New Hampshire Democrat

• Gaza

  Number of comments: 0
  I'm guessing somebody, somewhere, wants me to write my opinion on Gaza. I'm going to avoid moralizing or condemning either side. Anytime you have large-scale military operations in a relatively population dense area it is going to result in tragedy and both sides are accountable for the tremendous suffering being [...]
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  Posted: January 06, 2009, 12:47am EST
  by Matt

• The Falcons lost?

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  How did that happen? I went off on Skip Bayless last week when he said Kurt Warner would beat Matt Ryan and, the Cardinals go and beat the Falcons. The world truly is coming to an end, at least that's what the history channel keeps telling me... [...]
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  Posted: January 06, 2009, 12:41am EST
  by Matt

• Some thoughts

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  Paul Krugman's editorial today is a great summation of everything that's happened with the GOP in the past eight years. You can argue about the prevalence of race in this equation (I think he overstates it a bit), but the larger point, that the failure of the Bush administration [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2009, 7:54pm EST
  by Matt

• Light Posting

  Number of comments: 2
  Sorry for the light posting, but it looks as if, given developments in employment, the blog will again be functionally pretty light. I'm considering scrapping this format and going with something more sports/entertainment oriented. In any event, hope everyone had a good holiday season. [...]
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  Posted: January 01, 2009, 7:18pm EST
  by Matt

• Sports Faux Pas

  Number of comments: 0
  So apparently there's been a huge uproar in Detroit around the Lions. The uproar isn't that the team will go 0-16 (they're apparently at peace with what looks like the inevitability of that achievement), it's that a columnist made a bad joke about the fact that the defensive coordinator [...]
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  Posted: December 28, 2008, 11:05am EST
  by Matt

• Happy Holidays

  Number of comments: 3
  First off, posting will likely be light today and tomorrow as I celebrate Christmas with the family back in Epping (yes, despite all pronunciations to the contrary there's a 'g' on the end...). Second, I'd like to wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah. Whatever your [...]
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  Posted: December 24, 2008, 10:20am EST
  by Matt

• Teixeira to the Yanks?

  Number of comments: 0
  Oh man. Not good. Though this does make the Yankees asking New York for $300 million additional dollars towards their stadium kinda laughable (they've invested $400 million in players this offseason, nice symmetry in the math, no?). Not good for the AL East though. [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2008, 3:41pm EST
  by Matt

• Don't refinance the entire market

  Number of comments: 0
  Megan Mcardle argues that we shouldn't reset everybody's mortgage, and she's right. That's going overboard. What we need to do is let judge's restructure mortgages of people going bankrupt to stop the bleeding. This will limit the cost and provide private individuals with the benefits that we currently allow [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2008, 3:35pm EST
  by Matt

• It's a Wonderful life

  Number of comments: 0
  This came up in discussion with my brother awhile back and figured I might as well link to it. It's a review of the classic movie but it points out some of the less wholesome features of the film. I think part of the reason why the movie is [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2008, 12:37pm EST
  by Matt

• 'With the twilight colors fallin', And the evenin' layin' shadows, Hidden memories come stealin' from my mind. And I feel my own heart beatin' out'

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  Johnny Cash, "Like a Soldier"
  
  'Generation Kill' came out on DVD a few weeks back and I don't think I was able to give it an appropriate review this summer (Just checked and nary a mention, wow was I slacking...). So I'll try to make [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2008, 12:02pm EST
  by Matt

• The National Media's Lovefest with Brett Favre needs to stop

  Number of comments: 0
  As I watch the MNF pregame show, Tony Kornheiser's slobbering over Brett Favre needs to stop. The Packers defense has coughed up about 100 more points this year than last year. Favre is having a dreadful year as QB of the Jets (leading the league in interceptions, going MIA for [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2008, 8:36pm EST
  by Matt

• Global NATO?

