Dr. C: The Unpleasant Exclusivity in Our Educational System
Wolraich: The Grim Possibility Of War With Iran
Heat Win Game Six, Disappointing Nation of Heat-Haters
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Dr. C: The Unpleasant Exclusivity in Our Educational System Wolraich: The Grim Possibility Of War With Iran Heat Win Game Six, Disappointing Nation of Heat-Haters |
Shuts & |
Hello my liberal friends. I hope you will forgive me and not think me arrogant if I suggest that I know a bit more about negotiating than your hero, President Obama. As you probably know, Obama has offered a budget that seeks to find "smarter cuts" in spending than the sequester, "close tax loopholes" to generate very minor amounts of additional revenue, and (of great interest) use the chained CPI to adjust spending on social security benefits over time.
The first point that I would make, and have made many times, is that you don't begin giving away your position before negotiations even start. The President should have suggested a budget with huge tax increases and very large spending increases tied to his major constituencies. In other words, exaggerate your position and then work back towards your realistic expectations through the negotiating process. Right now, all the Republicans need do is to wait until he offers up more and more compromise. [Read more]

You just KNOW it's going to happen!
By the way, sorry I have been gone so long from blogging. I was hoping that whole painting thing would blow over.
--W
Just to let you guys know what I am up to, I thought I would blog a blog about my new initiative, "The Bush Center Freedom Collection." This week, I hosted China founder Bob Fu who said, “President Bush is a compassionate and unwavering advocate for freedom, especially in China."
These days I tend to fly under the radar because I do what I do for the good of all humans and not for publicity (I told turd blossom to take a hike), but I wanted my buddies here at Dagblog and my friends at RedState to know what the little woman and I were doing with this new freedom emphasis. I plan to bring other freedom marchers to town as well.
After the ceremony, I invited Bob to break some boards with his karate (he said he wasn't into that so I was disappointed) and we all went to Asia kitchen for lunch (they have a great buffet). As you can see from the picture, Bob eats pretty good.
That's right! A Missisiippit democrat (we may have to let him in to our party!) has proposed to rename the Gulf of Mexico to be the Gulf of America! I think this is a grand idea and I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. There is no need to stop there. We can call the Atlantic and Pacific the East American Ocean and the West American Ocean. It will remind Frenchies and Japanese who they are dealing with across that water. [Read more]
OK, admittedly this is not "news", but I couldn't resist posting this. I didn't feel that I had anything to add to it, so I've added it to "In the News". I apologize if that crosses a line…
Reuters, June 19, 2013
CAIRO - Egypt's tourism minister tendered his resignation on Tuesday over President Mohamed Mursi's decision to appoint as governor of Luxor a member of a hardline Islamist group blamed for slaughtering 58 tourists there in 1997.
Prime Minister Hisham Kandil did not accept the resignation of Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou, who remains in the post for now. However, the move pointed to a split in government over an appointment that one critic called "the last nail in the coffin" of the tourism industry.
Mursi appointed Adel Mohamed al-Khayat, a member of al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, as Luxor governor this week, a move seen as a sign of a deepening political alliance between the once-armed group and the...
By Robert Mackey, The Lede @ nytimes.com, June 18, 2013
Includes lots of images and videos.
Last Updated, 6:57 p.m. As my colleague Simon Romero reports from São Paulo, more than 200,000 Brazilians filled the streets in cities across the country on Monday to protest the high cost of living and lavish spending on soccer stadiums ahead of next year’s World Cup, in demonstrations that have intensified as images of police brutality against peaceful protesters spread on...
How Obama's pick to lead the FBI tried to put the brakes on the NSA's surveillance dragnet.
By Marc Ambinder, Foreign Policy, June 18, 2013
[....] Comey, who is said to be President Obama's choice to be the next director of the FBI, has never publicly disclosed exactly what he refused to sanction when he was briefly acting attorney general during Ashcroft's hospital stay, but people briefed on the program who have spoken to Comey say it was the legal rationale giving the NSA quick access to un-sifted telecom and service provider-collected metadata that "drove him bonkers," not the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. There was just no way, Comey thought, to justify an effort that simply...