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Archive for March, 2009

More Name-Changing Fun From The Obama Administration

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, March 25th, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Politics, War On Terror

As I noted earlier today, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano recently decided that terrorism would now be referred to as a “man-caused disaster.”
Well, the name changing didn’t stop at DHS:
The Obama administration appears to be backing away from the phrase “global war on terror,” a signature rhetorical legacy of its predecessor.
In a memo e-mailed this [...]

Ron Paul: It Was Easy Money That Caused The Economic Crisis

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, March 25th, 2009. Filed under Credit Crisis, Economics, Politics, Ron Paul

Say what you will about Ron Paul, but when he’s right, he’s right.
And this time, he’s right:

Democratic Senator Proposes Newspaper Bailout

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, March 25th, 2009. Filed under Economics, Freedom of Speech, Internet, Media, Politics, Technology, U.S. Constitution

Maryland Senator Ben Cardin is proposing a bailout for the newspaper industry:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.
“This may not be the optimal choice for some major [...]

Obama’s Budget Facing Opposition, From Democrats

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, March 25th, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Politics

It’s looking more and more like Barack Obama’s $ 3.6 trillion budget plan is in trouble in Congress:
Key Democratic leaders were performing major surgery yesterday on President Obama’s first budget plan in an effort to bring skyrocketing annual deficits under control, while preserving the option of enacting some of the president’s most significant and costly [...]

Republican Candidate Attacks Republican Governor For Refusing Stimulus

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, March 25th, 2009. Filed under Credit Crisis, Economics, Politics

There’s an interesting little battle brewing down in Texas:
AUSTIN – Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, delivering her sharpest critique of the young campaign for governor, said Monday that Gov. Rick Perry is making a mistake turning down hundreds of millions of dollars in federal unemployment money.
Perry has actively labeled Hutchison part of a spendthrift culture in [...]

Orwellian Tactics At Homeland Security

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, March 25th, 2009. Filed under Politics, War On Terror

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is playing games with words:
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has an explanation about why she never mentioned the word “terrorism” during her first testimony on Capitol Hill.
Napolitano tells the German news site Spiegel Online that while she presumes there is always a threat from terrorism: “I referred to [...]

Another Press Conference I’m Glad I Missed

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, March 25th, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Politics

Like Don Surber, I didn’t bother watching last night’s Presidential press conference.
He watched Family Guy reruns, I settled in for a night of TiVo with my wife figuring that watching Steve Wozniak dance would be more entertaining that watching Barack Obama read from a teleprompter.
It turns out I was right:
President Obama sought to reassure Americans [...]

What’s Your Signature Cocktail ?

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 24th, 2009. Filed under Food, Wine

Over at The New York Times, a writer wonders if we’re choosing our drinks based on what we like, or what we think others like:
If I had to guess, I’d say that many of us aren’t drinking what we’d truly like to drink. A friend of mine frequently orders Pimms to remind people of her [...]

Andrew Cuomo Is A Political Thug

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 24th, 2009. Filed under Credit Crisis, Economics, Politics

There’s not other way to describe the manner in which he made the AIG bonus recipients an offer they couldn’t refuse:
Employees of the American International Group may have been given an implicit ultimatum from Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York: Give back your bonuses and your names will not be made public.
Gerry Pasciucco, [...]

Economists Against The Geithner Plan

by Doug Mataconis @ Tuesday, March 24th, 2009. Filed under Credit Crisis, Economics, Politics

Slowly but surely we’re seeing a develop consensus emerge among economists on both sides of the aisle that Tim Geithner’s bank bailout plan is a really bad idea.
First we had Paul Krugman come out against the plan on Saturday and again yesterday.
Today, liberal economist James Galbraith writes at The Daily Beast that Geithner’s plan won’t [...]

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