Some quick-hit items on a cold morning:

-- Though you'd like to throw Roland 'Trail Blazer' Burris into the Tiber, he doesn't deserve it -- unless his cheesy "tombstone" is a disqualification. He's basically etched his resume on the stones. The references to his family are pushed to the side. ... Other "tombstone" shots here. A non-enthralled Chicagoan here. ... Photo via Sun-Times.

-- Mumbles Jr. finds the time to moonlight for Suffolk Construction. At least his effective third job won't count toward his early-retirement pension. The overtime pay in between is another matter.

-- Outraged Liberal recaps the latest in the Sal saga. He'll probably be reelected as speaker. There are too many dead-body skeletons in the legislative-sponsor closets of rivals. Might as well go with the legislative sponsor you know.

-- Gerry Callahan on BC's Jeff Jagodzinski:Here’s Jags’ coaching history starting from the beginning: Wisconsin-Whitewater, Northern Illinois, LSU, East Carolina, BC, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay again and finally BC again. And he’s only 45.But it's hard to feel too sorry for Boston College. They hired a guy they knew averaged less than three years with any given employer since college.

BMG has a terrific interview with Gov. Patrick. I guess I'm supposed to be impressed that the governor realistically knows what he's done by tapping Jim Aloisi as head of transportation (i.e. "he knows where the bodies are buried"). Ah, Mickey-Spillane tough-guy talk. The street-smart gov's about to get in a bureaucratic street brawl with lawmakers. Etc., etc. But here are my problems:

1.) Key legislators like Joe "Reform Redefined" Wagner are delighted by Aloisi's appointment precisely because Aloisi knows all about "blending policy and politics." Joe's talking in terms of a system in which agencies are run via a "legislative sponsor," as Patrick has now usefully and openly described it for prosperity. Lawmakers like Joe aren't really interested in reform. They're interested in 'reform redefined.' They want to keep a variation of the status quo and their precious power side deals dating back, what, decades? Only in a one-party state.

2.) A governor grasping the true nature of the "legislative sponsor" system is not unique. Mike Dukakis grasped it. Bill Weld grasped it. Each thought they could change it by playing ball with it -- and they failed. Dukakis transformed from Duke I to Duke II to Duke III. Weld went along with legislative pay raises and ended up playing footsie with Billy Bulger. Now we have Patrick playing the same realpolitik game -- or so he thinks. **

3.) If the governor is truly interested in reform, he'd kindly tell the public which agencies are run by what "legislative sponsor." Transportation? Mass Turnpike? MBTA? Massport? The court system? An injection of transparency sure would be nice, rather than playing with (and thus protecting?) what can now safely be called a shadow legislative government. ... One other point: The governor, by alluding to legislative-sponosorship jobs, is also talking about tolerating a shadow-government patronage system. Is he aware that there's a U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Rutan) that's declared certain types of patronage jobs unconstitutional? Could he please spell out to the taxpaying public what legislative-sponsored jobs he's learned about?

So, now you can see why I'm not exactly excited that Patrick knows what he's done by appointing Jim Aloisi. Patrick's now playing on legislators' turf and by their rules. It's been done before -- and it's failed before. ...

** Cellucci and Swift were products of the "legislative sponsor" system and were never going to reform. Romney was a true odd-ball outsider to the system and didn't stand a chance of changing it from within. He was also too distracted by his own presidential ambitions.

P.S. -- I'm non-cynically impressed that the governor admits he was "frankly surprised" that there's an opening for larger reforms than originally envisioned. But if his idea of reform is to keep tolls (only to raise them later) and boost the gas tax, well, that's not reform. That's his progressive desire for more money overcoming his reform instincts.

Update -- Adam typically gets to the point fast: 'Patrick: Takes a hack to deal with hacks.'

Michael Lewis, along with David Einhorn, has a long follow-up oped to his now classic piece on the Wall Street meltdown, using the failed attempt by Boston's Harry Markopolos to expose the Madoff scam as a metaphor for why so many other things went unchecked and undetected.

Lewis and Einhorn's reform recommendations should be no-brainers. But how do you get a corrupt political culture to implement them? How do you jolt Republicans out of their utopian laissez-faire fantasies? How do you convince Democrats to resist their own utopian big-government instincts? ... I also liked their observation about how, from top to bottom, there were no checks and balances to prevent the financial catastrophe -- and to protect investors and taxpayers. In recent months, I've tried to envision how the U.S. Constitution might have turned out had Alan Greenspan and Christopher Cox been influential Founding Fathers. Checks and balances? Regulating freedom! Two legislative branches? Cumbersome bureaucracy! ... Etc. ... BTW: Don't miss this fun one: AIG owns Stowe, Vermont. Well, most of it. Just don't tell the selectmen they're surviving on a taxpayer bailout.

