Wil Robinson has an interesting report on a new effort to convince Afghan farmers to switch from growing opium poppies to pomegranates to export to world markets. The man spearheading the effort thinks that, not only does Afghanistan produce "best pomegranates in the world," but sales of pomegranates on the global market could outstrip the value to Afghanistan of the opium … [Read more...] about Pomegranates for Poppies
Jindal for GOP Response: More Image is Everything, But Tenets? Not So Much
Am I the only one who is amazed at how, only six months ago, John McCain and Sarah Palin were the image of the Republican Party and wanted to be and were supported by their party to be the image of the White House and now, Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal are the image? Frankly, the choice of Steele as chair and Jindal as … [Read more...] about Jindal for GOP Response: More Image is Everything, But Tenets? Not So Much
Palin: Hey, You Know Who Really Stinks? The Media!
During the 2008 election, one of the major complaints regarding John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin was the lack of vetting which went into the decision. Once the choice was set in stone, though, criticism in some circles shifted to the abysmal handling of the VP candidate and her "not ready for prime time" persona. Apparently things haven't improved since the election … [Read more...] about Palin: Hey, You Know Who Really Stinks? The Media!
Fo Shizzle! The New Era of Hip-Hop Republicans
Newly minted RNC Chair Michael Steele has set the tone, calling for the application of the party’s traditional message to “urban — suburban hip-hop settings.” But what exactly does that mean? And how do you take a sometimes moldy construct of American conservatism and translate it to the urban, hip-hop culture? A daunting task to be sure, but I take a swing at it today in my … [Read more...] about Fo Shizzle! The New Era of Hip-Hop Republicans
A Lost Story About Protection of Children and Creatures
Earlier tonight, Jill Miller Zimon, our coblogger at The Moderate Voice, replied in comments to an article I'd written about how some persons intimidate and force young children to hysteria... children who have done nothing to provoke such, in order to instill fear into the child... and how others sometimes dont see such as intimidation and abuse... as long as the child is not … [Read more...] about A Lost Story About Protection of Children and Creatures
Settlements and the One-State Solution
I'm already pretty firmly on the record that the continued expansion of the settlements poses a massive threat to the viability of the two-state solution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The longer the settlements stay up, many argue, the more entrenched they will become -- eventually, they will be so dug in that evacuating them will become impossible, and suddenly there is … [Read more...] about Settlements and the One-State Solution
Grand Bargain; Grand Opportunity
In a British Radio Show called “The News Quiz” a few months ago, one of the panelists elicited loud laughter from the audience by saying of capitalism, “Recent events show that, while capitalism is a great idea in theory, it just can’t work in practice”. The joke, of course, was that this is the exact comment that has been often made about communism ever since its collapse. … [Read more...] about Grand Bargain; Grand Opportunity
Personal Letters, To and From Our President
In "A Note Personally Penned, Then Signed 'Barack.' Priceless," we saw how President Obama personally handwrites letters to kin of our fallen troops and, after they are typed, adds his signature, "Barack." In an interesting piece by Jake Tapper, ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent, we learn that President Obama reads 10 letters a day from regular citizens like you and … [Read more...] about Personal Letters, To and From Our President
Thought Exercise: If You Were In Charge…
OK, folks. We all have bailout fatigue. Some of us are bothered more by irresponsible borrowers and others are angry at the banks. We're sick and tired of being asked to bail out those who have failed. So let's do a thought experiment here. What happens if the US government literally does nothing more to stem the losses. AIG's recent request for money? … [Read more...] about Thought Exercise: If You Were In Charge…
[Poll] Republican Rejectionism Is, Itself, Rejected
I've had the idea for a post about this subject in my head since yesterday morning, but the New York Times release of this NYT/CBS poll about support for President Obama and disdain for Republican rejectionism has made push come to shove and I really need to write it now. First, from the poll (the full pdf is here): Americans are under no illusions that the country’s … [Read more...] about [Poll] Republican Rejectionism Is, Itself, Rejected
