And Digby, too. And this is pretty damned interesting, too. Josh Marshall: It turns out that one of the features of the 2005 Bankruptcy bill was to put derivative counter parties [like CDS holders] at the front of the line ahead of other creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. Actually, from what I can...

Great piece by Michael Lind in today’s Salon on the timid liberalism of Obama’s policies, an absolute must-read. Here’s an excerpt: I’m sympathetic to the argument that the public, after nearly half a century of conservative anti-government propaganda, will oppose the direct ...

Consumer watchdogs warn that hard times have created a target-rich environment for scammers eager to pick your pocket and steal your identity....

The horror goes on. And in the meantime, Congressional “moderate Dems” are fighting to make sure the only people who will get real help are on Wall Street! (Thanks, Rahm, for insisting we starve all the progressive primary candidates of cash. Have you explained that stategy yet to your n...

On cramdowns, via Chris Bowers....

Krugman on the refusal to nationalize banks: The sickening feeling of drift — the sense that policymakers are refusing to face hard facts, and are dithering while the world economy burns — just keeps getting stronger....

The WSJ’s “Microtrends” columnist talks about the unprecedented wave of layoffs in law firms and other white collar professions: What is a laid-off lawyer to do? They principally had their savings in the stock and housing markets, which have been decimated. Unlike many blue-collar ...

At Democracy Now!: AMY GOODMAN: Today, we host a debate on healthcare. Dr. David Himmelstein is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard University, co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, joining us from Watertown outside Boston. Len Nichols is the director of Health Policy Pro...

With New York City’s economy on the decline, one has to ask: Is the crime rate likely to return to the bad old days?...

The faces behind the foreclosures....