Press Briefing

Sep 16, 2010

President Obama on Small Business Jobs & Tax Cuts: "We Don't Have Time for Any More Games"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/15/president-obama-small-business-jobs-tax-cuts-we-dont-have-time-any-more-games

Rooting for Redistribution - Are Americans easily fooled about their real interests? Review of Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson's "Winner-Take-All Politics"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703897204575488730182039948.html

White House - New Plans Underway to Increase Contracts to Small Business
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/15/new-plans-underway-increase-contracts-small-business

The Case for a 'Repeal Amendment' - Virginia will consider proposing a constitutional amendment that would allow two thirds of the states to repeal a federal law
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703466704575489572655964574.html

President Obama's Message to Veterans on Retroactive Pay Due to 'Stop Loss'
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/15/president-obamas-message-veterans-retroactive-pay-due-stop-loss

Principles for Economic Revival - Our prosperity has faded because policies have moved away from those that have proven to work. Here are the priorities that should guide policy makers as they seek to restore more rapid growth.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703466704575489830041633508.html

Republican Tax Plan Doubles Nation's Deficit in Just Ten Years
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/15/republican-tax-plan-doubles-nations-deficit-just-ten-years

Conservatives: The New START Rubberstamp Threat to National Security
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/16/morning-bell-the-new-start-rubberstamp-threat-to-national-security

Conversations With America: Meeting the Millennium Development Goals
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/conversations_with_america_mdgs

Too Much Progress - D.C. voters give a reform mayor, Fenty, the boot
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703743504575493841164082512.html

Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/09/147200.htm

It's the Spending, Stupid - A chronic voter 'concern' has now exploded into a broad public movement
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703743504575493953591176476.html

Press Briefing

Sep 15, 2010

Speech by Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael S. Barr, Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprise of House Committee on Financial Services
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg854.htm

Tax Cuts vs. 'Stimulus': The Evidence Is In - A review of over 200 fiscal adjustments in 21 countries shows that spending discipline and tax cuts are the best ways to spur economic growth
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704271804575405311447498820.html

The President's Forum With Young African Leaders
http://www.state.gov/p/io/rm/2010/147154.htm

Conservatives: The Obamacare and Obama Tax Hike Double Whammy on Seniors
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/15/morning-bell-the-obamacare-and-obama-tax-hike-double-whammy-on-seniors

Ayman al-Zawahiri: Nine Years After the Start of the Crusader Campaign
http://worldanalysis.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1476

OVERBLOWN: Windpower on the Firing Line (Part I)
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2010/09/14/overblown-windpower-on-the-firing-line-part-i/

Working To Expand Opportunities in Tajikistan
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/blake_tajikistan

Federal President's Proposed Oil and Gas Tax Hikes to Cost U.S. Economy 154,000 Jobs in 2011
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2010/09/14/obama%E2%80%99s-proposed-oil-and-gas-tax-hikes-to-cost-u-s-economy-154000-jobs-in-2011/

A Discussion on the New START Treaty
http://www.state.gov/t/vci/rls/147120.htm

Conservatives: Holding Economic Recovery Hostage
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/13/morning-bell-holding-economic-recovery-hostage

Statement by President Obama on the Small Business Jobs Bill
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/14/statement-president-obama-small-business-jobs-bill

Obamacare: The Real Price Tag is a Moving Target
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/13/obamacare-the-real-price-tag-is-a-moving-target

Intensifying Diplomacy in the Lead up to the Referenda in Sudan
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/09/147103.htm

Short Sales Bans: Shooting the Messenger?
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=12131

Press Briefing

Sep 14, 2010

US-Vietnam Relations
http://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs/apb067.pdf

Remote Control: A Blind Man Goes Sailing With Help From Afar
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575477612698984010.html

Advancing U.S.-Ukraine Partnership
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/advancing_ukraine_partnership

Europe Reverts to Type - The EU's response to anti-Semitism? "No comment."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703466704575489453411397686.html

Federal President Embraces the 'Pre-emption' Doctrine - Will federal law trump state law when it upsets the trial lawyers?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703466704575489571017923434.html

Jennifer Rubin on the reports that Obama aide Valerie Jarrett is the leading candidate to replace White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703466704575489891398680882.html

Can Turkey Defuse Iran's Nuclear Challenge?
http://www.idga.org/article.cfm?externalid=3133

Basel's Capital Illusions - The 2008 meltdown was not the result of lax regulation but of abuse of the U.S. financial system by the political class in Washington
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703466704575489592929851132.html

Boehner's Tax Bungle
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703466704575489834263214218.html

Back Door Card Check - Big Labor's man at the NLRB tries to rewrite labor law by fiat
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703597204575483882585485368.html

Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/09/147084.htm

Obamanomics Meets Incentives - Why cuts in marginal tax rates increase economic growth, but cash for clunkers merely created a boom and bust cycle in auto sales
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703597204575483562048654780.html

Message of Felicitation Amir-ul-Momineen Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid, on the Eve of Eid-ul-Fitr
http://worldanalysis.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1465

The 1099 Insurrection - The White House fights an effort to ease a burden on small business
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703897204575488272691514074.html

Realities of Biopharmaceutical Research & Development
http://www.innovation.org/index.cfm/NewsCenter/Newsletters/Newsletters?NID=185

Obamacare vs. the Rule of Law
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/14/morning-bell-obamacare-vs-the-rule-of-law

