Bump and Update: Dr. Conrad Murray has been sentenced to four years in jail. A restitution hearing has been set for January. Dr. Murray waived his right to be present. The defense will file a Notice of Appeal.

He was remanded to the custody of the LA Sheriff. They didn't handcuff him this time, and as he left, he blew a kiss to his family. [More...]

Paul Krugman writes:

A few years ago Gauti Eggertsson published a a persuasive analysis (pdf) of the big economic recovery of 1933-37; he argued that it had a lot to do with changed expectations of future monetary policy. Specifically, by taking America off the gold standard — a shocking move at the time — and explicitly calling for a return to pre-Depression price levels, FDR created an expectation of rising prices that had a salutary effect on demand.

The paper explains that FDR did more than that:

What ended the Great Depression in the United States? This paper suggests that the recovery was driven by a shift in expectations. This shift was triggered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR) policy actions. On the monetary policy side, Roosevelt abolished the gold standard and announced an explicit policy objective of inflating the price level to pre-Depression levels. On the fiscal policy side, Roosevelt expanded real and deficit spending which helped make his policy objective credible. The key to the recovery was the successful management of expectations about future policy. [MORE . . .]

Won't Have "Herb" Cain To Kick Around Much Longer:

Herman Cain told members of his campaign staff on Tuesday that he was reassessing whether to proceed with his bid for the Republican presidential nomination[.]

I've not written about Cain much, because I knew he had no chance to win the GOP nomination (contra Nate Silver) and in fact he was just engaged in a speaking tour to raise his profile (ironically, I think Newt Gingrich was too, but he may stumble into being the GOP nominee - Obama is a lucky guy, nothing to sneeze at) and speaking fees.

Cain stumbled into the "anti-Mitt" role, and a lot of things he probably did not want to discuss have been reported on. If I was advising Cain, I would tell him not to drop out. If leaves now, it will look like he was driven out by scandal. If he just goes and loses, getting say, 6% of the vote in Iowa, he'll still have a viable "speaking career."

Speaking for me only

I was bunkered in my Decadent Left enclave mounting a Fifth Column (actually I was working for The Man all day), so I missed the chance to engage in one of my favorite pasttimes, bashing Andrew Sullivan. Better late than never. Sully rides the Bell Curve Again. Some good responses here, here and here.

Speaking for me only

Krugman:

What’s unforgivable is the way policymakers, both at the Fed and elsewhere, basically declared Mission Accomplished as soon as the panic in financial markets subsided and stocks were up again. When spring rolls around, we’ll reach the third anniversary of Ben Bernanke’s declaration that “green shoots” were making an appearance — and there will still be 4 million Americans who have been out of work for more than a year. Yet there has been no sense of urgency about dealing with unemployment; indeed, most of the elite conversation has been about stuff like cutting Social Security payments a decade or two from now.

As Drum says, that’s the true radicalizing experience.

I'm curious to know how Drum, and Krugman for that matter, have been "radicalized." I mean, we all know Tim Geithner was the person who fought hard for the approach the Obama Administration has taken. Shouldn't someone "radicalized" be asking why Geithner is still the Treasury Secretary? Sure, the GOP won't let you name a Treasury Secretary afterwards, but wouldn't the removal of Geithner be a positive in and of itself? If not, why not?

Speaking for me only

There's still time to contact your Senator and ask to vote for the Mark Udall Amendment to the Defense Authorization Act. (Background here.)

After passing two of the many Amendments (Menendez amend #1414 and Leahy Leahy amend #1072 )and confirming Christopher Droney as a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Senate recessed until tomorrow.

Sen. Mark Udall will make a floor statement tomorrow on the Amendment. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a procedural vote on the Defense Bill for sometime Wednesday.

Today, FBI Director Robert Mueller sent a letter to the Senate objecting to the detainee provisions in the bill.

Unlike accuser #4, Herman Cain admits to knowing his latest accuser, Ginger White, who went on TV today to detail their 13 year consensual affair.

She says during the next 13 years, he would fly her to cities where he was speaking and he lavished her with gifts. She says they often stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead and dined at The Four Seasons restaurant. She says he never harassed her, never treated her poorly, and was the same man you see on the campaign trail.

Cain admits knowing Ms. White for 13 years but denies having an affair with her. He says he's just been trying to help her financially. [More...]

We're back at work today. Some news:

Barney Frank is retiring at the end of his term.

The feds seized 150 websites as counterfeit.

I haven't bought anything on Cyber Monday.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Unfortunately, the Senate is scheduled to vote Monday or Tuesday on the 2012 Defense Authorization bill with the horrible detainee provisions. The bill is a primer for indefinite military detention until the end of time, considering it encompasses more than al Qaida and the war on terror is endless. It gives the military total control over detainees.

Sen. Levin and McCain are pushing for a vote on new Amendments for Monday evening. The bill is S. 1867, introduced on Nov. 15. You can read or skim the 682 pages here. The detainee matters are in Subtitle D, starting on page 359 with Section 1031. They go through page 378 and Section 1037. The Congressional Record for Nov. 18 has the most recent events, including a statement by Sen. Levin as to why he thinks the Levin/McCain Amendment is more than fair and the Administration's objections are unfounded.

There are dozens of pending amendments, including the most important one by Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, who explains his amendment here [More...]

That is all.

As this long holiday weekend comes to a close, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Denver's federal money for the homeless has dried up, as has grant money. In 2005, then Mayor John Hickenlooper introduced Denver's Road Home project, to help the homeless find shelter and programs addressing drug addiction, alcoholism and mental illness, believed to contribute to homelessness.

But we have more homeless than ever -- more than 11,000 in downtown Denver. Many like to sleep on the 16th st Mall where it's well-lit and police are usually nearby. There's no law preventing sleeping on the street.

Now, with the increased numbers of homeless persons. the shelters are full, the temporary house is full, and the social programs have waiting lists.