The fact sheet is here. The approach is shrewd. It emphasizes the democracy promotion goal of the policy change and discusses what Cuba is - an authoritarian regime. At the same time, it is important to not overestimate what it is, as Steve Benen seems to:

The hardline restrictions imposed by the Bush administration, which only followed in the footsteps of restrictions imposed by every other modern president . . .

This is simply incorrect. The freest time for US-Cuba relations actually occurred during the Carter Administration. This policy does not match Carter's Cuba policy. It is more like Bill Clinton's. More . . .

Goldman Sachs announced its quarterly earnings after the close of the market, apparently the news was very good for Goldman (1.8B and $3.39/diluted share and will raise $5 billion in a private offering) and will be giving back the TARP money it took (apparently $10B) as soon as possible (How does tomorrow sound to you Goldman?). No word on whether the backdoor bailouts given to Goldman via AIG would be returned . . .

How much of that profit comes from AIG counterparty positions? More . . .

Via Atrios, Adam Serwer criticizes Clarence Thomas for saying this:

‘Today there is much focus on our rights,” Justice Thomas said. “Indeed, I think there is a proliferation of rights.” “I am often surprised by the virtual nobility that seems to be accorded those with grievances,” he said. “Shouldn’t there at least be equal time for our Bill of Obligations and our Bill of Responsibilities?”

Taken in isolation, I think you could use Thomas' statement as a starting point for progressive government. Think about it. What are the obligations and responsibilities of the citizenry to the country? How about, for one, contributing their fair share to the prosperity of the whole country. How about the rich have the responsibility and obligation to the nation to contribute to the Common Good? Of course, that is not what Thomas means:

They say there is a "brain drain" going on in Wall Street. Countering the theory that there is much in the way of brains to drain on Wall Street is the head of AIG Financial Products (via TPM):

American International Group Inc.'s financial-products unit is on track to wind down by year end, but the controversy over bonuses that led to the loss of some key people may have made the process more costly for taxpayers, the unit's head said. AIG Financial Products head Gerry Pasciucco, in his first extensive public interview since the bonus dustup last month, said 20 of the unit's 370 employees quit amid the controversy . . . Mr. Pasciucco says the controversy "hurt morale" and "stunned people such that our wind-down has slowed down." He added, "Taxpayers probably have been damaged."

[More...]

For over 5 decades, Fidel Castro's totalitarian regime has ruled Cuba with an iron fist. For nearly 5 decades, the United States has pursued a wrongheaded policy that has served to prop up support for Castro's regime. For nearly five decades, in the name of promoting democratic change in Cuba, the United States has pursued a policy that undermines the chances for democratic change. To promote democracy in Cuba, the United States should lift the embargo.

Tomorrow, the New America foundation will hold a program titled "Is It Time to End The Cold War in Latin America?" It will be livestreamed at Steve Clemons' blog. Perhaps, after the Bush Administration, the phrase "democracy promotion" has gotten a bad name. I am a believer in democracy promotion and refuse to allow the catastrophic blunders of the Bush Administration to tarnish a sound policy.

Speaking for me only

While I recognize Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time and I root for Lefty, could CBS' coverage of the Masters have been more embarrassingly fawning yesterday? Tiger never really had even an outside shot to win and after Mickleson took a 5 at the 12th, he was pretty much done too. There were 3 guys well ahead of them and it seemed as if CBS was rooting for them to fail. Really bad broadcasting. In the end, it was an anticlimactic finish, as Kenny Perry kicked away a 2 shot lead with 2 to play and Cabrera basically parred his way to victory. Pretty lousy tourney overall.

This is an Open Thread.

How absurd is this? The Department of Justice is going to prosecute the captured Somali pirate in federal court in New York or Washington.

Can we think of any more ways to waste money? On Saturday, a judge in Somalia's State of Puntland handed down 20 year sentences to ten pirates captured in another hijacking last October. In September, other pirates were sentenced to 15 years. Swift and certain justice, Somali style.

The pirate will come here, be declared indigent so taxpayers will fund both his prosecution and the defense, and the case will take years to wind through the courts on jurisdictional issues alone.

Deterrence? What pirate isn't going to think 20 years in a U.S. prison is a cakewalk compared to the conditions in a prison in Somalia or Kenya?

Another case of retribution gone wild.

With a high profile trans-gender murder trial beginning tomorrow in Colorado, liberal groups are up in arms trying to use it as a stepping stone for the enactment of a federal hate crimes law.

Just say No. I've been saying no on this since 2000 when I wrote an article I've since summarized on TalkLeft over the years here,here, here and here. My conclusion:

Crimes committed out of hatred or bigotry toward the characteristics of any individual or group cannot be tolerated. They must be condemned in the strongest possible language. Law enforcement must be encouraged to prosecute such crimes to the fullest extent of our criminal laws. Yet, whether we should enact more criminal laws with stiffer penalties and which would authorize greater intrusion into our constitutionally protected areas of free speech, free thought, free association, and personal privacy, is a matter that should be studied carefully and thoroughly before any action is taken.

With all the talk about the death of newspapers, this bit of data, buried in this Howie Kurtz piece on how awful Politico is, surprised me:

Politico's online readership nearly doubled during the campaign, from 2.4 million unique visitors in January 2008 to 4.6 million in October. Last month, according to Nielsen Net Ratings, it dipped to just over 3 million. By comparison, nytimes.com has bounced back almost to its October level of more than 20 million, while washingtonpost.com declined during that period from 12.4 million to 9.4 million.

(Emphasis supplied.) nytimes.com is doing October 2008 numbers? That's pretty impressive. I wonder what is behind it. The prominence of business stories? Wouldn't that drive traffic to the WSJ? Or has Murdoch's ownership really damaged the WSJ brand? I can't judge by my reading habits because I scour the Times every day, several times a day every day.

Greg Sargent asks the question:

The legislation — which represented the consensus view of the Democratic Party a year ago — would drastically limit use of the state secrets privilege, which is the invocation of national security to justify government secrecy and get anti-government lawsuits tossed out of court. The bill was reintroduced this year by Senators Russ Feingold, Patrick Leahy, and Ted Kennedy in response to Obama’s use of the legal tool, with Feingold calling the need for the legislation “urgent.”

. . . In response to my questions, a White House spokesperson declined to say whether the Obama administration would support the legislation.

Good work by Sargent.

Speaking for me only

Paul Krugman writes:

This is a column about Republicans — and I’m not sure I should even be writing it. Today’s G.O.P. is, after all, very much a minority party. It retains some limited ability to obstruct the Democrats, but has no ability to make or even significantly shape policy. Beyond that, Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn’t feel right to make fun of crazy people. Better, perhaps, to focus on the real policy debates, which are all among Democrats.

(Emphasis supplied.) No need to go further. I would add just one point - the most important political debate going on right now is the POLICY debate about the economy and the financial crisis. How the economy goes and how the financial crisis plays out will determine the political fate of Democratic control of Washington. Not tea parties or what David Broder thinks.

Speaking for me only

I brought up this issue last month, and Digby and Greenwald revisit it, in the context of the Bagram detainee facility - the question of what does Marty Lederman, now in the Obama Office of Legal Counsel, think about the arguments being made by the Obama Justice Department. On Bagram, Lederman wrote in the past:

Would habeas rights extend to alien detainees held in foreign locations other than GTMO? That is to say, can the military avoid the impact of Boumediene simply by detaining or transferring all alleged alien enemy combatants to a different facility, such as at Bagram?

Short answer: No. . . .

MORE . . .