Category: Politics
The political central bank
I wrote this in April 2009 about the Federal Reserve’s machinations: You should note that only the fiscal stimulus required legislative approval. All of the other ’stimulus’ has been done without Congressional approval and largely without Congressional oversight. These activities have been specifically designed to be opaque. The government’s claims of wanting to increase transparency
Robert Reich gets it
I picked up this Robert Reich quote from Politico’s Open Mic section, which echoes the sentiments expressed by a Massachusetts voter in my recent post “President Obama, are you listening?”: A third political party is emerging in America. Call it the I’m-Mad-As-Hell party. It’s a mistake to see the Mad-As-Hell party as just a right-wing
President Obama, are you listening?
Earlier in the week, I wrote a post-mortem on the Massachusetts Senate race won by Scott Brown. I saw the results as a signal that Americans are worn out by fraud and corruption. I found one comment from a registered Democrat particularly instructive regarding the mood of the electorate and am publishing the heart of
Obama: The Transactional President
Reading the news today, I came across an NPR article that I believe captured the political mood in the U.S. rather well. While the stress of the article is on disillusionment from Obama’s base of supporters, I believe much the same dynamic is at play for crossover independent voters. But, apparently, the base has a
The Democratic Party meltdown of 2010
I want to talk about the drubbing the Democrats are going to take in this year’s elections and what it means, if anything. As a sort of pre-amble, I will lead into this with some thoughts on tax cut propaganda and today’s piece by the conservative Reuters columnist James Pethoukoukis called The campaign against Larry
Obama: Now watch this drive
Back in September I posted “Now watch this drive” to explain voters’ increasing alarm at Obama’s detachment from the economic problems of ordinary Americans. Commenting on a video featuring a famous George W. Bush gaffe, I said: As I see it, the man in video number one shows extreme callousness when switching abruptly from a
Violence in Iran erupts
Below are two videos and an article recounting the recent social unrest in Iran. Also see Biggest protests in months take place in Iran from the
Mark Thoma: Libertarians and populists are against Bernanke
Mark is right that time is not on Chairman Bernanke’s side. If you saw the Ron Paul video earlier today, you can see what’s happening. I don’t have a strong view, although I believe most of the other bloggers are against. Reminder: This is what Mark wrote about the Chairman’s being re-appointed in June. Bernanke,
Video: Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi punched in the face
See also FT.com – Berlusconi assaulted at Milan rally
Bank lobbying e-mail: Quid Pro Quo to kill mortgage modification bill
This piece comes from Sam Stein at the Huffington Post The allegation of a quid pro quo was based on an email that [Sen Dick] Durbin received last spring after his amendment to allow judges to modify mortgages for homeowners who enter bankruptcy was defeated on the Senate floor. During a discussion to promote publicly-financed
Healthcare insurance industry insider: “We win”
From Politico’s Ben Smith, quoting a healthcare insider: We WIN… Administered by private insurance companies. No government funding. No government insurance competitor. Forget about the politicians. This statements speaks more loudly than anything they can say. And most healthcare stocks are closing in on 52-week highs as a result (AET, CI, HUM, UNH, WLP). So,
Get your war on
Remember when the war in Afghanistan began 8 years ago? I remember reading sarcastic cartoons on a site by David Rees called “Get Your War On.” Here are the first entries: Certainly something to think about given the announcement by the recent Nobel Peace Prize winner to send another 30,000 troops into Afghanistan. Glenn Greenwald