Today’s Coffee and Markets podcast focuses on the latest Bloomberg report on the AIG backstory and Tim Geithner’s role in determining the size of the taxpayer bailout while President of the New York Fed, and a discussion on the latest GDP numbers — what they mean and what they don’t.

Whatever one thinks of the validity of the “war on science” charge against the Right, the threats to scientific integrity and scientific progress from the Left are numerous, and they are very real. In a three-part series, Dan McLaughlin considers six major species of dangers to science and the role of the Left (inside and outside of government) in promoting them.

Today’s podcast focuses on Christina Romer’s comments about a VAT, and George Soros’s latest efforts against the free market: the creation of a $50 million thinktank, intended to be endowed with more than $200 million, focused on the effort of ending the free market and making the case for massive government regulation.

Norman Podhoretz’s admonitions to his fellow Jews bespeak a desire for all-encompassing change that is ironically akin to that of his rivals. Jewish liberals believe that, if only America could be changed, they’d be happy. Podhoretz, and many other neoconservatives, believe that, if only the Jews could be changed, they and the Jews would be happy. It is, perhaps, a more modest ambition, but it is no less telling.

Today’s podcast focuses on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s announcement that the government-run health care plan will be included in the Senate version of health care legislation, while giving states the ability to opt-out.

Today’s Coffee and Markets podcast focuses on Neil Barofsky’s IG report covering the uncontrolled ramifications of the TARP program, its lack of anti-fraud measures, and how much the taxpayers will end up paying for it all.

Attempting to follow the script of Jim Webb’s narrow win over George Allen in 2006, the Deeds campaign started floating around with visions of Macaca dancing in their heads. Three years in its wake, the lessons of the Macaca incident are about to take down another candidate. But this time, it’s the Democrat.

Today’s podcast focuses on the rumors circulating about the Federal Reserve’s plans for an interest rate hike, and an update on where things stand on health care reform on Capitol Hill in the wake of a failed vote on doctor’s payments.

It’s time for Congress to check the growth of powerful and unaccountable positions within the Executive Branch and insist on appropriate transparency from the president who promised so much sunshine as a candidate, and has thus far delivered so little.

Today’s Coffee and Markets podcast focuses on the White House’s latest actions capping executive pay on Wall Street and an interesting take one blogger has on those troublesome Too Big to Fail policies.