Stable Genius Liberal

Ron Paul’s Pork-Barrel

Rep. Ron Paul vehemently denounced the $410 billion catch-all spending bill approved last week by the House of Representatives. But although the libertarian-leaning Republican from Lake Jackson cast a vote against the massive spending measure, his fingerprints were on some of the earmarks that helped inflate its cost. Paul played a role in obtaining 22… Continue reading Ron Paul’s Pork-Barrel

Banking on the Brink

Lately the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has been seizing banks it deems insolvent at the rate of about two a week. When the F.D.I.C. seizes a bank, it takes over the bank’s bad assets, pays off some of its debt, and resells the cleaned-up institution to private investors. And that’s exactly what advocates of temporary… Continue reading Banking on the Brink

GOP Problem Solver

If you want to know the Republican solution to your biggest problems, check out the GOP Problem Solver

Lessons From Japan in Stemming a Crisis

“I thought America had studied Japan’s failures,” said Hirofumi Gomi, a top official at Japan’s Financial Services Agency during the crisis. “Why is it making the same mistakes?” From Lessons From Japan in Stemming a Crisis – NYTimes.com Good question.

Gore Presidency Retrospective

the biggest disappointment was Gore’s failure to handle Hurricane Katrina properly. Not only did the massive evacuation of New Orleans prove a costly and time-consuming overreaction, since the levees – fortified in 2003 – held up fine. The emergency management agency also took over 24 hours to set up trailers for evacuees along the Gulf… Continue reading Gore Presidency Retrospective

Scare of the day

Paul Krugman said it best when it said this isn’t your father’s recession. This is your grandfather’s recession. This looks really bad.

Palin as model for GOP

43 percent of Republicans say the party has been too moderate over the past eight years. 55 percent say they think Palin should become the model for the national GOP. From Poll: Republicans want Palin as model for GOP – War Room – Salon.com I can only assume that misunderstood the context for the word… Continue reading Palin as model for GOP

E-Mail to the Chief

aides say that he uses a computer in the study next to the Oval Office but that he has agreed to limit the number of people he would exchange e-mail with. In the process, he created a new measure for Washington to judge who really has the ear, or the thumb, of the president. Symbol… Continue reading E-Mail to the Chief

William Kristol

This is William Kristol’s last column. Op-Ed Columnist – Will Obama Save Liberalism? – NYTimes.com Good riddance.

Who’s Running TARP? You Might Not Wanna Know

Last week, Congress’s oversight panel for the TARP funds confirmed in a report that the Treasury Department essentially has no idea what banks have done with the astronomical sums they’ve been handed. From TPMMuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Who’s Running TARP? You Might Not Wanna Know Nice jumping off point for discussions on what… Continue reading Who’s Running TARP? You Might Not Wanna Know