In Letter to Bishops, Pope Admits Mistakes By RACHEL DONADIO March 11, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI has written an unusually personal letter to bishops worldwide explaining why he revoked the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop and admitting mistakes in how the Vatican handled the case. The letter, which the Vatican will release Thursday, is a […]
No one ever accused Alan Greenspan of not having nerve. We need advice from him channeling his childhood love, Ayn Rand, like we need tapeworms. Rand said Atlas Shrugged and all the heros went off into the desert to live and let us flounder along. Alan, however, has decided to stay around town and make […]
Can America be saved? So I read this: Boehner said Americans want government to practice the same financial restraint they have been forced to exercise: “It’s time for government to tighten their belts and show the American people that we ‘get’ it.” and I wonder if this country can handle the crisis we’re in. Remember, […]
For months, as I’ve read about the Madoff Scandal, Derivatives, and the financial crisis, I’ve listened to people talk about Hedge Funds. Most of what I read is baloney, like reading about "neoconservatives." But after months of trying to understand what they’re all about, I think it comes down to something as simple as this […]
Do Americans Want to Nationalize the Banks? Five ThirtyEight March 9, 2009 A Newsweek poll released over the weekend suggests that Americans may be more amendable than previously believed to the idea of a government takeover of major banks. The specific question posed by the survey asked was as follows: Temporary nationalization is another way […]
Taking a Depression Seriously New York Times By DAVID BROOKS March 9, 2009 The Democratic response to the economic crisis has its problems, but let’s face it, the current Republican response is totally misguided. The House minority leader, John Boehner, has called for a federal spending freeze for the rest of the year. In other […]
What Cooked the World’s Economy?It wasn’t your overdue mortgageBy James LieberJanuary 28, 2009 This is an amazing article! The author parses the various forces in the financial meltdown and concludes convincingly that it was the unregulated Derivatives Market and its abuse that was at the center of the storm. He then has a really sensible […]
Yes, We Did Plan for Mumbai-Style Attacks in the U.S. Why the latest assault on Bush antiterror strategy could make us less safe. Wall Street Journal By JOHN YOO Suppose al Qaeda branched out from crashing airliners into American cities. Using small arms, explosives, or biological, chemical or nuclear weapons they could seize control of […]
Well, Paul Krugman is, if anything, consistent: Behind the Curve New York Times By PAUL KRUGMAN March 8, 2009 President Obama’s plan to stimulate the economy was “massive,” “giant,” “enormous.” So the American people were told, especially by TV news, during the run-up to the stimulus vote. Watching the news, you might have thought that […]