Table of Contents
Via Andrew Sullivan: A slightly depressing but perhaps useful article on methods of aid that do not in fact help Haiti.
Reihan Salam says that if we really want to help the Haitians, opening our borders is the best way. The Wall Street Journal lauds President Obama’s decision to grant temporary amnesty to Haitians currently illegally in the United States, and concurs with Reihan that permanent amnesty is the most generous gift we can give Haitians.
Sudhir Venkatesh argues that Haiti’s underground economy should be left alone.
America to Palin: don’t run.
The Wall Street Journal profiles Glen Beck.
Is alcohol “a technology to give up some control over one’s actions and words?”
Clay Shirky tells women to man up and do some self-promotion.
Choire at The Awl takes issue with David Brooks’ comparison of Haiti and Barbados.
Conan to bid adieu to NBC.
James Surowiecki explains why cable companies bundle their channels together.
Ukraine is apparently on the verge of bankruptcy.
Harvard Prof. Greg Mankiw worries about whether or not hyperinflation is in the cards. That would probably be better than the UK’s situation which has some wondering if they’ll be the next Iceland.
Frédéric Filloux on why there is no average consumer anymore.
Ross Douthat says the G.O.P. is catching up on the web, but also points out why that’s a recipe for disappointed supporters.
Two cool events on campus on Tuesday: a New York Times reporter who was in Iran during the June 2009 election will be speaking at the Iranian Studies department’s “Covering Iran, a Journalist’s Perspective.” Copyright expert and former Stanford Law Prof. Lawrence Lessig (now of Harvard) will give a lecture on “Understanding Institutional Corruption.”
FEATURED ARTICLE:
Scott Horton’s harrowing account of three deaths at Guantánamo Bay seriously calls into question the Bush Administration’s position that they were suicides. For more on the topic, see Andrew Sullivan’s open letter to George Bush from October 2009.
ON THIS DAY:
January 18, 1990: Washington, DC Mayor [Marion Barry](http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/888vxzdn.asp) is [arrested](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/dc/barry/video.htm) on drug charges after an FBI sting.1998: Matt Drudge breaks the Lewinsky scandal story.
1782: Daniel Webster is born. From time to time the Stanford Theatre will play this classic.
1862: William Henry Harrison’s successor, John Tyler, dies at 72.