DOW 5,000 CALL -- Market Strategist David Hefty Warns With $17 Trillion Of Leverage In The System, Margin Calls To Hedge Funds Could Trigger Panic (WATCH)

•  “The Dow 5,000 piece is very likely—that’s not even the extreme low.  It only takes a few hedge funds to get that margin call."

• "When they start to sell—and the fact that everyone’s on pins and needles—that’s where the freefall starts to take place, like oil back in 2008."

• "When you look at the fact that we have $17 trillion of leverage inside the financial system and when you look at debt around the world, our financial system has more debt than anything else."

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Ron Paul DOMINATES On Squawk Box: "Markets Are More Powerful Than Governments" (WATCH)

Updated on May 20, 2010 at 2:31 PM by DailyBail

Video:  Ron Paul on CNBC's Squawk Box discussing the global debt crisis, fiscal responsibility, and the failure of the Federal Reserve System -- May 17, 2010

UPDATE:  Time stamps and quotes added inside.

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Roubini On Europe: Austerity Measures Won't Pass, And Markets Will Be Punished (WATCH)

Nouriel Roubini's Excellent Definition Of A Financial Crisis:

• "Indeed, a practical definition of a financial crisis is an event that forces policy officials to spend a long weekend trying desperately to announce a new bailout package in order to avoid national and global panic before the markets open on Monday."

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Forget Sarah Palin: It's Rand Paul's Moment And Ron Paul's Opportunity For President In 2012 (Op-Ed & VIDEO)

Video:  Drs. Ron & Rand Paul celebrate Junior's primary blowout victory over Trey Grayson -- Look at that proud smile on Senior -- May 19, 2010

Do NOT miss the editorial inisde.  Writer Brent Budowsky from The Hill makes a compelling case that Ron Paul will win the Republican nomination for President in 2012 with a plurality of delegates in a crowded field.  It doesn't hurt Dr. Paul's chances that he's won just about every meaningful straw poll among Republicans held since 2008.

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Obama SNEAKS $33 billion more for Afghan war (WATCH)

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Economist Dean Baker: Housing Optimists Are "Not Paying Attention" to the Facts (WATCH)

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Rand Paul Begs Obama To Campaign For Democrat In Kentucky: "Please, Please, Bring It On!" (WATCH)

Video: Rand Paul on Obama (this morning) -- May 19, 2010

• "Please, please, bring President Obama to campaign in Kentucky, bring him as much and as often as they can, because he's incredibly unpopular here."

• "The tea party message is that we've got to get back control of our government.  We want term limits, bring them home.  We want to balance the budget, force them to do it by law.  We want them to at least read the bills before they vote on them.  Let's have a waiting period before votes.  Really, Washington needs some restraint."

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Max Keiser & Jim Rogers: Banks! Bailouts! Scandal! (CLIP)

Video:  The Latest from the Keiser Report with Jim Rogers -- May 18, 2010

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TRUTH SERUM: Shadow Government Controls Politicians, Regulators and The Fed

While we don't agree with every detail, as an aggregate, this is important work.  Set aside a few minutes and buckle up.  Robert (Bob) Chapman of the International Forecaster is about to bust some heads.  I'm not kidding.

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WAKE UP: Paul Volcker Says Time Is Running Out for U.S. to Tackle Coming Entitlement Crisis

Tall Paul is referring to the $60 trillion in unfunded entitlement liabilities.  Can you spell generational war?  Because we know that these kids can.

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Al Gore Gives The Most Depressing Graduation Speech Of All Time (WATCH)

Video:  A cheerful Al Gore delivers the commencement address Saturday at the University of Tennessee -- May 15, 2010

If it weren't so depressing, it could possibly make you laugh.  Wait, that makes no sense.  Just watch it and you'll understand.  Runs 2 minutes.

And you knew of course that former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines owns the patent for a residential cap and trade exchange.

And that Al Gore stands to make hundreds of millions if cap and trade is adopted.

And that Goldman Sachs along with the other investment banks, plan to dominate the carbon trading market. 

Read more here and here.

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Elections Make Rachel Maddow Vibrate (WATCH)

Low hanging fruit.  How do I not post this one.

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GOING BACK TO CALI: Senate Votes To Preserve Unlimited Bailout For States

The bankrupt federal government agrees to bailout the bankrupt state governments using borrowed money gained from selling IOUs (treasuries) to the Federal Reserve (we're monetizing, suckas!) and bailed out Wall Street banks. 

Phew, for a second, I thought there was something fishy going on.

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LL Cool J's Going Back to Cali is inside.

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Bloomberg Investigation: Wall Street Conspiracy To Defraud State Governments

New investigative piece from Bloomberg.

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