From Krugman's home page at the Times:

Just sayin.

If you thought Black's truthtelling with Bill Moyers was incendiary, read his latest interview in Barrons. Just like his interview on Moyers, it's about as easy to excerpt as, say, an artillery barrage (and quite a contrast to spread-the-blame-around weak tea like this.) Herewith:

The Lessons of the Savings-and-Loan Crisis
So you aren't a fan of the recently announced plan for the government to back private purchases of the toxic assets?

[BILL BLACK]... The current law mandates prompt corrective action, which means speedy resolution of insolvencies. [Geithner] is flouting the law, in naked violation, in order to pursue the kind of favoritism that the law was designed to prevent. He has introduced the concept of capital insurance, essentially turning the U.S. taxpayer into the sucker who is going to pay for everything. He chose this path because he knew Congress would never authorize a bailout based on crony capitalism.

Geithner is mistaken when he talks about making deeply unpopular moves. Such stiff resolve to put the major banks in receivership would be appreciated in every state but Connecticut and New York. His use of language like "legacy assets" -- and channeling the worst aspects of Milton Friedman -- is positively Orwellian. ...

His plan essentially perpetuates zombie banks by mispricing toxic assets that were mispriced to the borrower and mispriced by the lender, and which only served the unfaithful lending agent [See here on agency issues].

We already know from the real costs -- through the cleanups of IndyMac, Bear Stearns, and Lehman -- that the losses will be roughly 50 to 80 cents on the dollar. The last thing we need is a further drain on our resources and subsidies by promoting this toxic-asset market. By promoting this notion of too-big-to-fail, we are allowing a pernicious influence to remain in Washington. The truth has a resonance to it. The folks know they are being lied to.

I keep asking myself, what would we do in other avenues of life? What if every time we had a plane crash we said: 'It might be divisive to investigate. We want to be forward-looking.' Nobody would fly. It would be a disaster. ...

Summarize the problem as best you can for Barron's readers.

 Read more…

The story is "out there" (I'll get to the newest Barron's shortly), and so far, Krugman's been silent. Neither agreement, nor debunking.

It's definitely night time for the economy, so why isn't the dog barking? Curious!

Q: Where did some of these incompetent and corrupt bankers spend their time and the banks' money last year?

• an investment banker from Lehman Brothers who saw "Kelsey and Keely together" and later saw "Aria and Skyler at the same time"
• an investment banker at JP Morgan Securities who "l
  
   Read more…

I'm posting a long quote from a New York Times book review here, because the quote says something important about the future of our nation.

There is no happy ending to this sordid and shameful story. Despite growing political pressure, despite Supreme Court decisions challenging the detainment policy, despite increasing revelations of the once-hidden program that have shocked the conscience of the world, there is little evidence that the secret camps and the torture programs have been abandoned or even much diminished. New heads of the Defense and Justice Departments have resisted addressing the torture issue, aware that dozens of their colleagues would face legal jeopardy should they do so. And the presidential candidates of both parties have so far shown little interest in confronting the use of torture or recommitting the country to the Geneva Conventions and to America’s own laws and traditions.

Now I wonder -- is that lack of interest in confronting the use of torture or recommitting the nation to abiding by international law really something we could have expected from a different Democratic nominee?

And is that why the Village destroyed them all?

It’s official now, as it has been proclaimed from on high. We are now the United States of Omerica.

The following is excerpted from a hilarious posting by the Times of London:

“…And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and singing: “Yes, We Can.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment...

Sure, it’s a spoof but it has an eery tone of warning [SOS!], suggesting that if we looked beyond the hype of the BO campaign and the infatuation of the media we would see the snake oil salesman made famous in countless Westerns. With the oratorical, persuasive talents these guys had, they could sell refrigerators to Eskimos.

This is just beyond belief. By this judge's logic, if you walk into a bank intending to cash a check, then decide while standing in line to stick the place up, you get to keep the money because you didn't start out with intent to rob.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria VA. Remember that name. You want to be in his jurisdiction just in case the chance to lie, cheat, steal, and defraud happens to come along and you want to do it all with judicial blessing.

