1) For those still eager to learn more about macro-economics and the stimulus, Dave Leonhardt did a nice piece on why the stimulus pacakge looks the way it does, why not bigger? why not smaller? etc.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/business/04leonhardt.html?_r=3&ref=business
2) Anthony Zinni is a former Marine general for whom I have a great deal of respect. He is a moderate with extensive knowledge of the Middle East. Obama has unfortunately really pissed him off by reneging allegedly on an offer for him to become Ambassador to Iraq...oops.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2009/02/more_on_anthony_zinni.cfm
3) Big fan of Chuck Todd from NBC, he gives his take on the first big political battle for Obama, the stimulus bill, lessons learned etc.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29062698/
Showing posts with label reading lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading lists. Show all posts
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Not Again...
From Tagean Goodard:
"President Bush will deliver a farewell address to the nation tonight at 8 p.m. The address is expected be 10 to 15 minutes long, from the East Room of the White House. According to Politico, the speech will be delivered before a live audience of what a spokeswoman called "courageous people" Bush has met with during his eight years in office. It was "not going to be a swan song."
Gail Collins: "George W. Bush has been saying goodbye for so long now, he's come to resemble one of those reconstituted rock bands that has been on a farewell tour since 1982."
TW: For those who watched any of the Blago press conference (just after 6 minute mark on tape) the other day this sounds familiar. Will he ever shut up?
"President Bush will deliver a farewell address to the nation tonight at 8 p.m. The address is expected be 10 to 15 minutes long, from the East Room of the White House. According to Politico, the speech will be delivered before a live audience of what a spokeswoman called "courageous people" Bush has met with during his eight years in office. It was "not going to be a swan song."
Gail Collins: "George W. Bush has been saying goodbye for so long now, he's come to resemble one of those reconstituted rock bands that has been on a farewell tour since 1982."
TW: For those who watched any of the Blago press conference (just after 6 minute mark on tape) the other day this sounds familiar. Will he ever shut up?
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Blago: Once a Putz Always a Putz
TW: Our esteemed governor circa 1975 in a boxing ring. Allegedly he requested the photos from the photographer who was there to shoot others. The amazing thing is his hair has not changed one iota in thirty plus years.
And well it looks like Burris will get seated. Burris is a sad case but the law is the law and I imagine the Dems figured out that Burris for two years beat the alternative of a legal mess perhaps followed by an election in which the Dems would have stood a strong chance of receiving a blowback loss.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Political Cynicism At Its Worst
TW: Our dear friend Blago just smears the pile around some more...
From Taegen Goodard:
"Dan Conley, a former speechwriter for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and a keen observer of Illinois politics, offers his take on today's attempt by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to appoint a new senator.
'The selection of former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace President-Elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate has very little to do with the actual seat. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has already made it clear that he will not certify any Blagojevich pick. That will give the Senate Democratic caucus sufficient cause to reject the appointment, which they have already pledged to do. At this point, it would be impossible for the Democrats to backtrack on their earlier pledge, it would implicate them in the Blagojevich sleaze, which is something they will avoid at all costs. So while Burris seems like a winner today, he's a long-term loser.
Why did he agree to be used? Because he's desperate to return to the limelight. It's a sad end to a career that included numerous runs for governor, the U.S. Senate and Mayor of Chicago, plus a term as the state's Attorney General. The truth is, he wasn't much of an Attorney General -- the legal opinions that came out of his office in the early 90s were legally suspect and linguistically challenged -- but he has been a fixture in Illinois politics for years and he's escaped any hint of corruption.
The appointment of Burris is a pure impeachment-defense tactic from Blagojevich. First, he's making a public case that no crime was actually committed. If Burris was appointed without any quid pro quo (highly likely, since Burris has no great wealth or influence), then Blagojevich can argue that all the talk about other possible appointments were just that -- talk. And talk is not a crime. Is anyone going to buy that? Well, even if only ten percent of Illinois voters buy it, Blagojevich will have doubled his support, so why not? There's a certain freedom in nearly complete unpopularity.
