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Archive for August, 2009

The Deficit Would Have Been Just As Bad Under President McCain

by Doug Mataconis @ Thursday, August 27th, 2009. Filed under Barack Obama, Credit Crisis, Economics, John McCain, Politics

Conservative economist Bruce Bartlett runs the numbers:
In an email this morning, Mr. Bartlett points out that “If one goes through the March update (pp. 6-7) and the August update (pp. 52-53) and adds up all the changes to the January estimate, you find that the deficit increase since January consists of $46 billion in lower [...]

Fed Official: The “Real Unemployment Rate” Is 16%

by Doug Mataconis @ Thursday, August 27th, 2009. Filed under Credit Crisis, Economics

Yet another measure of how bad the economy truly is:
The real US unemployment rate is 16 percent if persons who have dropped out of the labor pool and those working less than they would like are counted, a Federal Reserve official said Wednesday.
“If one considers the people who would like a job but have stopped [...]

Kennedy-esque Quote Of The Day

by Doug Mataconis @ Thursday, August 27th, 2009. Filed under Economics, Politics

The problems of our economy have occurred not as an outgrowth of laissez-faire, unbridled competition. They have occurred under the guidance of federal agencies, and under the umbrella of federal regulations.
Edward Moore Kennedy, 1978

Dalai Lama To Visit Taiwan

by Doug Mataconis @ Thursday, August 27th, 2009. Filed under China, Foreign Affairs, Tibet

This is bound to piss of the Chinese:
HONG KONG — The president of Taiwan said Thursday that he would allow the Dalai Lama to visit the island next week, a move likely to infuriate China and jeopardize rapidly improving relations between Taipei and Beijing.
The Tibetan spiritual leader is expected to arrive Monday for a six-day [...]

Democrats To Try To Win Health Care Debate By Exploiting A Dead Guy

by Doug Mataconis @ Thursday, August 27th, 2009. Filed under Democrats, Health Care Reform, Politics

Welcome to America, where political battles are won by waving the bloody shirt:
Democrats are hoping that the memory of Sen. Ted Kennedy will revive the Democratic Party’s flagging push for health care reform.
“You’ve heard of ‘win one for the Gipper’? There is going to be an atmosphere of ‘win one for Teddy,’” Ralph G. Neas, [...]

Twitter’s Popularity Driven By Adults, Not Kids

by Doug Mataconis @ Thursday, August 27th, 2009. Filed under Internet, Technology, Twitter

Today’s New York Times reports that the rise of Twitter has not followed the same path that previous social networking sites have:
Kristen Nagy, an 18-year-old from Sparta, N.J., sends and receives 500 text messages a day. But she never uses Twitter, even though it publishes similar snippets of conversations and observations.
“I just think it’s weird [...]

Peter Schiff Talks About Bernanke’s Reappointment

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, August 26th, 2009. Filed under Credit Crisis, Economics, Politics

Investment adviser, and potential Senate candidate in Connecticut, Peter Schiff spoke recently on President Obama’s decision to reappoint Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board:

H/T: United Liberty

Now, I’ve Seen Everything

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, August 26th, 2009. Filed under Celebrities, Music

Bob Dylan is doing a Christmas album:
Bob Dylan will release a brand new album of holiday songs, Christmas In The Heart, on Tuesday, October 13, it was announced today by Columbia Records. All of the artist’s U.S. royalties from sales of these recordings will be donated to Feeding America, guaranteeing that more than four million [...]

Town Hall Chaos Reaches Northern Virginia

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, August 26th, 2009. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics, Virginia, Virginia Politics

Virginia Congressman Jim Moran held a Town Hall in Reston last night and, not surprisingly, it was a pretty raucous night:
A raucous crowd of about 2,500 people jammed a high school gymnasium in Reston on Tuesday night to hear U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. offer a robust defense of Democratic efforts to reform health [...]

The Downfall Of Mark Sanford Continues

by Doug Mataconis @ Wednesday, August 26th, 2009. Filed under Dumbasses, Mark Sanford, Politics

Now, South Carolina’s Lieutenant Governor is calling on him to resign:
COLUMBIA – Lt. Gov. andre Bauer announced today he is asking Gov. Mark Sanford to resign, saying “serious misconduct” by Sanford as well as “continuing distractions” are making it impossible for the state to move forward.
Bauer promised he would forgo his own plans to run [...]

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