"Words that make actions speak louder."
UPDATE 1:00 P.M Dodd just tried to move on amendments by Sens. Snowe, R-Maine, Landrieau, D-La., Vitter, R-La., and Whitehouse, D-R.I., and then proceed to the cloture vote. Sen. Carl Levin objected, presumably because his amendment to implement the Volcker Rule was not included. This was an explicit attempt to weaken the bill and block […]
Few realized it at the time, but Senator Chris Dodd’s political career ended on June 12, 2008. That day, Portfolio magazine published its blistering expose on Countrywide Financial’s “Friends of Angelo” program, naming the Democrat from Connecticut as one of the top beneficiaries of the subprime kingpin’s political favors program. It’s too late for Dodd […]
What was the message of Tuesday’s elections? Clearly the base voters of both parties are unhappy and looking for change. Incumbents are at risk. Politics as usual is unappealing. Conservatives in both parties are spinning this as a protest vote about deficits and spending. But voters are angry not because of abstract deficits. They are […]
If trade expert Clyde Prestowitz’s latest book, “The Betrayal of American Prosperity,” were a television series, one segment would open with this voiceover: “This episode of ‘The Betrayal of American Prosperity’ is brought to you by Intel.” A group of Chinese workers in white smocks would smile into the camera and sing, “Bahm-bom-bom-bahmmm.” Intel is […]
On a day in which voters in Arkansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania are heading to the polls in what is being widely described as an anti-politician, anti-government rage, and with a particularly strident strain of conservatism portrayed as on the ascendancy, it might seem harder to support the conclusions of a series of Campaign for America’s […]
The stimulus is running out, millions lose health insurance in 12 days as COBRA subsidies start to run out, unemployment benefits also start running out, and unemployment is rising. Foreclosures are up. At the same time out-of-money states are laying off hundreds of thousands of employees, beginning with teachers. (But hey, who needs teachers?) They […]
So much for telling kids to "always tell the truth." It turns out, toddlers who tell lies do better as adults. Whether this is surprising news about child development, or a sad statement about the kind of society we live in depends on how you define "better." On one hand, the study of 1,200 children, […]
Some version of Wall Street reform is going to pass the Senate this week. The question now is how strong that reform will be. There are still three crucial battles to be waged, all of which would significantly change the way Wall Street does business. We will not fix Wall Street with this round of […]
Anyone who’s ever seen a Terminator movie knows that civilization ended when a computer system called “Skynet” came alive and tried to terminate the human race by starting a nuclear apocalypse. After last week’s “flash crash” on Wall Street, they might have wondered if Skynet wasn’t working on a financial apocalypse instead. We still don’t […]
Today’s news is the Supreme Court decision that juveniles cannot be confined in prison without the possibility of parole for offenses committed while juveniles (in this case, a very clumsy store robbery by a 16 year old with a crowbar). Yesterd ay’s news was the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Between them […]