Pejman Yousefzadeh

I mean, who but an intellectual mastermind could have brought about this?

Francis Cianfrocca

Don’t you find it interesting the amount of effort this White House puts toward going out of its way to discredit its critics by name?

The Whip

President Obama was snapped in a thoughtful pose today in the Oval Office. What do you think the President is pondering? One TwitPic commenter, “Where O where did I put my golf balls…”

TODAY'S NEWSWIRE HIGHLIGHTS
New York Post A new Afghan mess [Comments]
New Ledger Features

Israel, Hillary, and the Juicebox Mafiaby Benjamin Kerstein

American liberalism has proven remarkably adept at manufacturing an echo chamber for itself on Israel and Palestine. That this also involves the promotion of petulant mediocrities is a price we must all unhappily pay.

Full Story »
New Ledger Features

The One Solution to North Korea’s Nuclear Crisisby Joshua Stanton

The end of the current North Korean regime is the only plausible solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis, and to the humanitarian disaster Kim Jong Il has inflicted on the North Korean people. The solution to all of the problems we face in North Korea begins with a subversive outreach to its people.

Full Story »
New Ledger Features

Politics and Populism: Off-Year Election Lessonsby Brad Jackson

Today’s podcast is a break from our normal discussion of the marketplace, with a conversation focusing on the lessons and potential outcomes of the off-year elections, including the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia and the special election in New York’s 23rd District with TNL Senior Writer Brad Jackson.

Full Story »
New Ledger Features

GDP Grows, Consumer Spending Plummets on the Eve of the Holiday Seasonby Francis Cianfrocca

Today’s podcast focuses on the fallout in the wake of yesterday’s GDP number, the reports this morning of the fall in Consumer Spending, and what the holiday shopping season could bring — for good and for ill — to the American economy.

Full Story »
Francis Cianfrocca

Is the Recession Over? And AIG’s 100 Cent PayoffFrancis Cianfrocca

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.

More »
Dan McLaughlin

Science and Its Enemies on the Left, Part IDan McLaughlin

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.

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Francis Cianfrocca

George Soros’s War on the Free MarketFrancis Cianfrocca

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.

More »
Benjamin Kerstein

Unanswered Questions: Why Are Jews Liberals?Benjamin Kerstein

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.

More »
Francis Cianfrocca

Harry Reid’s Gambit: Is Opting Out a Gimmick?Francis Cianfrocca

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.

More »
Francis Cianfrocca

Whatever Happened to All Those TARP Funds?Francis Cianfrocca

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.

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Brad Jackson

Creigh Deeds and the Revenge of the Son of MacacaBrad Jackson

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.

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Francis Cianfrocca

Rate Rumors and Reid’s Health Care FailureFrancis Cianfrocca

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.

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Rep. Todd Akin

Who Are Obama’s Czars, and Where Are They in the Constitution?Rep. Todd Akin

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.

More »
Francis Cianfrocca

The Executive Pay Crackdown and Too Big to Fail Policy ExplainedFrancis Cianfrocca

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.

More »
- November 3, 2009 -

DAILY READS

SORTED AND RANKED FOR YOU
Politico

The GOP’s Uncivil War: Conservatives to Challenge a Dozen Republican Candidates

In the wake of Hoffman’s success in New York, “Conservatives and tea party activists had already set their sights on some of the GOP’s top Senate recruits — a list that includes Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida, former Rep. Rob Simmons in Connecticut and Rep. Mark Kirk in Illinois, among others.”

CS Monitor

Gates Decides Between Factions on Afghanistan

Gates must choose between the “COIN-istas, who believe Afghanistan’s deteriorating security can only be reversed by adding tens of thousands of troops – perhaps as many as 80k; and those who believe US interests in Afghanistan are few, and the best way to keep it on a low simmer is to employ a counterterrorism-like model.”

Wall Street Journal

The New Economic Paradigm: The Merchant of Venice

We could be seeing a paradigm shift that “could change the way central bankers do their job, possibly leading them to wade more deeply into markets. They could, for example, place greater emphasis on the amount of borrowing in the economy, rather than just the interest rates at which borrowing is done.”

Baseline Scenario

Wages and Human Capital in the U.S. Financial Industry: 1909-2006

“Now in one sense the defenders of high Wall Street pay are correct: people are probably getting roughly what they could make if they walked across the street and went to another bank.” But is the whole industry “making a mistake and transferring wealth to employees that should go to shareholders”?

Urbanophile

How Cities are Learning to Use Utilities to Extend Taxation Beyond City Limits

“Cincinnati is, in effect, converting its water utility to a for profit enterprise and raising rates. This enables it to start drawing regular dividend checks, just like Louisville does.” That profit comes from outside the city limits. “It creates an income transfer from the suburbs to the city, via water company profits.”

Commentary Magazine

Frank Rich Thinks Conservatives are “the Stalinists of the Right”

The NYT’s Frank Rich illustrates “what passes for stylish and temperate discourse on the Left” as he compares the Conservative vs Moderate Republican battle in NY-23 to Cambodian Genocide, the French Revolution, and Russian tyrants. Oh joy.

Huffington Post

Huffington Urges Constant Campaign of “Audacity” for Obama Administration

Arianna Huffington, upon reading “The Audacity to Win” found herself, “wondering what Candidate Obama would think of President Obama.” The head of HuffPo argues that the President and his team need to return to their campaign tactics to win in Washington.

The Escapist

From Senet to Chess to Call of Duty: The History of War Games

Whether your a Chess fan, or a master of a single person shooter like Call of Duty, you owe it all to the Egyptians and the Vikings, the inventor of early “war games.” But just how did the Pharaohs games evolve into your favorite way to spend a Friday night?

AP

Hoping for Change to Get Kids Off of Food Stamps

“Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood” with numbers ever increasing. Somehow I don’t think Americans thought they would be hoping for food for their kids and change to pay their bills when they voted for Obama.