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12/01/2008

Obama's Economic Choice_WAPO

As he assembles his economic team, Barack Obama faces a central strategic decision that only he can make. Starting with his "economic stimulus" plan, will he focus mainly on reviving the economy and relieving the financial crisis? Or will he use the economic crisis as a vehicle to advance a more ambitious social and economic agenda? The two approaches are at odds. The first aims at building political consensus and economic confidence; the second would intensify political conflict and economic uncertainty.

The decision ought to be easy. Every new president is assaulted by his own supporters, who want him to put their particular agendas atop his "to do" list. That's happening, as Obama allies clamor for speedy action to provide universal health insurance, combat global warming and support trade unions. But Obama -- and the nation -- would be better served if he concentrated for his first year on stabilizing the economy while patiently laying the groundwork for more far-reaching proposals....

Pay No Tax For Two Months? _HUMAN EVENTS

Washington is dizzy with a bad case of bailout fever. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been dispensed by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson without apparent success in reviving the financial markets. Now one Texas conservative is challenging Congress and the White House with a common-sense plan that is much more likely to help our economy recover more than bank bailouts or any handouts to carmakers.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), a member of the conservative House Republican Study Committee, proposes to use the $350 billion left of the $700 billion bank bailout to fund a two-month tax holiday that would put money in the pockets of American taxpayers....


Credit-card industry may cut $2 trillion lines: analyst_REUTERS

(Reuters) - The U.S. credit-card industry may pull back well over $2 trillion of lines over the next 18 months due to risk aversion and regulatory changes, leading to sharp declines in consumer spending, prominent banking analyst Meredith Whitney said.

The credit card is the second key source of consumer liquidity, the first being jobs, the Oppenheimer & Co analyst noted.

"In other words, we expect available consumer liquidity in the form of credit-card lines to decline by 45 percent."...




Oil falls below $51 as OPEC doesn't cut output_USA TODAY



Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security_WAPO

...The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.

The long-planned shift in the Defense Department's role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said.

There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement...

related- Posse Comitatus Act

Consumer Confidence Crashes 46% in Last Two Years_RR



How Far Will We Go for Georgia?
_WAPO

...Plenty of Western leaders, and no doubt some members of the incoming Obama administration, are desperately wishing this flash point away. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, broker of the cease-fire that ended the Russian-Georgian war, has publicly declared that the Russians digging those trenches do not, in fact, exist. All Russian forces are gone from the territory they occupied in August, he recently assured his fellow European Union leaders.

But there the trench-diggers are -- ...

America's Other Auto Industry
There is such a thing as a profitable car maker in this country._WSJ

...These are the 12 "foreign," or so-called transplant, producers making cars across America's South and Midwest. Toyota, BMW, Kia and others now make 54% of the cars Americans buy. The internationals also employ some 113,000 Americans, compared with 239,000 at U.S.-owned carmakers, and several times that number indirectly.

The international car makers aren't cheering for Detroit's collapse. Their own production would be hit if such large suppliers as the automotive interior maker Lear were to go down with a GM or Chrysler. They fear, as well, a protectionist backlash. But by the same token, a government lifeline for Detroit punishes these other companies and their American employees for making better business decisions...


The Obama Jolt
Is Barack a secret centrist? _WEEKLY STANDARD

...There's a larger point here. It's not that Obama, despite his unswervingly liberal record in the Senate, turns out to be a pragmatist. The point is he's
pragmatic (so far) in one direction-rightward. Who knew?

His national security choices also underscore this point. Hillary Clinton benefits from not being John Kerry, who desperately wants to be secretary of state. And Obama owes Kerry for having lifted him from obscurity and made him keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic convention. But knowing Kerry, Obama looked elsewhere and fastened on Clinton as his secretary of state.

Clinton, for all her shortcomings, doesn't hail from the surrender-at-all-costs wing of the Democratic party. Nor does retired Marine general Jim Jones, who's slated to be Obama's national security adviser. Jones, an Iraq war skeptic, is a strong supporter of offshore drilling and other steps to increase domestic production of oil and gas.

Then there's Bob Gates, ...

EDITORIAL: Rep. Rangel may prove Democrats' albatross amid party's loud claims of public integrity_WACO TRIBUNE

...Now Rangel promises to represent the same problem for Democrats. Funny business includes his villa in the Dominican Republic, for which he paid no federal taxes despite $75,000 of rental income. Also serious: Allegations he reversed himself as a lawmaker to aid the high-powered CEO of Nabors Industries who pledged $1 million to a New York City school of public service to be named for — who else? — Charlie Rangel....

related- The Congressman, the Donor and the Tax Break RANGEL DOUBLE-DEAL$ REAPED DC HOME PERK WHILE BENDING APPLE RENTAL RULES - Rangel blames everyone else for his ethics problems in 'Open Letter to New Yorkers' -Rangel Re-elected Chairman of House Tax Panel Amid Ethics Probe
- Rangel Probe Will Be Done in Weeks, Pelosi Says



‘We thought we were safe... then CNN stepped in!’_WALES ONLINE

...The couple were at the end of a month-long visit to India and were staying in Mumbai for a few days before heading back to the UK.

From her home in Penarth yesterday, Mrs Shaw said: “We have been asked by the British terror police not to talk to the press.

“But the reason I would not want to talk to anyone is because our safety was actually compromised by CNN, which broadcast where we were...

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Russia anchors in US backyard_RUSSIA TODAY

President Dmitry Medvedev has completed a four-nation tour of Latin America aimed at boosting trade and Russian influence in the region. He ended his trip with the words: “we are back in South America” – a region the U.S. has traditionally considered its backyard...

Refocusing on Latin America
Opportunity and necessity dictate stronger ties_SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

...Overall, however, one of the more useful suggestions is to focus on strengthening relationships between governments, so that addressing these and other problems will be less difficult. The establishment of an “Americas Eight” modeled on the G-8,with the hemisphere's largest nations – including the United States, Mexico and Brazil – in permanent roles, could aid diplomatic efforts.

Simple geography supports closer ties among nations in this hemisphere. Our borders don't stop our common problems.


Pakistan moves army from terror front to India border_AUSTRALIAN

PAKISTAN is withdrawing troops from the fight against al-Qa'ida and the Taliban to redeploy them to its border with India as tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations escalate over the terrorist massacre in Mumbai....