Child Care Support for Welfare Recipients From the NYTimes: In a direct rebuff to the White House, the Senate voted today to increase the amount of money available to provide child care to welfare recipients, who would be subject to stricter work requirements under sweeping welfare legislation favored by President Bush and Congressional leaders. The […]

Consumer Confidence Here is the headline from today’s edition of CNN/Money: Confidence hits 5-month low : Job worries push closely watched measure of sentiment lower in March, though it is above forecasts. NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Worries about the job market pushed consumer confidence to its lowest level in five months in March, a research […]

That Liberal Media Next time your conservative friends whine about the liberal media, tell them they’re right, and try to make them listen: Rumor has it that Atrios will be on Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder’s show tonight tomorrow night. AB

Rice to Testify She’ll probably get points now just for testifying, regardless of what she actually says. In an odd twist, the administration is trying to borrow a page from Bush v. Gore: In a letter to the commission, White House counsel Alberto Gonzales said the commission must agree in writing that Rice’s appearance would […]

Economic Advice for the Next President C. Fred Bergsten, of the Institute for International Economics, has a piece in the current issue of Foreign Affairs in which he outlines his suggested advice for the next president. It’s a lengthy essay, full of sensible thoughts about needed changes to US international economic policy. Highlights: A reelected […]

Robert Novak: Douchebag for Liberty You must watch The Daily Show. On Monday’s show, Jon Stewart lead off with some great commentary on the recent talk show circuiting by Rumsfeld, Powell, Cheney, and Clarke. Addressing Rice’s 60 Minutes appearance in which she said, “Nothing would be better, from my point of view, than to be […]

Rice to Testify? Perhaps, but there’s still the hang-up of whether or not she’ll swear to tell the truth: The White House looked for a deal on Monday with the Sept. 11, 2001, commission under which national security adviser Condoleezza Rice would appear in private before the panel, but it refused to budge in the […]

The End of Japan’s Buying Spree? From Bloomberg: Japan to End Yen Sales, London Times Says March 29 (Bloomberg) — U.S. 10-year Treasury notes fell, pushing yields to their highest in more than three weeks, after the London-based Times said the Bank of Japan may end yen sales, fueling speculation it will buy less U.S. […]

Compare and Contrast President Bush, November 19, 2003, London: I’ve noticed that the tradition of free speech — exercised with enthusiasm — (laughter) — is alive and well here in London. We have that at home, too. They now have that right in Baghdad, as well. The New York Times, March 29, 2004, Baghdad: American […]

Condi on 60 Minutes First, Clarke: once again, very clear and compelling (I particularly liked this statement.) I also thought Russert was pretty easygoing throughout and let Clarke give detailed answers. This evening, Dr. Rice was on 60 Minutes to attempt to rebut Clarke’s charges. It was the same spin that you’ve heard before: no […]