The article is here. I have nothing to say about it because it says next to nothing; the Media is incapable of actually addressing issues. But there it is.

It is noteworthy I suppose that Krugman is on the cover of Newsweek. But what is more important is what Krugman is saying, right or wrong, and Newsweek chose not to write about that with any understanding. Stupid article.

Speaking for me only

Joe Nocera writes:

Will it work? Isn’t that the only thing that matters at this point?. . . I concluded, somewhat to my surprise, that it might well work. By this, I certainly don’t mean that it will, all by itself, revive the economy. But I think it could put a real floor on the price of the bad assets — critically important to stabilizing the banks — and change the market psychology so that securitized assets can begin to trade again, which is important to get credit flowing. And it will give regulators a far sounder basis to ask Congress for more money to recapitalize banks — or take them over, if it comes to that. . . .

(Emphasis supplied.) What strikes me about this analysis is that Nocera thinks that spending a trillion dollars (the Geithner Plan will cost at least hundreds of billions of dollars) to set the stage for actual policies to fix the problem is a good idea. Frankly, it is an amazing statement. More . . .

Alaska state representative Mike Doogan wrote:

My own theory about the public process is you can say what you want, as long as you are willing to stand behind it using your real name.

Alexander Hamilton and James Madison disagreed - "The Federalist Papers serve as a primary source for interpretation of the Constitution, as they outline the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government. . . . The articles were written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. . . . They appeared under the pseudonym 'Publius' . . ."

Drug dogs in schools, police departments taking out classified ads for snitches, spending vast sums of money to fight the drug war in Mexico and Afghanistan,

This gun's for hire

even if we're just dancing in the dark

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

A high school in Milburn, NJ announced it will begin using drug dogs on campus.

[T]he district superintendent, Richard Brodow, wrote in an e-mail message to parents and students Friday afternoon. “I willingly risk student trust if it saves a single life."

The ACLU responds:

The New York Civil Liberties Union has called police dog searches “incompatible with nurturing environments that are supposed to be conducive to adolescent education,” and argued that school districts must create a careful balance between school safety and student rights.

This is part of a growing trend. And this opportunist is offering dogs to search private homes.

Two Spanish papers this morning are reporting that the criminal complaint (in spanish, here, pdf) against top Bush Administration lawyers involved in Guantanamo policy has been reopened for investigation. The lawyers are:

• Jay S. Bybee, United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit
• Douglas Feith, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
• William J Haynes, Chief Corporate Counsel, Chevron Headquarters
• John Yoo, UC Berkeley School of Law
• Alberto R. Gonzales
• David Addington

The action parallels a criminal probe into allegations of torture involving the American CIA that was opened this week in the United Kingdom.

[More...]

Earlier this week, I wrote about Jake DeSantis, who quit AIG after the bonus brouhaha. Mr. DeSantis was upset that because AIG went belly up and was propped up by the government, folks were upset with his million dollar bonus (he stated his AFTER TAX bonus was 750k). Perhaps this story can provide Mr. DeSantis some perspective:

A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday tentatively approved Delphi Corp.'s request to stop paying for health care and life insurance benefits for its retired salaried workers . . . U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in Manhattan ruled that the auto parts supplier has a right to change the retirees' benefits under bankruptcy law and that the cuts are justified given the company's dire finances, its troubles finding financing and the overall state of the automotive industry. "It is crystal clear to me that debtor is well within its business judgment in assuming that it will need to eliminate the projected (post-retirement benefits) liability, which is projected at $1.1 billion, in order to reorganize," Drain said in making his ruling.

[More...]

As Jeralyn discussed Thursday, an agreement between the New York legislature and Gov. David Paterson will finally reform the state's Rockefeller-era drug laws. At the time of Jeralyn's post, the relief that the legislation would provide to drug offenders currently serving sentences was unclear.

Although some language in the new law is still being negotiated, the governor announced yesterday that the legislation will enable hundreds of prisoners to seek resentencing. It appears that the resentencing options include treatment in lieu of continued incarceration.

Prosecutors -- who will lose the power they now hold to decide whether a drug offender will receive a lengthy sentence by charging crimes that have mandatory minimums -- are complaining that judges shouldn't have the option of sending repeat offenders to treatment instead of incarcerating them. [more ...]

The reactions of Atrios and Thers to Harry Reid's statements about "the Left" and Senate "moderates" perplex me. Harry Reid is the Majority Leader of the Senate, the leader of the Democratic Caucus. Whatever he really thinks about Bayh and Co., in public he has to support his caucus members. It reminds me of when now-President Obama attacked "the Left" for criticizing Democratic Senators who voted for John Roberts. I wrote a comment then:

James Manship is a Catholic priest. He videotaped two police officers in East Haven, Connecticut as they removed license plates from the wall of a store owned by a Hispanic couple. Manship was trying to document the alleged harassment of Hispanics by the East Haven police. The officers took offense.

The officers said in their reports that Manship was holding an "unknown shiny silver object" and struggled with one of the officers who tried to take it from him. But a 15-second video released by Manship's attorneys earlier this month shows one of the officers, before the arrest, asking the pastor, "Is there a reason you have a camera on me?"

Manship was charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with the police. The video ends as the officer approach Manship, but Manship denies struggling with the officer. The discrepancy between the police report and the video apparently convinced prosecutors that they had a weak case. The charges have been dropped.

Meanwhile, parishoners in Manship's church have filed a civil rights complaint with the Justice Department. [more ...]

Via Reason TV. It takes a bit to get going, but then it's pretty good. The point:

Obama, You're No Stranger to the Bong. Please act like it and take the legalization question seriously.

L-ville Slammed Zona and Oklahoma walloped the Cuse. My bracket is long gone. Steve M.'s Spartans are fighting for Big Ten pride against the JayHawks. The Zags hope to upend the Heels. I'll try to watch the games on the Tubes, from 35,000 feet. I'll tell you how it goes.

This is an Open Thread.