The Upcoming F-22 Raptor Decision Is Serious Business
I have written several posts on the upcoming decision by the Obama administration on how many additional F-22 Raptor fighters to purchase after the last one of the current 183 aircraft order has been delivered. There are reports that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz will ask for 60 more F-22's. As the decision nears, the media and especially the blogosphere are … [Read more...] about The Upcoming F-22 Raptor Decision Is Serious Business
From the Party of “No” to the Party of “Go”
All efforts by President Obama to get Republicans on board for the economic stimulus package fell to pieces, but will one of his next efforts garner more support? It seems that he's planning to grab hold of the third rail of politics and attempt to reform Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Depending how it's handled, he might have the GOP in his corner on this one, unless … [Read more...] about From the Party of “No” to the Party of “Go”
Cutting Budget Deficit A Shaky Promise
President Barack Obama on Monday took initial steps to school Congress and the American public on his first budget which includes the goal of cutting the nation's budget deficit in half by the end of his first term. As Yogi Berra is said to have uttered, it's deja vu all over again. Former President George W. Bush promised the same thing with abysmal results. Is Obama … [Read more...] about Cutting Budget Deficit A Shaky Promise
It’s Nice To See The Bailouts Working So Well
Over the course of 48 hours it's come out that Citi needs to be rescued or it'll fail the stress tests, GM/Chrysler need to be given more money or declare bankruptcy and AIG needs more money or cause ruin. Just those four companies will require another $300-$500 billion in my estimation (that's on the low side actually, if you want to be more pessimistic another $750 billion … [Read more...] about It’s Nice To See The Bailouts Working So Well
Jindal the Wonk
JINDAL THE WONK: Listening to Bobby Jindal is different from listening to almost any other Republican. For example, consider Jindal's discussion with David Gregory yesterday on Meet the Press. Jindal consistently tries to win points by demonstrating that he has mastered the details of an issue. When Gregory tried to portray Jindal as inconsistent, Jindal mounted his defense … [Read more...] about Jindal the Wonk
Jindal on the Future of the GOP
Yesterday:MR. [DAVID] GREGORY: What is the state of the Republican Party? GOV. [BOBBY] JINDAL: Look, our Republican Party got fired with cause these last two election cycles. We became the party that defended spending, corruption that we never should've tolerated, and we stopped offering relevant solutions to the problems that Americans care about.Jindal isn't going easy … [Read more...] about Jindal on the Future of the GOP
Bunning Tosses A Spitball
Former Major League pitcher and now U.S. Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky has thrown a political spitball claiming liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could die in less than a year from pancreatic cancer. In the arena of politics, it's one thing to speak the truth about possible events we don't want to hear. It's another to forecast the death of a prominent … [Read more...] about Bunning Tosses A Spitball
Stimulus as GOP Hopefuls’ Iraq
Republican gubernatorial presidential wannabes are facing a dilemma over the Obama stimulus similar to the one that led Senate Democratic hopefuls into voting for George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2001. Just as Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Edwards et al feared retaliation at the polls in 2004 for being soft on terrorism, we now have Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin and Mark … [Read more...] about Stimulus as GOP Hopefuls’ Iraq
Gallup Poll: Obama At One Month Is Highly Popular But Honeymoon Ending
A new Gallup poll finds that President Barack Obama remains popular -- but not extraordinarily so and that his honeymoon is slowing coming to an end. The big development in the honeymoon drawing to a close: Obama is holding firm on his support from Democrats and independent voters, but he's losing the support of Republicans -- particularly of conservative … [Read more...] about Gallup Poll: Obama At One Month Is Highly Popular But Honeymoon Ending
Economic Potpourri
Well it's going to be another exciting week or two. Something has to be done with GM and Chrysler, not to mention a couple of banks that have more assets than many countries. Barry Ritholtz applauds the option of exploring a prepackaged bankruptcy for autos and asks why not for banks? Yves Smith counters that bankruptcy for autos won't be pretty and could unravel beyond … [Read more...] about Economic Potpourri