http://www.nytimes.com/…

The Bush administration on Saturday formally proposed to Congress what could become the largest financial bailout in United States history, requesting unfettered authority for the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets.

The proposal, not quite three pages long, was stunning for its stark simplicity. It would raise the national debt ceiling to $11.3 trillion. And it would place no restrictions on the administration other than requiring semiannual reports to Congress, granting the Treasury secretary unprecedented power to buy and resell mortgage debt.

A $700 billion expenditure on distressed mortgage-related assets would be roughly what the country has spent so far in direct costs on the Iraq war and more than the Pentagon’s total yearly budget appropriation. Divided across the population, it would amount to more than $2,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

“This is a good foundation of a plan that can stabilize markets quickly,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. “But it includes no visible protection for taxpayers or homeowners. We look forward to talking to Treasury to see what, if anything, they have in mind in these two areas.”

In Florida, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic presidential nominee, said he would press for a broader economic stimulus initiative to be part of the bailout plan for financial firms.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, issued a statement on Saturday saying he was reviewing the administration’s plan. He also urged the administration and lawmakers to consider his own plan for creating a trust within the Treasury Department to aid ailing mortgage lenders and other financial institutions.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said in a statement: “This proposal is, and should be kept, simple and clear.” He added, “Simply put, now is not the time for partisan plans or pet projects.”

Some Democrats, including lawmakers like Mr. Frank and Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and the chairman of the banking committee, were adamant about including provisions to promote government action to stabilize real estate prices and help troubled borrowers refinance their mortgages.

Still another group of Democrats was pushing for a wider stimulus package that would direct help more directly and immediately to Main Street, perhaps including an increase in unemployment benefits and investments in infrastructure projects, including bridges and roads, that would help to create jobs.

A fourth, smaller group of lawmakers was highly critical and in some cases adamantly opposed to the plan. That group included including Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, and Senator Bernard Sanders, independent of Vermont.

“The free market for all intents and purposes is dead in America,” Mr. Bunning declared on Friday. “The action proposed today by the Treasury Department will take away the free market and institute socialism in America. The American taxpayer has been misled throughout this economic crisis. The government on all fronts has failed the American people miserably.”

COME ONE, COME ALL! FREE MONEY! FREE FASCISM! ALL YOU CAN CARRY!

I have to laugh because otherwise I may cry.

http://www.dailypaul.com/…

I just received this text message from a DELEGATE:
“We just had a group shot of all the RP delegates and alternates, the secret service came and started searching everyone and took anything RP related. We got it on video thought…”

Today at the Republican Nationa Convention, as the Ron Paul Delegates were taking a picture in front of the model White House inside the Convention Center, they were surrounded by Secret Service which proceded to search the bags of all the delegates. They took any and everything related to Ron Paul including signs, buttons, videos, slim jims, cards, even books.

Alternate Delegate Dennis Rothacker from Florida said “We were done taking the picture when Secret Service started walking into the room and surrounded us. There were about 30 of them. When they searched my bags they took my Ron Paul sign and turned a deaf ear to my complains, they just walked away.”

Delegate Ron Warner from Fairbanks Alaska added that as he was walking into the convention center today with about 15 Revolution Manifesto books, 20 DVD’s for Delegates, 20 Ron Paul buttons and a handful of other things, we was stopped by security which called on an obviously important higher up, who directed all the materials to be confiscated. She told him, and I quote “You can’t bring that in here, this is Mc Cain territory”

Dennis, Ron and the other delegates report being openly followed by secret service. He says that they had been monitored from the begining of the convention, but that now they are being shadowed constantly.

There are also reports of delegates being approached by security and told that they will be sumarily thrown out if they leave their assigned chair.

This is almost unbelievable but they refuse to even acknowledge Paul’s delegate votes or let  him on the convention floor like a normal ex-candidates. So, why not take the supporter’s material?

Hopefully that video gets out soon. I’m surprised they didn’t take the video.

NEW YORK, August 27, 2008-The historic ServiceNation Summit will begin
the evening of Thursday, September 11, 2008 with a Presidential Forum
featuring Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. On September 12, New
York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will open the day-long summit with
welcoming remarks and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be
the keynote speaker and conclude the day.

The co-hosts of the summit are Caroline Kennedy, attorney, editor and
writer; Alma Powell, Chair, America’s Promise Alliance; Vartan
Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation; Bill Novelli, CEO, AARP, and
Richard Stengel, Managing Editor, TIME. Confirmed participants and
speakers include:

* Senator Hillary Clinton, New York
* Senator Chris Dodd, Connecticut
* Usher Raymond IV, Summit Youth Chair; Founder, New Look
Foundation
* Governor Charlie Crist, Florida
* Governor David Paterson, New York
* Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, The King Hussein Foundation
* Dr. Mehmet Oz, Founder and Chairman, HealthCorps
* Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University
* Laurie Tisch, Philanthropist, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
* Robert Kennedy, Jr., President, Waterkeeper Alliance
* Kenneth Cole, Fashion Designer
* Martin Luther King III, CEO, Realizing The Dream
* Kelly Caffarelli, President, Home Depot Foundation
* Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children’s Zone
* Laysha Ward, President, Target Foundation
* Dr. Amy Gutmann, President, University of Pennsylvania
* David Gergen, Professor, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of
Government
* Scott Cowen, President, Tulane University
* Jean Case, CEO, The Case Foundation
* Ray Chambers, Amelior Foundation
* Chancellor Joel Klein, New York City Schools
* Wendy Kopp, Founder and CEO, Teach For America

The ultimate vision of ServiceNation is an America in which, by 2020,
100 million citizens will volunteer time in schools, workplaces, and
faith-based and community institutions each and every year (up from 61
million today), and that increasing numbers of Americans annually will
commit a year of their lives to national service.

