At the NYTimes.com, David Leonhardt crunches the employment numbers:

The job market is getting ever closer to the depths that it reached in 1982. Since the start of 2008, the economy has lost jobs at a steeper rate than at any other point in 50 years . . . the decline is worse than it was at any point during the deep recessions of the mid-1970s and of the early 1980s. . . . The job market still is not in as bad shape as it was in 1982, because unemployment entering this downturn was somewhat lower than it was in 1981. But it’s getting close.

[More . . .]

I wish President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner would take these words from FDR to heart:

The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. The millions who are in want will not stand by silently forever while the things to satisfy their needs are within easy reach. We need enthusiasm, imagination and the ability to face facts, even unpleasant ones, bravely. We need to correct, by drastic means if necessary, the faults in our economic system from which we now suffer.

This is an Open Thread.

It was just announced that the US economy lost 651,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate hit 8.1%, the highest rate in 25 years. But the Media and the Beltway Gasbags still have time for the silliness of Limbaugh and $1.7 million to study pig odors. The disconnect is stunning.

Speaking for me only

As I have written previously the Obama Administration is not dealing with the financial crisis. Today, Krugman writes:

[Obama] officials still aren’t willing to face the facts. They don’t want to face up to the dire state of major financial institutions because it’s very hard to rescue an essentially insolvent bank without, at least temporarily, taking it over. And temporary nationalization is still, apparently, considered unthinkable.

But this refusal to face the facts means, in practice, an absence of action. And I share the president’s fears: inaction could result in an economy that sputters along, not for months or years, but for a decade or more.

Speaking for me only

About a week ago, Theda Skopcol wrote:

In such marked contrast to the timid triangulation of Clinton, Obama offers a strong, positive statement of the role of U.S. government in national development, past and for the future. Government does not "substitute" for business or individual action, but it is an essential "catalyst."

Today, David Brooks writes:

Senate Republicans last night stalled the passage of the Omnibus Appropriations Act.

Senate Republicans, demanding the right to try to change a huge spending bill, forced Democrats on Thursday night to put off a final vote on the measure until next week. The surprise development will force Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill to avoid a partial shutdown of the government.

...Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., canceled the vote, saying he was one vote short of the 60 needed to close debate and free the bill for President Barack Obama's signature.

The Republicans insisted on voting on their amendments, all of which were expected to fail. Thanks to the Senate's Twitter page, you can view the votes. And here at GovTrack, you can click through to the Amendments. [More...]

Former C.U. Professor Ward Churchill and current University of Illinois (Chicago) Professor William Ayers teamed up Thursday night in Boulder to speak to students at the University of Colorado. The topic: Academic Freedom. The title of their presentation: "Forbidden Education and the Rise of NeoMcCarthyism."

Ayers talked about Obama's presidency (nothing unusual from what the article reports) and the danger if teachers are not allowed to challenge their students due to fear about raising certain topics or asking certain questions.

"We should always be developing a curriculum of questioning," Ayers told the students. "As a teacher, your responsibility is to challenge dogma and orthodoxy, not to just accept it."

[More...]

Thank Goodness Tatiana didn't make the final 13 on American Idol. I wouldn't have watched the rest of the season. Listening to her shrieking is like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. For once, the outcome was suspenseful.

My other thought for the day: On small items, buy retail and buy local. Otherwise your favorite mom and pop and other non-conglomerate stores are going to disappear.

What's on your minds? This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

President Obama's choice for Surgeon General, Dr. withdrew his name from consideration today.

CNN cited his desire to continue working instead as a neurosurgeon and CNN medical analyst. His wife is pregnant with their third child.

Chuck Todd said on Nightly News tonight it may have been a financial decision: it would be too big a pay cut.

Memorandum

To: Evan Bayh

From: American People

Re: Repealing Bush Tax Cuts

Do you support or oppose raising taxes on households earning over $250,000 a year and, at the same time, lowering taxes for most other households?

Support 66
Oppose 33

Speaking for me only

Update: Robin Williams' publicist says he will need open heart surgery for an aortic valve replacement.

Comedian and Actor Robin Williams is reportedly in ICU in a South Florida hospital, due to heart problems. Other papers are reporting the same thing. He's been on tour and canceled his latest appearances.

Our good thoughts for a speedy recovery go out to him.

The California Supreme Court is holding oral arguments on Prop 8 and gay marriage today.

You can watch the hearings live on the web here.

The court will hear three hours of arguments and have 90 days to issue an opinion. If it overturns the ban, gay couples would again be permitted to marry in California.