Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Republicans Who Were Against the War Before They Were For the War

Digby links to Kos who finds several quotes from Tom DeLay opposing the Commander in Chief as well as quotes from Trent Lott, Rick Santorum, Joe Scarborough, and Sean Hannity who collectively said there was not a defined mission for going to war, that we would lose many American lives, and that we’d be there […]

Tax Valuations: Why the IRS Should Hire James Glassman

The People’s Lawyer (TPL) is an interesting blog for some unique views on the practice of tax law. TPL has been on a tear as far as Gifts & Estate tax planning and has some fun with the valuation “experts” in a case involving the value of certain water rights owned by Garwood Irrigation Company […]

Does the Club for Growth Advise the New London Development Corporation?

Max Sawicky calls this bad government: Confiscate land and charge back rent for the years the owners fought confiscation. In some cases, their debt could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Moreover, the homeowners are being offered buyouts based on the market rate as it was in 2000. I have to wonder how such […]

Bush Economy: Not the Ugliest Girl at the Party

Lawrence Kudlow must be having a hard time finding a date: Why President Bush seemingly gets no credit for the strong economy is one of the enduring political mysteries of our time. Some call it the “Goldilocks economy” – a term widely used to describe the low-inflation growth of the second half of the 1990s. […]

The Drop in the Deficit: Views from the Right v. the Reality Based Community

Unpartisan.com documents six reactions from the conservative blogs but only Brad DeLong was mentioned from the Reality Based Community. On the right – BlogsforBush carried the Administration’s spin that this news was evidence of some supply-side miracle. Brad’s post linked to Max Sawicky. Mark Thoma has more.

Bob Dole on PlameGate

I’ll give at least some credit to the former Senator – he knows how to lead an opinion piece with his main point: LIKE many Americans, I am perplexed by the federal investigation into the alleged leak of classified information that exposed Valerie Plame Wilson, the wife of Joseph C. Wilson IV, a former ambassador, […]

Supply-side University on the Housing Bubble

Jude Wanniski claims any suggestion that there is a housing bubble is wrong. He does mention the fact that interest rates have fallen, which would tend to push up housing values relative to lease rates but not as much as we have seen in California. Wanniski claims there is a wealth effect explanation for high […]

Airline Regulation

Paul Gessing attributes the financial problems facing U.S. airline companies to excessive Federal interference. He makes two basic arguments. The first is: the reality is that industry experts cite excess capacity as one of the biggest problems of the air carriers. Worse, when airlines act to reduce overcapacity and save costs, federal regulators often stand […]

Oil Prices Revisited

According to the Lundberg Survey gas prices set another nominal record last week averaging $2.50 per gallon nationwide for self-serve regular. In real terms (adjusted for inflation) gas prices are still below the record set in the early ’80s. Chart from the NY Times. Click on graph for larger image. The above chart is accurate […]

Am I to Blame for the Iraq Mess?

I would like to start by thanking Frank Rich for a very good article on what is really going on in Iraq. It seems one particular wingnut did not like his article: Notwithstanding endless hectoring from Rich and his fellows on the fringe, there is only one man whose views about Iraq will really matter […]