Archive for 'Domestic Affairs'

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

Evidence, Convincing and Otherwise

Rumors of extra-marital shenanigans have long dogged John Edwards…and it seemed, of late, as if he had finally been caught.  There is still a lot of circumstantial evidence suggesting that he is, in fact, romantically involved with Rielle Hunter - but I find the latest wrinkle, a blurry photo by the National Enquirer purporting to […]

11 Comments » - Posted in John Edwards, Domestic Affairs by Mark

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Sunday, July 13th, 2008

No Rescue Of Fannie and Freddie? There Almost Was…

…and who knows, maybe there will be yet.  The Washington Post reports, however, that it almost happened Friday:
Senior government officials prepared emergency steps yesterday to rescue troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but stopped short after a campaign of public statements eased immediate concerns about the stability of the institutions.
But […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

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Sunday, July 6th, 2008

Bernanke’s Blunder

With the stock market now officially in “bear” territory (i.e., 20% off its most recent peak), I can only reiterate once again the point I made at greater length here: the investment community has officially passed a “no-confidence” vote on the economic policies of the Federal Reserve.  By pursuing loose money in a quixotic effort […]

16 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

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Friday, July 4th, 2008

Declaring My Love On The Fourth

I love America…I love this county as it exists, and I love the ideals it is founded upon.  I never take a 4th of July lightly.
The defining document of this day, is, of course, the Declaration of Independence, with its matter-of-fact preamble:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, In Praise Of by Mark

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Sunday, June 29th, 2008

Blogging’s Fundamental Legacy - Lying Partisan Hackery?

I became a ‘part-time’ blogger some time ago for personal reasons - in the past, I put up 7 or 8 posts a day for several years running.  Now I put up one a day, on average.  In all honesty, I’m not proud of some of these old posts.  I’m thinking of a specific kind […]

7 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

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Friday, June 27th, 2008

The Blankety-Blank Economy, Or, Bring Back Paul Volcker!

I must tell you in all sincerity that I have deep, deep concerns about the American economy that I haven’t had in a long time.  It’s not that we are in a slump/possible recession - it’s not the subprime meltdown/credit crisis that has me worried…it’s the pitiable, pathetic state of the once mighty U.S. dollar.
See, […]

14 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, John McCain, Election 2008 by Mark

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Thursday, June 26th, 2008

Did Pinocchio’s Nose Grow Because He Was ‘Inartful’?

Oh, dear, me…we appear to have a pattern here.
“I support the FISA bill except for that terrible bit about retroactive telecom immunity that unfortunately is in the bill I support - only I don’t support that part of the bill, and I promise to filibuster this bill while campaigning for the Democratic nomination, and not […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, SCOTUS, Election 2008 by Mark

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Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

Unclear On The Concept

Someone needs to explain to Barack Obama what a ‘gimmick’ is:
Offshore drilling continues to be a major sticking point between Barack Obama and John McCain, and the two candidates are still jabbing at each other’s position for the second week. Obama, who has argued that drilling will not immediately lower gas prices, is expected today […]

19 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, John McCain by Mark

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Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Offshore Drilling: Yay or Nay?

Okay, I know it’s not politically correct to be “against the environment” at a time when global warming is increasingly accepted by most people on both sides of the aisle.  However, though I know they are taking a ton of flack for it, politically, I think John McCain and President Bush are right - it’s […]

45 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Barack Obama, POTUS, John McCain by Mark

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Thursday, May 1st, 2008

The Shame Of The Ignorance Peddlers

Frequent readers know that I am an unapologetic 100% free-trader. I’ve made the case elsewhere, so here I will simply state that no movement in human history has improved the lot of so many as the development of trade, particularly in the modern democratic, capitalist sense. And yet America, a country that has […]

9 Comments » - Posted in Elephants, Domestic Affairs, Donkeys, Foreign Affairs, Hillary Clinton, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Thursday, April 10th, 2008

More On The PPA

That’s the Protectionist Party of America, formerly known as the Democratic Party. From the Washington Post editorial board (titled Drop Dead, Columbia):
THE YEAR 2008 may enter history as the time when the Democratic Party lost its way on trade. Already, the party’s presidential candidates have engaged in an unseemly contest to adopt the […]

15 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Domestic Affairs, Donkeys, Foreign Affairs, Hillary Clinton, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

How Craven Are The Democrats In Their Know-Nothing Appeasement of Economic Illiteracy?

