The Israeli cabinet pledges funds and legal team to counter war crimes prosecutions amidst new reports of the attacks on Gaza, including the slaughter of the animals in the Gaza Zoo.

The stimulus bill working it’s way through Congress over stiff Republican opposition has left committee, however efforts to improve the bill with Amendments are gathering support. New meetings with House Republicans and Democrats are promised in order to move the bill as quickly as possible.

The “what if” harpies are still crying out for a 9/11 redux.

Thank you for the opportunity to host a forum on Dean Baker’s book, “Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy.” As I’m sure that most readers of this blog know, Dean is an economist who has long been affiliated with the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.

Hold onto your wallets. The bankers are coming bank for more money. They burned through the $350 billion that we gave them in the first round of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and they are worried that even the second $350 billion will not be enough money to keep them solvent. The selective leaks from Treasury tell us that the banks will need far more money to cover their bad debts.

The Jerusalem Post today reports that the US Navy boarded an Iranian ship last week – and then thought better of it.

David Broder loves the Udall dynasty. So do the Udalls.

One really does wish that Krugman could appear on every talking heads show to swat down BS like this — every time. It’s just like Alvy Singer trotting out Marshall McLuhan.

In his dissing of upstate New Yorkers, Kennedy backer Lawrence O’Donnell just gave upstater and newly-appointed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand an amazing gift, one that she is no doubt going to be using in her 2010 campaign. She really needs to send him a fruit basket and a thank-you card.

Today’s Republican Party is defined by its belief in natural hierarchy and the inequality of people. It disguises its contempt for democracy so well that many who vote for GOP candidates are unaware of the party’s deep authoritarian, anti-democratic motives. It’s time America understood.