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

Senators Who Committed a Crime Demands Rule of Law

David Vitter (R-DiaperPuta) stands firm: Sen. David Vitter (R., La.) will block two nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission…Daniel Gallagher Jr., a partner at the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP who was nominated to join the SEC, and agency commissioner Luis Aguilar, who was nominated for a second term….both require […]

Annals of Republican Obstructionism

Last week, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on S.3335, a measure which among other things would extend the production tax credits for solar and wind energy, plug the Highway Trust Fund deficit, and keep the Alternative Minimum Tax at bay for elements of the lower-upper-middle-classes for another year. The vote was 51-43, with a […]

Losing The Other War

by Tom Bozzo Not that I want to reinforce our doom-and-gloom reputation or anything, but the Bush administration is demonstrating its inability to walk and chew gum at the same time by losing in Afghanistan: A recent Pentagon report about Afghanistan painted a stark picture of security conditions inside the country, a militant force that […]

How to Devalue Your Brand, Greg Mankiw Version

Greg Mankiw, clearly distracted by his former collaborator’s wife having been denied a tenured position at Harvard, quotes Fred Bergsten in the WSJ, Instapundit-style: By effectively killing “fast track” procedures that guarantee a yes-or-no vote on trade agreements within 90 days, lawmakers in Washington, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have destroyed the credibility of […]