Peace Deal: $300 Billion for Reconstruction of Iran?

Founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955, the National Review is an old established conservative editorial magazine. Yesterday it came out with an article quite skeptical of the reported deal to end the Iran conflict and reopen the Straight of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic. The article Trump’s Iran Peace Pact — or ‘Wishful Thinking’? contains a list of 14 conditions that the Iranians have disclosed as requirements to end the hostilities and reopen the Straight. 

All 14 conditions are spelled out in the National Review article but these three seem particularly troublesome for Netanyahu and Trump: 

(1) A permanent and immediate halt to fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon... 

(7) A requirement for the United States and its allies to present plans for Iran's reconstruction worth at least $300 billion... 

(14) Final negotiations would not begin before the release of half of Iran's blocked funds, the suspension of Iran's oil sanctions and the lifting of the naval blockade. The final agreement would focus exclusively on the fate of enriched (uranium) material, enrichment activities, sanctions relief and plans to rebuild Iran's economy. Discussions regarding Iran's missile program and support for resistance groups would be definitely excluded from agenda."

Another condition (5) would essentially reopen the Straight under Iran's control.

The article warns that the list of conditions published by state-controlled Iran media may not be accurate. However, if they are, according to the National Review, 

"it would amount to something in the ballpark of an American surrender in the region." 

"We Do Not Have a Warning System"

 

        Flood gage on a Guadalupe River Crossing near Camp Mystic (Google Earth image).

Update: 51 confirmed dead, 27 still missing from Camp Mystic.

On Friday, July 4, extreme rainfall led to catastrophic flooding in Kerr County, Texas. Twenty-seven, including nine children, were confirmed dead and at least twenty-seven girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp, went missing.  An unknown number of others from other locations are missing. The search for them continues. 

 “People need to know today will be a hard day,” said Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr. “Please pray for our community.” 

According to AP News, the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes. National Weather Service and AccuWeather issued warnings of flash-flooding hours before the flood. Apparently, the messages didn't get to those who needed them. 

Judge Rob Kelly is Kerr Counties chief elected official and he said "We do not have a warning system." 

What they do have is president in Washington who does not respect scientists, or science, who has slashed jobs at the National Weather Service, and who has said he thinks climate change is a hoax. Climate scientists have warned of more extreme weather events  as the atmosphere warms and absorbs more water vapor. For every degree Celsius increase in atmospheric temperature, there is a 7 percent increase in water vapor content.  

The claim that politicians "had no warning," is absurd and irresponsible. From the photo above, it's clear that the road commission knew that river floods several feet over the road - and it's only going to get worse. 

Get those camps to higher ground and monitor weather alerts like lives depend on it.

Drill Baby Drill Update #4 and Australia Votes Labor Another Term

 

U.S rig counts are down for the week and year over year.

Baker Hughes publishes updates on on North American rotary oil and gas rigs weekly and International counts are updated once a month. As of their report for 2 May 2025, here are the numbers:

U.S. Rigs     584, down 3 from the previous week, down 21 from one year ago, 2 May 2024.

Canadian Rigs     120, down 8 from a week ago, unchanged from one year ago.

International (updated monthly) 891, down 8 from March, down 87 from March 2024.

Gas prices haven't moved much (see previous posts)

Gas Buddy publishes updated gasoline prices by state. Checking today's published prices, the median cost by state for a gallon of gasoline is $2.99. For the median price today, I'm using the Gas Buddy's published price of a gallon of gasoline in the 25th ranked state in their list of prices by state, ranked from lowest to  highest. Mississippi had the lowest price $2.62 and California the highest at $4.72.

Australia voted to give their center-left Labor Party leader, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a second term as the Liberal (liberal in name only) candidate Peter Dutton not only lost his national election bid, but also his seat in Parliament. Dutton, earlier in his campaign, aligned himself with Trump but, late in the campaign scrambled to distance himself from the U.S. president. "DOGY-y Dutton" was one brand applied to Dutton who, like Trump, called for massive cuts to government services and civil servant jobs. From the BBC article linked above,

"Dutton's own inconsistent policies and the Trump-esque rhetoric and decisions appear to have driven away an electorate that is deeply concerned about a new, tumultuous world order."