Michael Lewis, along with David Einhorn, has a long follow-up oped to his now classic piece on the Wall Street meltdown, using the failed attempt by Boston's Harry Markopolos to expose the Madoff scam as a metaphor for why so many other things went unchecked and undetected.

Lewis and Einhorn's reform recommendations should be no-brainers. But how do you get a corrupt political culture to implement them? How do you jolt Republicans out of their utopian laissez-faire fantasies? How do you convince Democrats to resist their own utopian big-government instincts? ... I also liked their observation about how, from top to bottom, there were no checks and balances to prevent the financial catastrophe -- and to protect investors and taxpayers. In recent months, I've tried to envision how the U.S. Constitution might have turned out had Alan Greenspan and Christopher Cox been influential Founding Fathers. Checks and balances? Regulating freedom! Two legislative branches? Cumbersome bureaucracy! ... Etc. ... BTW: Don't miss this fun one: AIG owns Stowe, Vermont. Well, most of it. Just don't tell the selectmen they're surviving on a taxpayer bailout.

I'd prefer slot machines in every newsroom. But I'll take it. ... Hey, the steel industry is asking for a government stimulus package:
“What we are asking,” said Daniel R. DiMicco, chairman and chief executive of the Nucor Corporation, a giant steel maker, “is that our government deal with the worst economic slowdown in our lifetime through a recovery program that has in every provision a ‘buy America’ clause.”Newspapers are made in America too, damn it. ... Newspaper bailout/whatever via Jules, who proposes a more immediate Stalinistic approach toward the industry's problems.

I'd prefer slot machines in every newsroom. But I'll take it. ... Hey, the steel industry is asking for a government stimulus package:
“What we are asking,” said Daniel R. DiMicco, chairman and chief executive of the Nucor Corporation, a giant steel maker, “is that our government deal with the worst economic slowdown in our lifetime through a recovery program that has in every provision a ‘buy America’ clause.”Newspapers are made in America too, damn it. ... Newspaper bailout/whatever via Jules, who proposes a more immediate Stalinistic approach toward the industry's problems.

Some random thoughts on subjects that I couldn't promptly post on due to a hectic holiday schedule, which mostly entailed a lot of eating and napping:

-- BMG's David has a good post (with equally good comments) on Blago's appointment of Burris. The reluctant bottom-line: Just seat Burris. The Sun-Times says the same thing. What else can be done? Deny Illinois a U.S. senator? Order shameless Illinois Democrats to hold a special election? Blago played this one well. ... BTW: Here's a short piece on Roland 'I am a visionary' Burris, who, it should be noted, already has his tombstone carved with 'Trail Blazer' on it. Having covered the guy, all I can add is that chasing titles was his sole profession. He admits it. He wanted to be famous. He really doesn't care if people say there's no there there. He has no central message. He has no passionate base of support -- either in the black or white communities. He's the only member of his own cult. He's now going to be a U.S. Senator. He won't do anything memorable with the title. But divine providence and the ghost of Abe Lincoln have given him another title -- and who are we, as mere mortals, to question Blago's role in his trail-blazing destiny? ...

-- Harvard's Niall Ferguson looks into the future and sees a 'Great Repression.' ... Some distinctly non-Harvard types also look into the future. ...

-- Another excellent journalistic piece on the financial crisis: AIG's 'beautiful machine.' ... John Ellis has been all over the financial mess. He has lots of other Wall Street-meltdown links. Check him out. ...

Some random thoughts on subjects that I couldn't promptly post on due to a hectic holiday schedule, which mostly entailed a lot of eating and napping:

-- BMG's David has a good post (with equally good comments) on Blago's appointment of Burris. The reluctant bottom-line: Just seat Burris. The Sun-Times says the same thing. What else can be done? Deny Illinois a U.S. senator? Order shameless Illinois Democrats to hold a special election? Blago played this one well. ... BTW: Here's a short piece on Roland 'I am a visionary' Burris, who, it should be noted, already has his tombstone carved with 'Trail Blazer' on it. Having covered the guy, all I can add is that chasing titles was his sole profession. He admits it. He wanted to be famous. He really doesn't care if people say there's no there there. He has no central message. He has no passionate base of support -- either in the black or white communities. He's the only member of his own cult. He's now going to be a U.S. Senator. He won't do anything memorable with the title. But divine providence and the ghost of Abe Lincoln have given him another title -- and who are we, as mere mortals, to question Blago's role in his trail-blazing destiny? ...

