FINANCIAL TIMES: … The move to open embassies is one of the most important steps in establishing a different relationship with Cuba although it is likely to take much longer to end most aspects of the commercial embargo that remains in place. The negotiations between Washington and Havana surrounding the opening of embassies have focused […]
Month: June 2015
TSUKERMAN: Is Putin loved by Russians?
All were willing to endure hardship: to eat just potatoes for the whole year, not to go abroad for their vacations, only if their deprivations were not in vein. But only if the result of these depravations, Europe and the United States will wash in blood and crawl on their knees to beg forgiveness, as Putin promised.
It’s bond holders who want “free pass”, not governments
Access to Chapter 9 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code should be made available to all government entities and authorities. When that occurs, bond underwriters and their counsel will need to take into consideration re-payment ability rather than just mindlessly passing along junk on the supposition that tax payers can be made to pay.
What Greece’s crisis will mean for the world economy
WASHINGTON POST COLUMN: …First, Greece’s economy is tiny, about 1.8 percent of the entire euro zone (the 19 countries using the euro), according to Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute. This means that even if Greece’s economy sinks further — almost a certainty — the lost exports for other countries will be small. All U.S. exports to […]
President Obama overtime rule could raise wages for 5 million
POLITICO: …The proposed rule would more than double the salary level under which virtually all workers qualify for overtime pay whenever they work more than 40 hours in any given week. That threshold, now $23,660, would rise to $50,440 — a number that the administration believes would encompass many workers now classified as managers—and would […]
Supreme Court upholds independent commissions to avoid gerrymandering
AOL: …In this 5-4 ruling, conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy joined the court’s four liberals in backing an independent commission approved by the state’s voters to draw the districts. The court ruled that the ballot initiative did not violate the U.S. Constitution’s requirement that state legislatures set congressional district boundaries. The ruling could pave the way […]
Money talks, especially during legislative sessions
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: …Lawmakers raising campaign cash when they make the trek to the Capitol to vote on legislation is a long-established practice. But in the month of June, when elected officials are making decisions about the state’s finances in preparation for the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, fund-raising goes into overdrive. […]
Puerto Rico’s Governor Says Island’s Debts Are ‘Not Payable’
NEW YORK TIMES: …The governor, Alejandro García Padilla, and senior members of his staff said in an interview last week that they would probably seek significant concessions from as many as all of the island’s creditors, which could include deferring some debt payments for as long as five years or extending the timetable for repayment. […]
POTUS, SCOTUS in synch?
In a stunning display, the Blacks of Charleston did not burn, did not riot. They forgave. Nobody took exception with that.
Regulating Sex
“Person A and Person B are on a date and walking down the street. Person A, feeling romantically and sexually attracted, timidly reaches out to hold B’s hand and feels a thrill as their hands touch. Person B does nothing, but six months later files a criminal complaint. Person A is guilty of ‘Criminal Sexual Contact’ under proposed Section 213.6(3)(a).”
Trying to Placate All, Iran Leader Zigs and Zags on Nuclear Talks
NEW YORK TIMES: …“Our leader deliberately takes ambiguous stances, because our enemies, including the United States, constantly shift their positions,” said Hossein Ghayyoumi, a cleric and politician who supports a nuclear deal. “In politics, details and red lines can shift from time to time.” This ambiguity serves multiple purposes. In Iran’s opaque political system, the […]
Card sharks: Wolf and legislators can all win on the budget
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE EDITORIAL: One is the effort to reduce property taxes used to fund local school districts by increasing state sales and income taxes. There are competing versions of the tax swap, but they contain similar elements. Both a Republican plan proposed in the House and a Democratic plan in the Senate would use the […]
America’s unexpected civil rights champion
POLITICO: Throughout the long fight to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Lyndon Johnson and his allies kept hoping they might find “a Southern Vandenberg,” that is, a segregationist Democrat who would switch sides and galvanize bipartisan support for the bill, in the way that Republican Sen. Arthur Vandenberg’s conversion from isolationism to internationalism at […]
Landmark Rulings See US Supreme Court Move to the Left
NEWSMAX / AFP: …”This is not about a ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal’ court,” said Lisa Linsky, a partner at the McDermott Will & Emery law firm. “This is about the highest court in the land being cognizant of the world around it and the fundamental principles and protections that are embedded in our constitution,” Linsky said. […]