered for their own quasi-convention to pay tribute to the Texas congressman.” (Read more from Salon.com This article goes on to smear Ron Paul and his supporters (me). The associations and distortions are consistent with how the media mobilized to destroy his campaign earlier this year.)

-At RNC, secret-service-type people confiscate Ron Paul books, buttons & DVDs, shadow Ron Paul supporters, and threaten evicting them if they leave their seats. (Read more from dailynewscaster.com)

-Fake Soldiers Used In RNC Video. (Read more from cbsnews.com)

The words of the prophet, Ron Paul, in 2003:

“I hope this committee spends some time examining the special privileges provided to GSEs by the federal government. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the housing-related GSEs received $13.6 billion worth of indirect federal subsidies in fiscal year 2000 alone. Today, I will introduce the Free Housing Market Enhancement Act, which removes government subsidies from the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the National Home Loan Bank Board.

One of the major government privileges granted to GSEs is a line of credit with the United States Treasury. According to some estimates, the line of credit may be worth over $2 billion. This explicit promise by the Treasury to bail out GSEs in times of economic difficulty helps the GSEs attract investors who are willing to settle for lower yields than they would demand in the absence of the subsidy. Thus, the line of credit distorts the allocation of capital. More importantly, the line of credit is a promise on behalf of the government to engage in a huge unconstitutional and immoral income transfer from working Americans to holders of GSE debt.

. . . .

The connection between the GSEs and the government helps isolate the GSE management from market discipline. This isolation from market discipline is the root cause of the recent reports of mismanagement occurring at Fannie and Freddie. After all, if Fannie and Freddie were not underwritten by the federal government, investors would demand Fannie and Freddie provide assurance that they follow accepted management and accounting practices.

Ironically, by transferring the risk of a widespread mortgage default, the government increases the likelihood of a painful crash in the housing market. This is because the special privileges granted to Fannie and Freddie have distorted the housing market by allowing them to attract capital they could not attract under pure market conditions. As a result, capital is diverted from its most productive use into housing. This reduces the efficacy of the entire market and thus reduces the standard of living of all Americans.” (Read more at blog.freeny.org)

Holy smokes! That was fast.

“It didn’t take long. We’ve already brought you news of the official investigation into Gov. Palin’s firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. Steve Branchflower, the lead investigator, began trying to arrange a deposition of the governor days before her veep selection. And despite claiming executive privilege to shield requested emails, up until that point Palin had promised full cooperation with the probe.” (Read more for talkingpointsmemo.com)

“NEW YORK – Wall Street dove sharply lower Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrials down over 300 points as retailers and the Labor Department added to the mountain of dismal economic news that has all but dashed investors’ hopes for a late-year recovery.” (Read more from news.yahoo.com)

Cost of war? Iraq alone has long-since surpassed a half-trillion. Total long-term cost (like veterans’ benefits) is usually estimated in the trillions. Trillions with a ‘T’.

Cost of government? One out of seven people in America’s labor force (about 22 million out of 150 million) works directly for the federal government. If tax payers weren’t bilked for 22 million government salaries, we’d have more money to spend on retail stuff.

Of all the things I post on my blog, none is more reluctantly forgiven by my friends, as when I decline membership in what I perceive as the global warming cult. Environmentalism is important. Pollution and destruction of habitats can’t be overlooked. Sustainability is essential. But I don’t buy the media’s hysteria about global warming. I see too much political power and global governance and taxes and money in the global warming push.

This story will never make it into Television’s echo chamber.

Read more from dailytech.com

Emailed link from a friend:

New Climate Study Indicates Hottest Decade in 1,300 Years

Sarah Palin Appearances Cancelled; Meets With AIPAC

Biden: Israel will be more protected with Obama

Okay, let’s say there are two countries which border one another, and one keeps getting smaller because its land is being confiscated by the other, should we be talking about the security of the country that’s shrinking or the one that’s growing? Should we be talking about the right to exist of the country that’s expanding at the expense of its neighbor, or about the rights of the one victimized?

Meanwhile: Israeli navy arrests three Palestinian fishermen in Gaza waters

“But the U.S. Army, eager to fill its ranks amid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, doesn’t see them as dropouts. They are recruits who only need a GED before they’re ready to begin basic training. And so, the Army formally opens its first prep school Wednesday.” (Read more from apnews.myway.com)

-Dozens detained ahead of convention.
-Police swarm and seize Earth justice bus in St. Paul. (video)
-National Lawyers Guild: Police raid is “preventive detention”.
-Food-Not-Bombs house among Saturday raids.
-Police bust through attic to detain Democracy Now producer.

(someone told me I went to war to defend freedom)