-- Harvard's Niall Ferguson looks into the future and sees a 'Great Repression.' ... Some distinctly non-Harvard types also look into the future. ...

-- Another excellent journalistic piece on the financial crisis: AIG's 'beautiful machine.' ... John Ellis has been all over the financial mess. He has lots of other Wall Street-meltdown links. Check him out. ...

No kidding. There was nothing wrong per se with the original story about possible police cuts. It was a classic scare-the-readers piece. I would have run with it. But it was also a classic combo send-a-message/scare-the-public/trial-balloon piece that's leaked by pols, bureaucrats or activists every time someone tries to cut a public-sector budget. Now the police budget has been declared semi-off-limits. The alarmist tactic worked. Right? The firefighters better get cracking. They're now fighting for second place on the protected-status list. The budget competition will be stiff against school teachers, health-care workers etc. ...

One of my favorite like-clockwork stories during a recessionary cycle is when someone dares to cut a public arts budget -- and then the flowery ode-to-poetry editorials come out. ... Art touches the human soul, enriching our lives with beauty unseen that ... Etc., etc. ... Howie urges immediate counter measures against scare-the-public tactics and other antics.

Update -- Dan tries to sort through the 'blue murk.' Agree with him on a lot of points (such as whether police layoffs are really off the table, thus use of "semi" above etc.). But if you just look at the broad outlines of the episode -- the cause (original budget-cut warning) and the effect (pressure to backtrack) -- you pretty much have a classic scare-the-public scenario -- and it worked. To what degree is arguable. ... I should disclose I'm a Herald reporter, though I'm witnessing this episode from the comfy confines of my holiday home like most everyone else. I only deduce from what I read. ...

No kidding. There was nothing wrong per se with the original story about possible police cuts. It was a classic scare-the-readers piece. I would have run with it. But it was also a classic combo send-a-message/scare-the-public/trial-balloon piece that's leaked by pols, bureaucrats or activists every time someone tries to cut a public-sector budget. Now the police budget has been declared semi-off-limits. The alarmist tactic worked. Right? The firefighters better get cracking. They're now fighting for second place on the protected-status list. The budget competition will be stiff against school teachers, health-care workers etc. ...

One of my favorite like-clockwork stories during a recessionary cycle is when someone dares to cut a public arts budget -- and then the flowery ode-to-poetry editorials come out. ... Art touches the human soul, enriching our lives with beauty unseen that ... Etc., etc. ... Howie urges immediate counter measures against scare-the-public tactics and other antics.

Update -- Dan tries to sort through the 'blue murk.' Agree with him on a lot of points (such as whether police layoffs are really off the table, thus use of "semi" above etc.). But if you just look at the broad outlines of the episode -- the cause (original budget-cut warning) and the effect (pressure to backtrack) -- you pretty much have a classic scare-the-public scenario -- and it worked. To what degree is arguable. ... I should disclose I'm a Herald reporter, though I'm witnessing this episode from the comfy confines of my holiday home like most everyone else. I only deduce from what I read. ...

In an email slugged 'The Uncertain Year(s),' Reader No. 1 writes in:Amity Shlaes has written a number of good columns, plus a book I haven't read, delving into how the New Deal actually did and didn't work. Today's entry makes FDR sound very much the precursor to modern-day Big Government Democrats and Republicans - guided by a bit of principle and a lot of "pragmatism".

Meanwhile, stupendous Patriot talk this week on WEEI from fill-in Mike Felger, digging into previously undiscussable topics like the failures of the post-Super Bowl drafts and the change in Tom Brady's perspective. Amidst all the Cassell talk, when will we get some good Kevin O'Connell chatter?

In an email slugged 'The Uncertain Year(s),' Reader No. 1 writes in:Amity Shlaes has written a number of good columns, plus a book I haven't read, delving into how the New Deal actually did and didn't work. Today's entry makes FDR sound very much the precursor to modern-day Big Government Democrats and Republicans - guided by a bit of principle and a lot of "pragmatism".

Meanwhile, stupendous Patriot talk this week on WEEI from fill-in Mike Felger, digging into previously undiscussable topics like the failures of the post-Super Bowl drafts and the change in Tom Brady's perspective. Amidst all the Cassell talk, when will we get some good Kevin O'Connell chatter?

Blago's pick of Roland Burris is brilliantly banal. Carol Marin explains the brilliant part. Mark Brown explains the banal part. ... Here's the definition of the Peter Principle. It fits Burris perfectly. It fits Blago perfectly. Now they're combining their Peter-Principled forces to create one of the most surreal moments in Chicago machine-politics history -- and not even the hacks can control them now. ...