So craven that Nancy Pelosi will rewrite the rules in the middle of the game to prevent consideration of a free-trade pact she helped craft in a blatantly obvious attempt to curry favor with protectionist progressives:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said today that Democrats will seek to delay consideration of a trade agreement with […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Domestic Affairs, Donkeys, Foreign Affairs, Hillary Clinton, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Thursday, March 27th, 2008

As Promised, Bear Sterns

It’s hard to take a consistent stand on principle when things are going badly…and this economy of ours faces some real big-time challenges of a sort that could quickly tip into ‘major disaster’ area. So while I oppose government intervention in private markets in principle, what is one to make of the Fed’s unprecedented […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

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Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

On Bailouts, In General and Particular

It is, quite simply, wrong for government to bail out homeowners who are facing foreclosure in the tough credit markets that have followed the subprime meltdown. Inhumane? Perhaps…it’s gut-wrenching to watch people lose their homes. But if the market for mortgages is to have any meaning, the notion of ‘risk’ must be matched […]

15 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

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Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

No Crisis In Social Security? Tell That To The Trustees

One of the odder political transformations of recent times has been the newfound disdain the American left has for the notion that Social Security is in trouble. One needn’t look far for the reason - as Paul Krugman neatly explains here, it’s because the notion of privatization had gained traction, so the natural response […]

32 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, NY Times/Media Watch by Mark

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Monday, November 26th, 2007

Did The President Cause The Subprime Meltdown?

If you are a person with a lick of economic sense, you realize immediately that the answer is an unequivocal no.  Paul Krugman, however, has the least economic sense of any economist I’ve every had the dissatisfaction of reading:
“Americans’ Economic Pessimism Reaches Record High.” That’s the headline on a recent Gallup report, which shows a […]

52 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, POTUS, NY Times/Media Watch by Mark

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Monday, November 12th, 2007

George Will On ‘Progressive’ Economic Foolishness

My friends, on both the right and the left, I ask you a question, in all earnestness: how can you vote Democratic if you understand the slightest thing about economics?  If for no other reason (and there are plenty of other reasons, but we’ll let that slide for the moment), I could never support a party that […]

29 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, John Edwards, Donkeys, Foreign Affairs, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Friday, October 19th, 2007

My Friends On The Left Will Surely Disagree…

…but the last couple of months have been pretty good for George W. Bush: a seeming turnaround both on the ground and in public opinion on Iraq, a line in the sand on expanded entitlements (albeit with some PR scars from ‘not caring about children’ rhetoric), and relative ease in swiping away ill-considered Democratic initiatives […]

21 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, POTUS, Elephants, Donkeys, Iraq by Mark

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Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

Two Years On…

Well, of course you realize that two years ago today Hurricane Katrina hit.  This particular disaster has resonated longer than most: besides the death and destruction, it had two unusual factors, both only evident in retrospect: it nearly destroyed a city and a presidency.
Now, I scoffed at the criticism of Bush in the aftermath of […]

8 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, POTUS by Mark

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Monday, August 27th, 2007

So Gonzales Is Out…

…and good riddance, I might say. A flurry of second-term departures have come too late for my taste: Rumsfeld, Rove, and now Gonzales. In truth, Cheney should have joined them, and it should have been a coordinated changing of the guards prior to the 2006 election when it might have made a difference.
Why? […]

45 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, POTUS, Donkeys by Mark

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