Month: December 2009

Old Buildings

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by von   Let's take a break from politics. I work in an old building.  It's something of a landmark in the city where I reside:  one of the first skyscrapers to go up.  (I use the term "skyscraper" according to its turn-of-the-century definition, not its modern one.)  For a long time it was a bank … Read more

This One’s Optimistic

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by Eric Martin In the aftermath of Obama's big speech on Afghanistan, Judah Grunstein observed that the prospective plan as enunciated had something for everyone – as well as the potential to disappoint all listeners.  That was my immediate take as well – not that it was a unique or particularly insightful observation.  This push/pull was probably not … Read more

But I’ve Been Unfaithful, I’ve Been Traveling Abroad

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by Eric Martin Following up on the recent analysis of the stimulus - which highlighted the stimulative effects of infrastructure projects – this Louis Uchitelle article makes another important point: For the first time in memory, the nation has no outsize public works project under way. The Big Dig, with its three and a half miles of underground highways channeling … Read more

The Sane Ones

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by von If it wasn't obvious from yesterday's post, my mood regarding Afghanistan has been a bit "Charge of the Light Brigade" recently.  "All in the valley of death rode the six hundred" and all that rot.  I'm not quite that pessimistic, of course.  I think that there is a chance that we'll succeed.  Maybe a good … Read more

It’s In the Way that You Use It

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by Eric Martin Ezra Klein links to a chart put out by the CBO which breaks down which elements of the stimulus bill were the most, well, stimulating in terms of bang for the buck.  The conclusions should not be shocking, though they run directly counter to many of the conservative arguments percolating during the stimulus debate (the same arguments that will … Read more

A Shallower Recovery

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by Eric Martin Since Von has been trespassing on my Af-Pak turf, allow me to hijack one of his sturdiest hobby horses: When the Obama administration announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (i.e. the stimulus) had saved or created 640,000 jobs, Republicans quickly launched into a tirade… Well, last night, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its … Read more

And he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year

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by von After his listening tour, it's likely that President Obama will order more troops to Afghanistan.  Not as many as General McChrystal sought some months ago; yet, many enough for one of my compatriots to gnash is terrible teeth, roll his terrible eyes, and generally go Maurice Sendak on ya'll.  Perhaps Eric Martin is right:  None … Read more