Press Briefing

Sep 13, 2010

Prez Obama & Gov Kaine: Moving America Forward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMGhMbg5IGY

To Pressure Iran, Squeeze Russia and China - European governments have joined the international sanctions effort. But Beijing and Moscow aren't going along
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703453804575479791919603272.html

White House - Another Government Shutdown?
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/10/another-government-shutdown

Darth Boehner - Democrats want voters to fear the GOP leader more than their policies
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703897204575487914103984430.html

U.S. Responds to Mudslides, Flooding in Guatemala
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/guatemala_mudslides

Sebelius Has a List - Political thuggery from HHS
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703597204575483900330728436.html

The U.S. Needs Its Own Industrial Policy - China's government incubates business with capital and other incentives. So should America's.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703597204575483580272717818.html

The Size of Government and the Choice This Fall - In polls, Americans overwhelmingly prefer small government and low taxes to the alternative. Yet they've been given big government, one program at a time.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575478141708959932.html

China's 'Finlandization' Strategy in the Pacific - Beijing is moving aggressively to counter US power projection in Asia to bring our allies under its sway.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704164904575421753851404076.html

The Afghanistan Study Group Report: An Exercise in Determined Ignorance
http://www.registan.net/index.php/2010/09/11/the-afghanistan-study-group-report-an-exercise-in-determined-ignorance/

Feed-In Tariffs Are Good for Expensive Renewables, But Are They Good for Consumers?
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2010/09/10/feed-in-tariffs-are-good-for-expensive-renewables-but-are-they-good-for-consumers/

Remarks by the First Lady at September 11th Memorial Service
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/11/remarks-first-lady-september-11th-memorial-service

Don't Expect Much From the R&D Tax Credit - Apple does little of the kind of research that would be eligible. Nor do the thousands of companies that develop applications and accessories for iPhones and iPads.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704644404575481534193344088.html

IMF Working Paper: Bank Capital and Uncertainty
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=24199.0

Mr. Obama hit Republicans hard for not passing his $42 billion Small Business Jobs Act
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882304575465401201669056.html

Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer Travels to India and China
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/09/146983.htm

Questions for Imam Rauf From an American Muslim - He may not appear to the untrained eye to be an Islamist, but by making Ground Zero an Islamic rather than an American issue he shows his true allegiance
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704644404575481882969581708.html

The President's Press Conference: From the Economy to the Middle East and "What This Nation Was Founded On"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/10/presidents-press-conference-economy-middle-east-and-what-nation-was-founded

The ACLU Is Dismissed - Obama wins one for the Presidency on the state-secrets privilege
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704644404575481802981541076.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_opinion

Press Briefing

Sep 10, 2010

Strengthening U.S.-Russia Relations
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/strengthening_russia_relations

Why We're in for a Long, Hard Economic Slog - Evidence from 14 U.S. recessions shows that the economy doesn't recover until housing recovers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575478083619331668.html

Pakistan Relief Fund Helps Bring Clean Water to Flood Victims
http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/site/entry/pakistan_relief_fund_clean_water

Half-Billion Dollar Schools Can’t Fix American Education
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/10/morning-bell-half-billion-dollar-schools-cant-fix-american-education

Treasurys and the Danger of Short-Term Debt - More than 60% of U.S. debt is set to mature within the next three years
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451580887189818.html

We'll Always Have Basel - In the fight over bank capital, more is better
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704644404575481921638936434.html

From Zombie Banks to Zombie Mortgages? - Japan misallocated capital during its lost decade. How the U.S. can avoid its mistakes
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575478072373684644.html

Guiding Principles for Managing Sovereign Risk and High Levels of Public Debt ("The Stockholm Principles")
http://www.imf.org/external/np/mcm/stockholm/principles.htm

ObamaCare 'Amnesia' - Long ago, in a political galaxy far, far away, Democrats passed . . .
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575477683320736458.html

Brookings: Five Myths About U.S. Exports
http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2010/0905_exports_katz_rothwell.aspx

President Obama Discovers Incentives - The president's proposed tax cuts for business are a welcome departure from Keynesian stimulus
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703453804575479981552545968.html

President Calderón is serious about restoring law and order. Here's how the U.S. can help.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575477472352890934.html

The White House - The Affordable Care Act Did Not Cause Unjust Premium Increases
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/08/affordable-care-act-did-not-cause-unjust-premium-increases

The Obama Heyday Is Over - With so many Democrats running against the president's agenda in the midterm, change will come in the next Congress, regardless of which party is in control
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704644404575482122517174884.html

The White House - Fighting Foreclosures and Strengthening Neighborhoods
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/08/fighting-foreclosures-and-strengthening-neighborhoods

Can You Smell What Is He Cooking? - Why the president's new stimulus won't work
http://reason.com/archives/2010/09/08/can-you-smell-what-obamas-cook

Press Briefing

Sep 09, 2010

In "Origins," Annie Murphy Paul explores current scientific thinking about how our lives are shaped by what happens to us in utero
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575448773639436854.html

Dr. Seuss and the Afghan Military - Afghan soldiers and police are plenty intelligent. Literacy will help them become a modern force
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575478070008208694.html

The White House Blog - Boehner's Budget Gimmicks: Another Attempt to Hold Middle Class Tax Cuts Hostage
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/08/boehners-budget-gimmicks-another-attempt-hold-middle-class-tax-cuts-hostage

