Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Would you believe the Dow Jones finished up today? “Wall Street ended a temperamental session widely mixed Monday after investors grappled with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s government-backed buyout of the stricken investment bank Bear Stearns & Co. The Dow Jones industrials recovered from an initial drop of nearly 200 points to finish up about 21 points.”
* Congrats to Gov. Paterson: “David Paterson was sworn in as New York’s governor on Monday, becoming the state’s first black chief executive and vowing to move past the prostitution scandal that has rocked the state Capitol.” Apparently, Paterson is quite a cut-up: “Paterson drew howls from the audience when he poked fun at his disability and deadpanned that he would accept an invitation to dinner with the state’s top Republican, Sen. Joseph Bruno, only if his ‘taster’ could come along.” (Bruno is next in line to be the state’s chief executive.)
* Notice the contrast: “Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Monday and credited Iraqi leaders and a massive U.S. troop build-up with security improvements he described as ‘phenomenal’ after meetings with U.S. military commanders and Iraqi politicians.
But violence continued against civilians. At sunset Monday, a female suicide bomber killed at least 36 people and injured more than 40 when she blew herself up among Iranian pilgrims just outside a crowded Shiite Muslim shrine in the southern holy city of Karbala.”
* Oh my: “Bear Stearns Cos Inc Chairman Jimmy Cayne was playing cards in a tournament late last week while his company’s future appeared to be at risk, according a published report.”
* We’re getting closer to a June 3rd Michigan re-do primary.
* Post of the Day, Part I: “[T]his is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and the Fed, with the best will in the world, probably lacks the tools to deal with it. Broader action is necessary. But then comes the question: who ya gonna call? The Gang That Couldn’t think Straight still holds the White House; no good ideas will come from that quarter. Worse, Incurious George would probably veto any sensible plan from Congress, even if said plan could get past a filibuster. Hey, here’s an idea! Let’s create a nonpartisan expert commission, headed by Alan Gr …. oh, wait. He’s part of the problem.”
* Post of the Day, Part II: “It’s too bad we didn’t invest one-third of the Social Security system in the market.”
* One of the Bush administration’s most tragic errors in Iraq was disbanding the Iraqi military. Nearly five years later, no one wants to take responsibility for the decision. Imagine that.
* Here’s an interesting primer on the Bear Stearns fiasco.
* On a related note, you’ll really want to take a moment to read this report: “An awful lot of normal finger wagging about the hazards of bailing out those who make bad decisions from their consequences melted away in the face of Paulson’s primary concern — the health of Wall Street investment banks amid the greatest credit crisis since the Great Depression.”
* This is just stunning: “Teenage girls and their parents need to read the latest government study of sexually transmitted diseases. The infections are so prevalent they are hard to avoid once a girl becomes sexually active. One in four girls ages 14 to 19 is infected with at least one of four common diseases. Among African-American girls in the study, almost half were infected.”
* For goodness sakes: “You’ll be happy to know that the Los Angeles US Attorney’s office, where the (endlessly) on-going investigation into Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) is being handled, has decided to shut down its public corruption unit. That topic was getting a bit too much attention.”
* Markos has responded in more detail about the pro-Clinton boycott of DailyKos.
* No one reads newspapers anymore? Actually, newspaper readership is up — online.
* Slate’s new legal blog, Convictions, looks good. And Philip Carter is the editor, and since he’s terrific, I have high hopes for the site.
* This may prove to be interesting: “The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the guilty verdict in the criminal insider trading case of former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio and ordered a new trial before a different judge.”
* On Saturday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), quite possibly the House’s nuttiest member, told a Republican audience over the weekend that the U.S. is accomplishing great things in Iraq, in part because, “God has not abandoned us.” Good to know.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.