A Way Out For The Governor

In the complaint, Rod Blagojevich is quoted as saying that he was considering appointing himself to the Senate because he could fight corruption allegations better from there. This, in turn, would  allow him to ‘remake his image’ for a possible run for President (of the United States?!) in 2016!
Surely that is evidence on which the [...]

Quotes Of The Day

Following on from earlier (The Zanzibar Gazette), I offer some highlights from Rod Blagojevich (The Financial Times).
On the opportunity of appointing the new Senator:
“I’ve got this thing and it’s fucking golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for fuckin’ nothing.”
Apparently, Blagojevich considered asking Obama to solicit as much as $15 million from [...]

Astonishing Scandal In Illinois

In an astonishing development, Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois (D) has been arrested by federal authorities, accused of attempting to sell (!) Barack Obama’s Senate seat (The New York Times).
The Governor is responsible for appointing someone to serve out Barack Obama’s Senate term. The US Attorney’s case alleges that Governor Blagojevich attempted to “sell” the [...]

National Review Endorses Bush

National Review has joined The Zanzibar Gazette in encouraging former Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) to run for the Senate (NR).
I highlighted Bush’s commitment to immigration reform (ZG). But the National Review editors are usually on the anti-immigration side of the party and consequently ask Bush to reconsider his stance in that respect. But it is [...]

This Man Cannot Be Allowed To Run Canada – Or Any Other Country

In case anyone missed it, there is a bit of a political crisis raging in Canada. The recently reelected Conservative government is being challenged by a coalition of confused Liberals and the hard-left New Democrats, tacitly supported by seperatists.
Of course, in the election just two months ago, the Liberals at no point mentioned to the [...]

Bush For The Senate

Well, not that Bush. Following the announcement that Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) is retiring in 2010, former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush is considering running for the seat (The Wall Street Journal).
Jeb Bush is a great man. He was a two-term governor of a diverse and electorally important state, having been reelected in 2002 with [...]

Socialistic Tounge Infection

The hard economic times makes politicians defensive and protectionistic. Some time ago we wrote about Sarkosy’s “sovereign wealth funds” that would “defend” national interests (ZG).
Now Swedens prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt have found how easy it is to take cheap points by stressing the importance of saving domestic jobs using protectionistic vocabulary. (Aftonbladet)
“If you have purchased [...]

Choices and Capitalism

Though we love capitalism and it´s way of creating prosperity and freedom we sometimes stumble upon some downsides. The idea of economies of scale, that the  advantage of producing large quantities often makes firms more productive and profitable (and products cheaper), sometimes makes certain markets dull.
Two examples. First; the car industry. Auto makers the last [...]

“New administration tilts towards hawks”

That is how The Financial Times describes Obama’s new foreign-policy team (FT).
As a hawk, naturally I am pleased. Having the Clintons at State does nothing if not provide considerable diplomatic weight to American foreign policy. And the President-Elect deserves my genuine and heartfelt praise for letting Robert Gates stay on at the Department of Defense. [...]

One Year Closer?

It is now official – according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the US economy has been in recession since 2007 (The New York Times).
So, we are one year into the recession when many of us thought we were just getting there now. Lets think positively – if we are one year further in [...]