How ObamaCare Guts Medicare - The president's pledge that 'If you like your health plan, you will be able to keep it' clearly does not apply to America's seniors
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649004575437311393854940.html

Joint Statement of Secretaries Geithner and Clinton on the Republic of Korea's Announcement of Sanctions on Iran
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg848.htm

The Federal Heath-Care Tease - Minnesota's Governor declines to take the ObamaCare bait
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575478160851816780.html

Importance of Investment in the Global Economy
http://www.state.gov/e/rls/rmk/2010/146894.htm

Caricature in Cleveland - You can't restore business confidence by bashing business
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703453804575479982836215238.html

Symposium: What Should the Federal Reserve Do Next?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575477580959771188.html

In Guyana, Saying Farewell to the HSV Swift 
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/guyana_swift_farewell

The health-care overhaul enacted last spring won't significantly change national health spending over the next decade compared with projections before the law was passed - government figures
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704362404575480161749608830.html

First Lady Michelle Obama Delivers Call to Action for Improved Childhood Nutrition and Physical Fitness
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/08/first-lady-michelle-obama-delivers-call-action-improved-childhood-nutrit

A President's Class War - Where on the income scale does Mr. Obama divide the country between us and them?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703453804575479831591176068.html

Corruption and Finance: Are Innovative Firms Victims or Perpetrators?
http://blogs.worldbank.org/allaboutfinance/node/614

Federal President's Foreign Policy: Neglecting Allies and Appeasing Foes
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/08/morning-bell-neglecting-allies-and-appeasing-foes

Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/09/146899.htm

Tax Contradictions - Obama says the economy needs a tax cut—and a tax increase
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575477661420876100.html

Press Briefings

Sep 08, 2010

From Children's Grief, Signs of Growth
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703720004575477614058976560.html

Salvation in Small Steps - With the collapse of various ideologies and totalizing nostrums, human rights became ever more important in world affairs. Moyn's "The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575477571192822084.html

Time for Emergency Economic Reform - How about a payroll tax holiday, funded by a federal spending, hiring and pay freeze?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451211979331930.html

Time for Emergency Economic Reform - How about a payroll tax holiday, funded by a federal spending, hiring and pay freeze?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451211979331930.html

Our Spontaneous Universe - I have never quite understood the conviction that creation requires a creator
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703946504575469653720549936.html

Politics and the Cult of Sentimentality - Wilde said that sentimentality is the desire to have the luxury of emotion without paying for it
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703417104575473932096641548.html

New START: Security Through 21st-Century Verification
http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2010_09/Gottemoeller

Conservative: New Start Is Unilateral Disarmament - The treaty's little-noticed limits on conventional weapons systems will reduce our ability to project power around the world
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703618504575459511831427690.html

External demand shocks are not historically associated with sharp declines in output growth in Low-Income Countries
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=24190.0

'Sword of Damocles' - A welcome White House legal rebuke to the mass climate tort
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455630272135688.html

Are Ethicists More Attentive Daughters and Sons?
http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2010/08/are-ethicists-more-attentive-daughters.html

Iran's Shadow Games - Now you see a nuclear proliferation threat, now you don't
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575477761797589920.html

Wild chimps outwit human hunters
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8962000/8962747.stm

The German Miracle: Another Look - Germany has cut government spending and its economy is growing smartly. It's not the first time that market-friendly policies have led the nation out of crisis.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575461873411742404.html

Nongoloza's Children: Western Cape prison gangs during and after apartheid by Jonny Steinberg
http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/correctional/nongolozaschildren.pdf

Housing Crisis? Look to Canada for Answers
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=12115

Greenspan Calls for Repeal of All the Bush Tax Cuts
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/business/economy/07greenspan.html

Orszag: Let’s continue the tax cuts for two years but end them for good in 2013.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/opinion/07orszag.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Press Briefing

Sep 07, 2010

The Right Comparison Between Recoveries
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/06/right-comparison-between-recoveries

The Hazards Of Doing Good - From Live Aid in the mid-1980s to today, Western attempts to help famine-plagued Ethiopia have had little effect. Peter Gill's "Famine and Foreigners"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703618504575460680218948348.html

Global Shale Gas Initiative: Balancing Energy Security and Environmental Concerns
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/global_shale_gas_initiative

In Defense of Physician Autonomy - Politicians hurt patients when they make doctors follow bureaucratic algorithms
By SAUL GREENFIELD
WSJ, Sep 07, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575464071972916464.html

The auditorium was filled with young, newly minted physicians sitting nervously in white jackets. When the chairman of surgery mounted the stage to address me and my fellow surgical interns, we immediately hushed and gave him our attention. I don't now recall most of what he said, but one remark has stayed with me through my 25 years of surgical practice: "You can't practice medicine by committee."

He didn't mean that we shouldn't listen to associates or seek their advice, or that we shouldn't be aware of scientific literature conveying the opinions and research of others. He meant that every physician must, at some point in the patient-care process, make decisions and take responsibility for them. And unless the doctor does so, the outcomes will be compromised. He was warning against groupthink and telling us that patients often present challenges that cannot be solved by easily consulted algorithms.

The chairman's admonition was a succinct definition of the parameters of the doctor-patient relationship. And in the eyes of many contemporary medical thinkers—those who seek to reorder the universe of medical care in this country—it would be heretical.

