I just finished Krugman's "A Return to Depression Economics" where he provides a nice college course in ever changing dynamics of banks---to their core weakness----speculation and over-extension.

In the book he reveals Geithner's June 2008 speech to the insider's club known officially as Economic Club of New York where he was discussing the damage due to the housing bubble. What Geithner revealed was essentially how UNREGULATED the US and International banking system had become growing to about $4T of the $10T banking system. Meaning after learning through grief, hardship and plausibly a World War how important it was to regulate "other people's money" and essentially regulate stability we allowed what became known as the "shadow banking system" of hedge funds, asset backed commercial paper, structured investment vehicles, auction rate preferred securities, tender options and variable rate notes, assets financed over night in something called triparty repos et cetera was essentially 40% of the credit market and supporting a $14T economy.

Now as this world essentially was acting as banks even though they weren't chartered and regulated to hold cash reserves were unable to respond orderly to what was nothing else as bank runs. Essentially they set up a toxic situation where they  used a fake insurance scam to securitize the system of speculating on the US housing market.

How far this accelerated the dollar is still unknown but essentially we might be 2 or 3 times upside against actual value. The thing is there were warnings in the Bush Administration and I believe the real person who knows is Paul O'Neil who left in 2003 where one can even go back how the Bush Administration blocked state-level efforts to impose oversight in the subprime market.

The whole thing appears to have real international implications as the US basically underwrote its own deficit through international monetary systems where it seems that Goldman, JP, AIG and Citigroup are steeped. This thing is very deep and I wonder how deep.  

He has a blind devoted following that is ever marginal to the marketplace, but still lucrative. Yet like every Super Nova he is burning up at an escalating pace---no different than than another balding, big belly baffoon---Joe McCarthy who proved to be senseless and useless once things got to be serious.

The he draws the vacuum and the real GOP realize that he is nothing but a bully that is out of control he will find some leveling agent...like some unexpected bust out----oh another ponzi scheme or some drug bust but worse.

Let him flame out, I have friends who listen to him and they now have a common disorder---intellectual autism---just political screaming and tantrums.

As Josh Marshall is reporting the potential political outcome of the Franken-Coleman election where he speculates:

"Are the Republicans trying to lay the groundwork for filibustering any effort to seat Franken..."

Appears to be that political tactical "line in the sand" where the Republican Party uses "a manufactured prejudice and false claim in order to gain power" in the name of "Republican Nihilism". The thing is this will take some severe and draconian discipline in the "old boys club & cloak room". If one looks at this through a prism of retrospect does this also give light to Snowe and Specter's reaction to possible primary challenges from the far right in their party.

Like anything the Republicans might be able create some mythology that some in the public domain might eat up and try to digest, where even the echo chamber will find some fascination, but the reality of a filibuster?

This of course is a smoke screen to stem the tide of the budget and then future initiatives regarding labor and healthcare----duh!  Get ready Harry, be ready to call them on their bluff, but be prepared. Make them squirm, make them work, make them scratch and naw....expose them as nihilists that they are---useless and senseless. In short force the moderates in the party to reject further the radicals right.