I'm posting in San Francisco right now, after spending the past couple of days at a Stanford conference on democratic transitions and the role that international actors play in supporting them. I presented a paper on the South Korean transition to democracy in 1987, co-authored with a colleague from Seoul. If you're into the academic literature on democratic transitions, … [Read more...] about Does Democracy Promotion Matter?
Economy Not Good But Not A Depression
People have been discussing whether or not we are heading into or are already in a new Great Depression. While I am hardly going to claim that our economy is strong I do think we take a bit of an overreach in calling it a depression. Just a simple look at the statistics demonstrates my point. During the 2 year period between 1930 and 1932 the stock market lost over 80% of … [Read more...] about Economy Not Good But Not A Depression
This Tiger Is Not Dead (Guest Voice)
We've run some posts and editorial cartoons from the United States and Canada that have been highly critical of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. But not everyone agrees with them. Here's another viewpoint from talk show host Michael Reagan. This Tiger Is Not Dead by Michael Reagan There’s an old adage that explains that one does not shoot arrows at dead … [Read more...] about This Tiger Is Not Dead (Guest Voice)
A Heel Is Thrown At A Heel
A shoe was reportedly thrown at Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (It'd be more interesting if Iran's voters give him the boot.) … [Read more...] about A Heel Is Thrown At A Heel
‘Cheek-Cramping Laughable’
That's how one reader characterized my recurring hope that the Republicans will regain the Senate in two years and thus provide the counterbalance every great President needs, even one with the exceeding skills and exceptional character of Barack Obama. This reader/critic has a point. Thirty-five Senate seats will be contested in 2010. (Normally, it would be 34, but VP … [Read more...] about ‘Cheek-Cramping Laughable’
Keep God And Politics Out Of Stem Cell Research
President Barack Obama Monday is expected to fulfill a campaign promise by rescinding federal funding restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. It's expected to reopen a moral debate which could become more divisive than the ideological political confrontation over rescuing the economy. For me it's a no-brainer. Diabetes has ravaged my body for a quarter century. … [Read more...] about Keep God And Politics Out Of Stem Cell Research
Rush Limbaugh
Patrick Corrigan, The Toronto Star This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Rush Limbaugh
India’s Shameful Story: Defecating In The Open
Thank you Jason Gale (of Bloomberg) for your important story "India Failing to Control Open Defecation Blunts Nation’s Growth". India has enough strength to withstand the periodical attacks by terrorists. But its Achilles heel could very well be the lack of proper sewerage facilities/hygiene in overcrowded cities and small towns. Ironically, in the Indian subcontinent, the … [Read more...] about India’s Shameful Story: Defecating In The Open
Diminishing The Resistance Against President Obama
Mark Tapscott at DCExaminer declares that Obama is in trouble. The meat of what he is saying: * Since the first of the year, Rush Limbaugh's audience has exploded , according to Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post, even as his daily assaults on Obama have intensified. The conservative Talk Radio maestro has become quite possibly the most listened-to radio personality in … [Read more...] about Diminishing The Resistance Against President Obama
NY20 Race: New Tedisco Ad Released. Going Negative?
Local news sources are reporting that Republican Assembly Leader Jim Tedisco has released his next campaign advertisement, this time going directly after his Democratic opponent, Scott Murphy, for his Wall Street pedigree. The race to fill Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's now vacant seat in the 20th Congressional District is heating up as the two candidates vying for the job … [Read more...] about NY20 Race: New Tedisco Ad Released. Going Negative?
Foul Play in Zimbabwe?
CNN: Car-truck crash kills Zimbabwe prime minister's wife, injures him Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was in stable condition and recovering from head injuries Friday night after a car wreck that killed his wife, Susan, medical sources told CNN. The crash, on a busy two-lane highway between Tsvangirai's hometown of Buhera and the capital city of Harare, comes … [Read more...] about Foul Play in Zimbabwe?
The Great Economic Reshuffling
Analysts and commentators are debating what to call the present state of the U.S. economy. Is is a deep recession or an early depression? I have another suggestion in this regard. Perhaps we might more accurately term it a major economic reshuffling—a dramatic reordering of national wealth. The most obvious symptom of this reshuffling, of course, is wealth diminuation. A … [Read more...] about The Great Economic Reshuffling
The End Is Near: Starbucks Is Struggling! (Guest Voice)
The End Is near: Starbucks Is Struggling! by Doug Bursch Starbucks is struggling financially and this has me a bit unnerved. I’m not an end times expert, but a Starbucks downturn might be one of the signs of the Apocalypse. I think Revelations states before the four horsemen arrive, we are greeted by a large angry mermaid. Come to think of it, that might be from Jason … [Read more...] about The End Is Near: Starbucks Is Struggling! (Guest Voice)
Hillary Clinton And Iran
Could her overtures to Iran get Iran to cooperate? Here's one view. … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton And Iran
Barack Obama, Socialism and Fascism (Guest Voice)
The S-word and the F-word by Cathy Young My column on the brouhaha about Obama as a “socialist” appears on RealClearPolitics.com (and on Reason.com) this week. Short answer: Yes, Obama’s proposals advance and enhance the welfare state and government involvement in the economy (and yes, I think this is a bad thing); no, this is not any sort of radical departure from the … [Read more...] about Barack Obama, Socialism and Fascism (Guest Voice)
Up, Up and Away! Best of Luck, Kepler.
"We have a feeling like we're about to set sail across an ocean to discover a new world. It's sort of the same feeling Columbus or Magellan must have had." So spoke NASA JPL project manager Jim Fanson this week as a Delta II rocket carried the Kepler spacecraft into orbit. For all of us who misspent much of our youth reading novels by Isaac Asimov and dreaming of worlds … [Read more...] about Up, Up and Away! Best of Luck, Kepler.
A Better Foreclosure Fix?
Good old American free-enterprise vultures may be trumping Obama's Treasury theorists in slowing down the rate of mortgage defaults. Instead of complex schemes to lower interest payments for under-water home owners, speculators are buying up loans at distress prices and cutting the principal but still keeping it high enough to profit--a market-based solution if there ever … [Read more...] about A Better Foreclosure Fix?
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
There I was, having a fine week of venting some righteous indignation about President Obama's economic policies and diplomatic gaffes, when others who oppose everything to do with both Obama's administration and his family force me into cursing them rather than lighting a candle in the darkness. Andrew Malcolm posted a story about First Lady Michelle Obama showing up at a DC … [Read more...] about No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
John Maynard Keynes Can Save The World’s Economy
Earmarks: The Mother’s Milk Of Congressional Giving
For weeks now, I have been hiding behind the bushes poised to pounce on a Congressional earmark that epitomizes pork barrel spending. Thanks to the Associated Press I found what I was looking for: A $1.7 million earmark for pig odor research in Iowa from its senator, Tom Harkin, a Democrat. When you stop yukking -- and it may take weeks because this story has legs -- … [Read more...] about Earmarks: The Mother’s Milk Of Congressional Giving