Broken economy, broken computer.

My PC's processor passed a few nights ago, which means that I only get internet at work. Surprisingly, I have not been staying current, preferring to stay productive at work than sneak news in between memo-writing and stuffing envelopes. I know, my job is so glamorous, what kind of choice is that anyway?

As always, check out fivethirtyeight for current polls and poll analysis. Things are looking good.

But there have been a few articles I've appreciated recently, and my blog was neglected, so here's a quickie:

Robert Kuttner at the American Prospect has an interesting and rather brief article comparing 1929 to today, and he has some good, albeit broad, ideas.
Learning from 1929

Here are some related commentaries from fav sources Talking Points Memo and Mother Jones:
Kevin Drum at Mother Jones: More Notes on the Bailout
and here is the TPM Cafe link he references in the beginning, keep reading for his chilling insight about 3 megabanks: A "Bailout" is Cheaper than the Status Quo
Drum gets all psychoanalytical about Paulson's better nature, which puts a lot of faith into a stereotype without really addressing how dangerous it could be to make Paulson "The Decider of Decisions". And as Ezra Klein reminds us, that first draft was really scary.

For those of you who actually follow any of my links, I hope you don't mind that the scale is favoring the economy. I am over my head with this crisis, and have so little at my disposal besides gut instinct (which doesn't seem to work so well for predicting good policy, if you ask me or Stephen Colbert) to make informed decisions. Instead, I fill my brain with enough commentary from people with souls who seem pretty knowledgeable in hopes that my gut will no longer be so stupid.

Most offer similar recommendations for strengthening the bailout plan, so the next step is finding an economist who writes about why the plan will not be amended with said recommendations.....

p.s. Eddie Murphy's prophetic bit (that bank scene has me cringing) also helped steer my opinions.

*****
I just got a link to another take on Palin, who I'm really tired of hearing about (read: being disappointed for the species all the time), this one from Salon, so I'll share it pre-read: The Sarah Palin pity party: Everyone seems to be oozing sympathy for the fumbling vice-presidential nominee. Please. Cry me a freaking river.

And to finish, without having covered anything international, again, here's a widget thingy to compare the health care policy plans of the two candidates. Thanks to Ezra, of course.
http://www.health08.org/healthissues_sidebyside.cfm