First Looks category archive

Note that the mopes have copped a plea and promised restitution.

What restitution is there for persons incarcerated for personal profit?

(They are since claiming the plea bargains are “conditional.” Apparently that means they reserve the right to renounce them if they decide they can get off in a trial. My intensive study of Law and Order reruns leads me to think that the prosecutors won’t think much of that.)

Two top Luzerne County (Pa.–ed) Court judges took kickbacks to place juvenile offenders in detention centers, even ordering some to be locked up against the recommendations of probation officers, federal authorities said yesterday.

President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Judge Michael T. Conahan agreed to a plea deal that would send them to prison for seven years, according to an agreement filed in federal court Monday.

The judges allegedly concealed $2.6 million in payments from one of the owners of the centers and an unnamed person, authorities said. At the same time, the judges also worked to ensure that the facilities reaped millions of dollars in business by sending them a steady number of juveniles.

The judges also agreed to plead to tax fraud. Both have stepped down, have agreed to be disbarred and will pay restitution, according to prosecutors.

Sleet on top of snow.

Even the biggest dog (50 pounds) is walking on top of the crust. Looks like almost every school in Delaware is closed.

Supposed to be 40 degrees and rain by noon.

Addendum:

Already turning to rain.

DelLib has a fun discussion of Delawareans’ screwy reactions to the white stuff.

Buy the book.

Mr. Bunch starts with a description of the state of the Reagan Myth today (along with a few jarring facts showing how it deviates from anything approaching in any remote way truth, history, or the American Way.)

He then journeys into truth and history. (With truth and history, we can find the American Way.)

(Full disclosure: I haven’t finished the book yet. But this story needs to be told. Those who believe distorted history create a distorted present.)

Also posted at the Great Orange Satan.

Excerpt below the Fold

Bill, in the comments.

I think the whole kerfuffle over contraceptives is a side-issue, like worrying about where that penny rolled to while the dollars are burning in the fireplace, but I think the rest of it deserves the attention of my two or three regular readers.

Hell, he even did something I usually don’t:

Research.

Addendum:

The Booman attempts to corral this Trojan horse of an issue. The whole thing is worth the five minutes it takes to read, but here’s the heart of it:

The Republicans are making hay about contraceptives, but it is a distorted and dishonest talking point. Reporters should set the record straight on the facts before they analyze the effectiveness of the talking point. They shouldn’t reinforce the talking point before analyzing it.

Having said that, even if the Republicans were using the term ‘family planning’ it is difficult to defend the economically stimulative effects of family planning funding. Most people see family planning funding as a program for helping (mostly) poor women, and not as a way to create jobs or jump start the economy. Even Nancy Pelosi was inclined to argue the waiver was a cost-reducing measure rather than a strictly stimulative one. Good family planning programs will reduce the cost of providing health care (CBO estimates it will save $200 million over five years).

Addendum-Dee-Dum-Dum:

Here’s another take, courtesy of Karen.

I’m not taking a stand on this. As I said, it’s a side issue to this bill.

(Aside: That does not mean I consider it a side issue to public policy; health care will soon be on the table. Rather, this who-shot-john is another manifestation of the Repulsican Party’s weird and rather creepy preoccupation with other persons’ genitalia.)

The practical truth in politics is that sometimes the smartest thing to do is concede the skirmish and focus on winning the war.

Q. Bob Herbert in the Toimes:

What’s up with the Republicans? Have they no sense that their policies have sent the country hurtling down the road to ruin? Are they so divorced from reality that in their delusionary state they honestly believe we need more of their tax cuts for the rich and their other forms of plutocratic irresponsibility, the very things that got us to this deplorable state?

A. Yes.

The Booman points to signs of progress:

No, if there is going to be a cure for bipartisanship, it isn’t going to come from the Republicans in the Senate. Their back is already broken, and they know it. All that remains is for them to get used to it.

(Aside: The Booman seems to have a firmer grasp on political reality than do a lot of the ideologues and naysayers. To paraphrase what a friend emailed to me today over something else, there’s a country to save here. It’s time to stop quibbling over commas and semicolons. The Repubs haven’t yet figured out that the great majority of the country is just tuning them out. They’ve shown what they do, and no one wants them to do more of it.)

Now maybe the country can move forward and fix all the problems that the Repubs created.

It’s rather disgusting that people actually watch this thing live on the telly vision, while food aid organizations can’t keep up with demand.

I’ve seen video clips. That’s enough. The concept and the execution are both throw-up making.

Video courtesy Brendan, who has a lot more details and statistics, if you can–er–stomach them.

From today’s New York Times business webpage:

As Duncan says, “Lucky duckies.”

Phillybits faces a quandary, which he has since removed from his site.

Tuesday, Triumph Brewing Company, Chestnut two blocks from Front, 6 p.

Plenty of parking on Front, and, for drivers, parking meter rates have doubled. Save up even more quarters. (Meters are still cheaper than lots.)

Good food, good drink, good politics, good fellowship for all left-thinking persons.

And those economists at WellsWachovia should know about downturns (emphasis added):

The U.S. economy contracted violently in the fourth quarter, with gross domestic product falling at its fastest pace in more than 25 years, economists said ahead of what promises to be a grim week of economic news.

“Real economic activity fell off a cliff during the fourth quarter, producing a sharp drop in employment, output and spending,” wrote economists at Wachovia.

It’s gonna take a long time to clean up this mess.

And the worst part is that it’s not over. Economists expect another huge decline in the first quarter, with a smaller contraction in the second quarter.

Apparently, there was a pageant today.

Via Delaware Liberal, which also posted the text.

In other words, play fair with the man.

It does seem to be the end of wankery as usual.

John Cole wrote this so I wouldn’t have to.

Addendum, Supper Time:

kos has more in his Midday Update.

Here. Read the comments.

H/T Karen, once again.

StevenD sounds an all points bulletin, then answers his own question:

Gee, where were all these GOP budget hawks when Bush was blowing buh-buh-buh-BILLIONS of UNACCOUNTED and WASTED TAX DOLLARS in Iraq on a war and occupation which was based on a lie? When the bloated Medicare Drug Bill was written to the specifications of lobbyists for the Pharmaceutical and Insurance industries? I guess bipartisan means never having to do anything a Democratic President wants to help ordinary Americans in trouble …

And his answer surprises us how?

A submission from a reader over at TPM.

Yes, right here in River City:

On the 36th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, a man smashed his SUV into the entrance of the Planned Parenthood office in St. Paul this morning.

(snip)

“We think it’s intentional because of Roe vs. Wade,” Panos said. “He’s not saying much. He was praying or chanting when the officers arrived.”

Via Glomarization.

Bill Shein review compares the lives of Lincoln and Obama:

For example, we know that both came to the White House from Illinois. Both are regarded as masters of the political game. Both are tall. Both studied and practiced the law. And both enjoyed star-studded, pre-inauguration concerts that included an outstanding performance by folk legend Pete Seeger.

But it’s less-well-known that both Obama and Lincoln named their children Sasha and Malia, something that Lincoln biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin says is “absolutely not true.” At least when she’s asked during repeated late-night prank phone calls to her home.

There are countless other links between 1861 and 2009. It’s been widely reported that President Obama used Lincoln’s Bible while taking the oath of office. But did you know that thanks to special arrangement with the Smithsonian Institution, on Tuesday, soul legend Aretha Franklin wore the actual hat worn by Mary Todd Lincoln during her husband’s first swearing-in?

One hopes that his column will do to such comparisons what Airplane did to the loathsome and hackneyed Airport series.

End them.