Labor parties now lead the governments of Great Britain (Keir Starmer), Canada (Mark Carney) and Australia (Anthony Albanese).

Drill Baby Drill Update 3

 

The above figure comes from Baker Huges, which has been keeping track of active oil and gas rigs since 1944. This past week, U.S. Rig counts dropped again, indicating that "drill baby drill," as a policy, is yet to be implemented. Lower prices for oil also reduce incentives for drilling new wells. Oil companies want to make money. 

According to Gasbuddy.com, the median price of a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. is $3.01, which is down slightly from a week ago. 

Update 2 of Drill Baby Drill

 

Following up on the previous post, Baker Hughes publishes updates on on North American rotary oil and gas rigs weekly and International counts are updated once a month. As of this report, the the U.S. has 590 rigs, down 3 from the previous report.  Canadian and International rig counts are also down. Not surprisingly, gasoline prices have gone up.

Gas Buddy publishes updated gasoline prices by state. Checking today's published prices, the median cost by state for a gallon of gasoline is $3.09, up 12 cents (4 percent) form $2.97 in the previous update. For the median price, I'm using the Gas Buddy's published price of a gallon of gasoline in the 25th ranking state in their list of prices by state, ranked from lowest to  highest. 

So far, President Trump's policies have not added to the drill rig count and gasoline prices have gone up, not down. (Above figure is from Baker Hughes).

Update on Drill Baby Drill

 

Baker Hughes publishes updates on on North American rotary oil and gas rigs weekly and International counts are updated once a month. This past week, the U.S added one rig while in Canada, 19 rigs were apparently shut down. Is the reduction in Canadian drilling due to the economic conflict over tariffs the Trump administration has chosen to take up against a neighbor? 

Gas Buddy publishes updated gasoline prices by state. Checking today's published prices, the median cost for a gallon is $2.97. 

Are oil companies anticipating an economic slowdown? Is "Drill Baby Drill" off and running or off the table, for now?

Jan 6 Rioter Describes Booze Soaked Radicalization

 New Hampshire Public Radio has this fascinating interview with Jason Riddle, who served 90 days in jail following the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Mr. Riddle, who has rejected a pardon from Trump, describes the personal circumstances that contributed to his MAGA radicalization: 

"I'm a recovering alcoholic. At the time, I was not recovering. I would combine alcohol with my politics and I'd put it online too. I spent a lot of time on social media in the comments section arguing with strangers about nothing. And it just became more or less my identity. The less I had a life, the louder I was about being a Trump supporter. And instead of trying to figure out what was causing these problems, looking at myself, I blamed other people and politics. That's easy to do. And I fit right into the MAGA circle"

The interview offers a glimpse of the riot from a rioter's perspective and how he was treated as something of a celebrity in jail - by other inmates and by staff. Courage, common sense, and sober reflection seem to have turned him away from the MAGA movement.

Does the Media Go Easy on Trump's Mental Health?

           Trump rolls out his golden sneakers merch, available for $399.  (MSN photo credit)

In a recent opinion piece by professor, author and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, Reich suggests the media is not sufficiently reporting on Trump's questionable mental health. Reich is not alone in his concern for Trump's mental stability. 

A leading psychiatrist, Dr. Lance Dodes says the evidence for Trump's dementia is overwhelming. Former Johns Hopkins University Medical School professor and psychologist John Gartner, has said Trump is "showing unmistakable signs strongly suggesting dementia." 

Trump's own father Fred suffered from dementia.

Although not a psychiatrist or psychologist, former Trump aide Omarosa Manigault Newman advisor wrote in her book Unhinged that Trump, while in office, was suffering serious mental decline falling "from quick-thinking Apprentice host to a lonely, befuddled president who rattles around the White house with rage and confusion."  

That seems to match up pretty well with Trump's current public statements and behavior. 

Switcheroo Trump Now Loves Electric Cars

Trump has apparently changed his mind about electric vehicles (EVs). Now, he's not talking about EV supporters needing to "rot in hell" (see previous post below). What accounts for the change of heart?  Could it be that Elon Mush has endorsed Trump and, set up a super political action committee to help him  called  "America PAC?" Doesn't this suggest it's all about money and endorsements? Is this the way to decide what's best for our nation?

