It would seem that certain House conservatives read the memo from Kash: WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 – Conservative House Republicans plan to recommend on Wednesday more than $500 billion in savings over 10 years to compensate for the costs of Hurricane Katrina as lawmakers continue to struggle to develop a consensus on the fiscal approach to […]

Dear Congressional Republicans, I hear that you’re having difficulties in figuring out how to pay for the $100-$200 billion in new government spending that the President has effectively committed you to come up with. Apparently the President hasn’t offered any suggestions to help you, which is probably what prompted Senator Burns (R-MT) to plead with […]

How is this allowed in the United States? NEW YORK (AP) – Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan said Tuesday she was hurt slightly in a scuffle that erupted when police broke up a rally as she was at the microphone. An organizer was arrested and charged with using a loudspeaker without a permit. “I was speaking […]

The President’s press secretary was pressed on the issue of poverty yesterday. As usual with this Administration, they pat themselves on the back as they blame Bill Clinton: The policies that this President has pursued are bold ones and they are ones that are achieving real results for all Americans. The President, from day one, […]

CNN notes: WASHINGTON (CNN) – Since the president prefers not to raise taxes to finance Hurricane Katrina recovery, three senators suggested Sunday that Congress cut spending, delay a Medicare prescription benefit and forego a tax cut for the rich. Senate Democrat Joe Biden from Delaware suggested sacrificing a cut in estate taxes, and Republicans Lindsey […]

How can the US aspire to an “Ownership Society”, when in reality the nation is mortgaging its future, or in the words of Warren Buffett, becoming a “Sharecropper’s Society.”? And how can the US revel in slightly above trend GDP growth that comes at the expense of massive quantities of new consumer and government debt? […]

Credit should go to conservatives like Andrew Samwick who object to Bush’s free lunch philosophy: If we can handle it now, why weren’t we handling it before? Why does rebuilding New Orleans compete favorably with this unspecified set of least useful programs, but not funding Social Security personal retirement accounts? Or the new Medicare prescription […]

Question: what do the following two headline stories have in common? Answer: they are the most important logistical endeavors and tests of management competence that the Bush administration has faced. From the New York Times: Poor Planning and Corruption Hobble Reconstruction of Iraq The United States has poured more than $200 million into reconstruction projects […]

Dan Froomkin does a good job today of covering how Bush’s speech last night was rather odd, in many ways, coming from someone who is self-described as ‘conservative’. Some of the media analysis brought together in Froomkin’s column today: Mr. Big Government Michael Tackett writes in the Chicago Tribune about what he calls Bush’s “act […]

New figures were just released this morning about the US current account deficit during the April-June period of 2005. From the BEA release: The U.S. current-account deficit–the combined balances on trade in goods and services, income, and net unilateral current transfers–decreased to $195.7 billion in the second quarter of 2005 (preliminary) from $198.7 billion (revised) […]