Today is the beginning of the great distraction known as March Madness. I am tied up today (and not watching March Madness) so posting will be light from me. J, TChris and Ethan will no doubt hold down the fort.

This is an Open Thread.

We should be so lucky. In any event, the Fed pumped a trillion dollars into the economy yesterday (yes a trillion):

The Federal Reserve sharply stepped up its efforts to bolster the economy on Wednesday, announcing that it would pump an extra $1 trillion into the financial system by purchasing Treasury bonds and mortgage securities. . . . [T]o the surprise of investors and analysts, the [Fed Open Market] committee said it had decided to purchase an additional $750 billion worth of government-guaranteed mortgage-backed securities on top of the $500 billion that the Fed is already in the process of buying. In addition, the Fed said it would buy up to $300 billion worth of longer-term Treasury securities over the next six months. That would tend to push down longer-term interest rates on all types of loans.

This is known as quantitative easing, increasing the money supply and, hopefully spurring economic activity. But the general view is quantitative easing is not especially efficient. Krugman wrote in September 2008:

Apropos of the rhetorical question asked in this post -- "why isn't every squad car in America equipped with a dashboard video camera?" -- here is a possible answer:

Two Peoria police officers have been arrested in connection with the 2008 beating of a man who claims he was pepper sprayed, kicked, punched and shocked with a stun gun following a police chase that was videotaped by a squad car camera. ... Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons, who decided to pursue the case after seeing the videotape, said the recording shows Bryce Scott stopped running and cooperated before the officers allegedly beat him.

The officers apparently forgot that the squad car video camera was still operating.

Brian Nichols, convicted of 54 charges resulting from killings he committed during and after his escape from a courthouse in Atlanta four years ago (TalkLeft coverage collected here), was spared death last year after a jury deadlocked during the penalty phase of his trial. He instead received multiple sentences of life without parole.

As Jeralyn discussed in December, a Georgia prosecutor asked the Justice Department to bring a federal death penalty prosecution against Nichols because one of his murder victims was a customs officer. The Justice Department has sensibly declined.

[more ...]

My picks:

First round winners - L-Ville, Ohio St, Ariz, Wake, Dayton, Kansas, BC, Mich St, UConn, Tex A&M;, N. Iowa, Miss St., Utah St, Mizzou, Maryland, Memphis, Okla, Mich, 'Cuse, Ariz St, Gonzaga, Western Ky, LSU, UNC, Duke, Texas, Nova, UCLA, Xavier, FSU, Tenn and Pitt.

My Final 4 - Mich. State, Villanova, Syracuse, Memphis. Memphis beats Syracuse for the championship.

Speaking for me only

Great news from New Mexico. Governor Bill Richardson today signed the bill passed by the legislature abolishing the death penalty. He called it "the "most difficult decision in my political life."

"Faced with the reality that our system for imposing the death penalty can never be perfect, my conscience compels me to replace the death penalty with a solution that keeps society safe," the Democratic governor said at a news conference in the Capitol.

The death penalty will be replaced by life without the possibility of parole. New Mexico becomes the second state to end the death penalty since the Supreme Court restored it in 1976.

Total number of states now without a death penalty? 15. And hopefully rising.

CNN and the Associated Press have confirmed Natasha Richardson has died. The family has now issued a statement through her husband's publicist:

Alan Nierob of Rogers & Cowan said in a statement Wednesday night: "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

Earlier, internet sites and sources reported she had been removed from life support at Lennox Hill Hospital in Manhattan due to the brain injury she sustained following a fall Monday during a ski lesson in Canada. [More...]

Via FAMM, Rep. Maxine Waters has introduced a bill to end mandatory minimum sentencing in all drug cases. The bill has 15 co-sponsors.

H.R. 1466, the Major Drug Trafficking Prosecution Act of 2009, seeks to repeal mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders and to give courts the ability to determine sentences based on all the facts, not just drug weight. It would also refocus federal resources on major drug traffickers instead of low-level offenders. There is currently no companion bill in the Senate.

The full text of the bill is here. We need a Senator to step up to the plate. Ideas? [More...]

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the Government will provide $1 billion in grants to local law enforcment.

The announcement was made at the National League of Cities' (NLC) Congressional City Conference.

In announcing the funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the $1 billion is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and is intended to create jobs as well as enhance public safety.

According to the DOJ COPS website, this is in addition to the $550 million the program got for fiscal year 2009 in the Omnibus Appropriations Act that President Obama signed into law on March 11.

Here's the next furor:

Fannie Mae is due to pay retention bonuses of as much $470,000 to $611,000 this year to some executives despite enormous losses at the government-backed mortgage company. Fannie's main rival, Freddie Mac, also plans to pay such bonuses but hasn't yet provided details.

A federal magistrate judge today denied bail to accused al Qaeda detainee Ali al-Marri. Al-Marri was the third person designated as an enemy combatant by the Bush Administration.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Carr turned down Ali al-Marri's bid to be released on bond, despite the defense's offer of collateral worth more than $1 million and its proposal to keep him guarded in a safe house. Carr said he would issue an order requiring al-Marri be transported to Illinois, where he's scheduled to be arraigned Monday on federal charges of providing material support to terror and conspiracy.

Cheryl Savage, wife of al-Marri's lawyer Andy Savage, wife offered to secure a bond with a commercial property worth at least $1 million, but the Judge rejected the offer.[More...]

Digby points out that while some Goopers are trying to pin the AIG bonuses on Democrats (not without merit, it is pretty clear the Obama Administration fought to remove any restrictions on bonuses), Rush and the GOP Media hordes are fighting for the AIG bonuses. Says Rush:

Via Greg Sargent, President Obama accepts the responsibility for the AIG bonus fiasco:

Asked if he wished he�d known about the bonuses sooner, Obama said, in the course of answering: �Ultimately, I�m responsible. I�m the President of the United States�The buck stops with me.�

President Obama will be held responsible (or will get the credit) for what is done with the financial crisis in any event come 2012. That is why he should not worry about the short term politics but instead focus on what he thinks will work. My own view is that the policies he has implemented so far are much too timid and will not work.

Speaking for me only

Bernie Madoff's accountant David Friehling surrendered today to face charges of securities fraud and other offenses in a criminal complaint (pdf). Friehling served as Madoff's auditor.

In a statement, the SEC said Friehling "merely pretended to conduct minimal audit procedures of certain accounts to make it seem like he was conducting an audit."

Accurate financial statements would have shown that Madoff's securities firm "owed tens of billions of dollars in additional liabilities to its customers and was therefore insolvent," the SEC said.

The Government does not allege Friehling knew of Madoff's illegal Ponzi scheme: [More...]

As opposed to politicians, progressives should care about issues, not elections. Of course one follows the other. But pols are pols and do what they do. Matt Yglesias writes a confusing post, but he gets it right in the end:

If we succeed in achieving major progressive reforms in 2009 and 2010, we�re going to create a situation in which the existence of a workable national health care system deprives the Democrats of a winning electoral issue. A certain number of voters who have conservative views on some other topics but who liked progressive ideas on health care will vote for more Republicans. If progressives succeed in increasing economic mobility and decreasing inequality, that will probably increase the number of middle- and upper-class Hispanics who decide they want tax cuts. The goal, however, is to achieve the goal of a more just society, not to win a bunch of elections.

(Emphasis supplied.) Correct. It is why I wrote: