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

Another thought on the ME

Another post from the counteterrorism blog from WAPO has a different twist: What the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan have in common is that it will take a major and consistent U.S. effort throughout the next administration at least to win either war. Any American political debate that ignores or denies the fact that these […]

Counterterrorism blog

One opinion on the Protect America Act offers a viewpoint that caught my eye. On the other hand, there were lots of opinions about this in posts. While I agree with my colleagues, Dennis Lormel and Jeffrey Breinholt, that renewal of the Protect America Act should be considered by Congress as urgent and serious business, […]

Obama and CNN : Alert to?

Politico carries this observation about CNN: CNN’s question: Obama’s patriotism I’ve got to say, I’ve never seen a reader poll like this on a mainstream media website (or, to be honest, a right-wing blog). This is currently on CNN.com. And just today (in a very interesting exchange with the Cleveland Jewish community) Obama was touting […]

Mike sends a response to rdan on off-label drugs

It is evident that this will lead to less pressure on the Drug Companies to get their drugs approved by the FDA. I would suggest that we consider letting the market help. i.e. 1) If a drug is prescribed off-label, then the patient be permitted to return it to the drug store for a full […]

Off label drug pushers

FDA doesn’t just approve drugs, it approves drugs for specific uses. However, doctors can prescribe drugs for unapproved, or “off-label,” uses. Under a law that expired in 2006, pharmaceutical reps were legally able to distribute journal articles touting the benefits of off-label uses. But, according to the Associated Press, FDA maintained some regulatory oversight: “Under […]

Job openings for the progressive minded

I was cruising around The Center for American Progress. They have a nice report looking at credit card use rise and a rise in writing off the bad ones. Any way, I like to click on the Job Opportunities at these sites just to see. Sometimes I think it might be fun to work with […]

Guantanamo and defense

This AP article on Thursday 21 February 2008 reports the following: San Juan, Puerto Rico – In a stunning turnaround, the former chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay said Thursday he would be a defense witness for the driver of Osama bin Laden. Air Force Col. Morris Davis, who resigned in October over alleged political […]

Free trade, Republican’s no like (along with others)

From a poll by the WSJ/NBC reported in October, 2007 comes: While 60% of respondents said they want the next president and Congress to continue cutting taxes, 32% said it’s time for some tax increases on the wealthiest Americans to reduce the budget deficit and pay for health care.Can you imagine? They have started to […]

Quick and nimble government

Department of Commerce Changes Decision-The DOC has today announced that it will, afterall, continue with its Economic indicators service due to public response to its recent announcement of closure.