Duncan: I know I’ll make this point a billion times before this is all over, but there’s a difference between thinking that well run financial intermediaries (which, in theory, competition will create) are necessary for a modern economy and believing that the semi-oligopolistic system of...

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 ...

Really, this just appalls me. But Wilkes-Barre is, how do I put this? Mobbed up. Luzerne County is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. (And believe me, you have to be pretty bad to stand out in Pennsylvania, hardly a bastion of public ethics.) As scandals from Wall Street to Washington roil the pu...

Scott Horton on the nine OLC memos written to enhance the presidential powers of George W. Bush that were released this week: John Yoo’s Constitution is unlike any other I have ever seen. It seems to consist of one clause: appointing the President as commander-in-chief. The rest of the Constitutio...

“So we’ll let you continue to rape and pillage - just not as often. And you won’t be paid as much for it.” WASHINGTON - Just four months ago, the pharmaceutical industry was prepared for the worst. Drugmakers feared that Barack Obama would press for price controls on prescrip...

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...

George Clooney: We all know why we’re here and it’s not simply to report the status quo. Even though this status quo is beyond the pale of what is acceptable. It’s beyond our understanding of how much a person can take. Nothing new to report—except the shame of what man can do to man. An...

Oh, boo fucking hoo. And by the way: her district is considerably more liberal than this “business friendly” Dem. She’s more interested in wielding obstructionist power as a minority DINO....

And it’s about damned time. They’ve sucked so much out of the fresh-water aquifers, they have to desalinate the drinking water. (Why do you think everyone in Florida drinks bottled water? The tap water tastes like crap.) You know, for a Republican, Charlie Crist is pretty good: LEE — I...