A federal judge has dismissed a civil case against a military contractor accused of improperly billing Iraq reconstruction authorities for tens of millions of dollars worth of security services that it did not provide.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria said there was no evidence that Custer Battles, a firm started by Army veterans Scott Custer and Michael Battles, committed fraud under a $16.8 million contract to provide security at the Baghdad International Airport in 2003.

Seriously, I don't think I could even spend that much in a year. And you should see me in a shoe store. Team BIO reports, and I hope the Democrats in Congress are listening:

As President Bush prepares to ask Congress to throw another $1.2 billion dollars into the gaping maw that is the Iraq Reconstruction Fund, a recent report from the independent Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction shows that at least $3 Billion has been wasted in such efforts since US demolition reconstruction efforts began in 2003.

Highlighted in the report are the following:

There’s the $43.8 million spent on a temporary police training camp that has never even been used.

There’s the $36.4 million for armored vehicles, body armor, and weapons that no one seems able to account for.

There’s the $73 million facility built to train Iraqi security forces that has massive expansion cracks in the walls and trickling sewage from ceilings.

 Read more…

Amount of avocado in real guacamole: 4, or what I'm guessing is about 80% of the total mass in the dish.

Amount of avocado in Kraft Store-Bought "Convenient" Guacamole: 2%.

Of course, I beat TPM on this days ago, but this is an unimportant little read blog, so let me quote the professionals now catching up:

Today, President Bush finally signed the Coburn-Obama database bill into law. A handful of large blogs from across the political spectrum, aided by hundreds of readers, banded together to push for the bill's passage, which will create a searchable website of federal grants, loans and contracts.

But when the bill arrived on the President's desk, he saw fit to invite bloggers who are reliably conservative.

Somehow our invitation got lost in the mail. I think that means only one side of that inspriring blog union got to meet the President. Unless Wonkette... no.

It was an oversight, no doubt.

Gosh! They didn't call me either. And I've dissed Obama! Sob. Anyhoo- don't ever let anyone tell you winger blogs are anything but utter tools. I'm sure Glenn's latest "project" will take off and last for generations beyond counting.

You heard about it before, but you know it was only the tip of an iceberg we will never fully comprehend, except in the form of the bill we'll all be paying unto the next generation:

Instead, the suit alleges, KBR used the military's supplies for its own football party

 Read more…

From the Nashville Tennessean this morning. Wonder if a trend is underway, or did they just get caught?

A voter registration group with Republican ties has been banished from Wal-Mart stores in Tennessee for failing to meet the retailer's standards of nonpartisanship and may soon be shut out of stores in California and Nevada, the retailer's spokesman said Tuesday.

Liberty Consultants wanted to register Wal-Mart shoppers in seven traditionally GOP suburban counties around Nashville. But the request was denied after the firm's owner, Gary Thompson, acknowledged to Wal-Mart that he had been hired by Tempe, Ariz.-based Sproul & Associates.

Ah, a blast from the past. Remember these "Sproul" folks?"

Brad and JFK are buddies:

A damning and detailed feature article, written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for Rolling Stone and documenting evidence of the theft of the 2004 Presidential Election is set to hit newstands this Friday, The BRAD BLOG can now confirm. The online version of the article will be posted tomorrow (Thursday) morning.

 Read more…

Tom Skilling of WGN-TV Chicago is the best TV weatherman in America, all classes and probably all-time. He has the misfortune to be the brother of Jeff Skilling, of Enron infamy, who has just been convicted of everything but aggravated sidewalk-spitting and a count or two of insider trading. It's an interesting morality play of two brothers, products of the same genetics and environment and all that, both very talented guys, one of whom used his abilities for Good and the other...not so much. Story, breaking, here at the Chicago Tribune. Who also own WGN TV, the Cubs, and a lot of other things, but that's a rant for another time.

Good news for the long-suffering residents of Florida! They are in a position to save vast amounts of money, time, aggravation from being subjected to campaign ads and answering polling phone calls, and have local news airtime freed up from election coverage to focus on people fallen overboard from cruise ships, eaten by alligators, run away from weddings, and other more significant topics. They can just cancel the next gubernatorial election right now, as the winner has already been declared*:

A reverend who introduced Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist during a breakfast with other pastors Monday said the Lord came to him in a dream two years ago and told him Crist would be the state's next governor.

 Read more…