Ezra Klein points to conservative Ross Douthat pointing out the utter irrationality of the Senate stimulus bill's "centrism" schtick":

[W]hat Nelson, Collins, Specter and Co. have done isn't a new kind of politics. It's the definition of politics as usual. And in this particular case, there's a reasonable argument that it's actively pernicious - that if you can't shrink the stimulus package much more substantially than the centrists have done, you shouldn't shrink it at all. There's a case to be made for a stimulus that's radically different than the one we have now; there's a case to be made for a stimulus that's like the one we have now, but a great deal smaller and more targeted; and there's a case to be made for a stimulus that's absolutely gargantuan. But thanks to the centrists, we're getting the cheapskate version of the gargantuan version:

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No state has fully complied with the sex offender registration requirements of the Adam Walsh Act, and only four have tried. Some would rather lose their meager crime prevention grants than spend the money it would take to comply. That alone should tell you that this is a bad law.

[The law] requires all states to adopt strict standards for registering sex offenders .... [It] makes it a federal felony to fail to reregister as a sex offender after moving to another state and requires states to toughen their penalties, now often misdemeanors, for failing to register at all.

It also requires offenders deemed especially dangerous to register for life and to renew their registration, usually in person, four times a year. In addition, the law expands the number of crimes for which sex offenders must register and requires states to collect more of their personal information and post much of it publicly.

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Devilstower writes a great post. Really great post. Go read it. Here's a bit:

Where was the stimulus? Just take a look. From the moment FDR began to enact the programs of the New Deal, the economy began its recovery. After four years of steady declines, Roosevelt's programs brought on an immediate improvement in the national fortune. Within three years, the national GDP exceeded the level in 1929. By the time the bombs fell at Pearl Harbor, the GDP had been up every year but one since 1933, and that one downward tick in 1937 marks the exact point at which budget hawks forced cuts in the New Deal programs.That's the story the numbers tell. The New Deal worked, worked well, and worked quickly

This is an Open Thread.

What is "liberal?" Who knows. More importantly, who cares? When discussing the economic stimulus package, my concern has been 'will the plan work?' 'Will it help?' On this issue, it seems to me it is less important to declare political victory on votes on the bill, than trying to figure out if the bill is going to work. (Incidentally, "political victories" on legislation come at the next election, not during the vote on the bill itself.) At least, that is how I see it. Michael Tomasky takes a different tack:

Ezra Klein writes:

it's been a dazzling display of the most analytically bankrupt strain of centrism: The belief that the right answer lies, by definition, somewhere between the answers that are already on the table. The Nelson-Collins bill hasn't been justified in terms of virtues so much as in terms of abstract numerical positioning.

The only thing surprising about this is that anyone is surprised about this. Clearly, the President seems surprised by it. This is why Nate Silver's writings on the subject have seemed off base to me. These things are not argued on the merits. They are argued "on the middle." Yep, time for my politics is defining the middle quote:

Bump and Update: As noted in the comments, Tim Cole was exonerated. Grits for Breakfast was there.

original post:

Kathy Gill examines the case of Timothy Cole, convicted of rape in Lubbock, Texas in 1985 on almost nonexistent evidence. Ten years later, the actual rapist confessed in writing to the District Attorney who prosecuted the case. The DA ignored the confession and Cole died in prison.

Cole's only "crime" was flirting with an undercover cop. Flirting. The audacity, a black man flirting with a white woman. That's what put him in a line-up.

Cole's family is seeking a posthumous exoneration. Whether or not they succeed, Gill points to the need for political action to reform the criminal justice system in places like Lubbock. [more ...]

A lot of high fiving going on in some quarters because President Barack Obama has a 67% approval rating on his handling of the stimulus issue (and a job approval rating of 64%) in the latest Gallup poll.

Something to remember - George W. Bush had a 71% job approval rating in an April 2003 Gallup poll. And we know how that ended up.

Results matter. Just sayin'

Speaking for me only

Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr recognized the "win at all costs" culture of her office when she began her job. What's she done about it?

It was recently revealed that Santa Clara prosecutors hoarded hundreds of videotapes of sexual assault examinations provided by hospital staff but never turned over to the defense. Prosecutors are under investigation (and one has been scolded) by the state bar for withholding evidence (including an expert witness' conclusion) in other cases. Granted, many of the transgressions predated Carr's election to office in 2007, but Carr's claim that she's taking steps to change the office culture is not reassuring.

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So says Stan Callender:

[T]he 2010 budget process could include a reconciliation bill that increases spending or reduces revenues or both that, because of the rules, won't be subject to a filibuster in the Senate. In addition, the budget resolution that has to be adopted before a reconciliation bill can happen also can't be filibustered.

Problem with that is any bill that violates PAYGO in the Senate (or so Kagro X tells us) is subject to a point of order requiring 60 votes to waive:

What else would I watch tonight but the Grammy's?

They begin now on the East coast and an hour later here and on the west coast. Here's the list of nominees.

Kid Rock is going to perform my vote for feel-good song of the year -- "All Summer Long." (No, that's not a real category, it's up for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. His album, Rock 'n Roll Jesus is up for Best Rock Album.) The Eagles "Long Road Out of Eden" is up for a few awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album. The title song "Long Road Out of Eden" is up for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, while "Waiting in the Weeds" is up for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals. And the album's "I Dreamed There Was No War" is up for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

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and the Democratic President does not, that defines a failed opportunity. MoDo wrote today:

[T]he prince got distracted, seeing Lincoln in the mirror, and instead gave the kiss of life to a bunch of flat-lining Republican tax-cut fetishists. Somehow the most well-known person on the planet lost control of the economic message to someone named Eric Cantor. In his first weeks padding around a White House that still has nails on the walls waiting for new pictures, and phone and e-mail kinks, Barack Obama could not locate the bully pulpit and ended up being bullied.

With a strong mandate for meaningful and effective economic stimulus, President Barack Obama failed to define the political debate. President Obama has done many good things in the start of his Presidency. But he bungled the economic stimulus plan. What is politics at its essence? Defining the middle:

Lieutenant-Colonel Yvonne Bradley, an American military lawyer for 20 years, is in Great Britain where tomorrow she will demand the release of Binyam Mohamed who as we wrote the other day, is dying in his Guantanamo cell.

Bradley...will reveal that Mohamed, 31, is dying in his Guantánamo cell and that conditions inside the Cuban prison camp have deteriorated badly since Barack Obama took office. Fifty of its 260 detainees are on hunger strike and, say witnesses, are being strapped to chairs and force-fed, with those who resist being beaten. At least 20 are described as being so unhealthy they are on a "critical list", according to Bradley.

In addition to her own observations, she shares what Binyam told her: [More...]