From the Business Insider article

"I'm for electric cars. I have to be because, you know, Elon endorsed me very strongly," Trump told the crowd. "So, I have no choice."

Simple as that.  If  you publicly support Trump and give him money, he'll change his political position give you what you want, or so it would seem based on Trump's words, "So I have no choice." Really? What else would this guy give away for money and endorsements?

According to this Forbes report, CNBC reported some potentially illegal shenanigans on the part America PAC. From the Forbes article:

"The PAC came under scrutiny after CNBC reported Friday a link on the group’s website directing supporters to register to vote for the most part doesn’t actually do so, but rather just collects information about them.

CNBC discovered if a user lists a zip code in a battleground state, the website leads them to a detailed form asking for much more personal information than if they report being in a non-competitive state—in which case they still aren’t actually registered to vote, though for some non-battleground state zip codes the PAC does lead them to an official voter registration link."

To lead voters to a web site where they think they are registering to vote but they really aren't sounds like trouble and has sparked an investigation by the Michigan's Secretary of State and Atorney General. 

Trump Suggests e-Vehicle Methodists and Catholics Should "Rot in Hell"

According to Business Insider, Donald Trump isn't happy with those who support electric cars and wishes they would "rot in hell." I wonder if Trump has any electric carts on any of his golf courses. I bet he does. 

Trump's particularly harsh and baseless judgement (the Bible doesn't take a position on electric cars) would apparently apply to the Washington-Baltimore Conference of the United Methodist Church. Given that their parking lots are pretty much empty six days out of the week, they decided to install e-car charging stations at more than 600 churches! 

And Trump's not just implicitly telling Methodists where to go and what to do when they get there. The Catholic Diocese of Worchester, Massachusetts is encouraging parishioners to support driving and charging e-vehicles. 

Perhaps a sign of how out of touch Donald Trump is with energy and world affairs, and how poorly informed he is, generally, Pope Francis Himself has two Volkswagon ID.3 Pro Performance models and has directed the entire Vatican City State fleet to purchase electric vehicles and be carbon-neutral by 2030.  

Photo credit: Aleteia.

Not Trusting Our Institutions: How Did We Get Here?

Former Reagan White House official and one-time nominee for Labor Secretary (she withdrew after it was discovered she employed an undocumented worker) Linda Chavez has an opinion piece The Most Worrisome Effect of Russia's Election Meddling in the New York Post arguing that the worst aspect of Russian meddling in the recent presidential election is the erosion of public trust in our democratic institutions.In conclusion, Chavez makes what seems to me to be a a very reasonable point:

"Democracy can only exist as long as the people trust its institutions. The greatest calamity of this election cycle has been the weakening of that trust" - Linda Chavez.

Team Putin appears to have succeeded in hacking American (and world) confidence in its own election process, its intelligence agencies, and its freedom of the press. They didn't accomplish this on their own, however. They've had some help along the way, such as:

"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." - Ronald Reagan

One thing seems clear: when each of our major political parties is in power, they call for trust. When they are out of power they attack the other side in increasingly bitter and nefarious ways.

In the present crisis, partisanship is not the solution to our problem; partisanship is the problem.

How do we fix it?

1. Start by recognizing both sides, Republicans and Democrats, are complicit in problems facing ordinary Americans.

2. Read and listen to a variety of news sources, i.e., consider other opinions that do not conform to our own biases.

3. Engage in constructive change activities. Don't tune out and drop out.

4. Keep calm; keep working.

Is Trump Preparing to Stiff China?

President-Elect Donald J. Trump (DJT) has promised to "rebuild our depleted military" and spend a lot of money building new infrastructure. Where will he get the money?

Trump's recent phone call with Taiwan's President has angered the People's Republic of China (PRC) leaders who've made it clear that a "two-China" policy would be unacceptable. U.S. relations with China are already deteriorating before DJT takes office. What are we to make of this?

Trump has a history of using bankruptcy  and stiffing contractors as part of his business practice.

How much does the U.S. owe China? Over $1 trillion.

