http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh Wed, 06 May 2009 04:25:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As readers here may be aware, I have transferred the bulk of my blogging and writing energies over to the New Ledger, which was founded by RedState alumni and which features a number of us there. I had sought, initially, to continue to post activist pieces here, while at the ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/05/06/all-good-things/ Meet Susan Crawford, the co-chair for the Federal Communications Commission transition team for Barack Obama, and special assistant to the President in the Obama Administration (she has a blog here). A former law professor at the University of Michigan--one presumes that she has either departed permanently, or is on leave--Professor ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/05/03/the-obama-way-nationalizing-the-internet/ Really, I do. It's a wonderful country, with a great many historic attractions, and the people are much nicer than myth would suggest. I just don't want to conduct domestic and economic policy in the United States in the same way that the French conduct domestic and economic policy in France. ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/05/03/i-love-france/ Everyone complains about corruption, but . . . well . . . it's not that no one does anything about it. Rather, it's more that traditional anti-corruption efforts are so ineffective. We can pass laws until the cows come home, but all the laws in the world have done nothing ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/04/22/curbing-the-scandals/ The tea parties that went on to commemorate Genuflection To The IRS Day have been a smashing success. A whole host of demonstrations popped up throughout the country and attracted large crowds. Public dissatisfaction with the bailout culture, massive deficit spending, and the general assault against free market capitalism manifested ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/04/16/of-tea-parties-and-hysterics/ While I will continue to write at RedState concerning activism issues, the bulk of my blogging is going to be done over at A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days, which is lodged as part of The New Ledger. I would be delighted to see old RedState friends there. http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/04/11/a-brief-semi-administrative-note/ I have no problem using taxes as a way to get rid of certain, discrete negative externalities, but anything beyond that is asking for trouble. So it is more than a little bizarre to find out that there are Florida Republicans behind a $1 per pack increase in cigarette taxes. ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/04/04/repeat-after-me-tax-increases-are-a-bad-idea/ Let's have Congress investigate itself: While Congress has been flaying companies for giving out bonuses while on the government dole, lawmakers have a longstanding tradition of rewarding their own employees with extra cash -- also courtesy of taxpayers. Capitol Hill bonuses in 2008 were among the highest in years, according to LegiStorm, ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/04/01/after-congress-finishes-investigating-aig/ Seeking to convince us that "Speaking Freely, Biden Finds Influential Role," the New York Times, instead, makes clear that the Vice President's role is anything but influential. Consider: Top aides say it has become customary for Mr. Obama to solicit Mr. Biden’s opinion at the end of meetings. But his views by ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/29/when-headlines-dont-agree-with-news-stories/ Harry Reid thinks that it is perfectly fine to filibuster judges appointed by Republican Presidents, but that it would be a sin against the Lord to filibuster Democratic health care reform plans. The fact that Reid is a Democrat probably has something to do with this, though you will never ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/27/worst-senate-majority-leader-ever-2/ Peter Wallison doesn't toe the line of conventional wisdom when it comes to discussing the cause of the financial crisis. That's a roundabout way of saying that he speaks truth: http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/27/governments-role-in-creating-the-financial-crisis/ One may well think so after having read this: Just as the economic news was relentlessly negative until the last few days, poll numbers for Republicans were horrific for months. So the GOP should be heartened by the first encouraging polling news it has received perhaps since Lehman Brothers defaulted in ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/24/things-looking-up-for-the-gop/ Just an FYI for longtime readers: I am going to tend to my own blog for a while. It may not be all that long in the grand scheme of things before I get back to the RedState front page, but those who are interested in following my writing can ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/07/semi-sabbatical/ That--as I have argued in the past--is what the Obama Administration is doing. And yes, I am pretty sure that the Administration knows that the more it augments the sense of economic crisis, the more it improves its chances of passing its economic program. This, of course, makes the Administration's public ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/04/talking-down-the-economy-2/ While some may have thought that the Obama tax plan would sail through Congress relatively unopposed, the reality is turning out to be somewhat different: President Barack Obama's call to raise taxes on high earners and greenhouse gas polluters met fierce opposition Tuesday from congressional Republicans and also a few Democrats. ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/04/the-obama-tax-plan-running-into-roadblocks/ "The Audacity of Hype." An excerpt: Continuing the tradition he established back when he was Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Peter Orszag, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget has started a blog. I applaud this move if — if — it is meant to promote transparency. But ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/03/the-obama-administration-and-tax-policy/ My thoughts on the shape and nature of such an opposition can be found at the Arena. The joy of writing at a place like the Arena is that one has the opportunity to learn a great deal from smart and talented writers. Of course, from time to time, you get ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/03/a-responsible-and-effective-republican-opposition/ High earners are planning to reduce their incomes so that they will not have to pay as much in taxes. This, of course, not only means that some people will take an income hit. It also means that an important segment of the population will be less productive economically. Cumulatively, this ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/03/and-in-other-news-water-is-wet/ Detailed here. Note the reason why Pelosi dislikes House Republican Whip Eric Cantor: Pelosi has good personal relationship with House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). But members of her leadership cadre are starting to really dislike Cantor, despite their public pose of studied indifference. Part of the reason: Cantor is ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/03/nancy-pelosis-enemies-list/ House Democrats have killed off the school choice program currently going on in DC. If Senate Democrats and the White House--headed by a President who gets to send his kids to private school while poorer families in DC have to depend on the tender mercies of Congress and the White ... http://www.redstate.com/pejman_yousefzadeh/2009/03/03/so-much-for-educational-choice/