Wednesday Morning – Grab Bag
I go to work and work all day and of a sudden there is a crisis in Korea. What the hell? Where did this come from? Is South Korea ready for a final showdown? How many Patriot Missiles do we have in South Korea? Is it enough? This is bad.
From Political Animal:
- Crisis on the Korean Peninsula: “South Korea warned North Korea on Tuesday of ‘enormous retaliation’ if it took more aggressive steps after Pyongyang fired scores of artillery shells at a South Korean island in one of the heaviest attacks on its neighbor since the Korean War ended in 1953.”
- For crying out loud: “For months, the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise, if only because of the appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, one of the most senior commanders in the Taliban movement. But now, it turns out, Mr. Mansour was apparently not Mr. Mansour at all.” [Editors note: This might not be the dumbest act of 2010 but I’m it is in the top 10!]
- Maybe someone should do something: “Top Federal Reserve officials expect the unemployment rate to remain around nine percent at the end of next year and eight percent at the end of 2012, according to internal forecasts that drove the central bank to take new efforts to boost the economy three weeks ago.”
- Also not encouraging: “Sales of previously owned homes slipped slightly in October as the housing market struggled in the face of high unemployment and tight credit.”
- When dealing with congressional Republicans, if Dems “hope for the best, and plan for the worst,” they’ll be on the right track.
- The dispute among Senate Republicans over ethanol subsidies continues to get even more interesting.
- The fact that incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is considered a leading Republican voice on economic policy is rather horrifying.
- Harold Pollack reports on encouraging developments in combating AIDS.
- The Daily Caller‘s transition from credible to dubious to ignominious to cover-your-eyes-ridiculous was completed today.
- Daniel Luzer takes a closer look at some of the ethical issues surrounding Melanie Sloan’s departure from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
- Fox News refuses to air paid advertising featuring U.S. troops, apparently because they don’t like what the servicemen and women have to say about repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
So, what’s on your mind today?