Suppose China-U.S. relations continue to the point DJT calls for sanctions and puts a stop to payments on our Chinese debt. Suppose such a move doesn't scare the hell out of the rest of America's debt holders and throw the international financial markets into a fit. What are the other risks?

Remember when the U.S. pulled out of Iraq and left a lot of weapons in the hands of the Iraqi military? Those weapons ended up in enemy hands. A similar situation has been created by U.S. corporations setting up industrial facilities in China, which now has an excess of industrial capacity.

If DJT forces a "showdown" how much can U.S. policies actually hurt China? The fact is, if the U.S. wanted to beat down the Chinese economy, it's probably 20 years too late. China leads the U.S. economy in manufacturing and agriculture.

Everybody the U.S. can sell to, China can probably sell to at a cheaper price.

If it loses market share, how will the U.S. rebuild its industrial capacity?

Do we need to revisit 1939 to find the answer?

Robert Reich Comments on Washington Post's Silly Attack on Sanders

Former Labor Secretary and prolific author Robert Reich is out with an article solidly defending Senator Bernie Sanders against an absurd attack from the Washington Post (WaPo). The article is Why the Washington Post Attack on Bernie Sanders is Bunk.

Evidently, the WaPo thinks Sanders' plan for extending public funding beyond K-12 to include college would mean a government takeover of colleges. I don't think the WaPo writer has ever filled out a FAFSA or has much of idea the way colleges are currently influenced by outside money, as Robert Reich points out. 

It's true that Bernie Sanders wants to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans to rebuild the American Middle Class. We're going to see those corporations and wealthiest Americans mount an enormous campaign against him.

Capitalism Offers No Guarantee of a Middle Class

Reuters global editor at large Chrystia Freeland wrote in a 2011 column, Capitalism is Failing the Middle Class, what many of us have been complaining about for years, but what may finally be sinking in to skulls of the policy wonks that have influence with the movers and shakers of global capitalism. She sited two studies, one written by Michael Spence, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, and the other David Auter, published by the Brookings Institution. Both papers warn of the long term national consequences of lower wages and fewer job opportunities caused by shipping jobs overseas. From Chrystia Freeland:

Globalization and the technology revolution are increasing productivity and prosperity. But those rewards are unevenly shared – they are going to the people at the top in the United States, and enriching emerging economies over all. But the American middle class is losing out.

To Americans in the middle, it may seem surprising that it takes a Nobel laureate and sheaves of economic data to reach this unremarkable conclusion. But the analysis and its impeccable provenance matter, because this basic truth about how the world economy is working today is being ignored by most of the politicians in the United States and denied by many of its leading business people.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that capitalism by itself is no guarantee of the kind of large, prosperous middle class that used to define Americans as a land of opportunity. Businesses in this world can find poor grunts to work long days under terrible conditions for enough food to keep from starving. Businesses should remember that working customers will spend more if they're paid more.

Do people work for the economy or does the economy work for people?

The middle class was brought to us by those who fought for a combination of government policies and labor contracts: compulsory education and the schools that needed to be built, the Land Grant College Act, child labor laws, the minimum wage, workers compensation, social security, unemployment benefits, Medicare, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the eight-hour day, weekends, collective bargaining, anti-discrimination laws that were all passed despite fierce opposition from conservatives and corporations.

And they’re still at it.

Beirut to Benghazi: Scarborough's Selective Memory

Before going off to work in the morning, I often watch Morning Joe, hosted by Joe Scarborough. Joe, a former Republican congressman from Florida, is cool. He plays guitar and had a band when he was younger, he taught high school for awhile, he's got some wit and spontaneity. He can "dance."

The best part about his show is, although Joe's a conservative, he brings in guests with other points of view, including some left-of-center voices such as Eugene Robinson and Howard Dean. The show "airs" on MSNBC from 6-9AM weekdays.

Last Friday (24 January 2014) Joe and his guests were discussing President Obama's apparent unwillingness or inability to go out schmoozing with other politicians in the Washington social scene. Joe seemed quite convinced this was the problem with Obama. If he could just go out after work and yuck it up with conservative senators and representatives, he could get a lot more of his agenda passed.

