A growing chorus is questioning Barack Obama’s seemingly disparate policy on Wall Street versus the auto industry. The “Wall St. v. Detroit” tension was highlighted yesterday with the encouraged stepping down of now-former GM CEO Rick Wagoner, as well as the pushed coupling of Chrysler with Italian automaker Fiat in order to tighten the debt belt. But is he being too harsh on Detroit? Michigan Democratic Senator Carl Levin weighed in on the ultimatum: “Their option is either to take a haircut or a bath.” Sometimes haircuts and baths are good. But if these haircuts and baths include cutting the promised retirement pensions to autoworkers who were explicitly promised “If x, then y” regarding benefits of becoming lifetime employees, is it necessarily a fair pitch across the plate?

Next up, financial segue time – French President Nicholas Sarkozy is threatening to walk out of this week’s G20 Summit on the global economic crisis unless France’s demands for tougher financial regulation are met. Still, what’s with the outgroup-y quip about blaming “the Anglo-Saxons” (read: us and our fish ‘n’ chips-eating neighbors across the pond)? That, and he and Angela Merkel are suddenly strange bedfellows in a good instance of camaraderie by negation. Drama at the G20.

Or maybe just drama on Fox News. Because nothing made me happier than the fadeout music on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ this morning being “Proud to Be An American” after repeatedly playing the clip of Glenn Beck crying on air. Does that look real to you?

Did I say something about strange bedfellows earlier? …did you see this commercial? I mean, it’s March Madness. Strange and beautiful things happen in March Madness – including, apparently, but not limited to Rick Pitino and Bob Knight putting on a jam session in their underwear. What does that mean? “It means you’re gonna have to put on some pants, pops.”

This NYTimes story detailing the difficulties women in the Congo face in speaking out after being raped.  Set far away, the story is valuable to us not only as a tear-jerker, but also as a criticism of our own policies in dealing with victims.

It can be read as a reminder of the importance dialogue has in a securing an equal place for all people in soceity.  Keep in mind that the reason these women were unable to prosecute the horrific crimes committed against them was largely because the society lacked any social forum for them to even be able to speak about them.  While we do a better job of assigning guilt solely to the rapist – and never the victim – here in Indiana, such is not the case for all crimes.

Just this week, the NY Times published another article highlighting drug rehablilitation courts, which give the VICTIMS of drug abuse the chance to speak out and heal from the unhealth of the habits that are so often not their fault.

Too often, we read stories from Africa and think a great effort has been made to save the heathens from their own brutality.  That’s a convenient, optimisitic, and utterly worthless reading.  Forgetting our own criminal lack of care for vicitms shouldn’t be so easy.

Niiiiiice. Looks like the hate group that’s so fixated on hell can’t take the heat. Almost makes me wish Phelps would bring his crew to IU’s Sample Gates… these Wisconsin kids took 15 minutes to chase ‘em off… I’ll bet we could do better than that. Massive props, though – way to go, UW.

(note: for those squeamish about profanity and/or sexual references, please consider that the following video features college students confronting a group known for an uncommon level of hate, insensitivity and bigotry… as such, I’m including this mild content advisory.)

H/T: HotAir

Mark Penn Kind of Fired!: Mark Penn, long hated by everyone (much like Nickelback), finally got his comeuppance when he was ousted as Clinton’s main campaign strategist, for doing back-handed consulting deals with Colombia for a trade deal Hillary is against. Uh, but he’s still doing polling. And some other unmentioned stuff. So, is he fired? Maybe?

I feel like we need a refresher: Seriously, have we already had to sit through Obama’s bowling, Clinton’s Tuzla lie and McCain’s, uh, age? I guess he hasn’t quite gotten the press time necessary to slam him, but I think he’s been inoculated by being a “strong Republican,” because everyone knows Democrats are wimps. Greenwald’s extended and far-better-written take here.

Oh, look, a real issue: Will America come to its senses and leave Iraq? (Support the Responsible Plan for withdrawal here.) Or will a never-ending circus of “well, let’s stay just a little longer” dig us into Iraq forever? Uh, looks more like the latter. Best quote from John McCain:

“I do not believe that anyone should make promises as a candidate for president that they cannot keep if elected. To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq [...] is the height of irresponsibility.”

