Eschaton
Gotta cheer the good news.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A federal judge in Southern California has declared the U.S. military's ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips on Thursday granted a request for an injunction halting the government's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military.
Chat on.
So what's next?
Good for Voinovich, but I'm also a bit curious about why I don't ever remember hearing him be one of those reasonable Republicans the Obama administration was trying to reach out to. He stepped up a couple of times during the Bush years.
I know for lots of people getting around by any means other than automobile for most purposes is basically unfathomable, but it still amazes me that we collectively yawn at the massive number of annual automobile deaths. They continue to decline, which is good news of course, but it's still a lot of people.
Of course there are better and worse plans, and I'm not especially enamored with parts of this, but what we need are people who recognize that 9.6% unemployment is a problem and it's their job to fix it.
I do not think I am going out on a limb in predicting that there will never be any consequences for Bob Rubin ever.
So the "centrist" Dems who are usually given lots of friendly ink over the endless kvetching about the deficit are going to prove, for the trillionth time, that they don't actually care about the deficit but instead only care about marginal tax rates for rich people.
That won't stop reporters from writing about their "deficit concerns," though with any luck they'll all be chucked out of their jobs.
That won't stop reporters from writing about their "deficit concerns," though with any luck they'll all be chucked out of their jobs.
OECD in May:
OECD now:
Our business discourse is so absurd. "Reassure investors."
RATE RECOMMENDATIONS:
UNITED STATES:
In the United States, where some long-term measures of inflation expectations have increased and the labour market has stabilised earlier than expected, the start of normalisation should not be delayed beyond the last quarter of 2010. Policy interest rates should be well above half-way to neutral by end-2011, but the path of convergence to full normalisation would have to accelerate if long-term inflation expectations were to drift up further.
OECD now:
The global economic recovery is proving slower than projected and policy makers may need to extend or bolster stimulus programs to support it, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
...
If the slowdown is temporary, then policy makers should postpone the withdrawal of monetary support for a few months, while maintaining plans to cut fiscal deficits to reassure investors, the OECD said. If growth is threatened for longer, then central banks may need to buy assets and commit to near- zero interest rates for a long period and governments may need to delay budget cuts, it said.
Our business discourse is so absurd. "Reassure investors."
My local newspaper is trying to make a big deal out of the fact there was a 1.5% absentee rate for teachers on the first day of school. That doesn't sound so bad to me.