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  Matthew Yglesias takes issue with a piece written back in October on NATO expansion. I think he's unduly dismissive; while it would be difficult to maintain the name, expanding NATO into a more flexible, expansive treaty platform seems to me a pretty good idea. While there will clearly [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2008, 8:07pm EST
  by Matt

• Mullen on A-stan

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  30,000 appears to be the new number. Just to keep in mind, Afghanistan is both geographically larger and has a bigger population. [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2008, 7:56pm EST
  by Matt

• Voting So Far

  Number of comments: 3
  TV/Movie Reviews? I guess I'm going to need a follow-up poll asking why it won. My working hypothesis is that most of you find my foreign policy/econ talk mind-meltingly boring/inaccurate so you'd prefer I stick to reviewing cinema. [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2008, 10:25pm EST
  by Matt

• Just in Time

  Number of comments: 0
  This post by James Fallows is pretty interesting in discussing how vulnerable a lot of the just in time systems are to slight disruptions in the cash supply. I'm inclined to agree, though supply chain management is still going to be important, but cash reserves need to be better [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2008, 9:32pm EST
  by Matt

• Hit Me with Your Best Shot

  Number of comments: 2
  Clearly inviting mass conservative attacks, the New York Times decides to weigh in on what military programs to cut and what to expand. I personally disagree with about half of these (I also don't mind keeping the F-22 program going at a sharply reduced rate):
  

  • I wouldn't cancel the [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2008, 9:16pm EST
  by Matt

• All the cost, none of the concessions

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  The president's decision to use $17 billion of the TARP funds to save the domestic auto industry is pretty much a wash in my mind. Sure, I think the long-term viability of GM (Chrysler is done, the question is who will acquire them/when will they go under) is questionable, [...]
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  Posted: December 20, 2008, 2:36pm EST
  by Matt

• Quite the Coaching Job

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  Don't tell Greg Easterbrook, but Bill Belichick has had one of the best coaching seasons of his career. You know when the New York Times is praising the Pats that something has gone right. Belichick has been without Tom Brady and a host of quality players for much of [...]
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  Posted: December 20, 2008, 2:31pm EST
  by Matt

• Maliki's Purge?

  Number of comments: 0
  For some reason this appears to be big news this week. Prime Minister Maliki has arrested 35 men on charges of treason/plotting a coup. Lots of talkingheads are arguing this is a political move, to which I can only add: duh. We all (well, most of us, VDH [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2008, 11:17pm EST
  by Matt

• Torture

  Number of comments: 0
  I've written and argued about this many times on this blog, but the descent of the Bush administration into legalizing terror has been one of its most appalling failings. This quote should help bring home just how harmful this was in a practical sense, never mind the terrible damage [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2008, 9:03pm EST
  by Matt

• Pre-packaged bankruptcy

  Number of comments: 0
  I like this option for Detroit. That is all.
  
  C'mon, I just wrote a longish piece on Afghanistan.
  
  And I linked to a song by OAR.
  
  Maybe if I add a music video created by Spencer Ackerman?
  
  
  
  
  Hopefully that works. [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2008, 8:45pm EST
  by Matt

• The Hippo Editorial

  Number of comments: 0
  This is probably a Manchester only post, but the Hippo's lead editorial this week does the easy thing and bashes Manchester for instituting variable parking rates. It's an easy, intuitive thing to say but its still completely wrong. Raising rates doesn't discourage people from going to downtown businesses-it discourages [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2008, 8:30pm EST
  by Matt

• The Aimless, Unavoidable War in Afghanistan

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  Barack Obama has pledged to win the war in Afghanistan; the war in Afghanistan is an ‘aimless absurdity’ (Joe Klein, Time Magazine), a ‘potential quagmire’ (Michael Crowley, The New Republic) and an entire article in the New York Times detailed exactly why it is “the theme park of problems” (Ali [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2008, 8:03pm EST
  by Matt

• Uncontrollable Laughter

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  Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls, President George W. Bush [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2008, 8:18pm EST
  by Matt

