Krugman on the Cadillac-as-Chevy
A number of people have pointed to this Krugman post, in which he seemingly agrees with the excise tax apologists.
I think that states his position too strongly. What Krugman does is argue is that it makes sense to limit the tax exclusion…
Gruber Caveats the "Excise Tax Raise" Claim
Earlier today, DDay pointed out that the NYT, after issuing a fairly pointed correction revealing Jonathan Gruber's ties with the Administration, then used a quote from Gruber without disclosing his role in the Administration. DDay was focusing…
Wildcard Weekend Trash
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bmazIt is here. Yep Elvis Presley's 75th birthday was yesterday, and that means we are all getting old. So, in honor of The King, lets all have Fools Gold sandwich, a pint or two of beer and watch some football.
Football you say? That's right,…
Gruber Did Not Disclose Conflict to the WaPo
One of the biggest puzzles in Jonathan Gruber's explanation for why he hasn't been disclosing his $400,000 HHS contract as he has led the campaign to support the bill is timing. By his own admission, he revealed the contract for a disclosure…
Reinhardt: Gruber's Simulations Better than Private Sector Ones
After I learned that Jonathan Gruber--one of the biggest pitchmen for the Administration's health care reform--had also gotten a significant sole source contract from HHS, I wanted to get a sense of how sound the justification for the sole source…
Gruber Doesn't Reveal that 21% of MA Residents Can't Afford Health Care
I was intrigued to see Gruber link--in his response to Ben Smith--to his May 2009 analysis of how to measure affordability for a national healthcare reform plan. After all, I've been debating with people who love to cite Gruber on affordability…
Gruber's Response: "Consistent" but Not "Disclosed"
Ben Smith got a fairly long response from Jonathan Gruber on why he hasn't disclosed the $392,600 contracts he has had with HHS during the period when he was the chief spokesperson for the Administration's health care plan. He lays out his qualifications…
Jonathan Gruber Failed to Disclose His $392,600 Contracts with HHS (Updated)
MIT health economist Jonathan Gruber has been the go-to source that all the health care bill apologists point to to defend otherwise dubious arguments. But he has consistently failed to disclose that he has had a sole-source contract with…
The Crotch-Bomber and Nidal Hasan Reviews
The White House has released its summary of the intelligence review on the Christmas Crotch Bomber (and here is Obama's order for corrective action). The big take-away is:
The US Government had sufficient information prior to the attempted…
Jordan: CIA Attacker Was Pissed about Civilian Deaths
As Time admits, the story the Jordanians are telling about the CIA suicide bomber,Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawim may simply be their attempt at spin. Nevertheless, they're saying that al-Balawi was not a double agent; rather he attacked the…
BREAKING: C Street Member Says Health Care Bill Will Fail
In an article lacking some pretty important follow-up questions, Jodi Kantor tucks in this judgment, from C Street member Bart Stupak.
He is trying to pass the health care overhaul, he insists, not sabotage it, and predicts that the legislation…
The Lobbyists That Brought You Telecom Immunity
Tucked into an article on GM CEO (and former AT&T CEO) Edward Whitacre's promise that GM will return to profitability is this tidbit:
Last month, G.M. hired two former AT&T executives who had worked with Mr. Whitacre to run its Washington…
White House Still Pushing the Excise Tax Hocus Pocus
As Brian Beutler reports, Nancy Pelosi's snippy comment about Obama's campaign promises was a reference to the White House's demand that the House accept the Senate excise tax.
[Pelosi] aides say she's particularly steamed that the White House…
Blackwater at Khost
When news of the attack at the CIA based in Khost, I suggested that Blackwater contractors were likely among the victims (recall that Erik Prince boasted of being involved in such operating bases in his Vanity Fair interview).
Sure enough...…
Byron Dorgan Will Not Run for Re-Election
Just before the holiday, Democratic leaders forced Senator Byron Dorgan to forgo a key policy initiative--drug reimportation--so as to push through a stinker of a health care reform bill. And while he says his decision "does not relate to any…
MI's New Plot for World Domination: Pizza
Faced with twin crises in MI and UM's athletic program, the best anyone seems to be able to come up with is ... pizza.
DC Circuit Limits Detainee's Procedural Rights
Two of the most conservative members of the DC Circuit, Janice Rogers Brown and Brett Kavanaugh, have ruled that detainees captured on the battlefield do not have access to all the procedural habeas rights a domestic criminal would.
The case…
Fake Anthrax Attacks in Two States
Someone launched a Judy Miller-type (that is, fake) anthrax attack on a bunch of Republicans in AL--and two academics in CA. (h/t TPMM)
Envelopes containing white powder set off anthrax scares in five Alabama cities, shutting down two federal…
Back to the Land
I often joke with Californians that even as their environmental regulations make MI's main industry defunct (admittedly, largely because of the short sightedness of Michiganders), MI will take over CA's role as the lead Ag state. CA, after all,…
Subsidies
There's a lot I object to in Hendrik Hertzberg's judgment of those opposed to the Senate health bill as "pathetic." His entire piece revolves around the claim that bill critics are committing a pathetic fallacy: attributing to an inanimate object--Congress--animate…