Alterman, on the Guantanamo decision

Dr. Alterman 1, Wall Street Journal editorial board 0:

"It is their considered judgment, goes their reasoning insofar as it is intelligible to yours truly, that by insisting on the right to trial, habeas corpus, etc., the justices are treating the Constitution as if it were a suicide pact. And in fact, by allowing these people who have been held now for six or so years without charges the right to trial, the United States is, in fact, committing suicide.

That strikes me as a testable proposition."

Earmarks - overblown and overhyped

Alterman has the numbers on earmarks, the latest government waste buzzword that amounts to really less than a drop in the bucket --

"For the record:

Total value of all earmarks for 2008 (good and wasteful), projected: $17 billion, or 0.5 percent of total federal spending

Contrast that cost with, for example, the war in Iraq:

Cost of Iraq war per month in 2008: $12 billion (For the year, that's 4.2 percent total spending.)"

Here is the government's database of earmarks, which regrettably doesn't separate them by individual congressional sponsor. And here are the Citizens Against Government Waste, who believe Earmarks are a Really Big Deal.