On an unrelated note, and not for the weak of stomach, here's a quick survey of atrocious album covers, at some blog called Pork Tornado or Mental Drippings, or or or--I don't know, but the end appears to be near.

Mr. Krugman reviews the accuracy of last year's assessment of the situation unfolding in Iraq, and the bare-naked greed and hubris leading to this pass.

"The mess in Iraq was created by officials who believed what they wanted to believe, and ignored awkward facts. It seems they have learned nothing. "

There Goes the Neighborhood
Why home prices are about to plummet--and take the recovery with them.

By Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
from the Washington Monthly

Unforeseen and unintended consequences of government actions couple with human greed to create yet another zugzwang debacle in American economics.