WASHINGTON -- Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is moving to allow the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to "temporarily" borrow as much as $500 billion from the Treasury Department.

The Connecticut Democrat's effort -- which comes in response to urging from FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner -- would give the FDIC access to more money to rebuild its fund that insures consumers' deposits, which have been hard hit by a string of bank failures.

Continue as WSJ...

The antidote? Get /Peter Schiff to replace Chris Dodd.

One bank is returning $361 million in bailout money to the government.

Here is the news video : http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=...

Tom is of course the bestselling author of Meltdown, A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse, which is #10 on Amazon's non-fiction bestseller list, and #11 on the New York Times bestseller list.

See Part II here.

Milton Friedman is awesome. He quietly smacks down Donahue in this video.

Individual liberty and private property is the only way to wealth. Government is greed.

If someone works hard, a free system should reward that person. There should never be a one-to-one coorespondence between a wealthy person and greed. Government that takes what does not belong to them are "the greedy."

http://www.youtube.com/wa...

Note: Friedman is not a Keynesian, but a monetarist, so he still does not support the supply-side theory of austrian economics. However, this video is a great defense of Capitalism.

RP is clearly showing us where to rest our attention. He almost always calls out the Fed on TV. We must not get distracted. Our message must pound home the criminal nature of the central banking system and the Fed. I am making progress with my friends and family by staying on point. We need competing currencies and an end to the Fed.

http://www.thedailyshow.c...

A List of Resolutions for 2009 Republican Party Precinct Re-org -

Directions: In the files listed below, you will find highlighted text that you must customize for your own use. If you are satisfied with the wording of the resolution, delete the word "[DRAFT]" at the top of the page. Also, replace the date, precinct name and county name with your own throughout the resolution.

HR 1207 is Dr. Paul's recently introduced legislation to audit the Federal Reserve, officially titled "The Federal Reserve Transparency Act." The bill has the following 11 bi-partisan cosponsors: Neil Abercrombie [HI-1], Michele Bachmann [MN-6], Roscoe G. Bartlett [MD-6], Paul Broun [GA-10], Dan Burton [IN-5], Walter Jones, Jr. [NC-3], Steve Kagen [WI-8], Ted Poe [TX-2], Bill Posey [FL-15], Denny Rehberg [MT], and Lynn Woolsey [CA-6]. If your rep is not among these 11, please contact him or her and urge their support.

Here's Dr. Paul's statement introducing the bill:

Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Federal Reserve Transparency Act. Throughout its nearly 100-year history, the Federal Reserve has presided over the near-complete destruction of the United States dollar. Since 1913 the dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power, aided and abetted by the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy. How long will we as a Congress stand idly by while hard-working Americans see their savings eaten away by inflation? Only big-spending politicians and politically favored bankers benefit from inflation.

Serious discussion of proposals to oversee the Federal Reserve is long overdue. I have been a longtime proponent of more effective oversight and auditing of the Fed, but I was far from the first Congressman to advocate these types of proposals. Esteemed former members of the Banking Committee such as Chairmen Wright Patman and Henry B. Gonzales were outspoken critics of the Fed and its lack of transparency.

Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has always operated in the shadows, without sufficient scrutiny or oversight of its operations. While the conventional excuse is that this is intended to reduce the Fed's susceptibility to political pressures, the reality is that the Fed acts as a foil for the government. Whenever you question the Fed about the strength of the dollar, they will refer you to the Treasury, and vice versa. The Federal Reserve has, on the one hand, many of the privileges of government agencies, while retaining benefits of private organizations, such as being insulated from Freedom of Information Act requests.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...

DIGG: http://digg.com/political...

** D I G G * I T **

http://www.youtube.com/wa...

The Wall Street Journal is picking up on Rand Paul's potential run for Senate:

Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky keeps making news in ways that must be giving his campaign managers agita as next year's reelection effort approaches.

The former All Star baseball pitcher missed the strike zone by a wide margin last week when the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that he told guests at a Washington fundraiser that if GOP Senate leaders continued to discourage him from running, he just might resign his seat and let Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear appoint his replacement. Depending on the outcome of the disputed Senate race in Minnesota, that might give Senate Democrats the 60 votes they need to block filibusters.

Mr. Bunning's office denied he made such a comment, but sources who spoke with the Courier-Journal and were at the fundraiser stood by their account of his remarks.

Despite Mr. Bunning's bravado, many people expect him to reconsider his decision to run for reelection next year at age 78 if he posts poor fund-raising numbers in his FEC filings next month.

Whatever he decides, the seat will be fiercely contested. Democratic Lt. Governor Dan Mongiardo, who came within a few thousand votes of toppling Mr. Bunning in 2004, as well as Auditor Crit Luallen and Attorney General Jack Conway are likely to be the main Democratic contenders whether or not Mr. Bunning is in the race. If the seat opens up, the Republican field is potentially even larger. Secretary of State Trey Grayson has made a name for himself by combating voter fraud. State Senate President David Williams has already met with GOP leaders in Washington about possibly running. U.S. Congressman Ed Whitfield is another potential candidate.

Then there's a wild card in the person of Rand Paul, an anti-tax activist who happens to be the son of former presidential contender Rep. Ron Paul. While Mr. Paul is not nearly as well known in the state as his father, he could tap into the Texas congressman's database of hundreds of thousands of fervent Paul supporters to raise money.

Rand will be on Judge Napolitano's webcast on Wednesday March 4 between 2:50 & 3PM ET. Tune in here.

Video update:

Part II below: