No deal  —  I hate to say this, but looking at the plan as leaked, I have to say no deal.  Not unless Treasury explains, very clearly, why this is supposed to work, other than through having taxpayers pay premium prices for lousy assets.  —  As I posted earlier today, it seems all too likely that a …

A Bad Bank Rescue  —  With truly extraordinary speed, opinion has swung behind the radical idea that the government should commit hundreds of billions in taxpayer money to purchasing dud loans from banks that aren't actually insolvent.  As recently as a week ago, no public official had even mentioned this option.

You say you want a revolution, well, you know...  A couple years back I talked about a kind of bloodless civil war happening in the US, the idea being that a logistical reshuffling could bring back into the national discussion federalist principles and arguments.

Lobbyists Scramble to Sway Deal  —  WASHINGTON — Titans of the financial industry are battling to influence the government's financial rescue plan, a package that will create new winners and losers in the sector.  —  Democrats in Congress want a rescue package that benefits homeowners at risk for foreclosure, not just Wall Street.

Dems on bailout: Include homeowners  —  Democrats are drafting a joint House-Senate bill to expedite action on the Treasury Department's $700 billion rescue plan for the financial markets but want the government to use its new leverage to slow foreclosures and cap compensation …