• It wasn't communism keeping American capitalism in check

  Number of comments: 0
  Is Tom Friedman really this dense? He actually, in a major paper, states that "But once American capitalism no longer had to worry about communism, it seems to have gone crazy." It's domestic politics that did this to us, nothing more, nothing less. American capitalism wasn't held back by [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2008, 7:50pm EST
  by Matt

• I haven't read 'Outliers'

  Number of comments: 0
  But I think David Brooks' column demonstrates that he doesn't really understand Gladwell's thesis. Or, if he does, the conclusion he draws from that is really curious. If Gladwell's argument is really that "Exceptionally successful people are not lone pioneers who created their own success, he argues. They are [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2008, 7:26pm EST
  by Matt

• The poor, overtaxed super-rich

  Number of comments: 0
  I know, according to the Republican Party, that the rich are already gravely overtaxed (so much so that they can't keep making profitable investments). So why is it that those crazy leftists at the Wall Street Journal are reporting that the most rich amongst us pay a lower percentage [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2008, 7:19pm EST
  by Matt

• Elongated Tab Dump

  Number of comments: 0
  Where I offer some suggested reading with some quick hits...
  
  

  • SecDef Gates staying on is extremely good for a variety of reasons, not least that he'll provide some continuity which should, one hopes, lessen the lead time for implementing Obama's policies, particularly ramping up troops in Afghanistan, [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2008, 12:00pm EST
  by Matt

• Reader Quiz

  Number of comments: 0
  For the few, the proud, the people who check this blog somewhat frequently, I'm going to be putting up a quiz shortly asking for some feedback as far as post focus. Do people want more foreign policy? More COIN? More TV/Movie features? I find myself trying to narrow my attention [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2008, 11:23am EST
  by Matt

• Because I say so...

  Number of comments: 0
  No reason at all for this post, other than I was listening to iTunes & OAR covering 'Fool in the Rain'. Sure the audio on this video is miserable, but, damnit, I want to let you all listen to this as well. At some point I might even hear Led [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2008, 2:55pm EST
  by Matt

• I'm not sure if I've plugged this show

  Number of comments: 0
  'Dexter', on Showtime, is extremely good. I don't have a lot to add to this review on Slate outside of stressing that the writing is very good, the acting is extremely good and each season they've introduced characters that have been as fleshed out as just about anything else [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2008, 5:58am EST
  by Matt

• Holy Smokes Batman

  Number of comments: 0
  A column by Bill Kristol I agree (mostly) with! Zoiks! [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2008, 5:13am EST
  by Matt

• I've been Wrong about Everything for a Solid Eight Years

  Number of comments: 0
  But, I still write editorials for the New York Times and I want to write dire predictions about what President-Elect Obama will have to do. I've been wrong about Iraq (my columns became a literal running joke with six month timeline following six month timeline until such statements were named [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2008, 5:02am EST
  by Matt

• I have to say I like the quote at the end...

  Number of comments: 0
  Whatever the flaws of the UAW, at least they haven't been caught in bed with a prostitution ring in the capital. Same can't be said of Sen. Vitter... [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2008, 10:33pm EST
  by Matt

• And on the third day...

  Number of comments: 1
  PSNH said let there be light. Man, I have never been so happy to see the lights on the Community College sign up and working. Glad to be back in the modern world. What did I miss? [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2008, 10:29pm EST
  by Matt

• 'A Path Out of the Desert'

  Number of comments: 0
  also known as 'When you Wish Upon a Star' by Ken Pollack. I don't know of too many liberal reviews of this book and I have to confess to being only midway through it. However, for someone who has so much respect in the foreign policy establishment, the thesis of [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2008, 6:42pm EST
  by Matt

• Ice Storm

  Number of comments: 0
  So as some of you may have heard, New Hampshire was drenched in an inch of ice on Thursday night. About 1/3 of the state is without power (including my parents, my grandparents, & myself) and that has done a lot to limit posting these past few days. Luckily I'm [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2008, 6:21pm EST
  by Matt

• Econ 101

  Number of comments: 0
  Normally I try not to knock local writers, but this post by Granitegrok is just breathtaking in its dearth of actual knowledge of economics. Here's the first line...
  
