Month: April 2009

– 6.1 Percent, Ctd.

Justin Fox bores into the GDP numbers:

…the sharp decline in private inventories that accounted for 2.79 percentage points (almost half) of the GDP decline is actually extremely good news, because it means businesses may have already made most the inventory adjustment that's a part of every recession—clearing the way for an upturn.

Given the current battered financial state of U.S. consumers, it's probably not going to be much of an upturn. But even a weak upturn is better than an economy shrinking at 6% a year.

Ezra Klein unpacks Justin's point.

Moore Award Nominee, Ctd.

A reader writes:

I think perhaps you should reconsider your Moore Award nominee. The object of her rhetorical horse-whipping really is a misogynist whackaloon. I just read his article. It is stark raving mad. You should read it. He really is opposed to women voting and he wants to colonize outer space to escape taxes. Amanda Marcotte is not exaggerating.

The award was garnered because of Marcotte's characterization of all libertarianism, not because many of Thiel's particular views are worth defending. Marcotte uses Thiel as a bludgeon to grossly distort the small L libertarian worldview. She also invents policy positions that most libertarians don't hold: they want " to create an army to ransack other nations and take their wealth." Huh?

She apparently doesn't see this.

The Daily Wrap

Today on the Dish we learned that Bybee, despite his plea of innocence, privately acknowledged the horror of his handiwork. Also, Spain's top investigator has prepared to move on Cheney et al.  Among the torture talk, Cliff May got the Daily Show treatment, Kristol called Bill Clinton to the stand, Clive Crook fell into false equivalence, and Chris Orr highlighted yet another danger posed by torture.  In other pundit talk, apparently libertarians are really imperialists, the opinion of blacks is incidental, and Hannity, apparently, never heard of the sex tape.  We also learned that the swine flu is nothing new while marriage equality in New Hampshire is about to be.  In home news, the Dish is up for a Webby, and you can vote here. In White House news, Leonhardt scored an interview with Obama on his hundredth day, Ta-Nehisi and I discussed the first family.

Oh, and Palin lied again.

Face Of The Day

TAMILGIRLPedroUgarte:AFP:Getty

A young displaced Tamil girl looks on as unseen British foreign minister David Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner arrive at Chettikulam, northern Sri Lanka on April 29, 2009. British foreign minister David Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner, who are in Sri Lanka for a one-day visit have failed to secure an agreement from Sri Lanka to end an offensive against Tamil rebels and allow humanitarian access to civilians trapped by the fighting. By Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images.

Live-Blogging The 100 Day Presser

8.58 pm. He'd love a lean agenda, but the circumstances demand more. That's his very careful and politically shrewd disavowal of being an ideological liberal. And – you know what? – I believe him. There does not seem to be an ideological bone in his body. Which makes his pragmatic liberalism as lethal as his winning smile.

8.49 pm. I'm beginning to regret watching this terribly dull and unnecessary pseudo-event.

8.37 pm. "Surprised, troubled, enchanted" … that was a JFK moment.

8.29 pm. Iraq and Pakistan: reassured? Me neither.

8.23 pm. To finally see a president who truly grasps the vital nature of retaining the rule of law, core Western values and, at the same time, the need to fight Jihadist terror with all the legal, humane weapons we have is an enormous relief after the callowness and cowardice of his predecessor. It was great to hear him talk of the experience of Britain during the Second World War.