At midnight in Albany last night, Eliot Spitzer was sworn in as Governor of New York.

"Day one has begun," Spitzer said to a resounding cheer after being sworn in. "It is a joy to be here. It will be exciting. I will do my best as the public has asked me to do."

Also sworn in was Andrew Cuomo -- as state Attorney General -- the position Spitzer had before the election.

Gov. Pataki, Spitzer's predecessor, tried but failed to implement significant reform to the state's draconian Rockefeller law for drug offenders. Spitzer needs to make real reform or repeal of the law one of his top priorities.

As a commentator in the Albany Times Union wrote last month:

Happy New Year to all.

How are you celebrating the new year? Predictions? Personal resolutions? Hopes? How about a good riddance list?

A record one million people are expected in Times Square tonight to celebrate the new year. Mayor Bloomberg says people will be safer there than any other place Here are the logistics:

Police will control access to Times Square, closing streets to vehicles beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Anyone wishing to enter the "core area" will be required to pass through metal detectors first, and then be corralled into viewing sections.

Once one section has filled, new arrivals will be directed to the next viewing section. Backpacks, large bags and alcohol will be prohibited. There are also no public bathrooms in the "core area."

As for security,

Regular police units will be supplemented by emergency service squads, drug- and bomb-sniffing canine units, counter-terrorism personnel and the FBI. Representatives of New York's Office of Emergency Management and Fire Department will be in the square, and police in helicopters will monitor the skies and rooftops.

I don't doubt it will be safe, but I'd still rather watch it on tv than be there.

No, Hillary has not announced she will run for President yet, but the LA Times today has a four page article on her well-oiled campaign machine, which is loaded for bear and ready to strike the moment she makes her decision.

The article names the key players in her campaign, discusses Bill's role and then drops a big hint as to Hillary's strategy for winning. She is counting on the vote of those for whom the primary issue is seeing a woman elected President.

Along with the professionals, Clinton aides expect a groundswell of women — political operatives, donors, volunteers — would flock to Hillary Clinton because she is a female presidential candidate.

Bump and Update: The AP is now reporting there have been 3,000 deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

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Original Post
2,999th Soldier Killed in Iraq

Another soldier was killed in Iraq today, bringing the total number of troop deaths to 2,999.

The soldier was also the 110th to die so far in December, the deadliest month for the U.S. forces in more than two years.

....A toll of 3,000 U.S. dead is likely to be an emotive one for Americans but it is less than the number of Iraqi civilians killed in a typical single month in the latter part of 2006, according to the most recent statistics from the
United Nations.

A Washington Post editorial today calls for an end to the prosecution of the Duke Lacrosse players.

It recalls the words of U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson in 1940:

"THE PROSECUTOR has more control over life, liberty and reputation than any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous. He can have citizens investigated, and, if he is that kind of person, he can have this done to the tune of public statements and veiled or unveiled intimations."

....The prosecutor, as Robert Jackson said so many years ago, "can have no better asset than to have his profession recognize that his attitude toward those who feel his power has been dispassionate, reasonable and just."

Jeff Toobin reminds us of another admirable aspect of former President Gerald Ford - his commitment to a diverse America and a first rate Supreme Court:

[Ford] wrote an Op-Ed article on this page titled “Inclusive America, Under Attack.” A pair of pending lawsuits, Mr. Ford wrote, would prohibit Michigan and other universities “from even considering race as one of many factors weighed by admission counselors.” Such a move would condemn “future college students to suffer the cultural and social impoverishment that afflicted my generation.”

As it happened, on Sept. 15, 1999, a month after the article ran, Mr. Ford had dinner with James M. Cannon, one of his former White House aides, in Grand Rapids, Mich. The men were in town to hear a speech at Mr. Ford’s presidential museum by his only nominee to the Supreme Court, John Paul Stevens.

By that point, Justice Stevens had long since proved a great disappointment to conservatives. But his nomination remained one of Mr. Ford’s proudest achievements as president, for Justice Stevens’ moderate-to-liberal record reflected Mr. Ford’s own later views, as his stand on affirmative action illustrated. At the dinner, Mr. Ford encouraged Mr. Cannon to do what he could to help the university in the lawsuit, which was heading for the Supreme Court.

I often forget that Gerald Ford named Stevens to the bench. The most important Justice holds back the reactionary tide thanks to Gerald Ford.

His most important legacy. Something to be remembered.

John Edwards was on the Situation Room yesterday. I happened to watch it live and thought both anchors were very negative to him. But, he never lost his cool and gave some excellent answers, particularly on the war in Iraq.

On the minus side, he said executing Saddam was a "good thing." From the transcript:

HENRY: Now, you want to be commander-in-chief. And in your first move, you would take 40,000 to 50,000 U.S. troops out of Iraq. Do you really believe the Iraqi government could survive?

EDWARDS: Here's what I believe: I believe an escalation of our presence in Iraq is a enormous mistake. I think this McCain doctrine doesn't make any sense. There is no military solution to what's happening in Iraq. Everyone knows that. The only solution -- potential solution is a political solution. I mean, the Iraqis are going to have to decide whether they're actually going to have a representative government that includes everybody, including the Sunnis. And that's the only way to ultimately tamp down this violence.

The Guardian has this obituary for Saddam Hussein. The Times Online has another. The BBC obituary is here.

President Bush stayed up past his bedtime to release this statement insisting falsely that Saddam got a fair trial.

Worst headline: From Australia, "Iraqis Dance as Saddam Swings".

European leaders focus their comments on the death penalty.

Now what? More war, as usual, more U.S. soldiers will die, more billions of our dollars will be spent and we are not one bit safer.

We are all tainted by the vengeance in our name.

Joel Layden of the Israel News Agency:

Many news media are now reporting on the fine details of what is a hanging. Providing minute by minute accounts of what would happen if the rope was too short or too long. Are we as a civilized Western world any different from the crowds that gathered to watch the French Guillotine at work or the hangman's noose in the old US West?

What distinguishes us from the Islamic terrorists that we fight is that we cherish life.
Yes, in war we can be more barbaric using pyschops as good if not better than the enemy by hanging blood dripping heads on wooden sticks. But do we need now to place Saddam's head on a wooden stick? Will video of his hanging decrease conflict or increase it in the Middle-East?

Arab TV reports Saddam Hussein was executed ten minutes ago.

U.S. military deaths in Iraq hit 2,993 today.

Saddam's death won't bring one of them back.