County Fair Weekend Links

Our county fair started yesterday, so I'll be busy talking to folks I haven't seen in a year, soaking up farmer conventional wisdom and supporting the beer garden.  Here are some interesting stories:

The dark, disturbing world of the visa-for-sale program - Fortune.  Just in case you didn't think Illinois Democrats were corrupt as hell.

How Wall Street Tobacco Deals Left States With Billions In Toxic Debt - Pro Publica.  I'm not exactly sure what to make of this.  Richard Cordray is one of the smarter Ohio Democrats, who happens to be in charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but it kind of sounds like he teamed up with investment bank scumbags to rip off investors.  In theory, it appears Ohio can walk away from this debt if the tobacco money doesn't materialize, but I could see Republicans rushing to bail out investors and blaming Democrats, although that probably won't happen for a long while, unless investment bank scumbags can convince them they can "cut their losses" right now.

Kansas bond rating downgraded after tax cuts - Washington Post.  On the other end of the political spectrum, Art Laffer and Trickle-down Economics (TM) fail miserably yet again.

'Peabody' wins fair's big boar contest at 1,273 pounds - Des Moines Register.  That is a big fucking pig.

The Prosecutor and the Snitch - Did Texas execute an innocent man? - The Marshall Project.  On the Cameron Todd Willingham case.  To answer the question, yes, probably a number of times.

Making Sense of the U.S. Oil Story - OilPrice.  This deserves a post.

The War Photo No One Would Publish - The Atlantic. From Gulf War I.

On Reaganolatry - Paul Krugman