But second, and more important for Blagojevich's survival plans, he's chosen to play the race card. To anyone who thought that the election of Barack Obama would diminish the power of racial politics, today's press conference was depressing -- especially the appalling spectacle of Rep. Bobby Rush using the word "lynch" in reference to criticism of Burris, then Blagojevich repeating the phrase while wagging a finger at the press corp on the way out of the room. For a Governor looking to rally support in the House and Senate to avoid impeachment or convinction, it's a smart move. A combination of African American and Latino Senators could be sufficient to save Blagojevich from a conviction in the Illinois Senate. It probably won't work, but Blagojevich has few options left.' "
From Taegen Goodard:
"Dan Conley, a former speechwriter for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and a keen observer of Illinois politics, offers his take on today's attempt by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to appoint a new senator.
'The selection of former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace President-Elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate has very little to do with the actual seat. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has already made it clear that he will not certify any Blagojevich pick. That will give the Senate Democratic caucus sufficient cause to reject the appointment, which they have already pledged to do. At this point, it would be impossible for the Democrats to backtrack on their earlier pledge, it would implicate them in the Blagojevich sleaze, which is something they will avoid at all costs. So while Burris seems like a winner today, he's a long-term loser.
Why did he agree to be used? Because he's desperate to return to the limelight. It's a sad end to a career that included numerous runs for governor, the U.S. Senate and Mayor of Chicago, plus a term as the state's Attorney General. The truth is, he wasn't much of an Attorney General -- the legal opinions that came out of his office in the early 90s were legally suspect and linguistically challenged -- but he has been a fixture in Illinois politics for years and he's escaped any hint of corruption.
The appointment of Burris is a pure impeachment-defense tactic from Blagojevich. First, he's making a public case that no crime was actually committed. If Burris was appointed without any quid pro quo (highly likely, since Burris has no great wealth or influence), then Blagojevich can argue that all the talk about other possible appointments were just that -- talk. And talk is not a crime. Is anyone going to buy that? Well, even if only ten percent of Illinois voters buy it, Blagojevich will have doubled his support, so why not? There's a certain freedom in nearly complete unpopularity.
But second, and more important for Blagojevich's survival plans, he's chosen to play the race card. To anyone who thought that the election of Barack Obama would diminish the power of racial politics, today's press conference was depressing -- especially the appalling spectacle of Rep. Bobby Rush using the word "lynch" in reference to criticism of Burris, then Blagojevich repeating the phrase while wagging a finger at the press corp on the way out of the room. For a Governor looking to rally support in the House and Senate to avoid impeachment or convinction, it's a smart move. A combination of African American and Latino Senators could be sufficient to save Blagojevich from a conviction in the Illinois Senate. It probably won't work, but Blagojevich has few options left.' "
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Blagosteria
TW: Am officially burned out on anymore Blago. I know the Repubs would like to tar my guy BHO with it or at least the Rahmster but...I don't think so...
From Chris Buckley at Daily Beast:
"Thank heavens Mr. Fitzgerald has given us another juicy political crisis to keep our mind off bailouts, the greatest economic crisis since the depression, and our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. For a minute there, it looked we were might have to concentrate on The Big Picture. How much more diverting to focus on the villainy of a potty-mouthed Illinois pol."
From Chris Buckley at Daily Beast:
"Thank heavens Mr. Fitzgerald has given us another juicy political crisis to keep our mind off bailouts, the greatest economic crisis since the depression, and our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. For a minute there, it looked we were might have to concentrate on The Big Picture. How much more diverting to focus on the villainy of a potty-mouthed Illinois pol."
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Blago Chronicles
TW: You have probably seen the quote by now, but there are so many good cartoons out there rather than running them as the daily toon for the next week, I figured I would just create a post compilation.
"I have a hard time pronouncing his name. I just call him the idiot." -- David Gergen, interviewed on CNN about Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Chi Town Hits a (Very) Soft Patch
TW: Man, we were rocking (the Obama thing etc.) but the last couple of days have been tough. Yesterday, Chicago Tribune- owner of our paper, our primary baseball team (sorry Nardo), our TV station and a key architectural landmark- goes bankrupt and Ron Santo for the umpteenth time gets shafted by the Hall of Fame voters in favor of yet another so so New York Yankee.
