The Douthat bubble

Ross Douthat claims that too much pessimism in an economic downturn can be as bad as too much optimism in a bubble.

True, at one level.

But, not at another, not at all.

To riff on Tolstoy, bubbles are all alike in their giddiness, but burst bubbles each have their own separate sadness.

Then, of course, you have Douthat not telling that Reagan ended the 1979-82 double dip recession at the price of big tax giveaways and expanding income inequality. Per the unique pain angle, you also have him ignoring that the mild recession at the end of Poppy Bush's presidency in no way compares to either 1979-82 one or the current one.

As for the competitive advantages he says the U.S. has, not so fast.

Were it not for immigration, the U.S. would be at zero population growth (at best), just like some of "old Europe." In fact, it might not be but a smidge above zero even counting legal immigration in the mix.

The EU isn't all follies.

While Russia, as well as Japan and parts of the EU, may face demographic issues, Brazil and India certainly don't. (Well, their growth rates remain high enough they may face demographic issues other way.)

Anyway, Douthat is somewhat right, but not as right as he'd like to make us think he is.

Bipartisan political shenanigans

The Senate may consider a bill to reduce or eliminate many of the egregious tax breaks and write-offs that go to Big Oil.

Just one problem: The bill's sponsor, New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez, hasn't included refineries (including the many in New Jersey) under the bill. A staff aide says he didn't talk to any refinery companies.

And, of course, that's not the point. He didn't need to.

Meanwhile, an Ohio defense contractor has found its way around a bill banning earmarks to for-profit companies: Create a nonprofit that just happens to support the mission of the for-profit. And, Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the beneficiary of campaign largesse from the for-profit, just happens to think this is a great idea.

And, so far, at least, it's been all Democratic representatives doing this.

Today Newspapers, RIP 1 year ago

To some of my friends back in Dallas, it's time to, belatedly by a day or two, mourn the one-year anniversary of the demise of Today Newspapers. That said, more than just ownership issues were involved with its end, though of course, that was a problem. But, a market that just wasn't ready to support journalism gets the lack of a newspaper it deserves. And, the lack of circulation numbers (along with the inflated ones at Focus Daily News) show south suburban Dallas just didn't want to support much in the way of a newspaper.

Part of how NYC burnishes its crime stats; other cities?

Instructing police officers to downgrade crimes, like robberies to stolen property or rapes to misdemeanor sexual assaults, is certainly one way of doing that.

It also means you can justify having fewer police officers (hence the incredibly slow response times in this would-have-been-downgraded rape), because, well, because there's not a lot of serious crime!

That said, New York City was the metropolis that got busted, because it was a journalist who was sexually assaulted. Especially during the ongoing recession, I wonder how common this is elsewhere.

MoJo Dowd now can't even SPELL right

In talking about her childhood-start crush on vampires, she spells the first name of Bela Lugosi (what other "Bela" could it be?) as "Bella."

With gays like this ...

With a gay man like Jonathan Rauch defending California's Prop. 8, and with an argument that could have been used to defend "separate but equal" AND defend the idea that the Supreme Court had no right considering Brown as a case, gay marriage advocates don't need the Mormons, the Christian Religions Right or any other enemies.

Rauch is also, along with people like Michael O'Hanlon on foreign warmongering policy, more proof that Brookings is NOT a "liberal" think tank.