Blago's pick of Roland Burris is brilliantly banal. Carol Marin explains the brilliant part. Mark Brown explains the banal part. ... Here's the definition of the Peter Principle. It fits Burris perfectly. It fits Blago perfectly. Now they're combining their Peter-Principled forces to create one of the most surreal moments in Chicago machine-politics history -- and not even the hacks can control them now. ...

After you buy your crappy last-minute presents, remember to wrap them in a crappy box to remember. ... Personally, I've sunk to a new Yankee Swap low this year. I wish I could blame the recession. But I can't. It's been a downward spiral since about 2001. ... I thought this was going to be the most depressing Christmas post of the day: I'd rather hurt my son's feelings about Santa Claus but tell him the truth because I want him to trust me later and tell me when the other kids in school are trying to ply him with crystal meth.He opted for the crystal meth. ... Merry Christmas!

After you buy your crappy last-minute presents, remember to wrap them in a crappy box to remember. ... Personally, I've sunk to a new Yankee Swap low this year. I wish I could blame the recession. But I can't. It's been a downward spiral since about 2001. ... I thought this was going to be the most depressing Christmas post of the day: I'd rather hurt my son's feelings about Santa Claus but tell him the truth because I want him to trust me later and tell me when the other kids in school are trying to ply him with crystal meth.He opted for the crystal meth. ... Merry Christmas!

Here's why I think Obama's $1 trillion economic stimulus bill will fail: It's not an economic stimulus bill. It's becoming a classic Congressional Christmas tree. It's exactly what Tom Friedman is warning about: "If we allow this money to be spent on pork, it will be the end of us." ... It's also why I fear we're about to enter a 'lost decade,' similar to what Japan went through in the '90s. ... One of the more fascinating aspects of the current financial crisis has been the return of Keynesian economics. Keynes went out of fashion partly because his adherents took his spending ideas too far, not unlike supply-side adherents taking tax-cut ideas too far. There's often a hidden agenda behind such abuses -- socialism (for big spenders), laissez-faire (for tax cutters), hackerama (for the Ted Stevens) and save the world (for environmentalists), etc. It's what Obama should be guarding against. But if there's already infighting within his inner circle about how to spend the money, imagine what it's going to look like after Congress gets its hands on $1 trillion.

Here's why I think Obama's $1 trillion economic stimulus bill will fail: It's not an economic stimulus bill. It's becoming a classic Congressional Christmas tree. It's exactly what Tom Friedman is warning about: "If we allow this money to be spent on pork, it will be the end of us." ... It's also why I fear we're about to enter a 'lost decade,' similar to what Japan went through in the '90s. ... One of the more fascinating aspects of the current financial crisis has been the return of Keynesian economics. Keynes went out of fashion partly because his adherents took his spending ideas too far, not unlike supply-side adherents taking tax-cut ideas too far. There's often a hidden agenda behind such abuses -- socialism (for big spenders), laissez-faire (for tax cutters), hackerama (for the Ted Stevens) and save the world (for environmentalists), etc. It's what Obama should be guarding against. But if there's already infighting within his inner circle about how to spend the money, imagine what it's going to look like after Congress gets its hands on $1 trillion.

Here's why I think Obama's $1 trillion economic stimulus bill will fail: It's not an economic stimulus bill. It's becoming a classic Congressional Christmas tree. It's exactly what Tom Friedman is warning about: "If we allow this money to be spent on pork, it will be the end of us." ... It's also why I fear we're about to enter a 'lost decade,' similar to what Japan went through in the '90s. ... One of the more fascinating aspects of the current financial crisis has been the return of Keynesian economics. Keynes went out of fashion partly because his adherents took his spending ideas too far, not unlike supply-side adherents taking tax-cut ideas too far. There's often a hidden agenda behind such abuses -- socialism (for big spenders), laissez-faire (for tax cutters), hackerama (for the Ted Stevens) and save the world (for environmentalists), etc. It's what Obama should be guarding against. But if there's already infighting within his inner circle about how to spend the money, imagine what it's going to look like after Congress gets its hands on $1 trillion.

Has Caroline Kennedy overplayed her hand? Please don't tell me it's her advisers, uncle and the mayor. She's a grown-up woman. She's speed-dialing contacts. She's hired a wired political consultant. She's practically campaigning in upper-state New York. She and her allies are applying enough pressure on Paterson to make him feel like an overwhelmed Blago.