Economic Cloverfield, Act 1, scene 2

Team Bush is facing the economic monster with little more than AK47s. The first high-level casualty of the housing market / economic meltdown is Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson. While President Bush departed for Ukraine to down Vodka shots with Yulia Tymoshenko, (and, well, given the choice ... ) the economy continues to burn. But never fear, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's got a plan, but says he wants to wait after the housing crisis ends and that it will take "many years to complete."

Oh boy.

The 218-page proposal would expand the powers of the Federal Reserve, streamline existing agencies and expand regulation over certain sectors of the market. The Lame duck administration doesn't expect it'll pass before the end of the year but hopes it'll become part of the debate on the economy in the run up to the November election. Expect more homes to be smashed, the casualties to mount and kiss Manhattan goodbye.

A case of Sadrmy

In the wake of ongoing violence in Basra, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki is offering fellow shi'ite Muqtada al-Sadr's militias a guns-for-cash program. The deal is scheduled to end April 8. Al-Sadr offered a nine-step peace program of his own Sunday in Najaf. In exchange for getting out of the way and cooperating, he has asked for the end of "random, illegal raids and arrests" and seeks a general amnesty and release of prisoners, mostly his own followers by the way. Apparently, Sadr's followers even started handing out sweets in Baghdad's Sadr City, probably an attempt to win hearts and minds. While the peace offering has been welcomed by the Iraqi government, it has vowed that the war on "criminals" will continue. Casualty reports range from 50 to as high as 290, depending on who you ask. Maliki has called this a "decisive and final battle." Good luck with that.

The unfriendly skies

New York had its legal wings clipped over a law that was designed to protect passengers in long delays waiting in airplanes at airports. The 2d U.S. Court of Appeals shot down the state of New York saying that while the laws goals were "laudible", it infringed on federal laws covering the same issue. And further, if states want to prevent the conditions that inspired this law, they'll have to get the federal government to change things.

Uh-huh.

And if you thought the feds were looking out for you, think again. It seems that there's not as many deployed sky marshals as we were led to believe. They may number as few as 1 percent of all U.S. flights, though the TSA disputes that. Perhaps the prospect of having an angry and armed sky marshal stuck for 13 hours in a delayed plane without a usable bathroom or food and drink may spur the Congress to pass a Federal "Passengers Bill of Rights."

Standing by her misstatements

Nothing like a suddenly released video to puncture a bit of verbal peacocking. There's nothing like claiming that you landed in a foreign country under sniper fire when you're trying to fluff up your foreign policy street cred. Barack Obama confronts damning video by turning it into a teaching moment. Hillary Clinton confronts damning video by claiming she "mispoke." It was a "minor blip." A "comma" if you will. By the way, if I ever claimed that I was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who reported while under fire in Somolia, I misspoke.

Maybe he's related to Lazarus

The reports of his brain death were slightly exaggerated. CNN

You wouldn't have wanted to have been there when it happened. NatGeo

Cigarettes may be declared an eyesore. BBC

You have to be this tall to get a new car in Ukraine. ChiTrib

The Old Wound

It's a problem as old as the Republic. We don't do a very good job of talking about it. And the issue that's been buzzing like cosmic background radiation finally came to the surface today. Barack Obama noted that America remains stuck in "a racial stalemate" and enumerated all the possible ways in which the current racial bean counting is currently being parsed. He doesn't disown the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., though he disagrees with his remarks.

But the important thing is the full and even-handed way in which his speech on Tuesday addressed the problem of race. This is a case in which relying on coverage of the speech will simply be inadequate. It's about more than "Criticizing Pastor" or " Obama urges Americans to help heal racial divide" and at least the Washington Post seems to have gotten that.

Wright engaged in fist-pounding and shouting. If we the people really aspire to a more perfect union, it's time that we moved beyond that. And Obama took the first step in healing the old wound by speaking authentically and comprehensively about race in modern America. Let's hope an honest dialogue can be sustained.

The Passing of a Visionary

Using a photo that made him look more like Isaac Asimov's Hari Seldon, Sir Arthur C. Clarke passed away in Sri Lanka at the age of 90. Best known for 2001: A Space Odyssey, he was an award-winning a man of ideas who was an extremely productive author during the course of his lifetime. He will be missed.

Just be clause

Justice Stephen G. Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. set the parameters for Tuesday's judicial battle over gun control. This time they were taking aim at Washington, D.C.'s, 31-year-old gun control law, the most restrictive in the country. The fight has come down to the initial clause of the Second Amendment :

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state"

The lawyers for D.C. argue that this only guarantees a collective right. In fact, a great deal of the arguments were about semantics and what the Founding Fathers meant by "keep", "bear", "is." Indeed, the High Court historically has been rather unwilling to settle the matter over whether bearing arms is either a personal or collective right. What is clear is that gun control laws were designed to reduce and curb gun violence. A decision is expected in June. No matter how the court settles this case (and it probably will not favor the city of Washington, D.C., and other places, like Chicago, with similar laws) one thing is clear. This particularly needless and preventable health-care crisis is doomed to continue and will probably spread.