  "Basic economics - governments do not create jobs."
  
  I'm not certain of the particular definition of 'jobs' that Mr. [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2008, 5:43pm EST
  by Matt

• Time to say good-bye

  Number of comments: 0
  I am sympathetic to a lot of the arguments for the F-22; next generation Russian & Chinese jets could claim air superiority, the existing fleet is wearing out, etc. That being said, right now making a major investment in the F-22 doesn't seem to make sense. We have budgeted to [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2008, 12:19pm EST
  by Matt

• Batten Down yer Hatches Matey

  Number of comments: 1
  We're in for a blow. Foreign Policy has an interview with Lt. General Paul Van Riper on handling pirates in/off the Horn of Africa. We've had some discussion on this blog as to the wisdom of military action against the pirates and I think I can safely say there [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2008, 12:09pm EST
  by Matt

• Pakistani Op-Ed

  Number of comments: 0
  I've had this on a tab for awhile. It's the op-ed in the NYTimes from President Zardari of Pakistan. In addition to being fabulously corrupt, President Zardari appears to have some sense that the Lashkar E-Taiba is probably connected to the Pakistani Internal Security Service. It would be shocking [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2008, 10:44am EST
  by Matt

• Throwing in the Towel?

  Number of comments: 0
  TNR's Mike Crowley has a rather depressing article detailing all of the problems we face in Afghanistan and, what he believes to be the larger obstacle, what this would require here on the home front. It ends on a particularly bleak note, ominously stating "Ultimately Obama, and the United [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2008, 8:06pm EST
  by Matt

• Light Posting

  Number of comments: 0
  In case folks are wondering why I haven't been up to par with my posting rate lately, I have to apologize. I've been trying to catch my breath after the election and haven't quite gotten back into a steady routine (of any sort). I'm working on some books so reviews [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2008, 11:44pm EST
  by Matt

• Twist the Knife

  Number of comments: 0
  Okay, so Obama isn't actually twisting the knife with this appointment, but it has to be seen as a pretty direct refutation of one of Bush's earliest, and biggest, foreign policy mistakes. Shinseki accurately described the troop levels that should have been used in Iraq after the destruction of Saddam's [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2008, 4:50pm EST
  by Matt

• Pearl Harbor Day

  Number of comments: 0
  67 years ago today, 2,402 American service men were killed in a surprise attack by the Empire of Japan on Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. This attack, the culmination of tensions that had been building for years, thrust the United States into World War II. While the current economic [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2008, 4:33pm EST
  by Matt

• Good Electoral New

  Number of comments: 0
  Representative William Jefferson (D-LA) lost his re-election bid as the people of his district apparently realized being indicted for a federal crime should disqualify one from holding federal office. Good to see democracy still can work out reasonably well. [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2008, 11:45am EST
  by Matt

• Jobs, jobs, jobs

  Number of comments: 0
  At least one of our presidents understands Keynes. I'll give you a hint, it isn't the one currently in the White House. This stimulus package needs to be past as quickly as possible. The 110th Congress should get some flack here; sure, Bush will probably veto anything remotely resembling a [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2008, 8:50pm EST
  by Matt

• Economic Growth

  Number of comments: 0
  
  In Bushworld, this was the projection for economic performance going into 2007. Oops. (Hat tip Matthew Yglesias)
  [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2008, 12:33pm EST
  by Matt

• Dr. Z suffered two strokes in late November

  Number of comments: 0
  I'm a pretty big football fan and one of my favorite writers is Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated, better known as Dr. Z. He's a great writer, is passionate about the sport (and wine and rugby) and, for someone who has been writing for decades now, he still managed to [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2008, 12:07am EST
  by Matt

