As usual, a big deal is made of this: But this is simply the obeisance that any hopeless debtor would give its largest creditor. It reminds me of a quip by a local county commissioner: if you walk into a bank as a large depositor, they tell you "yes, sir" or "yes, m'am," but if …
The Legacy of John Paul Stevens: Illinois, the Hardest Place to Run a Corporation
Towards the end of David Savage's piece on John Paul Stevens, this: Stevens' early life had more than its share of grand moments and deep tragedies. He was born in 1920, the youngest of four boys in a wealthy family. When he was 7, his father opened the 28-story Stevens Hotel on Michigan Avenue (now …
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Stupak Calls It Quits
Not a moment too soon either: Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak, targeted for defeat by Tea Party activists for his crucial role in securing House approval of the health care overhaul, said today he would retire from Congress this year. The nine-term congressman told the Associated Press he could have won re-election and insisted he wasn't …
British democracy is no better than Uzbekistan's. Is the US's?
That's the opinion of former British diplomat (to Uzbekistan) Craig Murray: So, there we have British elections today: an unfair electoral system, censorship of candidates' electoral addresses, little real political choice for voters, widespread postal ballot-rigging and elections administered by partisan council officials in a corrupt political climate. Some of the "on the ground issues" …
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Brits Place Their Bets on a General Election
As we in the US slog through another tedious (but very important) election cycle, the British accelerate the process with Gordon Brown calling an election on 6 May 2010. There's a lot to say about this but let's start with the fun observation. The Times has a way cool interactive election chart which is a …
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Boorishly Provincial: Penalising Capital Flow In and Out of the U.S.
More worried about tax cheats than prosperity: Capital, and all of its blessings, flows to where it is treated best. The recently passed Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010 (the "HIRE" Act) imposes new obstacles to the flow of capital into and out of the U.S. While ostensibly limited to "reporting" requirements to …
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Nicholas Kristof Discovers Sun Tzu
It's a story I've brought up on this blog (and elsewhere) but Kristof finally puts it in front of the "right" people: Some 2,400 years ago, a Chinese king invited a legendary military strategist named Sun Tzu to give a demonstration in military training — using women from the palace. Sun Tzu agreed, organizing 180 …
European Style Government Deserves European Style Offshore Oil Policy
If the Administration is serious about this, that's what it amounts to: The Obama administration is expected to announce by Wednesday its updated plan for oil and natural gas drilling in U.S. waters, including whether to allow exploration for the first time along the U.S. East Coast. The plan could pave the way for a …
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The Only Thing Obama Runs Against is Reality
Some people just haven't figured this out: President Barack Obama, after a year of fitfully searching for compromise, is taking a more aggressive tack with his Republican adversaries, hoping to energize Democratic voters and possibly muscle in some Republican support in Congress. On Thursday, the president challenged Republicans who planned to campaign on repealing his …
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Robin Smith and the Politics of Resentment
Sure sounds that way, as the U.S. House Third District (TN) Republican candidate's campaign manager lashes out against Mike Huckabee's endorsement of her opponent: "Given Huckabee’s history of denouncing candidates for office that contribute large sums of money to their campaigns in order to win elections, it is curious that he would choose to support …
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Positive Infinity 