Month: July 2010

by Eric Martin There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning.” – Warren Buffet It always seemed to me that "trickle up" makes more sense than "trickle down" as a general economic model for this country (in a general sense, with the particulars up for debate and … Read more

–by Sebastian The filibuster has become such a routinely used tool, that reporters now speak of 60 votes required to pass nearly anything through the US Senate.  I'm temperamentally conservative, so I'm loathe to get rid of procedures.  But I'm temperamentally conservative, so I don't like seeing the social conventions against using emergency measures only … Read more

by Eric Martin I believe the term of art to describe Dean Baker's treatment of a recent David Brooks offering on economic policy is "evisceration": David Brooks has decided to jump into the debate over stimulus with both feet. In a column in which he warns against arrogance he tells readers that additional stimulus would: "risk … Read more

by Eric Martin George Steinbrenner passed away today at age 80.  Guess he was waiting for Bob Sheppard to go on ahead first so that he could get a proper introduction at the pearly gates. Say what you will about Steinbrenner, as a Yankee fan, you knew the guy was going to spend his money to … Read more

by Jacob Davies The last post was a little dry, so I thought I’d try to illustrate the scale of the problem and the strange indifference in our response with a dramatic illustration. Plus, the last zombies post had stopped being about zombies, and I think it’s important that we have at least one zombie-related … Read more

by Jacob Davies I am not a fan of the word “stimulus”. I am not a fan of many of the things done by the previous stimulus bill. When largely-conservative critics of the stimulus complain about the waste inherent in the government borrowing money to do things not worth doing, I sympathize – even as … Read more

by Cheryl Rofer It’s not easy being a Republican these days. Ask Mitt Romney. Ask Dick Lugar. The New START treaty is a particular challenge. It revives and renews the arms control relationship between the United States and Russia, which flourished under Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. But it is a treaty, and Republican common … Read more

by Eric Martin This, folks, is pure awesome: A description from Lance Mannion: On Saturday, April 24th, the Opera Company of Philadelphia teamed up with the Reading Terminal Market Italian Festival for a large-scale "Flash Opera" event! Over 30 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and principal cast members of LA TRAVIATA performed … Read more

by Eric Martin Why, it's almost as if they're trying to stoke irrational fears of the "other" for political gain: Last year gave us death panels and granny killings, but compared with the nonsense justifying the immigration crackdown, the health-care debate was an evening at the Oxford Union Society. Two months ago, the Arizona Republic … Read more

by Eric Martin Matt Duss provides some useful background information on Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, whose death over the weekend, and subsequent tweet regarding his passing from 20 year CNN veteran Octavia Nasr, has created something of a controversey: On Sunday, the influential Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah passed away in Lebanon. A source of … Read more

by Eric Martin This is more evidence that the housing crisis and financial meltdown were the result of the CRA, Fannie and Freddie and, in general, extension of home ownership to poor minorities: Whether it is their residence, a second home or a house bought as an investment, the rich have stopped paying the mortgage … Read more

by Eric Martin Some good news (in a qaulified sense) for a change from Joel Wing regarding the Obama administration's fealty to the SOFA-related Iraq timetable, as first agreed to by the Bush administration: U.S. forces are scheduled to draw down to 50,000 by September 1, 2010 following President Obama’s withdrawal plan. It’s hardly been noticed, but U.S. … Read more

by Jacob Davies First, some disclaimers. I think Barack Obama was clearly the best choice of the Democratic primary candidates, and because I wasn’t repeatedly dropped on my head as a baby, I think he was clearly better than the McCain/Palin ticket, in much the same way that a nice hot cup of tea is … Read more

by Eric Martin DougJ at Balloon Juice flags this bit of speculation from MJ Rosenberg (subesequently edited slightly): I guess the reports that Jeff Goldberg is about to publish a neocon magnum opus calling for bombing Iran are true. DougJ : I wonder if very liberal New Yorker magazine will publish another Goldberg piece like this … Read more

by Eric Martin A couple of recent pieces on Afghanistan have caught my eye, and the ideas expressed therein are worth discussing further considering the wider implications.  First, George Packer relies on the fact that the Obama administration is pursuing its preferred strategy in Afghanistan as evidence that it is the only feasible strategy that could be … Read more

by Jacob Davies The White House this morning: In a month where one might easily be confused by the official jobs numbers… I am not confused. I know how to read. Christina Romer this morning: Today’s employment report shows continued signs of gradual labor market recovery. No, today's employment report shows continued signs of gradual … Read more

by Eric Martin I apologize to Jim Henley in advance for excerpting so much of this post, but it is simply too good to apply the pruning shears liberally enough to bring my use to within acceptable norms of blog excerpting.  To provide some context, Henley is riffing off Gene Callahan's response to a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed that warns of the potential negative … Read more

by Eric Martin Will Bunch is highly quotable in discussing the recent report that shows just how thoroughly "toilet trained" the media has been in its on again, off again – contingent – willingness to acknowledge that waterboarding is torture: On the one hand, waterboarding is torture. On the other hand…. I'm sorry — there … Read more