In this second segment, I examine the history of the idea of “socialism,” tracing out how the ideal of an egalitarian society has animated religious as well as secular movements for change. I also discuss the relationship of “socialism” to the state, and how the caricatured understanding of this relationship—where socialism is synonymous with ‘Big Government’—gets in the way of imagining a bottom-up, 21st century socialism. At the same time, I emphasize the pitfalls of isolated experiments without a framework for engaging politically with the larger economic context.

Bank of America was just getting over having the New York Attorney General step in on their settlement with Countrywide investors over mortgage bonds, when Delaware’s AG decided to join in.

FDL makes TMZ for the first time.

As we watch the various markets react to recent events, it’s essential we keep our heads straight on some basics, because the media, and particularly the “news” reporters and editors of the New York Times, have got almost everything backwards.

You can ignore almost everything you’re hearing from Washington politicians, including the White House, and Beltway media. Here’s what knowledgeable economists are telling us.

Tomorrow, six recall elections against Republican state Senators will finally happen in Wisconsin, the biggest result so far of a six-month uprising in the state against conservative policies and an assault on worker’s rights. If Standard and Poor’s wasn’t trying to force cuts to entitlements it would be the biggest story in America, and in a way, it still should be. This recall process, and the protests and activism that came before it, carry the seeds of a new progressive/youth/labor alliance that could be a catalyst to not only next year’s elections, but a re-imagining of the Democratic Party.

President Obama plans to produce his own deficit reduction recommendations to a new Super Congress committee tasked with achieving $1.5 trillion in solutions by October, he said in a speech at the White House.

Responding to Standard and Poor’s downgrade of US debt, Obama said that the need for a balanced approach to deficit reduction “was true the day I took office” and remains true today. While not fully agreeing with S&P’s decision, he did say that the gridlock in Washington, cited as a cause of the downgrade, “has not been constructive,” and that the threat of using the debt limit as a leverage point “has now roiled the markets and slowed the pace of recovery.” He did add that the bond markets continue to snap up US debt, and “continue to reaffirm our credit as among the world’s safest.”

This woman is cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs crazy, and the fact that she’s giving Willard a run for his money tells you everything you need to know about the state of the Republican Party.

The uprising in Syria may have reached a tipping point. The Arab League has ended its silence on Bashar al-Assad’s brutal repression of protesters and condemned the violence, expressing “growing concern and serious distress” at the attacks. But more important, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador, a crucial vote of no confidence in the Assad regime.

Stocks have fallen 2% in early trading, but recovered off session lows and are basically even with the lower opening. The Standard and Poor’s political gambit is certainly part of the story, but the crisis in Europe has driven stock prices over the past week or so. A discussion between the world’s leading finance ministers focused more on Europe than S&P. The debt crisis there led to a Sunday night bailout (Sunday is the new Monday again, as Calculated Risk tells us) from the European Central Bank, which intervened to purchase Italian and Spanish debt to lower their yields.

This weekend, in front of half a million Dutch families and revelers, the Amsterdam Gay Pride parade showcased a truly historic statement: 85 gay (including 2 transgender) servicemembers in full dress uniform with Dutch Defense Ministry officials in the first ever sanctioned military gay pride contingent. Three active duty gay generals were with us on the uber-gay float. We were literally floating, too: the canals that line the city of Amsterdam, built in the 17th century, were our parade route. Lots of saluting, lots of cheering, lots of dancing… lots of “IN THE NAVY” blasted over and over and over again.