Welcome To A Paper Economy

The Fed is opening up another 800 billion dollars of loans. This puts its balance sheet at about 3 trillion, supposedly (I have my doubts about that number). For reference, before the crisis, the Fed's balance sheet was about 800 billion. In the old days this would have been called what it is: running the printing press hot.

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Florida's Gay Adoption Ban Overturned

Miami judge rules against Florida's ban on adoptions by gay people, finds 'no rational basis'

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Bowoto v. Chevron: White Guilt Clouds The Truth

Today features jury instructions and closing arguments in the trail of Bowoto v. Chevron. In the accounts of the trial, I've noticed an interesting pattern of the perspective of what I know call "White Activist Guilt". From that perspective, Chevron is the rich, bad "white" company, and the Nigerian militant groups attacking that company's employees and facilities are all good, non-violent folks.   This is the kind of view that has been presented by blogger Scott Gilmore, and others.  But his blog's arguably the best one solely dedicated to the Bowoto trial, so I'll start there.

The story he tells of a peaceful demonstration by Bowoto is just not true. But the real story of this case is the poor Nigerian economic development and that government's neglect in making life better for Nigeria's poor, who've formed militant groups to take whatever wealth they can.  

Obama’s Economic Team May Push for Deeper Role in Economy, Markets

Barack Obama will today unveil an economic team steeped in fighting crises and likely to push for an unprecedented government role in reviving growth and stabilizing the financial system.

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Last Secrets of the Bush Administration - Charles Homans

Iin March 2001, U.S. Archivist John W. Carlin received a letter from Alberto Gonzales, then counsel to the newly inaugurated president George W. Bush. It concerned an important deadline that was looming—one that Bush owed to Richard Nixon.In 1974, Congress ordered a lockdown on all records kept by the Nixon White House, afraid that the....

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Dow's biggest 2-day run since '87

Citigroup rescue and Obama economic team picks propel stocks. Dow sees its biggest two-session point gain ever and biggest two-session percentage gain in 21 years.

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Is George Bush off the wagon? Or was he ever really on it?

George Bush caught imbibing at the APEC summit. Time to get to AA, George, and start working on that fearless moral inventory. . .

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