Tonight, I will be spending the next hour at a debate about layoffs. Of course, this being Harvard, the layoffs are not the 8.5% unemployed nationwide, nor those whose jobs are in threat through the machinations of the macroeconomy. Instead, the debate goes no further than layoffs in the Harvard community. Some might say it’s … Read more
7:49: Dylan catches Peyton’s slip. Apparently, American employers don’t need to discriminate to fire women. 7:47: Dyan Matthews-The question is whether discrimination should fall under increased statute of limitations. 7:46: Question from Peter Bacon: Is the Lily Ledbetter act a good idea? Hmm, I wonder what the response will be. 7:44: Card Check goes by … Read more
Every time I read a strategy memo for the next Republican party, I panic a little. It’s a sudden fear – oh no, what if they figure it out this time? – that quickly subsides, because usually the argument is poor enough that the party to which I happen to be illogically loyal has little … Read more
So I was reading this article by Nate Silver. It’s a good read, and you should look at the whole thing, but the last paragraph in particular caught my eye. The bigger risks, however, are probably for the Republicans. We’re not in What’s the Matter With Kansas anymore: the left’s economic populism has the potential … Read more
It would be a pity to let go without comment Obama’s recent speech in Prague. For those of you who didn’t follow it (the North Korean missile launch an hour before somewhat overshadowed it), it was surprisingly consequential. A decent number of commentators dismissed it, echoing Slate’s Anne Applebaum in critiquing Obama’s “odd obsession with … Read more
Yesterday Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times that banking needs to be made “boring.” Like most of Krugman’s material on the financial crisis it’s worth a read; it explains how it’s a bad sign that banking is an exciting industry drawing many of the most gifted young minds of America, more than a … Read more
So I happened to notice the Debbie Downer note of Elise’s last post, and I wanted to focus specifically on the question of whether “it jibes with even his progressive values to stand for one set of rights at home and another one abroad.” That’s actually not a helpful way to phrase the question, for … Read more
Today was a good day. The Democrat-dominated House of our wonderful northern neighbor Vermont overrode GOP Governor Jim Douglas’s veto on a law to legalize same-sex marriage (picking up three votes from moderates that had opposed the legislation the first time). The liberal grassroots – text message, Facebook, Twitter, email lists, you name it – … Read more
It’s rather hard to comment in detail on Secretary Gates’s new plan for the military, for the reason that the plan in and of itself is rather lacking in detail. Things like actual budget numbers for individual programs, or a top-line net change. Which, given Obama’s budget, is almost certain to still be positive. But … Read more
Tonight the University of North Carolina will square off against Michigan State in the men’s NCAA Division I basketball championship. This game is the culmination of, in my opinion, the most exciting couple of weeks in all of sports – 64 games, lots of upsets, and of course your by now tattered bracket. Is it … Read more