ServiceNation’s bipartisan Summit Leadership Council includes mayors,
governors, former senators and leaders from every sector of American
society (attached is complete list). Major supporters-in addition to
AARP, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Target and TIME-include the
Peter G. Peterson Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation, Bank Of
America, Case Foundation, Charina Endowment Fund, The Jenesis Group, the
Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund and Goldman Sachs.

At the bottom of the email are instructions on getting press credentials just like all other releases I’ve received. The difference in this latest one is the inclusion of “PLEASE NOTE: NYPD/U.S. STATE DEPT. CREDENTIALS REQUIRED!” I do not have a NYC press ID and according to the NYPD website it takes 3 to 4 weeks to acquire one… and that’s assuming they’d actually issue one to me. I’ve sent an email to the Service Nation media person concerning this as well as my fellow Manhattan Libertarian Party members. Worse case, I make up my own press ID and show up. Worst that could happen is I get arrested.

http://rawstory.com/…

Walt Disney World, backed by the Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Chamber of Commerce, has sparked a row with state lawmakers and the National Rifle Association over Florida’s “Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008,” enacted July 1, which allows employees with concealed weapons permits to store their guns in their cars during work hours.

Disney maintains its zero-tolerance policy towards guns, warning that taking a gun onto company property could be grounds for termination. Disney’s Animal Kingdom security guard Edwin Sotomayor, accordingly, was fired on Monday following a Friday suspension; Sotomayor had announced to local media that he would be storing a gun in his car in accordance with the law but in violation of Disney’s policy. He refused to let his employer search the car.

“It seems if you work for Disney,” the NRA said on its website, “you give up not only your Second Amendment rights, but your First Amendment rights as well.”

This is stupid. The 2nd Amendment is derived from general property rights theory. As Anthony Gregory over at LewRockwell.com said of this:

They want to force Disney World to allow weapons on their private property. This is self-defeating. The right to bear arms, like all rights, must be rooted in self-ownership and private property. Otherwise, I could impose my “right” to bear arms on someone else’s land by forcing myself, armed, into someone’s home. That defeats the whole purpose. If you can’t respect someone’s right to keep guns off their private property, it’s hard to get others to respect your right to keep guns on your own. The current situation is intolerable all around: Even under Scalia’s standard, people can’t keep own, and carry any weapons they choose within the bounds of private property, and yet at the same time people can’t forbid weapons on their own property.

Yesterday was the New York City Lexington Ave Street Fair. The Manhattan Libertarian Party had a booth setup to distribute libertarian information, promote our candidates, and perform the normal operation politically homeless things like asking people to take the World’s Smallest Political Quiz and argue with those passing by about using force to get your way. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred.

• I was told by an Iranian Jew that we (non-Muslims) need to actively attack Muslims because otherwise they will take over the world. When I said you can’t generalize like that and you can’t hold the son responsible for the father’s doings he agreed but then went on to tell me that when you look at their society, them collectively, you can and must.
• A French tourist became very interested in what we were advocating. It was obvious he was no in agreement with the more extreme aspects of government removal from our lives but he was courteous. He said we would be considered very very radical in France and “libertarians” in France would be more along the line of small government Republicans.
• One older gentleman got hostel with Isaiah Matos for being against the war in Iraq. “They are keeping us safe!” “I hope you don’t get elected!”
• A young man from NJ who had never heard of the libertarian movement nor even Ron Paul became very interested in what we were doing. I explained the LP, the Ron Paul Revolution, the FSP, wasted vote fallacies, etc.
• A current US soldier who was a Ron Paul supporter. He confirmed that Paul does indeed have a large following in the military.
• Just before I left I got into a 20-30 minute argument with a woman. After eventually stating I was against all coercive measures used by those who call themselves government including all forms of taxation she went nuts. She refused to let me finish a thought and would say she didn’t want to talk any further but would. She claimed all I wanted was to not pay taxes. Insinuating that I wanted to leech off others. When I said: “No, I don’t want to be forced to pay for services I don’t want by the threat of violence.” She asked how is government violent. Isaiah quickly pointed out the war but when I tried to show her what happens when I refuse to pay taxes she acted dumb. “I don’t know what happens when you don’t pay property taxes. I rent.” When I went to continue she said she was leaving… but didn’t. Eventually she told us to just leave if we don’t like it. I asked her whether Washington, Jefferson and the other Founders should have just left. She tells us that they fought the revolution only because they were not represented in taxation and that they had setup a democracy so if 51% of the people want something the other 49% are screwed. That’s just how it is. The former being entirely simplistic and the latter being outright wrong I tried to tell her to read Common Sense and other works by Paine and that we had a constitutional democratic republic, not a democracy. She told me I didn’t know what I was talking about. She at one point noticed our support for gun ownership. After I explained to her that gun prohibition is about as effective as drug prohibition and that at worst the data is inconclusive and at best shows that higher gun ownership by non-criminals leads to less crime such as in Florida in the late 80’s early 90’s she scoffed saying she had lived in Florida so she knew better then I did and when she said she’d have to look it all up she refused to accept any sources. She also wasn’t very receptive to XYZs gun advocacy. She even brought up the so very stereotyped: “What about the roads?” She again refused to let me tell her about private communities and roads which exist now.

So I left flustered. Worse then arguing with people who won’t accept truths is when they won’t even let you provide them.

Since we had so many people manning the booth I decided to just hand out pamphlets to people walking by. I noticed many were drawn to the tax cut pamphlet.