Tianamen vs. Iran

Just for your consideration, a writer over at Salon writes comparing the events in Tiananmen square with what is going on Iran right now, with depressing results.

. . . we thought the same thing before the tanks rolled in in 1989. And then we realized that a mass movement melts away when the rulers are determined to open fire. And whether your weapon of choice is a fax machine or a re-tweet, there's not a whole lot you can do.

I don't think the two situations are parallel but I agree that the current regime in Iran isn't likely to go quietly.

Some Economic Thoughts

I wish they were mine, but rather they are the thoughts of Andrew Leonard over at Salon, who has been great at unpacking the current financial crisis. In this he takes on McCains approach which seems to be extremely regulatory.

What is to be Done?

I don't know if you have noticed, but the economic markets are, shall we say, not on the most stable of ground. And it's impacting the election, as it should. Nice to talk about stuff that matters a bit more than lipstick on a pig. And here's what Obama is saying.

So let's be clear: what we've seen the last few days is nothing less than the final verdict on an economic philosophy that has completely failed.

He's not wrong.

Andrew Leonard over at How the World Works has written a post on Obama's speech and what it means for our economy. It's well worth reading. He doesn't white wash the Clinton Years, in which many of these problems were created. But he points out that the fundamental issue is whether or not regulated markets or unregulated markets work better.

And like, Obama says, the verdict is in.

What comes after math? Aftermath!

Well today’s articles are full of responses to the elections. So lets go down them. The Republicans are naturally ebullient. Ann Coulter happily contemplated the fate of the democratic party, saying “What a miserable party. I'm glad to see their power end, and I'm sure they'll all be perfectly comfortable in their cells in Guantanamo.” Something to look forward to I suppose. I suspect the cells in Guantanamo aren’t sufficient for the approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of this country that is Democrat. Steve Chapman has a somewhat more realistic assessment.

On the Liberal side there are two theories. One is that Democrats ran to the middle and never came up with an issue other than vague generalities. The other is something about how the American system is biased against real reform, and therefore the democrats never had a chance. This second opinion is advocated strongly by Thom Hartmann, who suggests that “It's time to get the banana companies out of our republic.” I don’t know about this; I really enjoy the occasional banana.

For those interested in economics, Salon ran a very good article by Andrew Leonard on Harvey Pitt’s resignation today - well written and interesting. And if you have any comments or questions on what you read here, please e-mail me.