China's "People's War" on Tibet

China is back in the red-hot spotlight and Tibet is again front and center. Depending on the source, anywhere from 10 to 100 were killed by Chinese forces during protests (and, admittedly some violence) over the weekend in the Buddhist region and ajoining regions. The Dalai Lama has called for an international investigation of what he has termed "Cultural Genocide" in Tibet. This marking of the anniversary of an uprising in 1959, first by monks, then by lay Tibetans, comes as the Olympics in Beijing draws nearer. And Tibet's youth is voting with its feet against the prolonged Chinese rule.

Recent crackdowns against Uighur separatists are one thing. Tibet, when most people really do sympathize with the Dalai Lama and his cause, is quite another matter. Tibetan monks are not terrorists. The world doesn't regard them as terrorists. And the Chinese leadership is sending signs that it means to increase its security presence in Tibet in the wake of the protests.

All of this, again, puts China in an awkward position. No one really expects this to end with a worldwide boycott of the Olympic games. But it does mean that China's doings in Tibet are going to be even more closely scrutinized, especially since the government restricts media access to the region. Even neighboring India has come out and said that the Chinese government need to talk with the Dalai Lama for a solution to Tibet. As much as China would like this to just go away, it won't. It should have known that this sort of thing was going to happen when it captured the Olympic games, and if it can't stand the heat, it should never have stepped into the kitchen.

Unintended dividends

So this is what $4,300 gets you? John F. Kennedy set the gold standard for extramarital affairs. The story of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's extramarital affair now moves to 'Kristen', outed as Ashley Alexandra Dupre, formerly Ashley Youmans. Photos taken from her myspace page have been fodder for nearly every news outlet with a Web presence. During all of this, at least one person has written in her defense. But in the final analysis, for at least one aspiring singer with a previously nonexistent budget, $4,300 has bought a lot of publicity.

Client 9 deep 6'd

While the Vatican was busy releasing its list of new sins this week, America was busy lapping some of the old fashioned ones. Eliot Spitzer resigned Wednesday as governor of the great state of New York. He officially leaves on Monday and he's negotiating to get out of any charges. He'll be replaced by his likely shell-shocked lieutenant.

Everybody and his second cousin twice removed weighed in. Especially on how this fits into the recent history of political sex scandals. New York's minority leader had called for Spitzer to quit in 48 hours or face impeachment. It was a routine check on Eliot Spitzer's taxes that did him in though. Trying to pass a pig through The Emperor's Club VIP snake of a shell company brought him exactly the kind of attention he was trying to avoid. 'Kristen' was rated as an "Icon" level employee. At $4,300 she had better have been. She cost him his career. At least she gave good post-mortum.

This tale of sin is as old as Samson and Delilah. And no matter how old it gets, it always seems to end the same way. Sadly, we never seem to get tired of it either.

Remainders of the day

In case you missed it while attending Day 1 of the Client 9 Pitiless Party, other things happened today:

One more reason to lock up your daughters. NYTimes

Last flight of the stealths. CNN

Oh no, not Mary Ann! USA Today

Are you really getting enough? WashPost

And Obama won Mississippi: Time

Client 9

It turns out that The Untouchable Gov. Eliot Spitzer can be touched, if he's in Room 871 of the Mayflower Hotel and willing to pay the right price. The New York governor's aides have admitted that he was involved with a prostitution ring. This came in the wake of being called out on it by the New York Times. It seems he was caught by the Feds scheduling to meet with an "Emperors Club VIP" call girl on the day before Valentine's Day.

How thoughtful.

Spitzer apologized to his family and the public as his wife stood at his side (as they always do) during a very short press conference. A little late in the game. Four VIP 'executives' were arrested under the aptly named federal Mann Act of 1910. This incident will provide lawmakers just one more reason to contract -- rather than expand -- federal wire-taping authority, especially for those times when the Emperors' subjects have no clothes.

Microsoft Tragedy

A troika of Microsoft executives felt the pain of Vista users in a very direct way early on. Emails released in a class-action suit set for trial in October against the software giant offer up a interesting picture of what they knew and when they knew it and the missteps made trying to do something about it. Hearing the complaints of the company’s corporate captains about their own flagship product makes one want to forget about Windows Beasta altogether and just buy a Mac.

China’s Syndromes

When its hackers aren’t busy breaking into the Pentagon, and when its leaders aren’t rationalizing the country’s stand on Darfur, China’s occupied with ensuring that nothing disturbs the upcoming Olympics. The government claims it has prevented two terrorist plots, including one against the upcoming games this summer. Chinese authorities noted that in a raid that foiled the plat were found “knives, axes and books on terrorism.” The attacks are being blamed on Uighur separatists. The government is saying that it is fighting it’s own local axis of evil made up of “terrorists, separatists and extremists.” The problem is China isn’t exactly known for its human rights track record nor is it known for doing well by its autonomous populations. China's claim may be true that these separatists have ties to international terrorist organizations, but China’s leaders are much more concerned about saving face on the world stage. It certainly won’t win any gold medals in the categories that matter most.