• Pakistan Follow-Up

  Number of comments: 0
  
  I continue to get the sense that we're thinking about the possibility of better Pakistani cooperation against terrorist groups here rather than suppressing potential India/Pakistan hostility. I'm hoping that I'm worrying over nothing (wouldn't be the first time), but let's make sure we cover all our bases here folks. [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2008, 11:45pm EST
  by Matt

• Speaker Norelli

  Number of comments: 0
  I'm not sure if this blog has commented on this before, but seeing as how she was just re-elected, it's about time we offer some recognition to the Speaker of the New Hampshire House, Terri Norelli. The author had the great fortune to serve with Speaker Norelli in his [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2008, 11:33pm EST
  by Matt

• Pulling Two Ways

  Number of comments: 0
  I find it odd that Condoleezza Rice is encouraging Pakistan to fully cooperate with the investigation in Mumbai. Nothing good can come of that; Pakistan clearly will have involvement in pretty much any extremist Islamist group operating in India. The real surprise would be in they didn't have a [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2008, 7:38pm EST
  by Matt

• The Military Loves Obama-Media Puff?

  Number of comments: 0
  I'm sure I'll get flack from some for taking this as evidence, but the WaPo had a piece a few days back (here) that I've been meaning to get to discussing Obama's relationship with some of the top brass. By all accounts, there seems to be mutual respect there [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2008, 12:23am EST
  by Matt

• Pictures from Afghanistan

  Number of comments: 0
  I don't cite the New York Times frequently, but there's a great photo spread from Afghanistan. Here's the link; I think A-stan will be the focus of a lot of debate in the next few months and its increasing prominence in the news is an unadulterated good thing. [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2008, 7:23pm EST
  by Matt

• Toys for Tots having trouble?

  Number of comments: 0
  Tough times affecting a pretty admirable charity. Here's the report...
  
  
  
  Toys for tots is a great program, something we were happy to help out at Best Buy. If donations are actually down 50% from last year, that doesn't bode well. Those of you with means to donate, [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2008, 7:03pm EST
  by Matt

• My Christmas Wish List (Not necessarily COIN related)

  Number of comments: 2
  To satisfy parents, grandparents, girlfriend and others, here's the link to my wish list on Amazon.com... [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2008, 5:23pm EST
  by Matt

• Stimulus Package Today, Deficit Hawk Tomorrow

  Number of comments: 0
  I meant to link to this earlier in the week, but Paul Krugman has a good piece up talking about how being a true deficit hawk means supporting a stimulus package now in order to spur economic growth tomorrow. [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2008, 8:48am EST
  by Matt

• Things to do in the Next Year

  Number of comments: 0
  I did this in 2006 after the Democratic majorities came into power and I figure I might as well give it another try. There are plenty of areas that need to be addressed by the upcoming Congress but it's important to try to prioritize given that a lot of political [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 1:44am EST
  by Matt

• 'To the Shores of Tripoli' Or 'The Weekly Standards Wants to Invade Somalia'

  Number of comments: 2
  One, somewhere, somewhen there was a military conflict that Bill Kristol thought the United States shouldn't be a part of-I just don't know what conflict that would be. Here's an editorial in favor of deploying Marines against pirate bases in Somalia (If given odds on my typing those words [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 1:22am EST
  by Matt

• Variable Parking Charges

  Number of comments: 0
  Pretty interesting article by Matthew Yglesias on how some municipalities act in what seem like common-sense ways, but actually are counter to maximizing economic performance. Manchester is ahead of the curve on this, having adopted a set of parking rules that correctly increases prices at times of high volume [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 1:04am EST
  by Matt

• Food Blogging

  Number of comments: 0
  I can't cook. I make no pretensions to culinary ability; I could burn water on a good day. That being said, I realize that most of my readership actually can create pretty good concoctions in the kitchen and do so with some degree of frequency. The appeal of such activities [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2008, 6:10pm EST
  by Matt

