Disgrace

I'm embarrassed to have once associated myself with the Republican Party. Here is the list of irresponsible, Republican Congressional members who have earned the nation's disdain. What a disastrous eight years.

Rep. Paul I have respected you for so long. I'm embarrassed to see you abdicate your once stellar support for this nation. However principled; you voted against your country today.

Aderholt, Akin, Alexander, Bachmann, Barrett (SC), Bartlett (MD), Barton (TX), Biggert, Bilbray, Bilirakis, Bishop (UT), Blackburn, Boustany, Broun (GA), Brown-Waite, Ginny, Buchanan, Burgess, Burton (IN), Buyer, Capito, Carter, Chabot, Coble, Conaway, Culberson, Davis (KY), Davis, David, Deal (GA), Dent, Diaz-Balart, L., Diaz-Balart, M., Doolittle, Drake, Duncan, English (PA), Fallin, Feeney, Flake, Forbes, Fortenberry, Foxx, Franks (AZ)Frelinghuysen, Gallegly, Garrett (NJ), Gerlach, Gingrey, Gohmert, Goode, Goodlatte, Graves, Hall (TX), Hastings (WA), Hayes, Heller, Hensarling, Hoekstra, Hulshof, Hunter, Issa, Johnson (IL) Johnson, Sam, Jones (NC), Jordan, Keller, King (IA), Kingston, Knollenberg, Kuhl (NY), Lamborn, Latham, LaTourette, Latta, Linder, LoBiondo, Lucas, Mack, Manzullo, Marchant, McCarthy (CA), McCaul (TX), McCotter, McHenry, McMorris Rodgers, Mica, Miller (FL), Miller (MI), Moran (KS), Murphy, Tim, Musgrave, Myrick, Neugebauer, Nunes, Paul, Pearce, Pence, Petri, Pitts, Platts, Poe, Price (GA), Ramstad, Rehberg, Reichert, Renzi, Rogers (MI), Rohrabacher, Ros-Lehtinen, Roskam, Royce, Sali, Scalise, Schmidt, Sensenbrenner, Shadegg, Shimkus, Shuster, Smith (NE), Smith (NJ), Stearns, Sullivan, Terry, Thornberry, Tiahrt, Tiberi, Turner, Walberg, Wamp, Westmoreland, Whitfield (KY), Wittman (VA), Young (AK), Young (FL).

Average people

I'm sure the Secretary of the Treasury means typical people.

No short sellers

and banks are still down 6.5%. Who will be blamed now?

I wish

I was a single, 28 year old former Lehman Brothers trader. I'd stop paying my negatively amortization mortgage and live rent free for three years in the former greatest city in the former greatest country in the world. Daring them to foreclose. You want it...you got it.

Bonds for Sale...Bonds for Sale

Bring out your dead. What a mess. The RTC makes eminent sense but the short sale ban will prove the biggest policy error of this period. Future rates of return are permanently impaired and multiples will collapse over time. Enjoy today.

More of the same

Down to the $180B number, this is the exact same "coordinated" effort by central banks following the Bear Stearns debacle. Obviously, letting Lehman fail was a bubu, with lots of unintended consequenses. I hope this works.

May you live in interesting times

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are highly levered public companies whose managements' statements should be viewed with tremendous skepticism given how wildly inaccurate the statements of their counterparts at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch were. The reason their stocks are under attack is because they are attackable. Lever to 20-30:1 and you've put yourself at tremendous risk. Less than a multiple point of valuation error and you're insolvent especially when you've improperly funded long lived assets with short term liabilities.

Goldman Sachs operated for years, as Lazard continues to this day, as a private partnership and perhaps all the former partners will buy the company back at $50. I fully suspect many of the partners took their IPO proceeds bought coastal properties in 1999 and sold them in 2006. They are that smart so don't be mad that they have more than you. Caught in the middle are people who hopefully realized the gravy days wouldn't last forever.

SEC is about to demand disclosure of short positions. This is what will keep Wall Street in business. "Here, we'll build you a total return swap that mimics a short position that you don't have to declare." It's a dirty business.

Short sellers aren't the problem. Slivers of equity on trillion dollar balances sheets are. Cramer has left the reservation. Macke rules! Though he drove Mr. Practical from the best financial site other than The Big Picture. Here's to private investment banks and ECNs with fidy cent spreads. You asked for it. You got it.