Lord of War charged

The infamous Victor Bout, the Russian arms dealer known by many names -- including The Merchant of Death -- was arrested in Thailand on a U.S. warrant. This time he's accused of selling weapons to FARC in support of its war against the Columbian government. His list of buyers is a veritable rogues gallery of failed-state strong men. He may have been dropping weapons out of his planes to rebels for years. It seems a laptop found in Ecuador by the Colombian army provided a hotlink to Bout. He's being held for legal action in Thailand before they ship him to the U.S. for further action. Sierra Leone is prepared to offer any evidence in any case against him, but they're not looking to extradite him. Too bad. Rotting in an African prison would be poetic justice.

In Jerusalem

It seems that Imad Mugniyah got a word in after all. A Hezbollah television station reported that a new group called the Martyrs of Imad Mugniyah and Gaza -- named for the ex-Hezbollah military commander who died in February -- is claiming responsibility for an attack by a gunman at a Jerusalem Jewish seminary. Hamas celebrated, but didn't take responsibility for, the attack that left 7 students dead and 10 injured. There was also celebratory shooting in Gaza. The Israeli officials will be spending quality time trying to figure out how the assailants got a gun through the labyrinth of checkpoints. One should hope so. If not, Mugniyah will continue to have the same a say in the matter of middle east peace in death that he had in life: No.

Playing by the numbers

Numbers, like words, mean something. Don't be fooled by the headlines of who won and what strategies the candidates are employing in the wake of the March 4 election. All that matters are the numbers. There's lots of bloviating going on, most of it to fill newsprint and air time. Some about a dream-team ticket made up of some combination of Obama and Clinton. Some about how it's do or die, again, for candidates -- in Pennsylvania. Some about Madam Clinton who is claiming to have turned a corner, just as she earlier claimed to have found her voice after New Hampshire. Her wins may have had more to do with somewhat calculated appearances on SNL and The Daily Show just before these latest primaries.

But it still comes down to cold, hard numbers. This race continues to be a drawn out affair and may even come down to Indiana whose primary is Tuesday, May 6. That doomsday scenario must terrify the leadership of both of Indiana's parties. Even then, it'll all come back to Michigan and Florida. Go figure. At this point, no matter what the candidates and the headlines say, remember that it's all about the only thing that matters in the end: numbers.

In case you missed it

The Dungeon Master makes a one-way astral projection from Wisconsin to the Seven Heavens, or whatever they're calling it these days. Time

124,000 roses, by any other name, makes for a very overdue dowry. BBC

Can't remember where you put those keys? Blame it on baby. USA Today

Nobody was really watching the first time anyway. Chicago Tribune

Terminator Rebooted

It was sort of inevitable. "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" was a rebooting of the Terminator franchise actually made sense. A teenaged 'chosen one' fighting bad guys to save the future. Where had I heard this one before? Oh right. That would have been "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Each a sort of adolescence is hell story. In each case, a big bad is out to kill our stand-in hero. After a nine episode "season" (because of the writers' strike), how does it hold up?

Well the ratings fizzled after the pilot. I don't think the audience knew what to make of this post-Sept. 11, 2001, bildungsroman. John Conner (or, rather, the actor playing him) is having a bit of difficulty holding his own against his female leads. On the one hand, yes it's called the Sarah Conner Chronicles. On the other hand, it's also about him coming into his manhood. Summer Glau has a part that may be more physical than the one she had in "Firefly" and she certainly pulls off the amoral robotic part of the terminator Cameron. One wonders if, like Commander Data, she's a fully-functional android. Unlike Data, while she seems rather curious about human nature her robotic curiousity lends itself to a lot of black humor. But Cameron hasn't yet learned that it's not a soul that makes a human but the capacity for compassion. In one scene, she walks right by a pair of gunmen who immediately kill a pair of Russians she's just finished interrogating. When she reports later that the two are dead, she's asked if she killed them, to which she replies "No. It wasn't my mission."

There's no decision yet on whether there'll be a second season. There are three themes dominant in contemporary science fiction: fear of the technology we've created, fear of the future, and a gritty feel that won't wash out. The Terminators really aren't so different from the Cylons in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. The future in Torchwood is "arming the human race against the future." While this story has promise and deserves to be told, the greater themes need to give pause for concern. While the Gernsbackian future has been repudiated, what is needed is what J. Michael Straczynski with Babylon 5 tried to provide: a new vision. Otherwise, ultimately, television science fiction may find itself terminated.

The passing of William F. Buckley

The problems that afflicted Conservatism when William F. Buckley Jr. first arrived on the scene are different from those that confront it as he departs. With the split within the Conservative ranks, and with the rise of commentators such as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, what Buckley brought to the table was intellectual rigor. You might not like his positions, and, just like any other human being, he made his share of mistakes. But one theme that rings out repeatedly was his amiable, thoughtful character. And his love of big words. He left a legacy that challenges the liberals to step up and remake their narrative and make the compelling case for their values; and challenges the newest crop of Conservatives to realize that the Cold War is over and its template no longer applies. Buckley was the Cold War intellectual who turned the Conservative battleship on a dime. What's needed now is someone with his gifts to do it again.