Libertarians for Dean 18 Minute Gap also pointed me to this Reason editorial by Libertarian Julian Sanchez. Julian is starting to realize something: Perhaps it’s time for libertarians to stop getting starry-eyed over the candidates who write us the prettiest love poems and begin comparing policy outcomes. And, unlike most dedicated Greens I see, Julian […]

Another Shrill Economist Shrill is, of course, the word conservatives often use to label an economist when said economist makes a case that they cannot refute with logic or data. This time, it’s Columbia professor, Nobel Prize winner, and former Chief Economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz (vita), writing in the Guardian: Second, if […]

Dewey Defeats Truman! I mean “Red Sox Defeat Yankees!” I see that Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post holds its sports writing to the same standards as its news coverage: “The Yankees couldn’t get the job done,” read the [N.Y Post] editorial. “The hitting fell short and the bullpen simply didn’t deliver. It’s a crying shame […]

Winning Hearts and Minds in Iraq I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure that this is not the way to do it: 12October, Dhuluaya. US soldiers driving bulldozers, with jazz blaring from loudspeakers, have uprooted ancient groves of date palms as well as orange and lemon trees in central Iraq as part of a new […]

Who’s next: Iran, or Syria? Christopher Dickey of Newsweek makes the following interesting argument: A COUNTDOWN has started for war between the United States and Iran. It’s quiet but persistent right now, like the ticking of a Swatch. Soon enough though, alarms will start ringing. He builds a reasonably good argument. But all of the […]

Grants v. Loans for Iraq For at least two distinct reasons, this is an interesting development: Defying weeks of intense White House lobbying, a narrowly divided Senate voted last night to convert half of President Bush’s $20.3 billion Iraq rebuilding plan into a loan that would be forgiven if other donor nations write off the […]

Low Point in a Long Distinguished Career Unfortunately, I missed Wednesday’s 60 Minutes II piece featuring former Iraqi WMD expert Greg Thielmann (his last position was as the State Department’s director of the Office of Strategic Proliferation and Military Affairs). CBS now has a transcript or perhaps a report compiled from the segment, and it […]

Food For Clark Fans Mark Kleiman’s got a bunch in this post with highlights from Gen. Clark’s recently released military records. Here’s a taste: Everyone knows that the army has carried grade inflation to a point only dreamed of in the university, and that Hollywood has its press agents study efficiency ratings to learn hyperbole. […]

Widespread Fantasy Update II On Monday, I took issue with Michael Kinsley’s silly statement that liberals widely believe that Colin Powell will resign and turn on the administration (Kinsley wants you to see that liberals who place faith in any general(s) are misguided). I also asked for just one person who believed this to stand […]

The Three-Way Currency Contest The Economist’s Buttonwood column (subscription required) poses an interesting dilemma: the managers of each of the three largest currencies in the world – the dollar, yen, and euro – would like their currency to depreciate. Yet it is impossible for all three to simultaneously depreciate against the others. I’ve previously written […]