So, the folks out here on the Left Coast have largely been evicted from their encampments and, in looking for something to keep their faces on the front page, have decided to take on the shipping industry for no particular reason other than that they can. I’ve got a better suggestion. The centerpoint of the movement which has broad resonance is the web of greed | Read More »
Harry Truman is famous for three things: using the atomic bomb against Japan; firing General Douglas MacArthur; and upsetting Thomas Dewey by running against a “do nothing” Congress. Thus far the Obama strategy is to propose “tax the rich” legislation which knows will fail, making no effort to find compromises – hopefully he won’t resort to Truman’s other highlights. Here are a few facts usually | Read More »
Newt is different. The first three anti-Romney’s started with little name recognition and, fighting for attention in a crowded field, were perhaps unfairly painted as one or two dimensional: Bachmann (woman; social issues); Cain (pizza man; 999); Perry (Texas governor; lousy debater). Under the media’s glare one or two missteps could be fatal. In contrast Newt has a long history with the media and older | Read More »
Any serious candidate for president must understand a few major issues in foreign policy: China (trade; regional ambitions); Mexico (drugs; gangs; immigration); Iran (nukes; regional ambitions); and Pakistan (nukes; instability). I’ll use Pakistan as a test for the Republican candidates. Lets stipulate a few things: – It is not possible to articulate a nuanced policy for South Asia in the 30 second responses allowed by | Read More »
When the brief history of the Obama administration is written – perhaps as part of a Zakharia “Decline of America” sequel – there will be chapters on corruption (Solyndra; Siga’s small pox boondoggle; Congressional insider trading), flailing (stimulus plan), and incompetence (Fast and Furious; “leading from behind”; true Wall Street reform), but the essence of his administration will be captured in the mismanagement of the | Read More »
With apologies to my snowbound friends in the Northeast and the Midwest, last Saturday I spent a 65 degree, clear day at the San Francisco and Oakland Occupy encampments looking for their purpose. First, a comment on the settings. Each has 200 to 300 tents, a majority of scruffy youngish denizens who are there for the experience, a goodly number of the omnipresent homeless, and | Read More »
Fie on conventional wisdom. What if the “consensus of all reputable economists” is wrong and things actually do get better? Not good, but at least enough better that the White House and the New York Times can make the “it took longer than we expected, but we are now on the right track” argument. The current 75% wrong track opinion will change if unemployment somehow | Read More »
A Tea Party conservative friend recently asked me what he could do to help prevent the decline of the country. A heavy burden! A few observations and prescriptions: As for the observations: 1. There is some parallel between the Tea Party movement and the Occupy Wall Street movement. We have not recovered financially or emotionally from the collapse of 2008, the slow motion defeat in | Read More »
Solyndra; SunPower; California environmentalists; the Stimulus Plan. It is no accident that so much of this corruption is out here on the Left Coast. Lets connect the dots. First, the Pelosi Democrats were brilliant in adapting the trash collection model to the energy industry. Politicians don’t have to raise taxes to create pools of money; they can set the rates which you pay your local trash hauler | Read More »
In thinking about the Occupy Wall Street movement, it is useful to focus on the main impetus rather than the presence of the crazies, the supportive statements of folks like Nancy Pelosi, the litany of issues addressed on the OWS web site, or the effort to get attention by various unions and anti-capitalism activists. (Living in San Francisco I see enough protests to not be bothered by the trash | Read More »
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