There’s nothing like greed and avarice to bring the entire U.S. financial system to the brink of collapse. With the demise of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (MER), the thundering herd has galloped off the cliff – taking 94 years of history with it. Same, too, with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (OTC: LEHMQ). Lehman’s bankruptcy filing last week caps 158 years of solid history. No doubt they’ll be others with American International Group Inc. (AIG) spreading the credit-default-swap contagion like a financial Typhoid Mary. But you know what? I’m sick and tired of hearing how “we” caused this … how, according to the mainstream media, “we” somehow did this to our financial system. Baloney. For the most part, “we” didn’t do squat. The average American had nothing to do with this. For the most part, “we” pay ...

Few analysts have abstained from voicing an opinion about the U.S. government’s plan to seize control of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), the nation’s embattled mortgage behemoths, and that include such eminent investors as Jim Rogers and Warren Buffett. Of course, two of the world’s greatest financial analysts have very two very different perspectives. "It is socialism for the rich," Rogers said yesterday (Monday) during an interview with CNBC Europe, "It’s just bailing out financial institutions." The emergency plan announced Sunday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has technically been branded "conservatorship," a term that implies the government will take its hands off Fannie and Freddie once they have been stabilized. The CEOs of Fannie and Freddie, Daniel Mudd and Richard Syron respectively, will be removed immediately and replaced by former Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. ...

Alex’s Notes: Wow are these guys nuts?

Let me see if I can sum this up.

1. A whole bunch of banks get stupid all at once, and create a whole industry of liar loans (the sub-prime mess) allowing people who never should have been given the debt to take out a half million dollar mortgage an go shopping

2. Those mortgages get packaged up nice and tidy and sold to Wall Street

3. Wall Street packages the garbage up and sells it to municipalities, foreign banks, and governments all over the world

4. A whole bunch of people default on their loans (wow, big surprise there)

5. Financial institutions all around the world start taking losses on their balance sheets and start crying uncle

6. The good old Fed steps in and bails out Bear Stearns, mostly because they were greedy and stupid, in early 2008, and YOU GET TO FOOT THE BILL.

7. More banks fail,

...

When does a good story get in the way of informing readers? Editors of all major publications face this decision each day. A recurring topic at "A Dash" is how many bloggers play fast and loose with facts. The Internet gatekeepers push along the stories placing the burden on readers. No matter how intelligent the reader, no one is going to check facts, sources, and analytical techniques for various stories. With print media in competition with blogs, the distinction is starting to fade. Cyberspace is full of unedited and often unchallenged text. It lasts forever. Background: The New York Times Attack Charles Duhigg studied history at Yale and got an MBA from Harvard on the way to becoming a reporter for The Los Angeles Times and then The New York Times. His feature article on Freddie Mac and Richard Syron attracted ...