His guests pushed back: it won't work, there's more partisanship, positions have hardened, compromise is a "dirty word," times have changed, it's a different world.

This is not an exact quote but Joe's response was something like "No, No! It's not a different world!....It was just as bad back when I was in!"  He was a bit loud and his guests didn't interrupt as he made his impassioned plea.

I wish Joe would have used some examples, instead of just his passion, to convince us that the political discourse is no more partisan now, than it was in, say, 1983. He could have compared Benghazi with Beirut. I wish he could have described how Democrat presidential hopefuls leaped at the opportunity to blame President Reagan for not preventing the bombing of the Marine barracks that killed 241 Americans. But, he couldn't. Because none did.

Reagan had been warned ahead of time of the vulnerability of the Marines' situation. His Secretary of Defense, Weinberger, said this:

"They had no mission but to sit at the airport, which is just like sitting in a bull's-eye," Weinberger said. "I begged the president at least to pull them back and put them back on their transports as a more defensible position."

Joe might have described how  Congressional investigations were launched by Democrats to get to the bottom of the Marine barracks attacks, just like Republicans held committee hearings on Benghazi.  But he couldn't. Because there weren't any.

Reagan appointed a military commission to investigate the bombing and the final report blamed a faceless "military chain of command."  Reagan, the "Teflon" president, was home free.

Contrast that with the Senate  and House investigations of the Benghazi attack, an issue Scarborough and other Republicans continue to raise with the hope of discrediting Obama and Hillary Clinton, or countering any alleged wrongdoing by Republicans. 

Back to the "Obama's not a schmoozer, therefore he's not a successful President" criticism. Seems to me, what Joe is really saying is,  Republicans don't read, they need their vanities stroked, are impervious to reason, and only got into politics with hopes of going to Washington to party in the White House.

Guess we can't expect them to remember much.

Further reading from Pew Research:
Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years

Ben Stein: Anti-Science Extremist with Mainstream Credentials

The problem with Ben Stein is that he is too likable. Too cute. He's smart, he's funny. Ben is the son of Herbert Stein, a top economic advisor to Nixon. He's undoubtedly a well connected and influential voice in American politics and popular culture. He's a prominent Republican. He's a "player." And, he's fun. Who could resist his Hollywood roll as the boring economics school teacher in Ferris Beuller's Day Off ?

Actor, game show host (Win Ben Stein's Money), movie maker, Nixon and Ford speech writer, lawyer, economist, degrees from Columbia University and Harvard Law, he's politics-made-for-TV entertainment's equivalent of Ironman. He can do it all.

Ben Stein (right), in tennies. Photo by Alex Mazerov, Wikimedia Commons.

Stein writes a regular column for the American Spectator, published by the right-wing 501(c)(3) American Spectator Foundation, which apparently holds that tax-deductible status by offering internships to young journalists. He's also a frequent guest on CNBC's Kudlow Report. It seems safe to say Ben Stein is not associated with the far right likes of Quran-burning Pastor Terry Jones. Stein's a mainstream elite guy - who says scientists are murderers.

In 2008, while promoting his anti-evolution movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, Stein gave an interview to Trinity Broadcasting Network, where Stein's remarks were so off-the-wall, that even the conservative journal National Review couldn't tolerate them.

From the transcript, as reported by John Derbyshire in the National Review:

Stein: When we just saw that man, I think it was Mr. Myers [i.e. biologist P.Z. Myers], talking about how great scientists were, I was thinking to myself the last time any of my relatives saw scientists telling them what to do they were telling them to go to the showers to get gassed … that was horrifying beyond words, and that’s where science — in my opinion, this is just an opinion — that’s where science leads you.

Crouch: That’s right.

Stein: …Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people.

Crouch: Good word, good word.


With the general election approaching, the Republicans are busily portraying themselves as moderates. Is such an extreme view of science a "reasonable centrist" position? If given more power in Washington, would Republicans be champions of the advancement of science and technology with the goal of inventing and manufacturing products that advance the arc of civilization? It's seems pretty hard to do that if you've decided "science leads you to killing people."