• Our Current President

  Number of comments: 0
  For anyone interested in some hardcore Bush-bashing in the run-up to his none-to-soon departure, Matthew Yglesias is reviewing some of the best conservative commentary on the greatness that is/was George W. Bush. He's going through some of conservative intelligentsia's best & brightest highlighting some of their most sycophantic moments from [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2008, 5:57pm EST
  by Matt

• Man Killed by Retail Mob

  Number of comments: 0
  As someone who worked in retail for awhile, I have to say reading something like this is not entirely surprising. The low value people hold for salespeople working retail was always pretty amazing; that they would literally stampede someone to death in order to get into the store more [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2008, 11:43am EST
  by Matt

• Christmas COIN Reading List

  Number of comments: 4
  I guess I could comment on this, or just have the link and let people go to it... I'd also say I'm working on Ken Pollock's 'Path Out of the Desert' (you'll get a review shortly, I didn't get through the introduction before swearing loud enough to cause my [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2008, 10:52pm EST
  by Matt

• Status of Forces Agreement Passed

  Number of comments: 0
  The whole sofa thing was starting to bother me. It looks like a day after I post some nasty comments about the nature of the Iraqi parliament, they go and pass the agreement. Good for them, though the potentially contentious stuff will be this winter with the provincial elections [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2008, 11:16am EST
  by Matt

• Seconding Andrew Sullivan

  Number of comments: 0
  I'm not sure what people were reading when they kept criticizing Obama for having some absurdly leftist foreign policy. Max Boot apparently decided to go with the talking points approach during the campaign but appears to have recovered his sense looking at what Obama is doing (which is pretty [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2008, 7:46pm EST
  by Matt

• SOFA Status???

  Number of comments: 2
  I can't be the only one trying to figure out what happened to the SOFA in Baghdad today. I know the big headline is the hotel in Mumbai, but c'mon, we've been in Iraq for five years. So I've been scanning around trying to figure out what's going on and... [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2008, 6:43pm EST
  by Matt

• Gates Staying on as SecDef, Hillary as SoS

  Number of comments: 0
  Great news to hear that Obama will be keeping Gates at the Pentagon. I think in a lot of ways, Gates is the type of person Obama would want to be running Defense: he's not hyperpartisan (or even particularly partisan), he's extremely capable and he exudes stability. The pick [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2008, 6:29pm EST
  by Matt

• Tab Dump

  Number of comments: 0
  Tyler Cown on Government Stimulus & a Recovery
  
  WSJ Editorial on the Auto Bailout (Shockingly, they're opposed, still worth reading though...)
  
  COIN & TAP
  
  $700 Billion Over 2 Years [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2008, 7:46pm EST
  by Matt

• This would be better

  Number of comments: 0
  Somali pirates to purchase Citi, negotiations are underway... [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2008, 2:03pm EST
  by Matt

• Sure, the Big Three are stupid

  Number of comments: 0
  But wtf? I mean, seriously, has anyone looked at what amounts to details from the Citibank bailout? It's nice to see almost universal condemnation (good list here). As usual, the Bush administration is taking a mediocre idea and turning it into a complete & abject failure. Just keep [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2008, 1:17pm EST
  by Matt

• Ben Bernanke, lolfed

  Number of comments: 0
  
  From Paul Krugman, of all people... [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2008, 11:05am EST
  by Matt

• This is not shifting to the Right

  Number of comments: 2
  The incredible capacity people have for not believing a politician actually means what he says is pretty impressive. Throughout the marathon that was our presidential campaign season, Barack Obama consistently said that he would have a careful, assertive foreign policy that would not forgo taking action against credible threats. He [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2008, 10:50am EST
  by Matt

• Some takeaways

  Number of comments: 0
  Via Small Wars Journal, some of the militaries applicable takeaways from Iraq for Afghanistan. The one caveat here, and I think this is a big one, is that #2 is not necessarily going to be conducive for the longterm goals of building a stronger Afghanistan/Iraq. Creating power centers whose [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2008, 10:26am EST
  by Matt

• Athletes Doping with Viagra?

