The Philosphy of Liberty

This was designed to explain liberty to children.  It's a very good message.

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The Fed’s Secret Liquidity Lifelines

Here is a list of banks where the $1.2 trillion of public money went.  I couldn't get the picture to post, but it a good piece by Bloomberg.

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Ron Paul Clobbers Rick Perry in the Latest Texas Poll

Answering the question, “If the Texas Republican primary were held today, which presidential candidate would you be most likely to vote for?” 22 percent of those polled selected Mr. Paul. Just 17 percent of respondents voted in favor of Mr. Perry.

The poll comes just days after Mr. Perry announced his intention to seek the Republican presidential nomination. The Texas Republican governor had hinted at an entry earlier this year, testing levels of support for his candidacy.

Meanwhile, Mr. Paul, who is facing a surge of support and attention after criticizing the media for downplaying his campaign, spent much of the weekend slamming his Republican opponents.

The Texas congressman, who finished second to Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann in last weekend’s Iowa straw poll, highlights his votes against “every tax increase, every unbalanced budget” and proclaims he is the candidate who “will stop the spending, save the dollar, create jobs” and “bring peace.”

Speaking earlier in the week, Mr. Paul lambasted Mr. Perry, saying the Texas Republican is an extension of the Republican establishment.

“[Governor Perry] is getting into the race, I think, doesn’t bother me at all, obviously because he pretty much represents the status quo. And the other candidates, in one way or the other, are part of the status quo. And I represent something different,” Mr. Paul said.

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He should have known better than to mess with Obama and his "recovery".

Deven Sharma to Step Down as S&P President

Deven Sharma will step down as president of ratings agency Standard & Poor's to work on the company's strategic portfolio review before leaving the company at the end of the year.

Bloomberg | Getty Images Deven Sharma, president of Standard & Poor's, testifies before a subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, D.C., U.S., in July 2011.

Sharma will be replaced as president of the ratings agency by Douglas Peterson, chief operating officer of Citibank effective Sept. 12, S&P's parent company McGraw-Hill [MHP  37.04    0.04  (+0.11%)   ] said in a statement.

The company said it began a search for a new president for S&P after the company split S&P into two separate organizations at the end of last year.

The Financial Times, which first reported news of Sharma's resignation, said his resignation is not related to S&P's downgrade of the United States' credit rating or reports that the agency is being probed by the U.S. Justice Department in connection with its ratings of mortgage securities.

S&P has been under fire from lawmakers, market players and the U.S. Treasury Department since its decision to cut the U.S. credit rating earlier this month, and just last week, news emerged that the Justice Department is investigating the firm over its actions on mortgages leading up to the financial crisis.

The board of McGraw-Hill Companies made the decision to replace Sharma at a meeting where it also discussed its ongoing strategic review on Monday, the Financial Times said.

McGraw-Hill directors and executives met on Monday with Jana Partners LLC, a hedge fund, and the Ontario Teacher's Pension Fund to hear their arguments that the company should be broken up.