In recent political debates, the autonomous physician has been portrayed as a problem to be solved, an out-of-control actor motivated by greed—and a major cause of rising health-care costs. Insurance companies and the federal government have sought to control physician behavior with the dual aim of decreasing costs and improving care. In their view, individual and regional disparities in rates of medical testing, hospitalization and surgical procedures are ipso-facto demonstrations of physician autonomy run amok.

In the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Clinical Effectiveness (NICE) provides guidelines for clinical care in order to ensure greater uniformity of practice and, it claims, better care. In this country, the recent health-care reform law established a Comparative Effectiveness Institute with the same aims.

Such institutions are illegitimate and undesirable. My field of pediatric urology is only a small subset of medicine, but recent experience demonstrates the dangers of bureaucratic, committee-based practice.

In 2007, NICE published guidelines for the care of children with urinary tract infections. A committee of diverse specialists reviewed the literature and voted on the final recommendations. Without going into great detail, these guidelines enacted a significant departure from then-current practice by recommending against thorough radiographic evaluation in many instances.

One member of the committee who was out-voted on the final guidelines publicly castigated NICE and accused the committee of misusing statistics, failing to involve the proper specialists, and seeking mainly to decrease costs. The criticisms were correct.

Since the NICE recommendations were promulgated, publications in peer-reviewed journals have shown that many children with significant underlying conditions—some leading to serious kidney disease—would go undiagnosed if the NICE guidelines were followed.

Over a decade ago, researchers at Dartmouth College documented disparities in rates of tonsillectomy in children. They famously asserted that certain high rates of tonsillectomy were inappropriate and did not improve health outcomes. To do this, they relied only on insurance claims and hospitalization rates; they had no data on the prevalence of recurrent tonsillitis or long-term cardiovascular morbidity from obstructive sleep apnea. In fact, they had no data comparing the quality of life of individuals denied the procedure with that of individuals who underwent surgery. Their broad statistical overview was simply unable to answer many important questions.

Physician autonomy is a major defense against those who comfortably sit in remote offices and make calculations based on concerns other than an individual patient's welfare. Uniformity of practice is a nonsensical goal that fails to allow for differing expression of disease states.

This is not to say that clinical research, randomized controlled trials, literature meta-analyses and guidelines are not necessary and useful. They are all essential. It is also not an argument against rigorous oversight of physician behavior, licensure and training. But we must recognize that many physicians will often make decisions that deliberately do not conform to "community standards"—and that patients will be better for it.

Dr. Greenfield is director of pediatric urology at the Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo and a professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.


Europe's Bank Stress Tests Minimized Debt Risk
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704392104575475520949440394.html

Whatever Happened to Walking to School? - Those of us who remember using our own legs for transit now run the risk of sounding Abe Lincolnesque
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703946504575469542721199832.html

Learning From Experience on Arms Control - Russia and the United States have made steady progress on verification since the 1980s
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467654209460656.html

School Voucher Breakout - A bipartisan endorsement in Pennsylvania
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455782883586338.html

Statement by President Obama on the Passing of Jefferson Thomas
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/06/statement-president-obama-passing-jefferson-thomas

Washington and the 'Recovery Summer' That Wasn't - The nation's capital endures recessions with less discomfort than anywhere else, and that's truer than ever today
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467900196619676.html

Krueger Op-Ed: Measure Succeeds in Promoting Private-Sector Hiring
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg845.htm

The Obama Economy - How trillions in fiscal and monetary stimulus produced a 1.6% recovery
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703444804575071281687927918.html

Press Briefing

Sep 06, 2010

President Obama to Announce Plan to Renew and Expand America’s Roads, Railways and Runways
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/06/president-obama-announce-plan-renew-and-expand-america-s-roads-railways-

Rocks, YouTube Undergird Kashmiri Protests
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704855104575469850119145276.html

How Government Unions Became So Powerful - While politicians have opposed the right to strike, public-sector labor leaders have focused on pay increases and constitutional guarantees
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467642879738582.html

Eugene Robinson: The American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703946504575469663663590510.html

The Wages of Stimulus - More spending, higher unemployment
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703946504575469702542446716.html

Okada and Westerwelle: The Moral Challenge of a Nuclear-Free World
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453900642425906.html

In 2007, 239 patients died of malnutrition in British hospitals
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463772676581084.html

Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/09/146825.htm

The Diviner of System Risk - Ben Bernanke as Carnac the Magnificent
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467872819971324.html

Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell Briefs on Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/mitchell_israeli-palestinian_negotiations

On Employment Numbers, Romer and Econometric Models
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/03/morning-bell-the-audacity-of-failure

Statement at Round Table 1: Article 19 - Living Independently and Being Included in the Community. By Judith Heumann, Special Advisor for International Disability Rights
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/rm/2010/146772.htm

Second Gulf Explosion Doesn’t Take Away Need for Drilling
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/02/second-gulf-explosion-doesn%E2%80%99t-take-away-need-for-drilling

Press Briefing

Sep 03, 2010

The White House - West Wing Week: "Dispatches from Iraq"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/03/west-wing-week-dispatches-iraq

Federal President Is Still AWOL on Sudan / The country may soon return to war, and the perception of U.S. indifference isn't helping
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439274119871804.html

The White House - Making Preparations Prior to the Impacts of Hurricane Earl
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/02/making-preparations-prior-impacts-hurricane-earl

Want Middle East Peace? Deny Iran Nukes / Israeli-Palestinian talks are good, but Tehran's nuclear drive continues
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575464062562925390.html

