At 92, Robert Byrd lived a full life, over half of it in the United States Congress. He was an institution in West Virginia and probably did more to keep that state alive as any man in America. His checkered history aside (acknowledged and regretted by him but continually brought up by conservatives losing an argument), he was a massive presence in the Senate, someone who treated the office with dignity. RIP.

In an announcement that portends misery for much of the world’s citizens (and I’m only slightly exaggerating), the G20 communique will include a pledge from the largest nations on Earth to halve their budget deficits by 2013. Coming at a fragile time for the global economy, this descent into austerity could lead to a return to recession or worse.

• R.I.P., Senator Robert Byrd.
• The text of Byrd’s speech before the Iraq war (part 1, seen above).
• The Third Depression.
• Oil? Heck no — our beaches are clean.
• Let the vapidity begin.
• Thanks, Diane!

In this era where we are told to tighten our belts, in Afghanistan we might as well just bomb them with cash…oh, we are.

Suzanne Vega-Luka

Probably the most haunting song of the ’80s…

We all know the ways in which individuals and groups are de-humanized by languages and name-calling and we are guilty of doing the same towards people and groups with whom we disagree. We de-humanize in order to marginalize yet the reality is that even for the folks with whom we disagree, we still have far more in common as humans than we do the differences, even though we concentrate on the differences.

NYT business columnist Joe Nocera writes an astonishing industry shilling piece on why the US Government should not impose a deepwater drilling moratorium. Nocera’s arguments are either irrelevant or so deeply dishonest and inimical to the public interest that they warrant a strong retraction from the Time’s editors.

In his visit today to Israel, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen said “I always try to see the threats and the challenges from an Israeli perspective.”

At yesterday’s Washington State Democratic Convention, party delegates overwhelmingly voted to endorse I-1068, a potential ballot measure to legalize cannabis in the state. This may be another very positive sign that marijuana’s legal status is finally moving away from being some weird moralistic taboo to becoming just another political/policy question to be debated on its merits.

Spending time in Jackson, Mississippi drives home the true cost of government in the Haley Barbour mode, where investment in infrastructure is frowned upon.