Scientific American has responded to Ben Stein, particularly his movie, in the following related articles.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed--Scientific American's Take

Six Things Ben Stein Doesn't Want You to Know

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed--Ben Stein Launches a Science-free Attack on Darwin

Why We're in Lybia: Remembering Pan Am Flight 103

Garden of Remembrance, Dryfesdale, Scotland. Photo by Chris Newman, Creative Commons.

Ambassador Chris Stevens never forgot the victims of Pan Am Flight 103. Neither should we.

Nearly twenty-four years ago, on December 21, 1988, a bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103, Killing 270 people, including 35 Syracuse University Students returning from a semester abroad. Those students left the relative safety of up-state New York to learn about a less-familiar part of the world.  They, and their friends and families, paid a terrible price for broadmindedness.

Only one individual, former Libyan agent Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, was convicted of the crime in 2001. It seems absurd to think Megrahi acted alone. A former Lybian justice minister claims Gadaffi personally ordered the bombing of the flight.

Having served less than nine-years, Megrahi was released from a Scottish prison in 2009, ostensibly for humanitarian reasons. Magrahi was diagnosed with prostate cancer. When Megrahi returned to Lybia he was met by Gadaffi and a "hero's welcome."

However, it's also been reported that Magrahi was released early to clear the way for a $30 billion oil deal between BP and Gadaffi's government.

Following a U.S. backed effort to support Lybian rebels fighting to topple Gadaffi , an effort accomplished with zero American casualties or American troops on the ground, the dictator was killed in October, 2011. Since then, after 42 years of dictatorship, Lybia struggles to form a stable national government.

Earlier this year Ambassador Chris Stevens invited the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 to a telephone conference. Here are excerpts reported from that meeting (emphasis added):

"Amb. Stevens noted that right now, Libya is often chaotic, but it is his belief that the Libyan people are hopeful for democracy. He explained that Libya is structured around tribal affiliations and there are also regional divisions, but if there is a homogeneous desire, it is for democracy. He expressed his optimism for the Libyan people and nation...(he indicated) there are steps we can take...the FBI to continue to pursue information about PA103 and to assist the Libyan government to find that information; and the status of Megrahi, Senussi and Moussa Koussa.

"When asked what his priorities will be when he arrives in Libya, Amb. Stevens stated that he wants to help ensure that there is a stable democracy and to find justice in the Pan Am 103 case."
 

Chris Stevens was a friend to the Lybian people. He believed in democracy and justice. He believed most Lybians did, too. He dedicated his life working for those goals, it turns out, at great personal risk. At the American consulate in Lybia, the heavily-armed terrorists found a soft target. They'll find others, as they've done in the past.

We remember the victims and honor the living and fallen brave ones who've risked their lives for justice and freedom.  And we keep after the bastards who would harm innocents and have us live in fear.

Let's keep the real target in focus. Let's focus on the terrorists and not those who've done a good job keeping Americans safe.
.............................................................................................................................................................

Related material: A timeline of events related to the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
Photo credit: Chris Newman through Creative Commons.

Tax Cuts and a Pipeline: The Kudlow-Romney Economic Plan

"Conservative" political/financial pundit Larry Kudlow (he's really a Keynesian) came out yesterday with this article,  The Jobs Report Bad News. He makes some valid points based on data but offers some not-so-conservative advice to improve the nation's economy. He also claims that it is Romney's plan. Here it is:

"My modest proposal for the worst economic recovery in modern times is threefold: Extend all the Bush tax cuts, slash the corporate tax rate, and approve and begin building the Keystone Pipeline. This is a supply-side proposal. It's completely unlike all of Obama's goofy, short-term, spending-and-tax-credit stimuli, which have completely failed."

Let's consider them one at a time:

1. Extending all of the Bush Tax Cuts would mean mounting raise the deficit by $3 trillion over ten years.  It's well understood that fiscal soundness of government policy is an important factor investors consider before expanding operations and hiring more workers. The fiscal problems of Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain are having a negative effects on the global economy. Kudlow proposes no tax cuts in his article. More red ink here in the U.S. would make things even worse. 

2. Slashing the corporate tax rate would further reduce government revenue at a time of record high corporate profits at a time when we need to pay down the deficit.

