Ladies and Gentlemen, I Give You Paul Krugman

For those of you not familiar with Paul Krugman, he's an op-ed contributor for the New York Times and a professor of Economics at Princeton. Oh, and did I fail to mention, one of my personal heroes.?

Typically, when he's not working on a text book, he writes two articles a week for the Times, mostly with a focus on the country's economy. Here's the key, though - he does it in plain English, so that non-business people can understand. He demystifies the numbers and lays bare their underlying truth. (And, as someone who knows these things, I can vouch that his numbers and his explanations are sound.)

In recent months and years, Paul's economic writings have become more political, I think, as a reaction to the dishonesty and dirty tricks being perpetrated by the White House. They lie and mislead; Paul straightens out fact from fiction. But, more than that, Paul helps the average Joe "follow the money." Isn't that what they always tell us to do? His honesty has won him the praise of many progressives and liberals, and the scorn and hate of many conservatives. Personally, I love him because he is a trusted voice in a dark time.

So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I give you Paul Krugman!

His article this week deals with the subject of USA Next's now infamous attack ad on the AARP, which claims that the AARP's actual agenda is to promote gay marriage and to not support the troops. Krugman' s point: The right has done this before, using divisive social issues to drive support for economic policy that is detrimental to most Americans, with success. The only difference this time is that they are being so obvious about it. Of course, this doesn't mean that they won't be successful, so beware.

Also, I highly recommend "What's the Matter With Kansas" by Thomas Frank. It's a good look at what I call Angry White-man Syndrome, or AWS for short. I think it probably also goes without saying that I recommend Paul's latest book. If you're just tuning in, it will catch you up on what's been happening the last few years.

More:
Operation Truth has come out against the USA Next Ad

Daily Kos has the new USA Next ads and possibly proves they had this in mind all along.

Did He Get a Receipt?

An Illinois Appellate court said that a man could sue for emotional distress because a woman used his semen to become pregnant without his knowledge. The woman had apparently saved the semen after having oral sex with the man and then inseminated herself later. The court also ruled that man could not sue for theft of his sperm because it was a “irrevocable gift” and therefore hers to keep. The defendant’s lawyer added, “There was no agreement that the original deposit would be returned upon request." [More]

My other potential title for this post was “Deposits 5¢ in MI”.

Paintball Terrorist

23 year-old American student, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, was recently returned to the United States from Saudi Arabia and charged by the Justice Department with material support of terrorism for supposedly planning to assassinate President Bush. The evidence: Mr. Abu Ali has been known to associate with "terror suspects" in northern Virginia who conducted paintball games as paramilitary training. Law enforcement officials said they had no indication that any plot to assassinate Mr. Bush moved to the stage of actual operations, but the Justice Department said it considered Mr. Abu Ali a serious threat.

While held in detention, Mr. Abu Ali claims he was tortured at the hands of the Saudis. Mr. Abu Ali, who was valedictorian of his high school, was arrested on June 11, 2003, while taking his final exams at the Islamic University of Medina. Mr. Abu Ali's defense attorney claims that the Justice Department brought the charges of an assassination plot to deflect criticism. "I suspect it's no coincidence that this man sat in detention for 20 months until a federal judge in the United States was threatening to require the American government to disclose its arrangements with the Saudi government for holding him. The lawsuit gave the government a tremendous incentive to bring some charges."

The charges against Mr. Abu Ali rely on the testimony of several unnamed co-conspirators. [more]

My Worst Nightmare?

There are several blogs out there stumping for Condi in '08. Even the mere thought of those bad blue dress suits in the White House makes me cringe. And, yet, if she wins, she'll still be better dressed than her supporters.

Isn't it interesting how Rice is also a four-letter word?

The right wing takes aim at the most dangerous threat to Social Security reform: Grandma

The lobbying group, USA Next, has hired many of the same consulting firms that helped the Swift Boat Vets attack John Kerry in last year's election. Their plan: to attack the AARP, which has come out against the President's plan to privatize Social Security. But, this is more than just a plan to remove a roadblock to the President's plan. USA Next's larger goal is to peel off a million members, or more, from the AARP's roles for themselves, effectively breaking up what is the most powerful voting block in the country. They have gone as far as to call the AARP a left-leaning organization, despite the fact that 37% of AARP members identify themselves as republicans. [More]

One small step for man, one giant cliche for mankind

I don't expect my first post to be read by many people, but here it is. Everything has to start somewhere. From its humble beginnings, I hope this blog will grow into a place where people come to share their thoughts and views. But, primarily, I want this blog to a place where I can let out all the things that are running around inside my mind.

These days those "things" are mostly political ideas. Fundamentally, the ideas that move me are ones concerning economics issues, such as the national deficit, tax reform and social security. In fact, the debate, if you can call it that, currently being wage on the topic of social security was the driving force behind me creating this blog. I need to get my thoughts, feelings and ideas out. Otherwise, I might very well explode.

But, those thoughts and ideas will have to wait for another post, not wanting to go into any particular topic right now. This - after all - is just an introduction. So, without further ado, I would just like to say Happy Birthday to RoseRash.blogspot.com! You look so much like your daddy!