The White House - Two New Studies: Health Reform Benefits Small Business
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/02/two-new-studies-health-reform-benefits-small-business

Tony Blair on the Panic - Britain's former prime minister understands better than most the origins of the financial crisis
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467523488193204.html

The White House Blog - There’s Courage in Our Country’s Classrooms
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/02/there-s-courage-our-country-s-classrooms

The Small Business The 97% Fallacy - The president's plan to raise top marginal rates is holding back the very people who should be leading the economic recovery
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575454061524326290.html

Three Software Tricks for Sorting Through the Barrage of UAV Footage
http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/software/three-software-tricks-for-sorting-through-barrage

Democratic Salvage Plan - How Nancy Pelosi might save her majority
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704206804575467353597659766.html

The French ambassador to Iraq says it's "the true laboratory of democracy in the Arab world."
WSJ, Sep 02, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463900304368796.html

Boris Boillon, the French ambassador to Iraq, in an interview with Le Figaro, Aug. 31:

The tactic of al Qaeda, which aims to put the country in fire and blood, to rekindle the civil war, has failed. The specter of partition in Iraq is behind us. . . . The record has improved since we passed a hundred deaths per day four years ago, to ten deaths per day today. In fact, the trend reversed itself when U.S. troops began leaving the cities, in June 2009. With the final withdrawal, this trend should continue and stabilize. . . .

Of course, the Iraqis say that the allied intervention of 2003 cost them dearly in lives and destruction of infrastructure, but they are aware also that it has liberated the country. The picture is therefore both positive and negative. Iraqis enjoy the fruits of democratization: the blossoming of the press, the emergence of a civil society, the free political parties, the exemplary nature of elections. These are all facts.

It is absolutely necessary, when one speaks of Iraq, to reason nonideologically. Iraq is the true laboratory of democracy in the Arab world. It is there that the future of democracy in the region will play itself out. Iraq could potentially become a political model for its neighbors. And, whether one likes it or not, all this has come about thanks to the American intervention of 2003. . . .

That no consensus has emerged around a [new] head of government proves that the political game occurs in Iraq and no neighboring country is able to impose its choice on Iraqi politics.

Even if the door is broken open, it must be restated that the last election constituted a victory for democracy. There are not many other countries in the region where results are not known before the vote.


In Sudan and Kenya, Grassroots Diplomacy
http://blogs.state.gov/sudan/index.php/site/entry/in_sudan_grassroots_diplomacy

Hooray for the U.N. - A dispute tribunal vindicates a whistleblower, Artjon Shkurtaj
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882304575465882341825778.html

Press Briefing

Sep 02, 2010

What Do We Know About the Impact of Remittances on Financial Development?
http://blogs.worldbank.org/allaboutfinance/what-do-we-know-about-the-impact-of-remittances-on-financial-development

Teachers for Coverups - The Wall Street Journal applauds the L.A. Times's decision to publish evaluations of public school teachers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463841606641572.html

Briefing on U.S. Government's Continued Efforts to Disrupt and Dismantle Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rm/2010/146597.htm

The Lawfare Wars - The al-Nashiri bugout, and attack of the killer lawyers—on drones
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463721720570734.html

The White House - Continued Recovery for America’s Agricultural Economy
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/01/continued-recovery-america-s-agricultural-economy

If Saddam Had Stayed - Saddam would have joined the nuclear bad-boys club with Iran and North Korea
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882304575465721991599994.html

The White House - Forging Ahead on Middle East Peace Talks
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/01/forging-ahead-middle-east-peace-talks

Projects To Develop Novel Monitoring Networks for Advanced Power Systems Selected
http://www.fossil.energy.gov/news/techlines/2010/10040-Projects_To_Develop_Novel_Monitori.html

Update: US Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/09/146606.htm

Some Coal-Fired Power Plants Were Built Last Year, is This the Start of a New Trend or Are New Coal Plants Dead?
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2010/09/01/some-coal-fired-power-plants-were-built-last-year-is-this-the-start-of-a-new-trend-or-are-new-coal-plants-dead/

White House - New Resources for Employers and Unions to Help Keep Health Coverage Accessible and Affordable
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/31/new-resources-employers-and-unions-help-keep-health-coverage-accessible-and-affordab

The administration's 'summer of recovery' has fizzled in almost every way imaginable. The growth rate is less than half what it was at this stage after the 1974-75 and 1981-82 recessions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882304575465462926649950.html

Press Briefing

Sep 01, 2010

Bring Back the Estate Tax Now - Allowing it to lapse has cost us billions of dollars in revenue this year
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575454073982825164.html

Shikha Dalmia on the General Motors IPO
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463972500361374.html

From the Desk of Maria Otero, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs
http://www.state.gov/g/146541.htm

Letters From the Imam - Feisel Abdul Rauf on Israel and Iran
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451762406545760.html

Readout of President Obama’s Briefing Call with FEMA Administrator Fugate on the Preparations Being Made in Advance of Hurricane Earl
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/01/readout-president-obama-s-briefing-call-with-fema-administrator-fugate-p

Office 39, Call Office 99 - More useful pressure on North Korea
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463934062014778.html

Ben Rhodes Answers Your Questions About Iraq Following the President's Oval Address
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/31/ben-rhodes-answers-your-questions-about-iraq-following-presidents-oval-address

Conservatives: The Obama Doctrine
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/09/01/morning-bell-the-obama-doctrine

