A Different World

The Romney campaign's surreal arguments about the economy

The Romney campaign's surreal arguments about the economy

From the piece: "As you can see, the Romney campaign is defending itself against the latest Dem attack line — that Massachusetts ranked 47th out of 50th in job creation — by pointing out that Romney should be judged by the job growth that happened after jobs losses were reversed, and even by the number of jobs that were added towards the end of his term. This is precisely the argument that the Romney campaign is implicitly dismissing as bogus when Obama makes it. Indeed, in the very same release, Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul blasts Obama for his “net negative record on job creation,” which is only a “net negative” if you factor in the jobs losses at the start of Obama’s term. But in its own defense, the Romney campaign is arguing for a focus on the jobsadded after the job losses that took place when Romney assumed office."

No, President Obama is not against capitalism, but he is not defending it loudly enough

No, President Obama is not against capitalism, but he is not defending it loudly enough

From the piece: "Let’s be clear, Obama has not governed as a tax-and-spend liberal, let alone as a socialist. The federal government will spend less this year than before Obama took office. Before inauguration day 2009, annual spending, agreed upon by the previous president and Congress, was projected at 24.9% of GDP. In 2012, it is expected to be 23.4%. In fact, federal spending has grown more slowly on Obama’s watch than at any time in more than half a century.'

"In addition, a significant portion of the Obama administration’s 2009 stimulus package took the form of tax cuts, for individuals and for businesses large and small. Taxes as a percentage of GDP are lower today than when Obama became president. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected taxes would reach 16.5% of GDP for 2009, and they total 15.8% now. The deficit is lower, too. The CBO projected it would hit 8.3% of GDP in 2009, and today it’s at 7.6%."

"Market capitalism is worth defending because it has generated prosperity through cycles of boom and bust for hundreds of years. Between 1980 and 2007, global GDP rose by almost 150%. Already prosperous countries saw sharp increases in their standards of living. Hundreds of millions within developing states moved from poverty into the global marketplace. The global recession has taken a toll, but expectations have been created that, over the longer term, only market-driven capitalism can fulfill.'

What should the U.S. do about Syria?

What should the U.s. do about Syria?

Anything beyond more sanctions?

Are drone strikes effective in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

Face-eating man 'Loved God,' 'Always read the Bible,' girlfriend says

Face-eating man 'Loved God,' 'Always read the Bible,' girlfriend says

"Miami Zombie" was sweet man who tried to kick pot-smoking habit

This story is clearly bizarre and unreal, but I do know what it is like to be a family member or friend of someone making headlines for doing something horrific, and that part of the story is never fun.

Edwards not guilty on one count, other counts declared a mistrial. I guess he won't be going to prison for being lousy husband

Update: Edwards not guilty on one count, others declared mistrial

Update: Jury says it can reach verdict on only one count

Update: Jury unanimous on just one count, ordered back into deliberations

The John Edwards verdict is in. I'll update when it is announced. But quickly, do you think he should go to prison for being a rotten husband?

Providing scholarships to children of the rich might pay off in long run for universities

Revoking scholarship would be foolish and wrong

From the piece: "And if he did go to another college, that school, and not UCLA, would likely become the beneficiary of any future donations by Mr. Wealthiest Artist in Hip Hop. Sean Combs said in a statement that the offer from UCLA was “one of the proudest moments of my life,” and that it represents “everything a father could want in his son, for him to excel at what he loves to do.”

That sounds like the kind of father who might one day want to support the program and school that gave his son such a great opportunity.

Which is better way to fight obesity: Banning large sugary drinks or telling people God wants them to be thin?

Which of these attempts to tackle the obesity problem is more likely to be successful:

New York City seeks to ban large sugary drinks from restaurants and food carts

Megapastor says God wants you to be thin

From the piece: What the chief official saw, of course, was that Daniel and his friends had grown fitter and stronger than the other servants. It wasn’t vegetarianism or vigorous exercise that had worked that magic — though those were part of it. Instead, it was a belief that it was impossible to serve God fully if you were out of shape or unwell. For Daniel, getting fit was a triumph of faith — and Warren was convinced his church members could find motivation the same way.

With that was born the Daniel Plan, a sweeping program of smart eating (and yes, lean meats are included), workout classes, small-group support meetings, walk and worship sessions and more, much of it made available both in person and online. Warren recruited three marquee names from the world of medicine — Drs. Mehmet Oz, Daniel Amen and Mark Hyman (all of different faiths) — to help spread the good-health message, and the Saddleback members fell in love with the plan. More than 15,000 of them have signed up so far and in the past 18 months alone, they have lost a collective 260,000 lbs.

Early read on pending jobs report is not good - which is good news for gas prices

The data coming out this morning was somewhat mixed, even tepid, which has likely lowered expectations for tomorrow morning's jobs report. The initial weekly jobless claims jumped to above 380,000, which is still at a really good place, but the jump could be a signal of weaker hiring going forward. This morning's ADP private sector jobs report showed that 133,000 were created last month, which is better than previous months but far from outstanding. Also, the number of announced layoffs is at an 8-month-high. What does that mean for the national unemployment rate that will be released in the morning? Your guess is better than mine.

The silver lining? Oil prices have continued to drop, which means your fill up at the gas pump will continue to get cheaper.

But that silver lining might not be so rosy, either, given that some important economies around the world are experiencing slowdowns, which could be bad for the overall global economy.

Myrtle Beach-area veterans and veteran's mom discuss the use of the word 'hero' for fallen soldiers

Update: I wanted to push this back to the top of the page for a little while to let people read some of the comments by a few veterans on this topic, as well as from a veteran's mom.

Here's part of that exchange (go to the comments section for more):

Question from Sunny: ... Our son calls the two he served with who got killed by an IED his heroes, though he'd probably cringe a little bit, too, at people calling him one. To your mind, is there a difference? Because that's what we're talking about, not just everybody who serves, but those who don't come home.

Answer from MT: This is difficult to answer since there is so much to it. Yes, I do think they are heroes. I think the reason why so many don't like that word is because of all the baggage that comes with it.

1) Personal pain

Fox News says 4-minute anti-Obama ad created by producer was, um, accidentally aired - twice

Fox News says 4-minute anti-Obama ad created by producer was, um, accidentally aired - twice

I was trying to come up with a joke about that story but couldn't. So I'll let it speak for itself.