For once, the accusation that President Obama is like President Bush rings true:

[ABC's Jake] TAPPER: State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the treatment of Bradley Manning by the Pentagon is “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” And I'm wondering if you agree with that. Thank you, sir.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: With respect [. . .] to Private Manning, I have actually asked the Pentagon whether or not the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards. They assure me that they are. I can't go into details about some of their concerns, but some of this has to do with Private Manning's safety as well.

Perhaps the most disgraceful moment of Obama's Presidency.

Speaking for me only

There are a lot of important political stories going on right now.

I'm on the sports opiate of the masses though. I'll be in SportsLeft mode for the time being, with the occasional repetitive "The Deal was a terrible mistake" post.

In that spirit, Go Gators!

Open Thread.

Paul Krugman writes:

Republicans aren’t the only cynics. As the national debate over fiscal policy descends ever deeper into penny-pinching, future-killing absurdity, one voice is curiously muted — that of President Obama.

The president and his aides know that the G.O.P. approach to the budget is wrongheaded and destructive. But they’ve stopped making the case for an alternative approach; instead, they’ve positioned themselves as know-nothings lite, accepting the notion that spending must be slashed immediately — just not as much as Republicans want. Mr. Obama’s political advisers clearly believe that this strategy of protective camouflage offers the president his best chance at re-election — and they may be right.

Krugman, like every one else it seems, forgets about The Deal. Once Obama let loose the Catfood Commission, DEFICITS!!!! were going to be what the Very Serious Persons would want to talk about. I stupidly surmised at the time that Obama was shrewdly going to use the Catfood Commission in order to raise taxes on the rich in December. The Deal shattered my naivete. Now when we talk about DEFICITS!!! the question is how much sacrifice are the poor and the middle class going to share (the rich of course never have to sacrifice, only the "little people" have to "share sacrifice.") More . . .

Update: 2:45 a.m. MT: Evacuations ordered in Hawaii, see Donald's comments below. Here's a live news stream for night owls. The "hit time" is set for about 3:00 am Hawaii time. Coastal inundation zones are most at risk. If you are in one, it's time to evacuate now. The Mayor of Honolulu is on now and he sounds like everything is under control, all the agencies are working with each other -- including police, fireman planning, hospitals, hotels. "Don't believe the worst is going to happen, but prepare for the worst that could happen." He's very calm. They've prepared for the homeless, the animals at the zoo, etc.

The water system will be shut down on Maui around when the tsunami hits so everyone needs to get water. But things should get back to normal quickly.

A huge earthquake, 8.9 in magnitude, has hit Japan, triggering a massive tsunami.[More...]

There's being smart on crime, tough on crime, and now just plain old dumb on crime.

Colorado's new Governor, John Hickenlooper, formerly the popular Mayor of Denver, has just joined the ranks of those who are dumb on crime.

Former Governor Bill Ritter, who previously served two terms as Denver's elected District Attorney, initiated several programs aimed at providing educational opportunities, mental health and drug treatment and vocational programs to inmates, all of which were aimed at reducing recidivism and helping the inmates with re-entry after release.

Hickenlooper has announced as part of his budget cuts (which already made him unpopular due to his announced cuts of $375 million for k-12 education) that he is cutting some of the inmate re-entry programs begun under Ritter.

Joseph Boven at Colorado Independent reports:

Gov. John Hickenlooper’s budget proposal cuts programs designed to reduce recidivism, prevent juveniles from entering the criminal justice system and cut the number of repeat drug offenders in jail — programs former Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration said were saving the state millions of dollars. Colorado realized significant savings as a result of Ritter’s recidivism and diversion packages as indicated in a fact sheet released by the Office of State Planning and Budgeting in 2010.

Examples of the cuts: [More...]

The Government unsealed an Indictment today against 14 young Somalis. All 14 are charged with piracy and other major crimes in federal court in Norfolk, VA (Eastern District of Virginia.) If convicted on the first piracy count, the sentence is mandatory life in prison. There is no parole. They leave prison when they die. The FBI press release is here.

All 14 men were charged with piracy, which carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison. In addition, the indictment also charges them with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and the use of a destructive device during a crime of violence. The latter charge carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, which would run consecutive to all other charges.

Lindsay Lohan went to court today. She didn't accept the confidential plea deal the Judge suggested to lawyers yesterday during an in chambers secret meeting. At the short hearing today, the Judge gave Lindsay two more weeks to decide whether to accept it.

The Daily Beast reports the Judge also complained about the media leaks, particularly to TMZ and RadarOnline. He said he didn't suspect the attorneys.

Thankfully, this case doesn't involve military secrets where people's lives are at stake, because I can't believe how these things leak out, how TMZ, RadarOnline, all of these, I don't know how,” said [Judge]Schwartz.

Charlie Sheen today filed a $100 million lawsuit against Warner Brothers and Two and a Half Men producer Chuck Lorre.

Sheen is also claiming damages on behalf of the show's cast and crew, even though his lawyers don't represent them. The show employs 200 people.

Sheen says Warner Brothers and Lorre raked in over a billion dollars from the show over its 9 seasons.

Lorre has a terrific attorney, Howard Weitzman on Los Angeles.

Los Angeles attorney Howard Weitzman, who represents Lorre, called the suit's claims "as recklessly false and unwarranted as Mr. Sheen's rantings to the media." He added the lawsuit was "about a fantasy 'lottery' payday" for Sheen.

Warner Brothers also sounds like it's ready for battle: [More...]

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announced today that his office will drop at least 57 drug cases due to perjury, illegal searches and other misconduct by police officers.

The investigation has been prompted by a series of surveillance videotapes — released by Jeff Adachi, the city’s public defender, and private defense lawyers — showing officers suspected of falsifying reports, illegally entering residences and, in one instance, making a purposefully flawed arrest for drug possession.

“This is not a game,” Mr. Gascón said. “This is real, this involves people’s lives, not only for those who have been incarcerated, but for victims.”

The feds are now investigating officers from the city's Southern Station. The public defender says thousands of cases may be in jeopardy. [More...]

The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved the extension of three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act. The bill was ordered reported by a roll call vote of 10-7. One Republican, Mike Lee of Utah, voted for Leahy's bill. The Obama administration and the Attorney General supported Leahy's bill.

Sen. Leahy said the bill approved by the committee contains added civil liberties and privacy protections. He introduced S. 193 on January 26. It is available here and here. Several amendments were made and voted on today. You can see them here (scroll down to bills section.)[More...]

Open Thread.

In my years as a front pager at Daily Kos, a running theme, perhaps THE running theme, was that Dems needed to fight for their values. The Barack Obama phenomenon and the PPUS sidetracked that theme. But perhaps it is making a comeback. Here is E.J. Dionne today:

Consider the contrast between two groups of Democrats, in Wisconsin and in the nation's capital. Washington Democrats, including President Obama, have allowed conservative Republicans to dominate the budget debate so far. As long as the argument is over who will cut more from federal spending, conservatives win. Voters may think the GOP is going too far, but when it comes to dollar amounts, they know Republicans will always cut more.

In Wisconsin, by contrast, 14 Democrats in the state Senate defined the political argument on their own terms - and they are winning it. [. . .] Here's the key to the Wisconsin battle: For the first time in a long time, blue-collar Republicans - once known as Reagan Democrats - have been encouraged to remember what they think is wrong with conservative ideology.

The Deal was a terrible mistake, in part, because President Obama avoided a chance to fight for the middle class, for the ordinary American, and instead signed on to the "no sacrifice for the rich" Norquistian GOP agenda. He had a chance to fight for what Jim McDermott called the Common Good: