John Heilemann on Charlie Rose mentioned Congressman Paul Ryan as having a compelling GOP message in development so that I watched his CPAC presentation from last spring where I failed to see anything to save the Republican party from disappointment this fall and obliteration in 2016; specifically because their focus on austerity will be contrasted by good economic news.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Saigon#mediaviewer/File:Saigon-hubert-van-... Senators John McCain and Lyndsay Graham's New York Times Op Ed of the 29th of August "Stop Dithering and Confront ISIS" has a rather pointless "just do something" sense to it that belies the fact that McCain was a prisoner of war in a conflict based on the same sentiment.

“Thus far, Mr. Obama’s military strategy in Iraq has greatly favored the Kurds over the Iraqi government, with all the airstrikes taking place in northern Iraq in general and in the Kurdish areas of Mount Sinjar, Erbil and Mosul in particular.

“The Economist’s” Buttonwood invented a new term called the DOG (Discount for Obnoxious Government) Factor and referred to Vladimir Putin’s capricious trampling of property rights and the rule of law as costing Russia approximately One Trillion Dollars in market value and creating a huge drag on its economy.

Rafe al-Essawi anf Atheel al-Nujaifi's editorial in today's New York Times doesn't acknowledge the fact that it is too late to reverse the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) incursion in North Western Iraq without a costly civil war.

President Obama should reconsider the recent release of military aid to Egypt because it is more important to be true to our core values of a free press and justice based on a rule of law rather than waste these convictions with a regime that gives no value in regional stability. After this week’s rocketry and counter bombing in Gaza we find that General Sisi is no man of influence.

My previous post called the Kurds our natural friends who we are about to betray if we insist that they self sacrifice themselves to the impossible task of holding Iraq together.

In Iraq we support borders drawn in the sand by European colonialist close to a century ago. Now we ask the only sane actor in the region, the Kurds with aspirations for independence such as was ours, to throw themselves back into the boiling cauldron of Iraq.

Former Director of Central Intelligence Michael Morrell gave a three direction analysis of Iraq on Charlie Rose a few nights ago. First and most likely is a partitioning of Iraq among Shia, Sunni and Kurds. Second was a Shia power play using Iran’s Republican Army and Hezbollah to direct the Shia militias in Iraq and third was a pipe dream of harmony and peace directed by U. S.

Egypt Scrambles to Raise Voter Turnout is hilarious if it weren't tragic. That the military backed government thought a one sided election with a majority of voters feeling disenfranchised would be a popular success is an indication of the closed end reality loop they are operating in. In none of the commentary, however, has there been any mention of the economy.

"How the Economic Machine Works" Youtube presentation by Bridgewater's Ray Dalio has an interesting take on rich versus poor and the social upheaval that comes from a depression. The presentation ends with the idea of a beautiful deleveraging, where money is kept in good enough supply to allow growth without inflation. It is what we are experiencing now.

Paul Krugman's New York Times editorial about Obama's inability to more quickly repair the Great Recession with the passing of a really big and effective stimulus bill should more properly be placed with Tim Geithner's policy of coddling bankers.

Billionaire Democrat Set Eye on Senate Races in today's New York Times is a perfect example of the type of contribution to the Democratic party that this recent Supreme Court decision made possible. Instead of hand wringing, Democrats should be applauding.