By now, everyone's seen this grim number (h/t BondDad):

Pushed to the brink of collapse by the mortgage crisis, Bear Stearns Cos. agreed -- after prodding by the federal government -- to be sold to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for the fire-sale price of #2 a share in stock, or about $236 million.

Put it together with this from Friday's NYT's 'Street Scene' page, and it's a rallying cry for pitchforks and torches down at the Plaza Hotel:

Bear's Den

Shares of Bear Stearns may be sinking, but the firm's chairman just put the finishing touches on a high-flying real estate deal.  The chairman, James E. Cayne, paid $25.8 million...

Late yesterday, I cross-posted a couple dozen blogospheric rants against Bill Buckley that I collected for 43sb.  Starting with the insult from Gore Vidal, 'TinPlated CryptoNazi -- Good Riddance', I explained I didn't want to waste the effort on him.

Among the few dozen comments here (most whinging because speaking ill of the dead is bad juju) were several that nod respectfully at his talent.  And in trying to explain this morning why that talent made what he did all the more wrong... I accidentally took the time I'd hoped to not waste:

Rather than waste thought or effort on his vile life, I've chosen to give the proper level of respect for this particular departed sod: I've scavenged wantonly a couple dozen remarks from elsewhere around the blogosphere:

• "... gave wit a bad name."

• "Vidal nailed it...  he wasn't anything more than a tin-plated crypto-nazi.  He almost had a stroke when Vidal nailed him with that one. The truth hurts."
  
• "he was the purveyor of a despicable morally bankrupt and pragmatically ridiculous political ideology that was pretty much guaranteed to lead us into exactly the kind of superdupermegaclusterfuck we are now experiencing."
  
• "We are richer for having lost him. (hat tip to The Simpsons' Patti & Selma)"

Enough?  Hell, we're just getting started...

ISU Constitutional Law professor Dave Adler came and talked to Idaho Falls' Drinking Liberally chapter recently.  In the midst of his presentation he mentioned Little v. Barreme.

In 1804, the Supreme Court held that it is Congress's job to DIRECT the war, and the President's job to manage within their instructions.  Whether you think shareholders and CEO or Publisher and Editor or Owner and Manager... Bush is clearly wrong here.  But don't just take my word for it.  Here's a few other perspectives.  Wikipedia.  One of several columns that came up when I googled 'Barreme'.  A column from George Mason University.  The court decision itself.  Click, if you're up to some pretty dense legalese.  Click for the case that disproves President Bush's Unitary (Imperial) Executive claims.  Heck, click if you just hate signing statements.

(Crossposted to 43rdstateblues.com)

It has been more than a year since he popped off "Fuck em - they're just mercenaries". That still upsets me. Regardless of my distaste for empire-building, unilateral war, or mercenaries... they're people, dammit. They have families that had to endure hearing that. Anyone with class would never forget that.

While he's made insensitive/distasteful remarks since, they've never hit that level. But today, he comes close, calling a progressive icon an asshole. Markos has flown off the handle about Garrison Keillor filing Cease-and-Desist paperwork on some nimrod who made a T-shirt that said "Prarie Ho Companion". Between bragging about his taking law classes and being invited to teach a media law class at Boston U (I'd wager because of this blog), Markos ratchets up his 'cred, then face-plants in front of a large (and growing) bipartisan crowd.

Face-plants?!

Yep. Ten seconds of googling 'trademark parody protected' came up with a detailed brief (by a law firm that specializes in Intellectual Property cases) that shows how badly. Click the link, or if a 7-page brief isn't your style, read my recap below the flip.

d2 here, again.

Still in DC. Still thinking about Idaho and world events.

Family saw me off for my trip here. It was going to be quite a long one: 10 days. My little girls are just old enough now that the announced trip shook them up quite a bit. So, even though the flight out was quite early, we rousted them so they'd see me to the airport, see me leaving, see me getting on a plane, then flying away. The connection/transition seems to make these trips more understood than words alone.

So, wee hours of the morning, we step into the airport and I'm planning the above choreography in my head when I notice three guys in desert-issue camo uniforms, duffles in tow, waiting at the ticket counter. Suddenly, my problems seem trivial by comparison...

Here's my note to the FEC:

Dear FEC;

The internet will dramatically change political discourse.

But it will do so in a way that the founding fathers would love.  

They'd be thrilled to see every citizen able to run their own press.  Ben Franklin would be beside himself, and his blog would be world-renowned.  Tom Paine would have been a blogger.

They'd be thrilled at the flexibility and speed that it adds to our discussions on important issues.  Tom Jefferson would have a blog apiece on botany, liberty and winemaking, I suspect.

They'd be wiring Independence Hall, videoconferencing with their peers in Europe and California.  They'd have contemplated technology-laden concepts like online voting and instant runoff elections.

(more...)

A waitress in Miami, whose son died of cancer:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11183185.htm

The father of a 17-yr-old girl that was brain-dead after a car wreck:  http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/11191872.htm
He still resents Ashcroft's meddling.

The Nashua Advocate gets it: http://nashuaadvocate.blogspot.com/2005/03/in-terry-schiavo-case-republicans.html

Slate answers some questions, gives some data.

The Slate article has some numbers.  But how many parallel cases do hospitals encounter each year, how often are poor and minorities quietly denied expensive life-prolonging treatment, are parallel cases going on right now, how does Bush reconcile this with his Texas law, what about unfair incarceration, torture, extraordinary rendition?   And most importantly, what's being ignored during this circus?