While You Were Sleeping

While you were sleeping, capitalism apparently ended. I've been keenly aware of the emptiness of most free-market rhetoric, but nationalizing banks goes far beyond what I'd ever thought was in the realm of the possible. Our economy is entirely, astoundingly broken, just another gift of eight years of radical Republican misrule.

Elsewhere in the news and internets:

* The House has passed its energy bill over the objections of the Republicans, which Bush has threatened to veto. (See this post from last night for more on this.) Why the veto? Because it actually takes the Republicans up on their empty "all of the above" rhetoric. Right now this looks like some good political jujitsu from the Democrats—perhaps the first time I've ever had occasion to type that particular sentence.

* Harper's has opened up its David Foster Wallace archives in memoriam.

* Someone in the club tonight is stealing my ideas.

* In a nearly exact inverse to the Citibank theft story the other day, a banker has been caught stealing $14 million dollars from the Royal Bank of Scotland, giving it to needy customers.

* Colbert's getting his own Christmas special.

* Duke's own Fredric Jameson has received the Holberg Prize.

* All American kids play video games: 99% of boys and 94% of girls, according to a recent study.

* Obama's putting out a long, two-minute ad on the economy. That's all well and good, but he should be running ads like the one Ezra proposes on Social Security night and day.

* Tantalizing news about the Chevy Volt.

* And the always amazing Big Picture blog has photographs of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.