OK, did you get that? The Democrats, by promising to leave Iraq, are the height of irresponsibility, because they will not actually follow through on their promises of withdrawal. John McCain, though, promises that he will keep the troops in, no matter what! Those shifty Democrats, promising things that they can’t deliver as long as John McCain and the Foreign Policy Experts stand in their way! When I read things like this, I die of stupidity inside.

Is this the logical endpoint of the ironic t-shirt?: I mean, once you’ve put this on a shirt, haven’t you taken the whole public confessional thing to its conclusion? Plus, if you weren’t actually raped, wouldn’t this be the most inappropriate shirt to wear ever?

Letting kids ride the subway: I don’t care that you let your kid ride the subway alone, lady. I’m pretty sure bringing the little brat onto the Today show did him more damage than letting him hang out on the 4 train. This story has caused all sorts of hubbub, but I don’t get it. I wouldn’t do it, but it’s her kid; it’s not neglect.

Greatest name in history?: A combination of two superheroes in one!

Another age limit on NBA draft?: I’ll blog more about this later, but it appears that the NBA and NCAA are hammering out a sneaky little agreement on the NBA draft. Could college ball be a bigger joke, please?

A frightening info-graphic: Which brings up an interesting point. I mean, how scary are those numbers, really? It appears that a lot of these foreclosures are not actually subprime mortgages. In fact, they make up a small fraction of overall foreclosures. Why is this crisis being referred to as the “sub-prime” crisis, if it doesn’t necessarily appear that sub-prime loans are the huge culprit behind mortgage failure?

The Olympic torch’s shadowy past: While calls not to politicize the Olympics continue, alongside protesters heckling the Olympic flame in Europe, I’m reminded that the romantic Olympic flame was cooked up by Nazis and that the Olympics have always been political. If it’s not political, why do they put the nationality next to the athletes? Shouldn’t they be racing for themselves, RickyBobby-style? If it’s not political, why do we tally our medals by country and why do countries pour tons of money into their athletes for maximum medals? If it’s not political, why does China really want to show off? They have always been political; they always will be. To treat them as some pure representation of sport is to be blind to the real reasons for having a modern Olympics in the first place.

So, Charleton Heston just died. I did a little looking into his career, and was surprised at the vastness of it. Seems like a shame that the headline here will probably just be “Charleton Heston, Gun Nut, Dies Somehow”.

A lot of people are going to be very happy about this, but someone needs to keep an eye on Chase Cooper— this might be more than he can bear. In any case, I guess we can finally get that rifle of his.

The 2003 Torture Memo Must-Read (Part I) (Part II): Yes, it’s long. Yes, we kind of know its contents already. But this memo is how a mid-level Justice Department attorney became a war criminal, and rewrote what the Bush Administration wanted as its interrogation policies. To read a document, once approved as the policy of the American government, which hilariously draws the line at pouring acid on a detainee and cutting out someone’s tongue (everything else is fair game), is enough to make anyone (even Chase Cooper) squirm. These lawyers deserve nothing less than a trial for war crimes and treason. A historic and infamous document that in many ways represents the essence of this criminal administration.

As if I needed a reason to be squeamish on planes: Turns out that the FAA has been too cozy with the airlines it oversees. Deregulationists, is this a reason to distrust any potential regulation? Regulationists, does this prove that de-regulation damaged the safety of the airline industry’s passengers?

Through different eyes: American press: “Bush Stands Firm on NATO Expansion” French press: “NATO slows admittance of Ukraine and Georgia” German press: “France and Germany thwart Bush’s plans” Notice a difference here? Side note: the missile shield is still colossally stupid, especially since it doesn’t work and makes Russia angry… you wouldn’t want to see Russia when it’s angry.

Smithsonian Institute – not as smart as a fifth grader: I bet the headline writers almost died when they saw this one.

Gravel! Give this guy some props for being the weirdest guy to run for President since Eugene Debs.

A new Clinton 3 A.M. ad? About the economy?: Yeah, the 3 AM ad didn’t actually work the first time. Plus, guess what doesn’t happen in the middle of the night? Economic crises! It’s not like the President sits around and then BAM! THERE’S A CRISIS! Usually if that happens, there’s something else that causes the economic slip, like, let’s say, a coup in China, in which case there’s a bigger problem than the economic one.

