"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
by hilzoy When John McCain nominated Sarah Palin for Vice President, I (along with a whole lot of other non-Alaskans) suddenly developed an interest in Alaskan politics, and one of the best political blogs I found was Mudflats, written by a blogger who went by the name of AKMuckraker. It didn't occur to me to … Read more
by publius (Cross-posted at WashMonthly. I’m not going to cross-post everything, but wanted to get people’s thoughts here on this). Count me among the skeptical of Obama's new Afghanistan strategy. What really worries me is what I'll call the "reverse canary" problem. Simply put, the wrong people are too happy. You're all familiar with the … Read more
by publius I just wanted to let people know that Steve Benen was kind enough to let me guest-post at the Washington Monthly through Monday. So I'll be there, furthering the Obsidian Wings takeover of the site…
by von That middle-class tax cut President Obama promised during the campaign? Here begins the walkback: President Obama's budget chief hinted Wednesday that the president's signature campaign issue — a middle-class tax cut — will not likely survive a budget battle with Democrats on Capitol Hill. I predicted a bit ago that "The next set … Read more
by Eric Martin Certain foreign policy objectives pursued by the Russian government over the past decade are beginning to bump up against the basic fiscal reality. It's quite simple really: long term military deployments are enormously expensive and can crowd out other vital budgetary initiatives. There is only so much money, attention and other resources to go around, and if military engagements are consuming … Read more
by hilzoy When I read blog posts or comments complaining about people who should have known better than to sign up for mortgages they couldn't afford, I'm always of two minds. On the one hand, I'm quite sure that there are a decent number of people who knowingly gambled on the proposition that housing prices … Read more
by publius Like hilzoy, I found the GOP budget bubbles adorably cute. I was hoping to see more underpants gnomes though. That's honestly the only real critique I have of this fine product — the underpants gnomishness is left implicit. (If any graphically-inclined readers want to take a stab at "gnoming" the bubbles, I'd be … Read more
by hilzoy I've been trying to figure out what to say about the House Republicans' new "budget". I think it's pretty neat that they decided to use those cute bubbles instead of numbers. Maybe next week they'll present their budget using interpretive dance or little animated jelly beans. I also like the way they say … Read more
by von Ross Douthat's recent back–and–forth with Ta-Nehisi Coates regarding crime and race is one of those conversations as likely to generate unwelcome heat as much as needed light. But, since every good blog is a kitchen with the oven on, let's not concern ourselves with the risks of a little more sweat. In Conservatives, Crime Policy, and the … Read more
by Eric Martin Shocked, shocked I tell you: The Taliban’s widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, despite Pakistani government promises to sever ties to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, according to American government officials. The support consists of money, military supplies … Read more