The “China Problem” on the Economic Agenda Along similar (trade-related) lines… There’s is an interesting story in CBS MarketWatch about Snow’s trip to China, and the US-China economic relationship more generally. On the surface, maybe it doesn’t seem that interesting to people who aren’t international economists, but there are several things contained in the article […]

International Trade Hits a New Group There an interesting discussion going on on Brad DeLong’s blog about outsourcing to foreign countries. DeLong discusses international trade in general in a nice way, and tries to convince people that trade is good for them. For the record, I generally agree with him about the benefits of international […]

Some Ideas Spread Like a Virus Take a look at this tidbit in today’s Washington Post: Ohio Republicans may take a cue from state legislators in Texas and Colorado and tinker with the lines that shape their congressional districts. Ohio Democrats emerged unscathed from redistricting after the 2000 census when district lines were redrawn to […]

Bush’s Opportunism You have to hand it to him: Bush never lets an opportunity to push his agenda slip by without taking full advantage of it. Last week’s blackout is now apparently a good reason to allow drilling in Alaska. Over the last couple of days Bush has been saying that the blackout proves that […]

Buy Now! Via Atrios, Franken’s book release date is being moved up: So far, the legal action has only helped sell the book, which for the past week has been in the top 10 on Amazon.com. Penguin originally planned a print run of 250,000, but announced Monday that it had ordered an additional 40,000 copies. […]

Recognizing the Obvious I liked this detail in today’s Washington Post: President Bush, revising his earlier characterization of the fighting in Iraq, said in an interview released yesterday that combat operations are still underway in that country. In an interview with the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service given on Thursday and released by the […]

The Liberal List is Up I was wrong; the Liberal list-topper was not FDR or Churchill but the great Martin Luther King. On balance, my guesses about the Liberal list were close but somewhat off. Also, I clearly have to learn more about Vaclav Havel (book suggestions?). AB

Read Me Matt sets FDR’s record straight. AB

Watson and Crick Update Angry Bear’s girlfriend (let’s call her Honey Bear, or HB), who knows a lot about DNA, takes exception to my separately including Watson and Crick and points me to Rosalind Franklin and DNA, by Anne Sayre. I, perhaps like many others, have not heard of Franklin. As it turns out, though, […]

Greatest Twenty of the Twentieth, as compiled from Conservative bloggers John Hawkins’ [Right Wing] Bloggers Select The Greatest Figures Of The 20th Century is up now. A few of the selections are noteworthy. FDR came in at #11 on the Righties’ Greatest list, in spite of tying for 17th place on the Righties’ Worst Figures […]