Jeb Bush appearing before a gathering of Hispanic evangelicals and laying out his stance on immigration reform. What the meeting demonstrated: Bush’s strength and vulnerability on the topic. His strength: not only his ability to speak fluent Spanish, but to deliver a message that other Republicans dare won’t.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California droughts are both age-old and common. Predictable California dry spells -- like those of 1929-34, 1976-77 and 1987-92 -- more likely result from poorly understood but temporary changes in atmospheric pressures and ocean temperatures.
Paul Krugman argued earlier, incorrectly, that the deals are not about trade at all. And why don't many of us agree? Because the trade deficit is endogenous. It's the result of fundamental factors in world economies as well as government policies.
Two questions will dictate not only the future of healthcare, but also the balance of power between Washington, D.C., and the states, and the separation of powers between the federal branches. One concerns state sovereignty, the other the heckler's veto.
Baquet offers a relatively complicated defense, which I hope I am not distorting or oversimplifying when I summarize it as follows: The drone program is more of a military operation than a traditional covert intelligence program. It’s highly controversial and much debated. Some of the people who have run it are the same people who earlier ran the CIA’s interrogation program. So there’s an accountability need to describe who they are.
The estimable Mark Mazzetti—the New York Times national security reporter who wrote the story over the weekend that prompted theouting-CIA-officers flap—writes in with the following note in response to my post this morning reflecting on Jack’s interview with Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet.
The issue is not [only] whether the true name and affiliation [of the covert officer] are known to the editors and reporters of the New York Times, and to the persons in their professional and social circles. It is [also] whether that true name and affiliation are known to vast numbers of additional people around the world.
For decades, public pension plans in this country have estimated future benefit liabilities using a discount rate that is based on estimated future investment returns of fund assets. This approach, an “assumed rate of return” method, has come under mounting criticism by financial economists and public policy groups.
The economy suffered through another case of the wintertime blues this year as growth slowed nearly to a halt, probably delaying a Federal Reserve interest rate hike until September or later. Total economic output, also known as gross domestic product, expanded at a disappointing 0.2% annual rate in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
An April 23 public forum to discuss the pros and cons of the controversial Common Core educational standards turned into a one-sided affair. Event organizers — Advocates for Excellence in Education — had lined up three prominent speakers to talk about why they are opposed to Common Core.
