This is a few days old, but should not be missed: The New York Times did the requisite story on just how hard it is to be rich on only $500,000 a year, the maximum income for a few bailed out bank executives under the new Obama administration policy.
Private school: $32,000 a year per student. Mortgage: $96,000 a year. Co-op maintenance
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In the ArenaUncategorized
61-37. So, let’s reset: He’s been in office three weeks. He’s gotten the most expensive bill in the history of anything through both Houses of Congress…to a chorus of he’s screwing up, the honeymoon’s over, etc. etc. I’m not sure what the Conference wrangling will hold, nor whether the Republican duo trio (thanks–commenter sacredh)in …
But it’s true. In a San Francisco federal court, five men who claim they were abducted and sent to foreign countries to be tortured, have been battling the Bush Administration, which claimed that “state secrets” and “national security” would be put at risk if the case were allowed to proceed. On Monday, the Obama Justice Department …
In the ArenaUncategorized
The Soviets famously sent two messages to John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis–one bellicose, the other offering a path toward peace. Kennedy ignored the bellicose one and prevented a nuclear war. Now we’re getting mixed messages from the Iranians. On Friday, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani gave a bellicose anti-American speech …
My story about last night.
In the ArenaUncategorized
Jerusalem
It was supposed to rain, and it may still–but a fierce wind is blowing, which is no metaphor: not much is likely to change in the Israeli election taking place today…unless, of course, Avigdor Lieberman’s neo-racist, anti-Arab Yisrael Beitenu party comes in first. Not likely, but not impossible: Lieberman was the only …
In the ArenaUncategorized
jerusalem
The President’s press conference happened in the middle of the night here, so I’ve just been catching up–here’s a video of it–and I must say, this was a very impressive performance. And more: it represents a regaining of the initiative after a week of Republican/media chipping away at the stimulus bill. Despite a steady …
The Other Klein argues today that it should be abolished:
The filibuster is the right to unlimited debate. It has instead become the refuge of those who could not win the last electoral argument, but seek to win the next one. The prime use of the filibuster now is to keep the majority party from governing successfully. It is the
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Up to now, President Obama’s staff has mostly dodged questions about what role the White House will play in the conference committee negotiations between the House and the Senate over the stimulus bill. On the flight out to Elkhart, White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs was asked if the White House wants a person in the room during the …
As I watch the coverage of his return to Elkhart as President of the United States, I am struck by how much has changed since candidate Obama made a surprise visit there last May.
Here’s one that seems perfect for Swampland commenters: The Curious Capitalist’s “Rename the TARP” Contest.
Justin writes:
I’ve already endorsed money manager Bob Andres’s proposal to change TARP’s name to BARF (for Bank Assistance Relief Fund). But somehow I don’t think that’s what Treasury’s looking for. They need something
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Veterans of past flights aboard Air Force One with President Bush got good news and bad news Monday, as President Obama took the plane on his second cross-country jaunt for a town hall in Elkhart, Ind.
The good news: Unlike Bush, Obama and his staff gave reporters lots to do on the flight. Obama himself, in shirtsleeves, dipped into …
After I posted that scary chart from Nancy Pelosi’s office last Friday, a number of Swampland commenters asked for a broader historical perspective–and one that measures the slump in percentage terms, rather than raw job-loss numbers.
They ask, and Justin delivers, with the able assistance of TIME.com graphics wizard Feilding Cage. …