President Obama's Address on the End of the Combat Mission in Iraq
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/31/president-obamas-address-end-combat-mission-iraq

'Systemic Risk' Stonewall - Some bailout questions the Fed still hasn't answered
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463781244452958.html

It’s Time for Reality, Not Deadlines, in Iraq and Afghanistan
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/08/31/morning-bell-its-time-for-reality-not-deadlines-in-iraq-and-afghanistan

Press Briefing

Aug 31, 2010

Camille Paglia writes that pressuring middle-class young people into "word jobs" is cruelly shortsighted - "The elite schools, predicated on molding students into mirror images of their professors, seem divorced from any rational consideration of human happiness."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575461691182268962.html

The White House - Economic Recovery for Small Businesses: Now is Not the Time to Pull Back
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/30/economic-recovery-small-businesses-now-not-time-pull-back

TARP and the Continuing Problem of Toxic Assets - It was a bold bet that the Treasury and Fed could engineer an economic recovery without allowing the repricing of US housing stock
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455951017059416.html

White House - Landmark: Number of Donut Hole Rebate Checks Passes One Million
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/30/landmark-number-donut-hole-rebate-checks-passes-one-million

Tire-d Old Trade Policies - You can't boost exports by trashing imports
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703669004575458523112347824.html

Abolish tenure, require more teaching, put star professors online
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703618504575460252029820466.html

The White House Blog - Agent Orange and Veterans: A 40-Year Wait
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/30/agent-orange-and-veterans-a-40-year-wait

J McCain: The Surge and Afghanistan - Unless he understands the reason for success in Iraq, the president is unlikely to lead a successful strategy against the Taliban
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703618504575459983690019468.html

White House: Katrina - Five Years Later, Our Commitment Continues
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/30/five-years-later-our-commitment-continues

Why We Fought and What We Achieved - Saddam had launched multiple wars, used weapons of mass destruction and aided global terrorism. Now Iraq's government is an ally and represents all the Iraqi people.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575461452331806476.html

Remarks on the 47th Anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" Speech. By Hannah Rosenthal, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism . Imam Yahya Hendi From Clergy Without Borders, Washington, DC, August 28, 2010

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/rm/2010/146434.htm

Social Security Bait and Switch - 'Harry, am I making this up?' Yes, Mr. President, you are.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703369704575461601764263106.html

IMF Enhances Crisis Prevention Toolkit
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2010/pr10321.htm

Alvin Greene Mocks White House Staff As 'Harvard Rich Kids'
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453211943767790.html

Press Briefing

Aug 30, 2010

Muslim: It was only after losing the fight for total state power against democracies and dictatorships alike that Islamists launched their war against the West
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453211943767790.html

Conservative: The World Trade Center Mosque and the Constitution
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455503946170176.html

Export Controls for the 21st Century - The current system is a legacy of the Cold War and fails to distinguish between low-tech items and the most advanced proprietary technology
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575454313481209990.html

On the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) Tax Task Force Report
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/27/perab-tax-task-force-report

Jimmy Carter in Pyongyang - Back to the same old North Korean games
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703669004575458422510924854.html

Our Man in Caracas - Good news: Chávez doesn't like him
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449933853736568.html

Ten Fallacies About Web Privacy - We are not used to the Internet reality that something can be known and at the same time no person knows it
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455192488549362.html

Alinsky Wins at the SEC - A new proxy access rule will help activists and unions, not shareholders
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455791673609002.html

Kirchner's Assault on the Press - This week's target: Argentina's two most influential daily newspapers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455483542041338.html

The White House Blog - Preparing Workers for New Careers
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/27/lost-and-found-preparing-workers-new-careers

The Folly of Subsidizing Unemployment - My calculations suggest the jobless rate could be as low as 6.8%, instead of 9.5%, if jobless benefits hadn't been extended to 99 weeks
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575454431457720188.html

Energy Dept: Setting the Record Straight on Weatherization
http://blog.energy.gov/blog/2010/08/27/setting-record-straight-weatherization

The $31 Billion Revenue Fantasy - Those who make $200,000 a year are 3% of all taxpayers but pay 52% of all income taxes
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703876404575200621394266894.html

The White House Blog - Helping New Orleans Rebuild Its Schools
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/28/helping-new-orleans-rebuild-its-schools

Spreading Hayek, Spurning Keynes - Professor Leads an Austrian Revival
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703418004575455911922562120.html

When Justice Comes Naturally - The Constitution can 'live' without losing its core meanings. Review of Hadley Arkes's Constitutional Illusions & Anchoring Truths.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575448761803060070.html

The 1.6% Recovery - The results of the Obama economic experiment are coming in
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704147804575455823740024224.html

Remarks by the President on the Fifth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/29/remarks-president-fifth-anniversary-hurricane-katrina-new-orleans-louisi

Lebanon's parliament amended a 1946 law that had been used to bar the 400,000 Palestinians living in the country from taking any but the most menial jobs
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435933047619568.html

Press Briefing

Aug 27, 2010

USAID Launches Pakistan Flood Relief Info Sharing on “Humari Awaz” Cell Phone Network
http://blogs.state.gov/ap/index.php/site/entry/pakistan_flood_relief_info_sharing_humari_awaz

A new study confirms what I've been saying for decades: Paying high fees to fund managers is the route to lower returns
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447531979322798.html