Let's not forget how the U.S. government got into the current fiscal hole: two big Bush tax cuts, the Iraq War, and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program - and none of it paid for. All of those items were put on the national credit card.

Larry Kudlow wants to keep running up the balance. Again, he doesn't propose any cuts in spending.

3. This one's a "red herring" issue. The Keystone Pipeline has been made into a political football by the Republicans. In a budget deal, the Republican-led House imposed a time limit on the Obama Administration to approve an international pipeline (Keystone) running from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. This is a big, complicated project with economic, environmental, and societal impacts. Obama told the House they would not be able to approve it by their deadline. The Republicans now use the "delay" to blame the president for bad energy policy.

The fact is, the southern leg of the Keystone XL Pipeline has already been approved and is slated to begin construction. The rest of it will be likely be approved and built after the final route is determined. Obama and Kudlow apparently agree on this one - just not on the timing and the need for a thorough alternatives analysis.

Government procurement spending, that is, contracts between the government (taxpayers) and private corporations (ref) soared under the Bush Administration. Kudlow isn't calling for cuts in procurements. Sounds like he wants government financial support to corporations to continue.

Footnote: One-third of the "goofy" Obama stimulus consisted of tax cuts.

When Potential Rewards Overwhelm Risk

An interesting blog post over at the venerable site inanis et vacua (possibly the blog of writer Jim Harrison) asserts that the problem with capitalism is it is too rewarding. An excerpt:

"We know that people will lie, cheat, and steal for relatively small payoffs. What do you suppose they’ll do if they can make $345 million a year doing it?...

The opportunity to get ahead can certainly make people work harder and sometimes smarter, which is very often a good thing. Increasing the potential rewards without limit, however, simply means that other motives and considerations will be overwhelmed. Offer me enough and I’ll not only ignore my obligations to my fellow man, I’ll feel that I ought to ignore them."

It's an interesting theory.

Ben Stein's Useless Criticism of Obama's Handling of Europe's Finances

In this article in the American Spectator, vacationing economic pundit and former Nixon speechwriter Ben Stein does a masterful job of playing the reader like a small mouth bass at the end of a fly line. Setting himself up as an all-round good guy: nature lover, breakfast-making husband, friend of gentiles, hater of Nazis and racism, Ben makes point after unassailable point. Who can argue with him? 

Then, at the very end of  the article, fresh off the images of "life better than anyone deserves" and war-ravaged Europe, "Uncle Ben" uses Eurozone financial problems to make an absurd attack on President Obama:

"But out at Hope, and in Sandpoint tonight, life is better than anyone deserves. And the Vissers are better than I deserve.

Still, I went to sleep with foreboding. Europe is falling apart. Mr. Obama is doing nothing, zero, about it. NOTHING. A cratered Europe will have immense effects on the world economy. Europe's economy, in toto, is larger than ours. Is Mr. Obama thinking of a rescue plan? Is he thinking about it at all? Does he even care if we go into another leg of recession as demand for U.S. exports to Europe corrects? What is he doing? Did he resign? Where is Mr. Geithner on this? Have we ever had a President without an international economic policy before? No. Never mind. Just go to sleep."

"Foreboding," "cratered Europe," "rescue," "recession" - more than enough to ruin a vacation that's "better than any of us deserve." My God, it's devastation time again. That's powerful writing, Ben.

I wonder what Ben Stein would say about Great Britain's David Cameron, or Germany's Angela Merkel coming over to the United States with a "rescue plan," telling us how to run the US economy - or how to overhaul our health care system.

What does Ben Stein think President Obama should do to fix Europe's economic problems?

By the way, many northern European nations such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and others are doing pretty well. Right-wing pundits like to paint the entire European continent as a financial basket case, when, in fact, the main problems are found in Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

Is it really true, as Ben Stein says, that the Obama Administration is doing NOTHING about the European financial mess?  Ben is not just implying that Obama is doing NOTHING with respect to Europe, or that he's not doing enough, he flat out says Obama is doing nothing. How does he know?

Does Ben Stein spend all his time at the White House shadowing President Obama's every move?

Pretty hard to do from that cabin by the lake.