Sadr calls off his militia: This is good news for the people of Basra, but it’s bad news for us. Sadr has shown that he has the power: he can turn chaos on and off like a light switch. Additionally, he has shown that the Iraqi government is no more legitimate than he is. The “Iraqi Army” is just one more Shi’ite militia in Iraq. We just happen to be supporting it.

How to fix the NCAA Tournament: The New Republic and its pals provide some sincere (make the NIT worthwhile) and some not-so-sincere (let every team play in the NCAA Tournament because they all suck anyways). Anyways, it’s a fun read, especially while watching all the Number One seeds advance and watching our brackets crumble. (Screw you, Pitt.) Doesn’t it seem odd, though, that we celebrate March Madness for its “madness” rather than its good basketball? I mean, if you’re watching these games, you see how sloppy the teams are. Let’s not pretend that we watch the tournament for the athletic performance, just like we shouldn’t pretend the players came to college for their educations.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of DC public schooling: Parents can pay to send their kids to a public school outside the district, and when high school rolls around, the decision is clear. Can we dismantle the DC Metro school system yet? Basically, you have to start over. The teachers are bullied, untrained and unsupported; the overhead costs are huge; the administration is dysfunctional. They say that if we institute major changes, we’ll be “hurting the kids.” Well, we can’t hurt them any more than we already are.

Speaking of DC public schools, I’m in the interview process for Teach For America and re-read this article (”How I Joined Teach For America and Got Sued for $20 Million”). Ugh, not quite the picker-upper you’re looking for at a time like this.

Did patriotism cause the Iraq War?: A discussion among prominent bloggers has sprouted up, after the five-year-anniversary hand-wringing by liberal hawks, prompted by this post in CATO Unbound by George Kateb. His argument is essentially that patriotism = bad, and that undying love for your country makes you do really stupid things. I think Kateb confuses “love” and “subservience,” but he raises an unfortunate point about the limits of liberal democracies: it’s hard to question your country if you love and trust it.

I want my future back: Seriously, I was promised domed cities and my one-minute full health report. At least we have all the computers to help us out. Crap. Never mind.

In squid-related news: Scientists try to replicate the hard/soft beak of a squid, which manages to use one of nature’s hardest substances without slicing itself to ribbons. That’s crazy, man. Plus, it makes me appreciate squid sex that much more.

WTF Hideki?: Uh, does this make sense to anyone else? Because it sure doesn’t make sense to me.

Are nuclear physicists going to destroy the world?: Uh, maybe. Of course, the vast Internets believe that this is outrageous and to some extent, it is. A federal judge in Honolulu probably shouldn’t have jurisdiction over Switzerland, and it’s doubtful that he can understand the complexities of the physics surrounding the Large Hadron Collider. Still, I am not wild about the prospect of scientists accidentally collapsing the earth with a mini-black hole. This is, after all, the same mentality that led us to almost blow a hole in Chicago. Trusting scientists is fine; leaving them without safeguards is not.

Could the al-Maliki government be more feckless?: Probably not. Remember yesterday’s 72-hour ultimatum? Well, al-Maliki extended it. And is paying the other side to go along with it. Some ultimatum, huh? At least it’s the Iraqi army doing most of the fighting, right? Oh, crap. As many have pointed out, we are now helping one militia fight another militia, both of whom were probably armed by Iran. Hooray! Good thing things are looking up in Iraq!

Pew study reveals Obama’s supporters and haters: This is the poll everyone’s blogging about today, but one striking thing to me is that national defense concerns are far more important than racial ones (even though the people who dislike Obama have unfortunately backwards views on issues like interracial dating). The non-surprise surprise is that older white people still don’t like black people that much. Still, the bigger story here is that “Fight for U.S. right or wrong” seems to be the biggest divider between those who favor Obama and those who don’t.

Human noses ‘can detect danger’: Wait, what? If you smell one thing and associate it with danger, you will be able to identify that smell as dangerous. The nose knows.

LAT: Oops, that Tupac report was a lie: Remember when I thought I could finally have a more legitimate reason to hate Diddy? Too bad it was a fraud. Silly LA Times, Trix are for less-reputable newspapers!

