by von I have to agree with Andrew Sullivan.  This is Obama at his best: What I reject is when some folks say we should go back to the past policies when it was those very same policies that got us into this mess in the first place.  (Appla...

by publius Today's Post has a decent overview of Republicans' about-face on Medicare spending.  Demagoguing Medicare cuts is quickly becoming the GOP's go-to argument.  And it's hard to recall a more brazen and cynical act of hypoc...

by publius It's heartening to see Britain rallying around its health care system in the face of egregiously dishonest attacks and accusations.  Of course, as this NYT essay explains, the British system has its problems.  But the general...

by publius One challenge in countering the attacks on the health care bills is that they come in many varieties.  Steve Benen had a good post a while back describing the diversity among the critics (the "Greedy," the "Wonks," et...

by publius Momentum in Congress seems to be gaining for new sanctions against Iran that would cut off its imports of refined gasoline. As the NYT explains, Iran has lots of oil, but not enough refining capacity to meet its domestic needs. Anyway, I

by Eric Martin Some day I imagine he will repay me for this.  I'm prepared to make that tradeoff.

by von   Let's take a break from politics. I work in an old building.  It's something of a landmark in the city where I reside:  one of the first skyscrapers to go up.  (I use the term "skyscraper" according to its turn-of-the-century...

by Eric Martin In the aftermath of Obama's big speech on Afghanistan, Judah Grunstein observed that the prospective plan as enunciated had something for everyone - as well as the potential to disappoint all listeners.  That was my immediate take as...

by Eric Martin Following up on the recent analysis of the stimulus - which highlighted the stimulative effects of infrastructure projects - this Louis Uchitelle article makes another important point: For the first time in memory, the...

by von If it wasn't obvious from yesterday's post, my mood regarding Afghanistan has been a bit "Charge of the Light Brigade" recently.  "All in the valley of death rode the six hundred" and all that rot.  I'm not quite that pessimistic, of...