Nancy Pelosi called for the creation of a new Pecora Commission. There have been quite a few mentions of the Pecora Commission in the news lately. However, I have seen little that actually goes to first sources and explains exactly what the Pecora Commission was and what it did. I will attempt to fill that void.I have been reading the final report and some of the hearing transcripts.

The NYT describes a proposal by Sen. Kent Conrad to create member-owned “co-ops” to provide insurance for small business and individuals not covered in other ways. Whatever its other merits, this is not a decent alternative to a robust public health insurance option, even though it’s being offered as such.

Per CQ ($):

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, R-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, said the conference report will definitely not contain language, found in the Senate’s version, which would bar for three years the disclosure of images of U.S. war on terror prisoners taken from Sept. 11, 2001, to Jan. 22, 2009. 

I’m pretty sure Louise Slaughter is a Democrat, but bottom line — Joe Lieberman loses again.

I have yet to see the official text of the bill, but it is clear that the GOP has decided that the four decade experiment called Medicare and Medicaid is over. Says Orrin Hatch, what could be more sacred than the bond between a patient and his/her insurance company’s accountants?

Sheldon Whitehouse says we got no actionable intelligence from Abu Zubaydah through waterboarding.

There are lot of people on TV saying irresponsible things about the shooting at the Holocaust museum (my favorite was the “Obama effect,” something that Obama’s election precipitated).

If any TV bookers are looking for someone knowledgeable to speak on the subject, they should have David Neiwert on to speak about it.

Shots Fired at Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C.

The new USA Today/Gallup about the state of the GOP is getting a lot of play today, but people seem to be burying the lede, fixating weirdly on who speaks for the GOP.

Word up on the Hill this morning is that the stimulus bill is starting to lose Blue Dog votes over the IMF. And Red State is now sending out emails targeting vulnerable Democrats. . . .

Joe Lieberman on NPR, on his demand to hold the Senate hostage until the release of the detainee abuse photos is blocked:

If this amendment is dropped, Senator Graham and I will not go quietly into that good night.

Of course you won’t, Joe. You’ll be the giant narcissistic pain-in-the-ass showboating demagogue you’ve always been, which your colleagues who helped to empower you so richly deserve.