I think it’s fair to say that Ron Paul doesn’t like to take questions about the newsletters that bore his name in the 1990s. He walked out of an interview with Gloria Borger when she peppered him with questions about it.

In Hilo, we are not camping (yet) but we have been holding sign wavings, rallies and other protests for well over 2 months now to raise awareness on a lot of issues. We have been meeting formally and holding General Assemblies for 7 weeks to pool our ideas and energies into direct actions. We are a small but determined and passionate bunch.

If Fannie and Freddie are guilty of misleading investors, they deserve to pay the penalty. And yet, I do sense more enthusiasm to go after these government sponsored enterprises than to go after the private banking firms which were far more responsible for subprime. This feeds a false narrative that government somehow caused the financial crisis by forcing lending to poor people. Fannie and Freddie followed the market in subprime and did not originate it.

[UPDATE - 8:51 AM EST] Awaiting presentation of closing arguments that are slated to begin at 9:00 AM EST this morning— It is worth noting it was highly unlikely from the start that this case would not move on to a court martial. Thus, rather than proving innocence, that is why the press and public [...]

A variety of links to articles/interviews on current topics that may, or may not, be of interest.

Raising taxes on working people is not the only winning political strategy the Republicans in Congress are giving the average American this holiday season.

Twisted Sister — Silver Bells.

Hello and welcome to Late Night Wednesday! Tonight we bring you, once again, Penny and Petey, the Fluffy White Couch Dogs. As always, gaze upon the fluffy furballs and let the cares of the day melt away.

The row between Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi has grown. Maliki issued a warrant for Hashemi’s arrest on terrorism charges, accusing him of operating pro-Sunni death squads. Hashemi denied the charges, and his supporters compared Maliki’s actions to that of Saddam Hussein. Maliki is now ordering a handover of Hashemi, who has fled to the Kurdistan region.

The Lowell Sun printed two of the dozen or more letters to the editor today critical of the Sun’s December 16 anti-trans “Christmas” column, written by Dan Phelps. But the Lowell Sun has still not apologized for the anti-trans column.