  Number of comments: 0
  Insert punchline here, pun intended... [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2008, 12:42am EST
  by Matt

• $600 Billion

  Number of comments: 0
  That's the back-of-the envelope cost for Obama's projected creation of 2.5 million new jobs in the next two years. That can't come soon enough. I appreciate that the President-Elect is using Youtube as well as radio to pass this information along, but what I'd really like would be for [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2008, 9:00pm EST
  by Matt

• We're choosing to ignore Social Security taxes, medicare/medicaid taxes, gas taxes and everything at the state/local level that's even more regressive

  Number of comments: 4
  This type of blatant lying is infuriating. Mark Steyn is being misleading, at best, when he implies that, should Obama's tax plan be enacted, 48% of the country would be "on the dole". The vast majority of working American's haven't seen their real wages increase relative to their productivity [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2008, 8:51pm EST
  by Matt

• What Type of Blog is This?

  Number of comments: 0
  By way of Abu Muqawama, a blog that analyzes other blogs. Here's the results for your's truly...
  INTJ - The Scientists The long-range thinking and individualistic type. They are especially good at looking at almost anything and figuring out a way of improving it - often [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2008, 6:13pm EST
  by Matt

• The smoke gets in your eyes...

  Number of comments: 0
  Anyone care to guess where that quote comes from? You'll win this week's prize. That being said, the piece talks about Obama's smoking and, as Mike Kinsley says, 'let the man smoke'. [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2008, 5:44pm EST
  by Matt

• By way of Andrew Sullivan

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  
  
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  Posted: November 20, 2008, 5:39pm EST
  by Matt

• In Case You're Really Bored

  Number of comments: 0
  Or interested in the SOFA, here's the full pdf text. Looks like people in Iraq are pretty interested as there was a physical altercation on the floor of the Iraqi parliament. We'll have to pay close attention to see if this makes it through. I'd still feel pretty [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2008, 5:16pm EST
  by Matt

• National Talk Like A Pirate to Avoid Losing One's Life Day (or any day that ends in "Y" off the coast of Somalia)

  Number of comments: 0
  My compatriot over at ThermopylaeUSA has an interesting post on Jack Sparrow. I personally prefer Elizabeth Swan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  , but [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2008, 8:08pm EST
  by Matt

• Our Littoral Strategy?

  Number of comments: 2
  Muddled, expensive & wasteful. Pretty much like everything else run by the Bush administration. That being said, this reeks of old line admirals putting their foot down against those crazy, new-fangled ideas like securing shallow waters near urban areas. Read the article and let me know what you think. [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2008, 6:52pm EST
  by Matt

• Wish I could embed this directly

  Number of comments: 0
  The silence in the MSM on the SOFA agreement is deafening. There seems to be little indication that a major treaty may be passed guaranteeing combat troops will be withdrawn from combat operations by next summer and out of Iraq by 2012. As it is, here's the link to a [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2008, 10:04pm EST
  by Matt

• This sort of thing makes me nervous

  Number of comments: 0
  The Pentagon is a big bureaucracy, and nobody should be surprised to see it acting like one in lobbying and furthering its own interests. That being said, godawful political tricks like this should stop. One of the few things where I agreed with Rumsfeld was in his recognition that [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2008, 5:15pm EST
  by Matt

• Followup on SOFA

  Number of comments: 0
  Started that piece last night, but lo and behold this morning we have the Iraqi cabinet passing the measure plus a few interesting details. Apparently troops will be moving back into FOBs by the summer of next year, Iraqis will have the ability to prosecute US forces for some [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2008, 12:16pm EST
  by Matt

• False Start on the Offense, Five Yard Penalty and Repeat Third Down

  Number of comments: 0
  Once more we get the tantalizing promise of a negotiated agreement, but you get midway through the piece and Ayatollah Al-Sistani appears to remain in opposition. Also, for everyone concerned with 'hard' timelines, this agreement would have our forces out of Iraq in, at most, 3 years, though all [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2008, 2:50pm EST
  by Matt

