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.

Sirhan Sirhan, who has been incarcerated since 1968 for assassinating Robert F. Kennedy, is seeking immediate release or a new trial. The request for a new trial is based on "formidable evidence" asserting his innocence and "horrendous violations" of his rights.

It's really a fascinating story. His lawyers claim (1) there were 2 guns fired, not just Sirhan's, and Sirhan's probably didn't kill Kennedy, (2) there was fraud at the trial when the court allowed prosecutors to introduce a substitute bullet as evidence of the actual bullet removed from Kennedy's neck, and (3) Sirhan was hyno-programmed as a diversionary tactic and thus an involuntary participant:

Sirhan "was an involuntary participant in the crimes being committed because he was subjected to sophisticated hypno programming and memory implantation techniques which rendered him unable to consciously control his thoughts and actions at the time the crimes were being committed," court papers said.

[More...]

Update: Sofitel responds, via The Daily Beast. It says the video celebration lasted only 8 seconds and might have been about sports. It says the guest in 2820 checked out at 11:36 am and Diallo cleaned the room shortly thereafter.

Investigative journalist Edward Epstein provides new details in the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the Sofitel hotel maid in the New York Review of Books. Epstein says he had access to the hotel's electronic key swipe records and time-stamped hotel security camera videotapes. He also reviewed cell phone records for a phone used on May 14 by Accor security employee John Sheehan. Accor owns the Sofitel.

The Guardian details Epstein's findings if you don't want to take the time to read his entire report.

The picks:

SMU -14 over Rice, Ohio State over Michigan (+300), Texas Tech +14 over Baylor (2 units), Oregon -28 over Oregon State (2 units), Marshall -3 over East Carolina, Mississippi +17 over Mississippi State, Wisconsin -14½ over Penn State (2 units), Missouri -26 over Kansas (2 units), Connecticut 0ver Rutgers (+175), Clemson (+155) over South Carolina, Oklahoma -28½ over Iowa State (2 units) Alabama (-21) over Auburn, Georgia -6 over Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt -1½ over Wake Forest.

Best bet - Stanford -7 over Notre Dame (5 units.)

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

The Superior Court of Lima has set Joran Van der Sloot's trial on charges relating to the death of Stephany Flores for January 6.

The Court rejected the Flores family's request to increase the charges. He will be tried only on charges of qualified murder and simple robbery, carrying a maximum penalty of 30 years.

If convicted and sentenced to 30 years, he is expected to serve about 10 years. He's served 18 months to date. [More...]