Then today Blagojevich just takes the cake. We are used to benevolent dictatorship, e.g. Daley mayoralties, and a fair amount of corruption (see George Ryan, Dan Rostenkowski and a hundred others). But Blago has some real cojones, it is no surprise I suppose merely further affirmation of how messed things are.
From the prosecutor statement via TPM:
"Regarding the Senate seat, the charges allege that Blagojevich, Harris and others have engaged and are engaging in efforts to obtain personal gain, including financial gain, to benefit Blagojevich and his family through corruptly using Blagojevich's sole authority to appoint a successor to the unexpired term of the President-elect's former Senate seat, which he resigned effective November 16. The affidavit details numerous conversations about the Senate seat between November 3 and December 5. In these conversations, Blagojevich repeatedly discussed the attributes of potential candidates, including their abilities to benefit the people of Illinois, and the financial and political benefits he and his wife could receive if he appointed various of the possible candidates.
Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife's employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.
In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the open seat, then he will take it for himself: "if . . . they're not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it." Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said: "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain." He added later that the seat "is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."
Then today Blagojevich just takes the cake. We are used to benevolent dictatorship, e.g. Daley mayoralties, and a fair amount of corruption (see George Ryan, Dan Rostenkowski and a hundred others). But Blago has some real cojones, it is no surprise I suppose merely further affirmation of how messed things are.
From the prosecutor statement via TPM:
"Regarding the Senate seat, the charges allege that Blagojevich, Harris and others have engaged and are engaging in efforts to obtain personal gain, including financial gain, to benefit Blagojevich and his family through corruptly using Blagojevich's sole authority to appoint a successor to the unexpired term of the President-elect's former Senate seat, which he resigned effective November 16. The affidavit details numerous conversations about the Senate seat between November 3 and December 5. In these conversations, Blagojevich repeatedly discussed the attributes of potential candidates, including their abilities to benefit the people of Illinois, and the financial and political benefits he and his wife could receive if he appointed various of the possible candidates.
Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife's employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.
In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the open seat, then he will take it for himself: "if . . . they're not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it." Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said: "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain." He added later that the seat "is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Reading List
TW: Have started to queue up more articles than I can reasonably post with commentary so I am going to start providing some links with brief descriptors of those articles I find interesting and worth a read, should you be so inclined.
1) Robert Samuelson in Newsweek on health care and the need to avoid pipedreams
http://www.newsweek.com/id/157573
2) A New Yorker article on Crawford, TX W. Bush's temporary Potemkin ranch locale
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/13/081013fa_fact_colloff
3) A Fortune article on HENRYs (high earners not yet rich), who would be taxed more heavily with Obama. I have never heard so much whining in my life and either the numbers they discuss are wrong or some folks really need to get some financial advice.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/24/magazines/fortune/tully_henrys.fortune/index.htm
4) From Int'l Herald Tribune Bob Rubin and Jared Bernstein (since named as Biden's chief econ advisor) discuss reconciling stimulus spending with fiscal discipline
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/03/opinion/edrubin.php
5) From Financial Times, the author of Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness, Nassim Taleb and a colleague lament the crime perpetrated by rapacious investment bankers and their risk management accomplices upon the rest of us.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f86d422-c48f-11dd-8124-000077b07658.html
1) Robert Samuelson in Newsweek on health care and the need to avoid pipedreams
http://www.newsweek.com/id/157573
2) A New Yorker article on Crawford, TX W. Bush's temporary Potemkin ranch locale
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/13/081013fa_fact_colloff
3) A Fortune article on HENRYs (high earners not yet rich), who would be taxed more heavily with Obama. I have never heard so much whining in my life and either the numbers they discuss are wrong or some folks really need to get some financial advice.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/24/magazines/fortune/tully_henrys.fortune/index.htm
4) From Int'l Herald Tribune Bob Rubin and Jared Bernstein (since named as Biden's chief econ advisor) discuss reconciling stimulus spending with fiscal discipline
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/03/opinion/edrubin.php
5) From Financial Times, the author of Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness, Nassim Taleb and a colleague lament the crime perpetrated by rapacious investment bankers and their risk management accomplices upon the rest of us.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f86d422-c48f-11dd-8124-000077b07658.html
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