Thursday, February 28, 2008
Your Morning News 2.28.08
Posted by Josh in Bernanke, Bloomberg, border fence, Economy, Federal Reserve, Turkey, US Senate
Today is one of those days where there is no major story driving the news, so we have about four or five stories fronting all the different papers. This means there will be nothing you need to know about, but a bunch of things it couldn’t hurt to just be aware of.
Ben Bernanke, Chairmen of the Federal Reserve, said yesterday that he would be ready to cut interest rates again if need be. His argument is that he is more focused on fighting a recession then he is on fighting inflation. It seems to me that the Federal Reserve is taking short term steps that benefit Wall Street investors even if milk ends up costing $36/gallon, but I am not an economist. Oh wait, this guy is and he thinks so too.
The President’s plan for a virtual fence across the Mexican-American border has been scaled back and delayed because of technical problems. The virtual fence was a series of cameras and towers that would help notify border patrol agents when people were attempting to cross the border. The project will now take years longer and cost billions more to complete. Thank God, missile defense is so 1980s, finally we have a new boondoggle for a new millennium.
Senators, Bloomberg, and Turkey after the jump.
Four US Senators have asked for a a review of how the Pentagon gets new and improved equipment to troops in Iraq. “The request, contained in a letter sent Wednesday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, comes eight months after a USA TODAY investigation showed top Pentagon officials repeatedly balked at requests from troops in Iraq for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs.” It also comes FIVE YEARS AFTER THE WAR STARTED. Way to rake that muck USA Today.
Today’s must-read Op-ed: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces once and for all that he is not running for President. He also leaves the door open that he might endorse and campaign for someone. The fun part at work will be trying to parse he Op-ed to see if you can figure out who. My guess: Mike Gravel.
Today’s foreign policy piece that fits Josh’s beliefs about how the world works but you don’t have to read if you don’t want: Some observers are saying that the Turkish invasion of Iraq was timed to distract the Turkish population from domestic reforms at home. If it makes it more palatable, the domestic reforms concern ladies head wear.
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