• “Everybody’s favorite space dog Laika now has a statue near Moscow’s Military Medicine Institute!” [Boing Boing] • Yes, I’ve read it. • “The newsreel footage from the old Soviet days kept confusing me. Stein does know that the Stalinists rejected the theory of evolution as a biological rendition of capitalism, doesn’t he? And that [...]

Our Curious Capitalist investigates an idea that I sent him after stumbling upon it over at Boing Boing: linking GDP to numbers that are more directly linked to people’s day-to-day lives (apparently known as “non-market activity”). You’ll be shocked to learn that the Bush administration has undone one of the few American programs that provides [...]

Commenters may remember that we spent some time in the threads a couple of months ago discussing McCain’s vote against the Dem’s Field Manual legislation. Critics may seize upon this early draft of McCain’s own legislation that Michael mentions as proof of further hypocrisy; as I said in the threads, to McCain, it’s not hypocrisy, [...]

I have a new story up at Time.com about John McCain’s position on waterboarding and other harsh interrogation politics. One interesting thing I turned up: A 2005 proposal from McCain’s staff that took the same position on applying the Army Field Manual to the CIA that he now opposes in the Senate. To wit: In [...]

Some thoughts about Charles Krauthammer’s Holocaust Doctrine announced today. 1. Only Israel? Krauthammer swallows whole the Likudnik eschatology, filled with “apocalyptic” mullahs just itching to wipe Israel from the map. But he might consider checking in with some of the Sunni governments in the region, who are very concerned that Iran’s aggressive intentions–if such exist–are [...]