CNN Pisses Away Final Shred of Integrity with Comedy News Show: Ugh, didn’t they learn from the 1/2 Hour News Hour? Who would have thought that CNN would ever be even more derivative than FoxNews?

The Chinese Weather Control Plan: No joke. They actually want to seed the clouds to alter the weather for the Beijing Olympics. The control exerted by the Chinese government is truly extraordinary and frightening. They control information, and as a result, they can control everything else. Chinese citizens have never seen the lone man standing in front of a tank, nor have they seen their crackdown of Tibetan protesters. At some point, the control-freak mentality of the government is going to screw them over. Could the moment be now?

Sorry, folks. Got up late and haven’t sat down with my sweet sweet Internet till now.

22-Year-Old Arms Dealer Under Scrutiny: Not that the Paper of Record needs more hits on the internet, but whatever, this story is crazy as hell. Apparently, this kid engineered global arms deal and schmoozed corrupt Albanian officials to supply American troops with aging barely-functional ammunition. Your hegemonic military-industrial complex at work!

A Haunting Tale of “Interrogation” from an American soldier: A moving tale from an American soldier who participated in our barbaric interrogations and now feels haunted by what he did. My only problem with these tales of woe is that we see American troops haunted by their experiences, but what about the Iraqis? I mean, I’m guessing they probably feel a lot worse about it.

Could Zimbabwe’s economy get worse?: 200,00% inflation!? Maybe, though, the economic crisis will be enough to bring down the Mugabe debacle. We can only hope. That guy has ruined Africa’s breadbasket.

Dilbert’s ultimate cubicle: Let’s get some of these in the IDS already! I particularly like the aquarium.

Great limerick or greatest limerick?: You decide.

Man, did you see this awesome take-down of John McCain?: The writer also seems particularly handsome.

Iraqi PM Gives Mahdi Army Ultimatum: Because those always work, when given by puppet governments. Right?

Maybe someone can help me here, too, because I’m confused about how the “cease-fire” works. I assumed a “cease-fire” meant that two sides agreed to stop shooting at the other. So how do you explain this quote from WaPo?

The fiercest fighting took place in Basra neighborhoods where Iraqi forces targeted members of Sadr’s Mahdi Army, further risking the collapse of a cease-fire that Sadr declared last summer.

If there’s fierce fighting between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi forces, isn’t the cease-fire pretty much kaput? What’s at “risk” here for the cease-fire? Isn’t the cease-fire over once you have 55 dead and 300 wounded?

Dinner in New York only using ingredients from 99-cent stores: Heh. I especially like Eric Ripert’s pigs in a blanket. If they opened a restaurant like this, I’d go all the goddamn time.

What’s the big deal about Tuzla?: I’m not a Clinton-lover and I’m a full-time Obamaniac, but all this hubbub on the net seems a little overblown. I mean, she embellished a story. Was her only crime that she got caught? That seems to be the biggest reason why this is a story at all. And what did she lie about exactly? How tough she is, I guess? If she had lied about, oh I don’t know, an Iran/al-Qaeda connection or who threw who out of Iraq in 1998, I guess I would care. But the media only cares about this one because… what? It makes her look bad, I guess? Yeesh. Could the media please do their jobs?

India’s Tata buys Jaguar and Land Rover: Along with the Chinese purchase of MG, this marks yet another major brand name car company being purchased by developing-world investors. I wonder whether the Indian purchase will revitalize the brand – or use the opportunity to turn out cheap knockoffs that kill the name forever. I’m betting on the former eventually, but the latter for now.

Squids do it deeper: If you thought human sex had its problems, wait till you hear about these wacky squids.

What’s in a name?: These studies always strike me as a bit silly, but apparently some names are associated with success, luck, etc. more than others. Lisa and Brian? Sorry, you’re seen as not successful. Ann and George? Not attractive. The scientists who did the study suggest that parental aspirations in choosing a name give it the class-based status that it has. I think this is a lot of baloney. Still, one wonders whether John McCain would’ve been as successful in politics if his name was D’Brickashaw Ferguson (or Barack Obama).

Ozzie-watch: On the Chicago baseball front, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen “has vowed to be more outspoken than he was last season.” More outspoken? Good Lord.