The SEC's Sop to Unions - Under the new rules, average shareholders won't muster the numbers to influence corporate elections
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451343422958522.html

A Challenge for WTC Mosque Opponents - The rights of American Muslims are being questioned in other locations. Will Gingrich and Palin speak out on their behalf?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453123857886644.html

Blanche Lincoln's Last Earmark: changes to Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) - The spending problem, in profile
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449422819519354.html

Protecting Medicare Benefits and Offering Clear Choices for Seniors
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/26/protecting-medicare-benefits-and-offering-clear-choices-seniors

Intel's Otellini: "the next big thing will not be invented here. Jobs will not be created here. And wealth will not accrue here. Ultimately, we will face an inevitable erosion and shift of wealth—much like we are witnessing today in Europe."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453803561625516.html

Women's Equality Day and the 90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/26/womens-equality-day-and-90th-anniversary-19th-amendment

Scapegoating For-Profit Colleges - Obama tees up another private industry for punishment
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704407804575425830335709738.html

200,000 Homes Weatherized Under the Recovery Act
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/26/200000-homes-weatherized-under-recovery-act

Time for Obama to Pull a Clinton - When I met with the president in early 1995, I warned him he would not be re-elected unless he changed his reputation
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703959704575453450250159546.html

UN mapping report leaked: Crime of genocide against Hutu center of controversy
http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2010/08/un-mapping-report-leaked-crime-of.html

Public Pensions and Our Fiscal Future - Few Californians in the private sector have $1 million in savings, but that's effectively the retirement account they guarantee to many government employees
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449813071709510.html

Press Briefing

Aug 26, 2010

Jared Bernstein on Republicans, the Recovery Act and "jobs created or saved"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/25/increasingly-awkward-dance

The Military Should Mirror the Nation - America's Armed Forces are drawn from an increasingly narrow segment of society
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451531529098478.html

Five Principles to Make “Contingent Capital” More Like Capital and Less Contingent
http://www.cambridgewinter.org/Cambridge_Winter/Archives/Entries/2010/8/25_NOW_MORE_ABSORBENT!.html

Stop the Madness - Washington is spending the country into economic decline
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449961346648370.html

The IRS Targets Incompetent Tax Preparers - That's good news. But the agency is going overboard
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447873306166034.html

U.S. Provides $50 Million in Early Recovery Aid to Pakistan Flood Victims
http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2010/pr100825_1.html

Big Foot on Campus - Why colleges want a waiver from ObamaCare
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451710632099560.html

Minutes of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy July 2010 Official Meeting
http://www.state.gov/r/adcompd/146252.htm

Oil Spill & The Gulf Claims Racket - The lawyers are upset they aren't getting more of the action
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449692864994262.html

A Muslim Reformer on the Mosque - The warriors for tolerance and the antimosque crusaders are both wrong
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451433090488678.html

The Fed Is Running Low on Ammo - It still has options if more monetary easing is needed. But they're not very effective
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575448022122679194.html

IMF Paper: Can Global Liquidity Forecast Asset Prices?
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=24164.0

The White House is having a disastrous 'summer of recovery.'
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451502211231456.html

Press Briefing

Aug 25, 2010

Working Together To Save Lives in India
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/india_leh_flooding

Cleaning Up the Mortgage Mess - Obama's program to help homeowners has unfortunately made things worse
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704075604575356663725805580.html

Countering Piracy: International Partnership Achieves Steady Progress
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/piracy_international_partnership_progress

Our Blue-Collar Great Depression - American workers who are less well-educated need a lifeline until new opportunities emerge.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704023404575429864088150270.html

The Case for Economic Optimism - Investment in equipment and software is strong, as is the outlook for exports
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703995104575389041193020822.html

Why the Senate Should Block 'New Start' - The nuclear treaty is the first step toward unilateral disarmament
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704271804575405634208565808.html

U.S. Government Hosts Conference on Improving Southern Sudan's Agriculture
http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2010/pr100824.html

The Trial Bar Heads to Iraq - A lawsuit that would create civil damages for wartime decisions
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447613501672210.html

Wireless in Gaza - If young Palestinians have access to better information today, they may make better decisions tomorrow
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435923218083624.html

Human Rights Kowtow - The Obama Administration makes itself an accomplice to U.N. corruption
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449960554393200.html

Vice President Biden Releases Report on Recovery Act Impact on Innovation
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/24/vice-president-biden-releases-report-recovery-act-impact-innovation

The Housing Mirage - Homeowner subsidies have only delayed the day of reckoning
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447004575449751158395676.html

The Afghanistan War Is Mainly About Pakistan and India - Actually, it's about the whole region.
http://www.slate.com/id/2264918/

Putting the Brakes on ObamaCare  How a Republican Congress could begin the process of repealing this unpopular law
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649004575437271015655924.html

Press Briefing

Aug 24, 2010

The White House Blog - Their Economic Policies Haven’t Changed, So They Won’t Bring the Change We Need
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/24/their-economic-policies-haven-t-changed-so-they-won-t-bring-change-we-need

Wind Power Won't Cool Down the Planet - Often enough it leads to higher carbon emissions
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703792704575366700528078676.html

White House: 31,000 Homes Weatherized in June
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/23/31000-homes-weatherized-june

Virginia Is for Surpluses - Erasing red ink without a tax increase
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703579804575442063233671300.html

The White House Blog - Your Credit Card Bill of Rights Now in Full Effect
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/23/your-credit-card-bill-rights-now-full-effect

