Ezra Klein takes an interesting column from Paul Krugman on Demoracts and the Deficit and jumps to an entirely inccorrect conclusion about deficits, arguing like Kemp and Cheney, that deficits do not matter. that is simply wrong.

First, Krugman's point:

Now that the Democrats have regained some power, they have to decide what to do. One of the biggest questions is whether the party should return to Rubinomics — the doctrine, associated with former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, that placed a very high priority on reducing the budget deficit.

The answer, I believe, is no. Mr. Rubin was one of the ablest Treasury secretaries in American history. But it’s now clear that while Rubinomics made sense in terms of pure economics, it failed to take account of the ugly realities of contemporary American politics.

And the lesson of the last six years is that the Democrats shouldn’t spend political capital trying to bring the deficit down. They should refrain from actions that make the deficit worse. But given a choice between cutting the deficit and spending more on good things like health care reform, they should choose the spending.

In a saner political environment, the economic logic behind Rubinomics would have been compelling. Basic fiscal principles tell us that the government should run budget deficits only when it faces unusually high expenses, mainly during wartime. In other periods it should try to run a surplus, paying down its debt.

I get Krugman's point. To wit, when Democrats bring down the deficit and create surpluses the Republicans take all that hard work and then give away tax breaks to the extremely wealthy. And that is obviously what happened in the last 6 years.

But that does not mean deficits do not matter. More.

Tyrone Brown violated his Texas probation by testing postive for marijuana use. He was 17. The judge sentenced him to life in prison. He has served 16 years.

20/20 ran a story on Brown in November and viewers were outraged. The Judge was voted out of office.

Now, it appears, Brown may be freed.

Brown, who pleaded guilty to his first and only offense at age 17, was given probation after a $2 armed robbery in which the victim wasn't harmed and had his wallet returned. But months later, Brown violated his probation by testing positive for marijuana. In most cases of marijuana violations, Texas judges — and Dean — often recommend counseling and allow the defendant to remain on probation with a stiff warning.

In this case, however, without explanation, Brown was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Check out this You Tube video -- I had to delete the embedded link because it was slowing down the site, but it's well worth watching.

Warning: very graphic war images

President Bush has issued fewer pardons than any president since World War II. But, Thursday, he awarded 16 of them.

Five of the pardons were in cases that involved drug crimes. Other cases involved bank fraud, mail fraud, the acceptance of a kickback, a false statement on a loan application and conspiracy to defraud the government over taxes.

Seven of the 16 received no prison or jail time when they were sentenced, instead getting probation or a reduction in their military pension. The longest sentence was nine years, for aiding cocaine distribution, followed by a six-year term for conspiracy to possess marijuana.

More stats:

I was about to write "Kudos to Mass. Gov. Elect Deval L. Patrick, who announced that when he takes office, he will rescind a plan endorsed by Mitt Romney that allows state and local police to bust undocumented residents."

The agreement, which Gov. Mitt Romney signed on Dec. 13, gave 30 state troopers the power to question, detain and arrest people whom they found in the course of other investigations to be illegal immigrants.

....“If I have that power, I’m going to rescind that agreement,” he told reporters. “I do believe I have that power.”

But kudos may be premature because Patrick's spokesperson is hedging:

“I think going forward he’ll be able to set out a timeline,” [spokesperson Cyndi] Roy said. “He has a lot to accomplish in his first couple of months in office, and I don’t know that it will be the very first thing he does.”

Memo to Gov. Elect Patrick: Do it. It's the right thing to do. Keep your police addressing state and local crime. Immigration enforcement is not within their jurisdiction, nor should it be.

Kudos to Murray Waas for writing this brave article at HuffPo.

Shame on the Washington City Paper, which I vow never to read, and on Murray's former research assistant.

I am never suprised to see ignorant, debased statements about alleged criminals, but cancer survivors? This is a new low.

Murray ends his article with these heartfelt comments:

This is the kind of holiday story I like to see.

Local Muslim leaders lit candles yesterday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to commemorate Jewish suffering under the Nazis, in a ceremony held just days after Iran had a conference denying the genocide.

American Muslims "believe we have to learn the lessons of history and commit ourselves: Never again," said Imam Mohamed Magid of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, standing before the eternal flame flickering from a black marble base that holds dirt from Nazi concentration camps.

[Hat tip Instapundit.]

Bump and Update: Iraqis want the Marines charged in an Iraqi court. They fear they won't be held accountable in the U.S.

Update: Four Marines have been charged with murder. In all, eight marines have been charged with crimes in the Haditha killings.

Bump and Update: Twelve counts of murder have been filed against Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich who commanded the marine squad near Haditha when 24 people were killed.

Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, who commanded a squad of marines near the town of Haditha in November last year faces 12 individual counts of murder and an additional count for ordering the troops under his charge to "shoot first, ask questions later", the charge sheet released to his attorney, Neil Puckett, said.

The charges do not include premeditated murder, and Sgt Wuterich faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Bump and Update: Charges will be announced at 4:00 pm ET.

As a follow-up to TChris' post here, Wolf Blitzer had newly elected Congressman Keith Ellison on the Situation Room this afternoon.

Background:

In a letter released to CNN Wednesday, Goode wrote in part to a constituent, "I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."

Ellison's response: Goode "has a lot to learn about Islam."

"I would urge Congressman Goode to have his congregation reach out to a synagogue or a mosque and start some inter-faith dialogue so we can increase understanding among each other as American of different faiths," Ellison said.

As this post points out, the Constitution prohibits any religious test for public office. Somebody needs to give a copy of the Constitution to Rep. Virgil Goode (R-of course he is-VA). Goode warned his constituents that the election of a Muslim to Congress (Rep. Keith Ellison) should be seen as a “wake up” call because there are “likely to be many more Muslims elected to office” if we don’t “adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America.”

Goode’s remarks are offensive beyond measure. Only citizens can hold office, and Muslim citizens have as much right to hold office as citizens of any other religion. Isn’t the Constitution, including its prohibition of religious tests, a part of our “traditional values”? Does Goode remember that he’s sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution?

Goode’s comments also reflect an appalling degree of ignorance. Our country’s first Muslim Congressman isn’t an immigrant; he was born in the USA and he traces his American ancestry to 1742. Do Goode’s own roots extend that far into the American past? Why does Goode think he’s more an American than Ellison?

[Update: Thanks to our good friend Skippy for the great photo. Check out his post on the blizzard, and Cookie Jill found this site of Colorado webcams.]

Wow. I really feel for all those people stuck in the aiport for two days or more. The Denver Airport just announced it won't reopen until noon on Friday.

My blizzard pictures are here. I'm just about to venture out -- on foot. Forget about driving anywhere.

There are lots of people and their dogs in the street, it's still snowing, and I can't open my balcony door so I'm getting a little bit of cabin fever. (Check the difference from when the blizzard was only hours old.)

See you later. I hope to have more pictures upon my return.

Update: I'm back and have updated the pictures with street scenes. I was way overdressed, it's not cold out. The main streets (all the one way streets near downtown, in Uptown and Capitol Hill) are plowed. Lots of people are driving.

The biggest action was at...the liquor store!

The original Eschaton has been restored. No need to go to the temporary site anymore.