We all knew about TARP, where over 700 Billion taxpayer dollars were used with little oversight to "prevent a Depression !!!"

Now the AP reports that the Treasury actually had access to 6 times that amount, with zero oversight.

At the peak of the financial crisis, taxpayer money guaranteed assets worth $4.3 trillion to help banks ride out the panic. The programs, which essentially provided insurance against losses, helped stabilize financial markets but put far more taxpayer dollars at risk than Congress intended, according to the Congressional Oversight Panel.

Many would say these actions saved the economy. There is an argument to be made there, and make no mistake, that debate will be forefront in next year's elections.

What isn't debatable is that there were many draconian steps taken, and many instances like this where the assets of a relative few were not only uniquely protected, but given a risk-free return on investment while the average investors had to take their lumps in the open market.

For example, when a major money market mutual fund threatened to "break the buck" last year, the Treasury Department temporarily guaranteed its assets to reassure investors that their money was safe. The actions spared investors the downside of their risk while allowing them to earn better returns than they would have in a normal deposit account.

In an ideal world, When the government steps in it can do great good, but only in very specific and targeted directions. And only so long as it is a transparent process that does not arbitrarily pick favorites at the expense of others.

We don't live in an ideal world like that, and we never will. The government simply should not be involved in the private sector, as the potential downside is absolutely disastrous.

In this case, the worst that could have happened was a stealth quadrupling of the Trillion-plus deficit we currently toil under.

Imagine what effect that would have on the U.S. and the World economies.

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:22 AM | Comments (69)
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Several commenters below reminded me the new number is out, and it's totally awesome.

U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & PoorÂ’s 500 Index will end a four-day advance, after the nationÂ’s unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 10.2 percent in October. Oil declined, while gold climbed to a record high and Treasuries gained.

Which means the real number is like 16 or 17+, adjusted for awesomeness.

In related awesomeness, having done such an awesome job with the economy so far, Nancy Pelosi cracks heads so the government to steal more of it.

If things get any more awesomer I will let you know..

The Chart, via Geoff, official chronicler of Awesome:

I believe we're off the chart now.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 04:49 AM | Comments (244)
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Friday. more...

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 04:36 AM | Comments (34)
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C-Store surveillance video, around 6:30am local time.

CNN reporter says c-store owner said he came in dressed like so from time to time, didn't strike him as unusual today.

via Allahpundit, on twitter.

UPDATE: 13 dead, 30 others in stable condition. Heard this morning two of the dead were civilians. Also this from the AP (and commenters in the thread), "Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire, the base commander said Friday"

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 08:16 PM | Comments (282)
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Army press conference right now.

Now they are saying it's a single shooter, Hasan, and he is in the hospital.

The officer who shot him was thought to be dead but she's alive and out of surgery.

Damn. Just remember Hasan Akbar is still alive. I have no idea why. Well, I guess I do.

I was going to do this as a separate post but I figured I'd add it on here....

In a comment on one of the threads I half joked that tomorrow's spin on Hasan would be he was so sad from hearing other soldiers stories that he had PTSD by osmosis or something.

Alas it's been the spin tonight.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Hasan had put up some web positing expressing admiration for suicide bombers.

The postings appeared to have been made by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who was killed during the shootings at the Army post incident that left least 11 others dead and 31 wounded. The officials say they are still trying to confirm that he was the author. They say an official investigation was not opened.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

One of the Web postings that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

"To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause," said the Internet posting. "Scholars have paralled (sic) this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers."

This will be poured down the memory hole as soon as possible.

Fox spoke with someone identified as Col. Terry Lee (ret) who worked with Hasan at Ft. Hood. Lee says Hasan was critical of US policy and was pretty psyched about Muslims killing Americans.

There's a lot of talk among the idiots in the media that Hasan didn't want to go to war. If even half of this accurate, Hasan had no problem going to war, he did so today. Just on the other side.

Oh and for those who say he has some sort of PTSD, a reminder: This Aint Hell says Hasan has never deployed to a war zone.

Posted by: DrewM at 05:16 PM | Comments (476)
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Welcome to Thursday all M&Ms. Now that we've gotten most of our anger and spite out, we can start the slow shamble to forgiveness, reconciliation, and the usual snarky comments behind each other's backs. Also expect the ONT to be bumped as we get more info about the Ft. Hood shooter.

Good news For Funemployed Morons - Senate passes unemployment benefits extension 98-0.

Interview with Max Brooks of World War Z fame

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:15 PM | Comments (474)
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Priorities.

Linda Chavez calls it Obama's My Pet Goat Moment. I think she's wrong since the media is editing it down to cut the opening lines out.

Posted by: DrewM at 02:22 PM | Comments (558)
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ABC news reports.