• Economics is a difficult Field

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Pretty good stuff. The guy in the first video clip, Laffer; yeah, he's the father of supply side economics. He has no clue, none at all, as to how economics actually work. That he's being looked at as an 'expert' is frightening. Especially when compared to what Schiff [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2008, 2:23pm EST
  by Matt

• Lieberman

  Number of comments: 0
  I'm certainly torn on stripping Lieberman of his seniority positions, which he has said would lead him to defect to the GOP. Quite honestly, to see him out campaigning for McCain actively made me extremely angry. That he would continue to pretend to be a Democrat in order to keep [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2008, 10:48am EST
  by Matt

• Meditations on a Financial Emergency

  Number of comments: 0
  I was going to start off spending serious time discussing what I think we should do to help mitigate what promises to be a fairly prolonged economic downturn. There is plenty of talk of potential paths the government should take, but there appears to be, on the political side of [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2008, 9:53am EST
  by Matt

• What a rush

  Number of comments: 1
  Just to let everyone know, as the campaign season has finished, your somewhat faithful blogger will resume posting through until at least his next period of formal, gainful employment (so while the bloggy set may appreciate a longer period of activity, my landlord would likely prefer this to stop by, [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2008, 7:46am EST
  by Matt

• Just to prove I'm not dead, the definitive graphic for the current financial crisis...

  Number of comments: 0
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 17, 2008, 9:33am EDT
  by Matt

• Sorry for the break

  Number of comments: 0
  Just a heads-up, I've moved into a new job and, in all likelihood, posting for the next couple of months will be pretty light.  Probably sports updates and what's going on in the world, but not much beyond that.  Sorry. [...]
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  Posted: June 13, 2008, 8:58pm EDT
  by Matt

• Gates v. the Fighter Pilots

  Number of comments: 1
  Sounds a lot more combative than the reality; Secretary Gates is working to push the Air Force in a direction where it recognizes that a mixed mission set, including support for COIN operations & with an emphasis on UAVs, is going to be the method used going forward.  F-22, JSF, [...]
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  Posted: June 10, 2008, 7:35am EDT
  by Matt

• Long-term security Pact

  Number of comments: 0
  So here's the multi-billion dollar question; are we willing to trade a security agreement with Iran for a long-term presence in Iraq?  Iran seems likely to do its level-best to nix any long-term security agreement between Iraq and the United States, though Ahmadinejad is likely to have less say [...]
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  Posted: June 09, 2008, 1:51pm EDT
  by Matt

• So Blogger won't let me post comments

  Number of comments: 0
  In response to the comment about Obama and lobbyists, here's the comment I would have posted below... Nothing in that article is particularly surprising or dissuades me from my post (I even noted pretty accurately what was written in that article). I'm really surprised by your take on lobbying; given [...]
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  Posted: June 09, 2008, 1:16pm EDT
  by Matt

• Consequences for our actions?

  Number of comments: 0
  But we make the news!  Ezra Klein points out how the media's miserable performance with the primary debates has led both the McCain and Obama campaigns to reject any specific sponsorship of possible townhall meetings.  I really am anxious to see if the questions in a townhall format revolve [...]
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  Posted: June 09, 2008, 11:51am EDT
  by Matt

• This is for you, ThermopylaeUSA

  Number of comments: 1
  Just read the link. [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2008, 2:07pm EDT
  by Matt

• Pretty cool summary video

  Number of comments: 0
  By way of Slate. [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2008, 1:32pm EDT
  by Matt

• One other endearing aspect of Obama's campaign

  Number of comments: 1
  His refusal to accept money from lobbyists is particularly encouraging.  As someone who has worked on the fundraising side of campaigns before, the time and effort that goes into raising money is absolutely astounding.  Candidates require ever-increasing amounts of money to be competitive in state and regional elections, meaning [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2008, 1:06pm EDT
  by Matt