Jon Chait writes:

The biggest change in American politics over the past three decades is that the Republican Party has embraced, with the fervor of religion, the conviction that that tax rates need only be high enough to fund their desired level of government spending, rather than the actual level of spending. (How this came to be is the subject of my book.) There really no solution to the problem of American fiscal policy until the GOP can reform itself.

(Emphasis supplied.) This is actually wrong. Republicans desire the actual level of spending but simply never want to pay for it (and never do.) The national debt and deficit is a result almost entirely of the profligate fiscal practices of 2 Republicans - Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Only one GOP President in recent history has been serious about the budget deficit - Bush 41. He was practically thrown out of the Republican Party. It is because of this that anyone who actually cares about deficits should always support higher taxes on the wealthy and on corporations. because that is the only fiscal measure that will actually cut the deficit. More . . .

At Sports Left, Jeralyn is writing about the X-Games, and I am writing about the Senior Bowl (a/k/a the Time Tebow Bowl) and the Australian Open.

Coming up, a riff on Bill Simmons' latest colum and his newly refined Levels of Losing.

This is an Open Thread.

The Winter X Games continue in Aspen tonight. You can watch on ESPN, starting at 9pm ET.

Today's events: Skiing SuperPipe Women's Final, Snowmobile Best Trick, Skiing Big Air, Snowboard SuperPipe Men's Final. More here.

For those of you following other things, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Why is ABC so heavily promoting its segment tonight with Andrew Young, author of the sleaze book on John Edwards? I have gotten an e-mail from ABC every few hours today. Their website is filled with news and details of his appearance. So is GMA, they've been hyping it all week. I wouldn't watch Young, a self-promoting scam artist, if they paid me.

Young is not an unbiased journalist. He has a past filled with transgressions, from tax liens to misdemeanor convictions. He's out to make money. He's trying to bury Edwards. I hope no one buys his book.

As for the sex tape he's trying to peddle, the court put a kabosh on that for the time being, granting Rielle Hunter's motion for a temporary restraining order preventing him from disseminating it. A hearing will be held Feb. 8. [More...]

I have not seen it (Transcript here), but the universal reports are that President Obama owned the GOP Caucus in his "Question Time" turn today. Much of it apparently was televised on cable television (Fox News cut away quickly.) Politico reports:

Republicans invited Obama to appear at their annual conference; the president surprised them by accepting – and then by asking that cameras and reporters be allowed into the room. Republicans immediately agreed to the request, but they may be regretting it now. Obama was clearly energized by the exchange – and again and again, he turned the Republicans questions against the GOP, accusing the party of obstructing legislation for political purposes and offering solutions that won’t work.

If politics actually worked this way, Dems would win every time. And Obama would be our FDR. But it doesn't. Do not expect the GOP to ever make this mistake again.

Speaking for me only

The problem is that bankers and CEOs and media executives and congresspeople are not going to change unless they are forced to change. And that is where the people can try to help Obama, or where they can blame him for the situation being ungovernable. That's not to take Obama completely off the hook. He needs to bust some heads. He needs to take on his enemies rather than pleading with them to be reasonable. They're not going to be reasonable. But, the truth remains, to get something done in Congress when the Republicans are pursuing a strategy of obstruction, you need a miracle.

This is a strange argument to me. "Forcing change from the ground up" is a difficult endeavor in any circumstance. It is truly impossible when leaders are, at best, bystanders, at worst, impediments. I would say most people Booman aims his criticism at are more than willing to help Obama fight for change, if Obama is willing to actually, you know, fight for change. The problem has always been the Post Partisan Unity Schtick. As Kevin Drum writes:

The Kansas jury in the Scott Roder murder trial deliberated 40 minutes before returning a guilty verdict.

The jury found Scott Roeder, 51, guilty of gunning down Dr. George Tiller, who operated a clinic in Wichita where late-term abortions were performed. Roeder, 51, faces life in prison when he is sentenced on March 9.

Roeder admitted shooting Tiller in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church as Sunday services began. He testified in his defense Thursday that he believed he had to kill Tiller to save the lives of unborn babies. He said he had no regrets.

So much for that defense, which was meant as much for the judge as the jury. He was hoping it would get him an instruction on the lesser crime of involuntary manslaughter, and a 5 year sentence. It didn't.

Backers of an initiative to legalize and tax marijuana have delivered petitions with 700,000 signatures -- more than the required 433,000-- to the state to get on the November ballot.

The new initiative would allow California residents to cultivate up to 25 square feet of pot and possess or transport up to 1 ounce. It would include fines and criminal sanctions for providing marijuana to minors.

The initiative would allow cities to tax pot sales and regulate how much pot can be sold legally. It would permit individual cities to ban local sales but let citizens possess and consume marijuana.

The group behind the effort says legalization would bring in more than $1 billion in tax revenue. [More...]

Shaun White's snowboarding skills were on full display last night in Aspen at the X Games. Really beautiful to watch, especially in slow motion. He topped the elims and now has set the bar quite high.

I may not like watching traditional sports, like ball games, but I love action and Xtreme sports, including snowboarding . [More...]

Update: The New York Times reports a DOJ official tonight said they have not decided to move the trial and remain confident the SDNY can handle it.

In light of objections by New York's Mayor, Senator Schumer and other state and local leaders, the White House tonight asked the Department of Justice to find another place to try the 9/11 Defendants.

I hope they pick Denver. We've done it before and we can handle it. [More...]

BTD is on a plane this afternoon, and I'm busy at work. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Update: From the Feb. 2010 issue of Reason Magazine: Radley Balko on The Forfeiture Racket: "Police and prosecutors won't give up their license to steal."

More whining about anticipated the 9/11 federal criminal trials. Mayor Bloomberg reverses course and now complains about the expense and anticipated traffic jams. And:

Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) said he has introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of Justice Department funds to try Guantanamo detainees in federal civilian courts. ...The New York congressman called it "one of the worst decisions ever made by any president," and said terrorist suspects should be tried by military commissions.

Sounds to me the worst decision was NY voters electing Peter King. The trials belong in federal court, New York is the proper venue, federal courts there have successfully dealt with multiple terror trials. As for traffic jams, given that the trials will take months, except on a few days of heightened interest, such as jury selection, opening arguments and closing arguments, it's unlikely they will be a huge draw. Interest in them is likely to wane while the tedious testimony is taken.