So, would you ever wear the ring again?
I don’t think I would.
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The plan for the attack on Romney
This is news? Barack Obama’s aides and advisers are preparing to center the president’s reelection campaign on a ferocious personal assault on Mitt Romney’s character and business background, a strategy grounded in the early-stage expectation that the former Massachusetts governor … Continue reading →
Obama and the debt/downgrade crisis: why should anyone be surprised?
The debt crisis is not only a crisis for the country and the world, but for Barack Obama. I’ve noticed that he seems more tentative and cliche-ridden than ever, and that more and more of his erstwhile defenders are growing … Continue reading →
Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, things fall apart—the London riots
The other day I was talking with friend, comparing the present feeling of unrest to the turmoil of the late 60s. We agreed that both times were tumultuous, but she thought things were worse now. I said I wasn’t sure; … Continue reading →
Did S&P make an error (redux)?
By now you may be heartily sick of this question. I certainly am. I’ve written enough about it, and I’m not planning to write about it again—unless, of course, some important new facts or revelations come into play. And those … Continue reading →
Nina Simone interlude
I believe we all could use a musical interlude right about now. A happy one might be nice. But I’ve been thinking for quite some time of putting something up that features Nina Simone, a singer/pianist whose music I’ve loved … Continue reading →
Down and down the Dow goes, where it stops…
…nobody knows. Right now, in a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the market is down significantly (as of this writing, 325). A great deal of the slide is almost certainly a reaction to late Friday’s S&P downgrade of … Continue reading →
Europe’s dilemma…
…and ours, as seen by Janet Daley: We have arrived at the endgame of what was an untenable doctrine: to pay for the kind of entitlements that populations have been led to expect by their politicians, the wealth-creating sector has … Continue reading →
Bad news: helicopter shot down in Afghanistan, SEALs on it
A helicopter carrying 31 Americans, including 22 Navy SEALS, was shot down while on a mission in Afghanistan to rescue other US forces engaged in a firefight. The SEALS are reported to have belonged to the same unit as the … Continue reading →
Pigs fly, and I agree with Robert Reich, Daily Kos, and the Guardian: S&P and the AA+ rating
Last night—as you all must know by now unless you’ve been having a much more exciting weekend than I—the financial ratings agency Standard & Poor downgraded the US debt from AAA to AA+ for the very first time. Now, AA+ … Continue reading →
An Afghan Romeo and Juliet
What would the cultural relativists say about this tale of family- and village-crossed lovers in Afghanistan? Let me take a stab at it: those who wish to stone this pair of young lovers are merely shoring up the foundation on … Continue reading →
Peggy Noonan, Reagan’s speechwriter…
…explains to Obama why speeches are not that important: Democrats were sure Reagan was wrong, so they explained his success to themselves by believing that it all came down to some kind of magical formula involving his inexplicably powerful speeches. … Continue reading →