Free Republic

Bush Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson just wrapped up his press conference announcing the Mother of All Bailouts. He said a “bold” approach was needed to achieve “stability” in the market. Let me translate that. “Bold” = Massively massive, taxpayer-funded rescue. “Stability” = Privatizing profits and socializing losses on a scale we have never seen before in our lifetimes. I have had it with Pollyanna conservatives who continue to parrot the “fundamentals of the market are great!” line. The fundamentals of the market suck. The fundamentals of capitalism have been sabotaged.

LAKE CHARLES, La. -- The city of Lake Charles will open the Civic Center as an emergency shelter if the Federal Emergency Management Agency puts out hundreds of Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims from area hotels and motels by a Feb. 13 deadline. FEMA extended the deadline for evacuees to be out of their rooms by six days, from Feb. 7 to Feb. 13. Those who wanted to remain after Feb. 7 had to call FEMA by Jan. 30 to receive an authorization code that would extend their stay. FEMA has said it won't pay for rooms after Feb. 13....