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

Former CENTCOM Commander on Iraq: May 2004

(By Bruce Webb. Well it is a slow night. So let me point you to perhaps the strongest indictment of Bush Iraq policy c.2002-2004. By the guy who General Tommy Franks followed into command. Bolding mine). Gen. Anthony Zinni, USMC, (Ret.) Remarks at CDI Board of Directors Dinner, May 12, 2004 I just came back […]

Robert Shiller vs My Mom

Robert Waldmann Now that the crash has come, Robert Shiller’s editor convinced him to write another book to cash in on the fact that he predicted the crash in the second edition of Irrational Exuberance so he wrote “The Subprime Solution”. Smart move. A less comprehensible part of the Princeton University Press publishing strategy was […]

Real world business for the economic buffs

by divorced one like Bush I thought for something a little different during the holiday respite and assuming there will be no major economic calamities, maybe some readers would like a real world small business experience. This post deals with the world of flower wire services and just what it costs you and what you […]

Christmas in Iraq: Not so Merry for Christians

by Bruce WebbIraq Christians face ‘bleak future’ Christians in Iraq face a “bleak future,” said Kassab, executive director of the Chaldean Federation of America, a nonprofit group that helps Iraqi Christians. “We are heading for a demise,” he said. “It’s getting to the point where it might be an ethnic cleansing in the future.” A […]

Blog mission is cherishing and holding multiple thoughts simultaneously

by cactus (lifted from comments) Obama is already out there, doing some pre-presidenting so to speak. We’ve already had an opportunity to glimpse what he’s about. So far, he’s been about supporting giving reams of money to the Wall Street Welfare Queen class. I had a post noting that it couldn’t and wouldn’t work as […]

Should People be allowed to buy candy with food stamps

Robert Waldmann In the Washington Post Jane Black has an interesting article on an interesting policy proposal — Agsec Tom Vilsack is opening a discussion of whether federal nutrition programs can be used to encourage (or force) people to eat healthier food. The argument for pro is that obesity is a terrible problem in the […]

Two Stories About Pemex

by cactus Excerpts From Two Stories About Pemex Story 1, Bloomberg, this week. Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-owned oil company, said crude oil output fell 6.5 percent in November from the year-earlier period as production at its Cantarell field declined at a faster-than-expected rate. Production dropped to 2.711 million barrels a day, from 2.901 million barrels […]