Paul Krugman took a strange swipe at Glenn Greenwald when Glenn wrote tangentially about the Gruber disclosure brouhaha. Glenn's response is a winner:

Nobody suggests that there's anything wrong with hiring Gruber to perform modeling analyses and paying him to do so. That's all perfectly appropriate; I'm all in favor of the Government's retaining genuine experts (as Gruber is) for analysis. Nor has anyone claimed that Gruber changed his views because of these payments. The issue is the non-disclosure, and -- most serious of all -- the misleading attempts by the White House and others to depict him as being "objective" and independent rather than disclosing that he was being paid a significant amount of money by the very party whose interests his advocacy was advancing[.]

I can not believe anyone disagrees with Glenn's point here. Krugman seems to be flailing here. Note, as someone accused of not disclosing conflicts of interest in the past, I am pretty averse to these types of charges. But Gruber's failure to disclose in this instance seems pretty direct. He should have disclosed.

Speaking for me only

The Aspen Sheriff's Department and Aspen Police Department issued a press release to the media today with details for attending actor Charlie Sheen's hearing next Wednesday on his motion to modify the protective order precluding him from contacting his wife. (Prior coverage here.) They are holding a lottery for tickets and satellite trucks on Tuesday, due to the "significant media and community interest in the hearing" and the need for security and to protect the historic nature of the courthouse building. (It is really old.)

[More...]

Some good news. The Obama Administration has decided, at least temporarily, to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitians illegally in the U.S.

The protection is only available to Haitians already in the country as of last Tuesday, and allows them to stay and work for 18 months.

[Homeland Security Director Janet]Napolitano told reporters that the temporary legal status is an act of compassion....Temporary protected status is granted to foreigners who may not be able to return safely to their country because of a natural disaster, armed conflict or other reasons.

The ruling could affect 100,000 to 200,000 Haitians in the U.S.

In affirming the denial of Roman Polanski's motion to dismiss the criminal charges against him last month, the California Appeals Court noted that Section 1173 of the California Penal Code allows for felony sentencing in absentia. The pertinent part of the statute reads (via Lexis.com):

If the conviction is for a felony, the defendant shall be personally present when judgment is pronounced against him or her, unless the defendant, in open court and on the record, or in a notarized writing, requests that judgment be pronounced against him or her in his or her absence, and that he or she be represented by an attorney when judgment is pronounced, and the court approves his or her absence during the pronouncement of judgment...

The Court said "Based on the oral arguments of counsel, this court would not expect any objection to be made if Polanski should request to be sentenced in absentia."

Polanski then moved to be sentenced in absentia. Today, the L.A. prosecutor objected. A hearing is set for next week. I haven't found a copy of the prosecutor's response, but I also haven't seen any California cases that uphold the denial of a defendant's request because of an objection from the prosecutor. While the decision is up to the judge, I think the prosecutor is on shaky ground. Here's why: [More...]

The Massachussetts Supreme Court today upheld the child sex assault conviction of defrocked Roman Catholic priest Paul M. Shanley. Shanley was prosecuted by Martha Coakley based on repressed memory evidence. Not only was the conviction upheld, but the Court officially validated the dubious evidence considered by many to be junk science.

"In sum, the judge's finding that the lack of scientific testing did not make unreliable the theory that an individual may experience dissociative amnesia was supported in the record, not only by expert testimony but by a wide collection of clinical observations and a survey of academic literature,'' Justice Robert Cordy wrote for the SJC.

As amicus brief author R. Christopher Barden, a psychologist and attorney.one of the amicus brief authorspsychologist says: [More...]

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is traveling to Haiti Saturday to view the earthquake effects first-hand, meet with Haiti's President and deliver supplies.

"We will also be conveying very directly and personally to the Haitian people our long-term, unwavering support, solidarity and sympathies to reinforce President Obama's message that they are not facing this crisis alone," she added.

"I will also be able to see first hand the ongoing efforts and deployment of US government personnel and resources for maximum impact to support the vital lifesaving relief and recovery efforts," Clinton said.

As BTD noted earlier, President Obama is traveling to Mass. Sunday to campaign for Martha Coakley.

NYTimes:

President Obama will travel to Massachusetts on Sunday to campaign for Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, as worries intensify that the party could lose its 60-seat majority in the Senate and the seat that for decades belonged to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

It's still morning on the West Coast. Anyway, Sports Left is up, and to give you a flavor of what that blog will be like, I link to one of my favs, Bill Simmons:

If we ever figure out the whole "gambling on the Internet" thing, how much fun would it be if there was a Web site that allowed us to bet on props and things-happening-in-the-moment wagers? For instance, we see that shot of [Cards kicker Neil] Rackers, and 20 seconds later the following prop goes up … "Neil Rackers attempts a field goal of under 40 yards on this drive: Makes it (-250), misses it (+200)." [-] and we could wager on it in real time.

This is a great idea and can be applied to Reality TV as well. Of course Reality TV would have to go live but with the gambling proposition, even I would watch it. So there is a flavor of what Sports Left will be discussing (not only . . .)

This is an Open Thread.

[I]f you think that the administration will simply give up on the excise tax -- which does them virtually no good in the first 10 years anyway -- why is it in there at all? It's unpopular with their allies and wins them no friends among their enemies. Indeed, it's easy to see why so few presidents attempt cost control: You get hammered by the people who usually like you and dismissed by the people who usually like cost controls but don't fundamentally trust you. That leaves you with, well, virtually no one.

(Emphasis supplied.) In addition to accepting the false right wing frame that Republicans "like cost controls" (they don't), Ezra's argument is belied by the fact that the Obama Administration abandoned the most effective cost control measure that was proposed for health care reform - the public option:

Ezra Klein:

The excise tax, by contrast, does not have progressive rates -- it's just a flat 40 percent. If health benefits were treated as wages, then a middle-class worker with a $27,000 health-care plan would've paid much less in taxes than a Goldman Sachs trader with a $27,000 health-care plan. With the excise tax, the two will pay the same rate.

(Emphasis supplied.) Indeed. But then Ezra levels a strange, disingenuous critique at the House Dems:

Unlike Jeralyn, I strongly hope Martha Coakley wins the Senate race in Massachusetts. There simply is no comparison between her and her opponent Scott Brown - Coakley is infinitely superior on the issues I care about.

That said, it is now clear that Coakley may lose. What happens if Coakley loses? What would it mean? One thing for sure - it would mean that the Democratic political message is not working. It's one thing to lose the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey in tough economic times. Like NYC mayors and Presidents, Governors are blamed for everything that happens. And times are tough. But Coakley is not an incumbent. Surely she is not being blamed for current conditions. It seems that Coakley is not a good candidate, but still, Massachusetts? Something is wrong. More . .

Unnamed sources today say the Justice Department is considering trial in D.C. for Guantanamo Detainee Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali, believed to be responsible for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing.

Hambali was interrogated and turned over to the CIA by Thai forces, and further interrogated. He confessed within a month. Time Magazine reported back in 2003, the CIA took him to the island of Diego Garcia for interrogation.

The BBC wrote this article last year about the prospect of Hambali being returned to Indonesia for trial. It also states Hambali recanted some of his confessions.

If they are going to try him in federal court, they likely believe they can convict him without his statements made during the early interrogations. He's been held for eight years, he deserves a trial.