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

This Seems Worth Passing Along Dear bloggers, webmasters, journalists, yada, yada, It seems that we’re now on the eve of war, with Bush’s final ultimatum, the White House saying that “diplomacy [sic] has ended”, Robin Cook’s resignation in Britain, and the announcement that there will be no additional U.N. Security Council vote.NOW is the time […]

NYT Story Worth Reading This is a pretty good piece on the travails of U.S. and world diplomacy heading into the now impending war. AB

Slow Post Day But I did finally watch Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Once again, it was very good. I’ve read a few posts here and there about how bad Dennis Miller–who I once enjoyed watching–has become, but I didn’t realize he had sunk so low. He clearly spent some time preparing 5 to […]

I Laughed out Loud Read This. Make sure you get to Roger’s last line. AB

Did my last post imply… …that new and obscure members of the House might be particularly motivated by the chance to get national press coverage? I’m probably just being cynical. On the other hand, there’s this: WASHINGTON (AP) — In another swipe at the French, a Florida congresswoman [Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, first-termer] has proposed that […]

Bush Budget to Pass House by One Vote? Eleven moderate Republicans signed a letter, sent to Dennis Hastert, opposing the House version of the President’s proposed budget. The group of moderates argue that the additional tax cuts and accelerations of cuts under the 2001 reform are too much, given the ballooning deficit and ongoing spending […]

Is CalPundit so Crazy… That he just might be on to something (see 4th bullet point)? The one problem with this theory is that State is known to leak relatively freely, so if true, this probably should have gotten out already. AB UPDATE: Howard Fineman has more on Powell and the possibility of resignation.

Weapons of Mass Bad PR (WMBPR) Saddam’s WMBPR: March 13, 2003 | GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A defiant Saddam Hussein, under intense international scrutiny for possible ties to terrorism, this week distributed $225,000 to 21 families of Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel, including $25,000 to the family of a Hamas suicide bomber. […]

Oil and the Economy ArgMax links to an old, but good, post he has on the relationship between Oil Prices and GDP growth. As oil prices hover in the mid 30’s–and they might top 40 if the war doesn’t go quickly–it’s worth a read. As you might have guessed, higer oil prices are historically correlated […]

If you haven’t seen it… It’s worth the trip: www.pressgaggle.com. The entry for 3/13: Q My point is, why is the President going through this charade of diplomacy when he obviously plans to go to war? MR. FLEISCHER: Helen, this is a very serious word, the diplomacy. And the President is carrying it out because […]