Pajamas Media paid my way to New Orleans last weekend to attend the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, and I am just today recovered enough from my trip home on Sunday to write something about it. The journey back to Chicago from New Orleans was actually more like an Icelandic Saga than the return leg of a round trip. The only thing missing is Odin hurling … [Read more...] about The Good and the Bad From New Orleans
Does Multi-National Corporate Success Mean Anything To US?
I don't want to harp on Dorian's post of optimism (OK I do slightly) but I do find it telling that Daniel Gross' breezy article argued for US economic success made up nearly entirely of anecdotes about major multi-national corporations. It is becoming less clear whether success of these corporations really helps the USA in many ways other than the stock market. Mish has a … [Read more...] about Does Multi-National Corporate Success Mean Anything To US?
Is Our Economy Back? The Record Downturn Makes It Hard To Know
Dorian, the site's (increasingly less lonely) optimist wrote a post earlier linking to Daniel Gross' article in Newsweek. I have long been skeptical of "green shoots" talk as being bad statistics; for instance the economy grew 5.9% in the fourth quarter, but after inventory adjustment is stripped out the increase was only 2%. There are many measures showing that inventory … [Read more...] about Is Our Economy Back? The Record Downturn Makes It Hard To Know
Politically Uninformed Americans Don’t Like Anybody
With most pundits predicting that voters will hand the Democrats their heads in this fall's midterm elections, you'd think Republicans would be basking in the glow of public affection. Not so says a recent poll by Public Policy Polling. Only 28% of respondents view the current direction of the Republicans favorably, while 51% disapprove. Only 54% of registered Republicans … [Read more...] about Politically Uninformed Americans Don’t Like Anybody
7.1 Earthquake Hits China: 400 Dead So Far
The pattern of earthquakes following other earthquakes in other parts of the world continues with news that a 7.1 earthquake hit a remote area of China, killing at least 400 people an injuring 1000. Here's a CNN video report on the quake: Russia Today offers this: ABC News reports: A magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck a remote mountainous region in western China … [Read more...] about 7.1 Earthquake Hits China: 400 Dead So Far
Tax Day
David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Tax Day
Judges, Conservatives, Liberals: We Are All Activists
I've written on defining "activism" before but this op-ed in today's New York Times is superb, as an op-ed and as an argument for why U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is as activist as was the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger. From professor of law, Geoffrey R. Stone (University of Chicago - yeah yeah yeah where President Obama taught) who also is an … [Read more...] about Judges, Conservatives, Liberals: We Are All Activists
Cheney: Bush “failed” on Iran
The Cheney in question would be Liz, not Dick. On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace challenged Cheney's assertion that President Obama is doing nothing at all to prevent Iran from getting the bomb. As Wallace pointed out, wouldn't it be fair to say that the Bush administration also did nothing to prevent Iran from getting the bomb. (Forgive the absence of direct quotes. … [Read more...] about Cheney: Bush “failed” on Iran
Jacqueline on JFK, 44 Years Late
An old wound reopens with news that a book of Jacqueline Kennedy interviews about her husband will be published next year, recalling a story of my naïveté that ended in disappointment and insight in how the Kennedys protected their legend. In 1965, I had asked Mrs. Kennedy to become a contributing editor of McCalls, but she seemed too deep in grief, musing, "If there were … [Read more...] about Jacqueline on JFK, 44 Years Late
Mutual Disappointment in Transatlantic Relations
Chancellor Merkel is traveling across America this week. She loves the United States, but she is still having trouble connecting with Barack Obama, writes Spiegel International (HT: David). The media loves to personalize politics. I think at the end of the day the problem is not the personal relationship between Obama and Merkel, but its structural. After long descriptions of … [Read more...] about Mutual Disappointment in Transatlantic Relations
The Past Week in Crazy
Courtesy of Memeorandum River: … [Read more...] about The Past Week in Crazy
Our Economy: Coming Back Stronger than Predicted?
Just about a year ago, and just after Limbaugh added to his infamous wish list his hope that Obama and our economy would fail, I started writing naïve, optimistic (“optimalistic” I called them) posts grasping at every “green shoot,” chasing every “glimmer of hope,” reaching for every silver lining in the hope that maybe, just maybe, our economy was beginning to recover from the … [Read more...] about Our Economy: Coming Back Stronger than Predicted?
Israel = Nazi Germany?
Kathy, I'm going to take a deep breath and summon the temperament I need to respond your suggestion that, in light of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians, It really is getting increasingly difficult to avoid comparisons with being Jewish in Germany during the decade before World War II began.That suggestion is both reckless and intellectually indefensible. It is an old … [Read more...] about Israel = Nazi Germany?
Don’t Change That Password!
It’s a waste of time. Mark Pothier in the Boston Globe: Now, a study [link] has concluded what lots of us have long suspected: Many of these irritating security measures are a waste of time. The study, by a top researcher at Microsoft, found that instructions intended to spare us from costly computer attacks often exact a much steeper price in the form of user effort and time … [Read more...] about Don’t Change That Password!
A Catastrophe for Poland; Sadness in Washington: Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland
What was it like for someone from Poland to be in the United States on the day that that Poland's president, a good portion of his government and some of Poland's leading lights were wiped out in a plane crash? Gazeta Wyborcza's Washington correspondent Marcin Bosacki writes that if they were looking down from the heavens, those who died would have been happy at the way the … [Read more...] about A Catastrophe for Poland; Sadness in Washington: Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland
Fix the Flaws: Reader Reax
I received a couple notable reactions to my post from earlier today. First, “Mike Lee” wondered what exactly I meant by “refinement.” If you mean just removing the accidental provisions that slipped through, I wouldn't expect or encourage any Republican to take you up on that. Although Republicans have made use of the "it's so big you can't possibly know what's in it" … [Read more...] about Fix the Flaws: Reader Reax
U.S. Nuclear Double Standards Must End: La Jornada, Mexico
Continuing with our global survey of reaction to the onrush of events surrounding nuclear weapons, we have posted this editorial from Mexico's La Jornada which puts forward a view widely shared in the developing world. According to La Jornada's editorial board, President Obama's new nuclear doctrine is hypocritical, since North Korea and Iran have done nothing different that … [Read more...] about U.S. Nuclear Double Standards Must End: La Jornada, Mexico
Is Obama Changing the Global Game on Iran and Nuclear Policy?
As President Obama kicks off the Nuclear Summit, the question is whether Obama is having a world influence. Steve Clemons, writing in The Politico, argues that Obama is having a big impact not only on how Iran is handled but on global nuclear policy as well. Here's the beginning of his post: Sir Francis Bacon once said, “In civil business, what first? Boldness. What … [Read more...] about Is Obama Changing the Global Game on Iran and Nuclear Policy?
The Health Care Reform Battle: It’s the Hypocrisy…
I have been surprised by many of the Republicans’ newly discovered passions. Take for example their newfound passion against parliamentary procedures they themselves have generously practiced in the past, such as reconciliation, “deem and pass,” etc. Or their newfound passion to zealously and liberally use parliamentary tactics they have roundly condemned in … [Read more...] about The Health Care Reform Battle: It’s the Hypocrisy…
Interview With A Purported CIA Iranian Informant
One of the most fascinating new books to come out is by A Time to Betray by Reza Kahlili (I will be reading it soon myself) -- a book written by purported CIA Iranian informant. RealClearWorld's Kevin Sullivan has an equally fascinating, must-read Q&A with him. Here's how Sullivan intros it: RCW recently spoke with Reza Kahlili (a pseudonym), who claims to have served for … [Read more...] about Interview With A Purported CIA Iranian Informant