The Politics of Plastic - The war against credit cards is raising costs and harming consumers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447613154049510.html

Identified a family of retroviruses in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (update)
http://digs.by/cFFWeq

Cracks in the Iranian Monolith - Opposition is spreading in the streets, in prisons, and even in the military
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704017904575409611936612020.html

Like Bush, Not Clinton, Obama Follows His Heart Not Polls
http://blogs.wsj.com/capitaljournal/2010/08/22/like-bush-not-clinton-obama-follows-his-heart-not-polls/

Press Briefing

Aug 23, 2010

Lorenz Of Arabia - As a wartime strategy, Germany tried to foment a Grand Jihad in Muslim lands
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703461504575444532238358048.html

The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility - The idea that companies have a duty to address social ills is not just flawed, argues Aneel Karnani. It also makes it more likely that we'll ignore the real solutions to these problems.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703338004575230112664504890.html

The White House Blog - At the Indiana State Fair: Farmers, The First Entrepreneurs
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/20/indiana-state-fair-farmers-first-entrepreneurs

The Guns of August, 1990 - The last 20 years would have been very different had American forces taken that open road to Baghdad the first time around
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703589404575417820146420794.html

Reducing Energy Costs while Creating Green Jobs for Americans, by Secretary Shaun Donovan
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/20/reducing-energy-costs-while-creating-green-jobs-americans

Australian Boomerang - Another big spending center-left party loses its majority
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703461504575442693926568832.html

President Obama Challenges Politicians Benefiting from Citizens United Ruling to Defend Corporate Influence in Our Elections
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/21/weekly-address-president-obama-challenges-politicians-benefiting-citizen

ObamaCare's Tax on Taxes - The latest gambit to punish for-profit health insurers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435473272964804.html

How States Hide Their Budget Deficits - The SEC's charges against New Jersey for misleading investors should warn other states against sweeping the truth under the rug
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703579804575441240180244472.html

Iran Unveils New Drone
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704504204575444872540980904.html

Treasury Concludes Three Weeks of Global Engagement with Governments, Private Sector on Iran
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg835.htm

$4.4 Trillion - That's how much the spending baseline has increased in 31 months
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439543402718272.html

Obama Administration Housing Scorecard Shows Continued Progress in Housing Market, but Challenges Remain
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg833.htm

Gates and Buffett Take the Pledge - Wealthy businessmen often feel obligated to 'give back.' Who says they've taken anything?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575438993318888822.html

Press Briefing

Aug 20, 2010

Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/08/146107.htm

The Lockerbie Bomber and Scotland's Disgrace - A political stunt freed a mass murderer and brought needless grief to many in the US
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649004575437221006992494.html

Bashing Beijing Will Not Help Our Trade Deficit - Higher wages, not a stronger yuan, will help Chinese workers and reduce US imports
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704023404575429843465266202.html

State Dept: A Critical Milestone in Iraq
http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/milestone_iraq

The SEC's Jersey Score - At last, a state gets hit for securities fraud
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439431857019668.html

Seniors Already Seeing Lower Prescription Drug Costs
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/18/seniors-already-seeing-lower-prescription-drug-costs

More Countrywide Loans - What Senate ethicists didn't tell us on Dodd
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435851680516676.html

Remarks by the President at a Discussion with Ohio Families on the Economy
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/08/18/remarks-president-a-discussion-with-ohio-families-economy

Victory in Iraq  -American arms created a republic, if Iraqis can keep it
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439743828817562.html

An assessment of the long-term economic impact of stronger capital and liquidity requirements
FSB & BCBS, August 2010
http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs173.htm

The Basel Committee's assessment of the long-term economic impact finds that there are clear net long term economic benefits from increasing the minimum capital and liquidity requirements from their current levels in order to raise the safety and soundness of the global banking system. The benefits of higher capital and liquidity requirements accrue from reducing the probability of financial crisis and the output losses associated with such crises. The benefits substantially exceed the potential output costs for a range of higher capital and liquidity requirements.

The FSB-BCBS MAG assessment of the macroeconomic transition costs, prepared in close collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, concludes that the transition to stronger capital and liquidity standards is likely to have a modest impact on aggregate output. If higher requirements are phased in over four years, the group estimates that each one percentage point increase in bank's actual ratio of tangible common equity to risk-weighted assets will lead to a decline in the level of GDP relative to its baseline path by about 0.20% after implementation is completed.  In terms of growth rates, this means that the annual growth rate would be reduced by an average of 0.04 percentage points over a four and a half year period, with a range of results around these point estimates. A 25% increase in liquid asset holdings is found to have an output effect less than half that associated with a one-percentage point increase in capital ratios. The projected impacts arise mainly from banks passing on higher costs to borrowers, which results in a slowdown in investment. A two-year implementation period leads to a slightly larger reduction from the baseline path, with the trough occurring after two and a half years, while extending the implementation period beyond four years makes little difference. In all of these estimates, GDP returns to its baseline path in subsequent years.


Winning the Peace in Iraq - The last American combat troops left Iraq this week. But when 'Operation New Dawn' begins on Sept. 1, the U.S. will still have a vital mission—and interests—there
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439381641164538.html

Get Ready for Ads in Books
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435243350910792.html

Proposal to ensure the loss absorbency of regulatory capital at the point of non-viability - consultative document
http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs174.htm