Various Links and A Video Of An Oklahoma Senator Making a Fool of Himself

• Ben Bernanke using taxpayer money to buy garbage paper.  From Bloomberg
• Republicans filibuster unemployment benefits, Republicans control 100 seat Senate with 37 votes. From Ezra Klein
• Israelis continue abuse of Palestinians. From Andrew Sullivan and The Dish
• Republicans prefer to protect oil executives while Louisianans and Alabamans suffer.  From TalkingPointsMemo 
• Some absolutely terrific analysis and charts from Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge blog, on Goldman, AIG, derivatives, LIES, and FCIC. Here the charts and here the LIES.

Senator Tom Coburn embarrasses the entire state of Oklahoma once again (after his backwards hillbilly  imitation of Desi Arnaz).  If you are a woman, you shouldn't miss this video.  From ThinkProgress and Youtube. If you're an Oklahoma voter, cover your ears.

Seven Thursday Morning Links

• A gallery of World War II bombers (42 pictures). From SeattlePI newspaper.
• Gretchen Morgenson and Louise Story, with new information on AIG and its counterparty bailouts. From New York Times (hat tip the.Duke.of.Earl reader on "Baselinescenario" blog)
• Howard Gleckman on the strong possibility that Auto-Enroll 401(k)s May Lower Retirement Savings.  Emphasis on the Auto-Enroll part.  From TAXVOX blog
• Lara Logan Sucks Ass. nuff said.  From Rolling Stone Magazine
• Andrew Sullivan reader explains why MSM reporters (Lara Logan??) prefer journalistic cowardice from their colleagues.  The Dish 
• Max Blumenthal asks if Kindness is a crime in Israel.
• Coming Soon to DVD, Roger Ebert reviews film "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

Wild And Woolly Links for a Whacked-out Wednesday

I feel like I'm cheating my readers with just links, but I'm working on a long post for you guys. Hope to unveil it soon.  But here are 5 links I thought were good.

• Chicagobusiness.com discussing shareholder rights
• George Soros, penny stocks, and stock touting scams---from John Hempton
• Christa Faust's blog on pulp literature.  Not my usual fair, but she seems fascinating.
• Commodity prices take a plunge.  From Bloomberg

Norman Finkelstein on the Flotilla attack by Israel.  I'm not endorsing Finkelstein's views, I haven't actually deciphered in my own mind who is right and who is wrong here.  But I think Finkelstein is sincere in his views (right or wrong, I think he is sincere) and is worth a listen.

Five Links for Thursday

• 21 dead bodies of fetuses and infants found "discarded" near a river in Northeast China. From CNN
• The attitude and opinions of the abused, starved, and murdered populous of North Korea. From Foreign Policy Magazine
• Republican National Committee funds trip to nightclub which acts out topless lesbianism and bondage. From CNN
• Ian McKellen wins Empire Icon Award for his acting work in films. From Broadwayworld.com
• Christopher Hitchens at Slate magazine, reminding Catholics they are not above the laws against sexual abuse of children.

Some Links I Want To Highlight

1.  What percentage of income do fatcats pay in taxes??? (WSJ)
2.  Some good music from rock group "Them Crooked Vultures" (Austin City Limits, PBS)
3.  Polish dog named Baltic rescued from ice sheet at sea. (Associated Press)
4.  Thoughts/condolences on the death of blogger/writer Jon Swift (aka Al Weisel) here and here (hat tip to Thomas Levenson)  Swift passed away in late March.
5.  Stephen S. Cohen, a very intelligent Jewish professor speaks about comparative economics and other topics.  Extremely educational and interesting (It starts off a little slow) 1 hour long video. (Brad Delong)