The suspected gunman was identified as Major Malik Nadal Hasan. He was killed and two other suspects have been apprehended, Lt. Robert W. Cone said.

The gunman used two handguns, Cone said. He wasn't sure if the shooter reloaded the weapons during the attack.

The general called the attack "a terrible tragedy, stunning." He said the community was "absolutely devastated."

The extent of the injuries of victims "varies significantly," according to Cone.

President Obama called the Fort Hood shootings a "horrific outburst of violence."

"It if difficult enough to lose" soldiers overseas, but said it is "horrifying that they should lose their lives at an Army base in the U.S.," he said.

Chris Matthews is spinning like a top that it must be something, anything other than what we know so far.

Hutchison and Shep won't talk about the name because they don't want to insult anyone. Unbelievable. They say Major Malik Nadal Hasan was upset about having to deploy.

Fox will not use the name of Major Malik Nadal Hasan but a local radio reporter just broke Fox's embargo that he is a MUSLIM convert.

Commanding general says all shootings took place in the area of the processing center and around 1:30 cst.

It is absolutely incredible at how the media is willing to speculate about just about any possible motive other than the fact that the one named gunman is a recent MUSLIM convert. Obviously it's much more likely that he is a gang member or maybe opposed to the war or just nuts.

According to CBS he's a psychiatrist.

UPDATE: The two others were being held as suspects have been released.

This Aint Hell says Hasan has never deployed to a war zone.

Posted by: DrewM at 01:18 PM | Comments (735)
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Latest:

5:45: If you are close to this area, Scott and White Hospital has issued an urgent request for blood. Most of the casualties were taken here.

The ER is closed to the public, the blood donation center is in Room 115 in the main building, next to McLane Dining Hall. All types requested. 254-724-4376

4:52: Army spokesman says 12 dead 31 wounded.

1 shooter dead, 2 in custody. All soldiers.

Damn.

*Headline changed to reflect the latest information.

Suspect in custody an officer?

9 dead now. MSNBC says captured man is an Army major "with an Arabic sounding name".

RT @chucktodd NBC's Pete Williams: US official says early reports are the man in custody is in the military, late 30s, with officer rank.

NBC affiliate is now saying that there are new unconfirmed reports of shots being fired.

Sen. Hutchison says a general at Hood is saying 30 wounded.

New conference at Ft. Hood shortly and Gov. Perry at 5 est. All schedules subject to change.

MSNBC is live streaming the local affiliate's coverage.

4:33 Per local NBC affiliate, more warning sirens going off and shots fired at a soldier's residence.

4:27 FNC says the FBI says terrorism is not a factor. Local newspaper reporter is saying the man under arrest is 40 years old.

more...

Posted by: DrewM at 11:25 AM | Comments (739)
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Both of them -- the Senate plan and the House plan.

For a a long time, they have been falsely reporting the "ten year costs" by comparing ten years of revenues -- also known as higher taxes and mandates -- with only seven years of outlays.

What happens when you compare a ten-year window in which there are both revenues and layouts going on for the whole ten years?

The costs skyrocket above their advertised costs -- they double.

Each bill is routinely “scored” for its 10-year costs from 2010-19. Yet this includes several years when the spending wouldn’t yet have kicked in. According to the Congressional Budget Office, fully 99.9 percent of the Pelosi bill’s costs would hit from 2013 onward. Similarly, 98.3 percent of Reid’s spending would come after 2014.

If you start the tally when the bills’ spending would actually start (in 2013 for the House bill and 2014 for the Senate bill), then the bills’ real 10-year costs become clear — and are remarkably similar.

The CBO reports that, in their true first 10 years, the House bill would cost $1.8 trillion, and the Senate bill would cost $1.7 trillion. Pelosi would raise AmericansÂ’ taxes by $1.1 trillion over that period, while Reid would hike them by $1 trillion.

And the House bill would siphon about $800 billion from Medicare to spend it elsewhere, while the Senate bill would suck out about $900 billion.

Seniors, take notice: The already-massive cost of this catastrophe is being reduced by $800-900 billion to give your care to someone else.

Someone younger, healthier, and, coincidentally I'm sure, more inclined to vote for Barack Obama.

This whole scam is a game of taking more than a trillion dollars in benefits from a constituency that doesn't support Barack Obama very strongly (seniors) to a constituency that does vote for him, very strongly indeed (the young, the poor, minorities).

It is a fair question to ask if we are too generous to the elderly at the expense of the young. There is not a self-evident answer. Perhaps Obama and Pelosi could make that case.

But they should make that case. Those who are to be negatively impacted like this -- seniors -- should know the facts of the matter, and not be lied to constantly by the Democrats, Obama, and the head-pat media. They should hear the facts, and they should get a fair hearing themselves.

Posted by: Ace at 10:58 AM | Comments (63)
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