Texas is experiencing another drought and the results are predictable: Homes burned, threatened by massive fire in Texas

(CNN) — A fast-moving fire has charred more than 71,786 acres in three Texas counties, and it’s expected to grow, the state’s forest service said Friday.

The blaze, which started in Stonewall County, moved quickly into neighboring Knox and King counties, destroying two homes and threatening at least a dozen more, said April Saginor, a Texas Forest Service worker.

Meanwhile, while the Red River of the South [Texas-Oklahoma border] is drying up, the Red River of the North is flooding along the North Dakota-Minnesota border and in Manitoba as it heads north to Lake Winnipeg. The crest is predicted to be about 40 feet above flood stage.

Having discovered how much media attention they could get, Obama, Boehner, and Reid, agreed to deprive poor women in the District of Columbia of choice, and put off closing down the government for a week.

This means that the kabuki resumes on Thursday, which allows Boehner time to recharge his tear ducts, Reid time to look even more haggard, and Obama time to decide who gets thrown under the bus in this round.

Of course, the whole process starts again with the farce about raising the “debt limit”, and then the budget bill for the fiscal year that starts in October.

In the meantime, there is nothing being done about jobs, and the country is slipping back into a recession.

The Romans at least provided bread with their circuses, we just get the clowns.

BBC Business reports that the Vickers Banking Commission report to back ‘firewalls’

An interim report from the Banking Commission due on Monday will not support the total break-up of Britain’s biggest banks, the BBC understands.

Instead it will favour ring-fencing their risky investment banking operations, so they do not jeopardise the savings of ordinary depositors.

The move will still cause anger at big banks like Barclays, according to BBC business editor Robert Peston.

It means their investment banking units will find it more expensive to borrow.

What this does is separate the retail banking from investment banking. The government will guarantee the retail banking unit, but the investment banking unit will be allowed to fail. The investment banking units has been “borrowing” from their associated retail banking unit, including the deposits of account holders. Now they will be required to find their funding in the market.

Barclays, for example, can still be involved in both types of banking, but people will be put on notice that their losses on the investment banking side are not guaranteed, and will not be covered. This is called “capitalism”. You may have heard about it.

Retail banking serves a social/public need and is required for commerce, but investment banking is another form of gambling.