O.K., Smart Guys: Fix the Energy Problem How should the U.S. solve its energy problems? The experts brainstorm

Norman Pearlstine, Thomas Kuhn, Bob Shapard, Carol Browner, Jigar Shah, and T. Boone Pickens Henry LeutwylerThis WeekAugust 1, 2011Why the Debt Crisis Is Even Worse Than You ThinkThe U.S. first became a net importer of oil in 1948. The intervening decades have led Americans down a steady path of price spikes, shortages, and compromised...

Open thread: Senate to vote on debt bill at 1 p.m., or maybe not

posted at 12:09 pm on July 31, 2011 by Allahpundit printer-friendly They’re supposed to vote at 1 p.m., but according to Plouffe and another “Democrat familiar with the situation,” there’s still no bill. What’s the hold up? In all likelihood, they’re haggling over the “triggers” that’ll happen if the new Super Commission can’t agree on,...

Deal update: $2.4T in cuts and ceiling hikes — both in two parts

posted at 8:42 am on July 31, 2011 by Ed Morrisseyprinter-friendly ABC reports this morning that Congressional leaders have already begun briefing their caucuses on the eleventh-hour deal that emerged from the White House last night. Jonathan Karl notes that the deal is contingent on getting enough support from each House caucus to form...

Reid postpones vote to “give everyone as much room as possible” for deal; Update: $2.8T in cuts and debt-ceiling boost, no tax hike?

posted at 11:45 pm on July 30, 2011 by Ed Morrissey printer-friendly The late breaking news from the nation’s capital tonight is that the late-breaking news from the capital early tomorrow morning has been postponed:Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday that he would postpone a vote on his...

Sixth Quarter of Gains for Yuan

The Chinese yuan posted the sixth straight quarterly gain on the speculation that China will allow the currency to appreciate faster in order to slow growth of consumer prices.The People’s Bank of China increased the reference rate for the yuan to 6.4716 per dollar today, allowing the currency to fluctuate 0.5 percent in either side...

Sexy Hwang Mi Hee [황미희]

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Dollar Falls on US Growth Slowdown

The US dollar fell sharply against some of the major currencies today, following a report that showed that the economic growth in the second quarter of 2011 was worse than expected.The greenback was trading at a rather high level against the other currencies earlier today, advancing significantly both against the euro and the Great Britain...

What’s so wrong with Reid’s bill?

posted at 2:45 pm on July 29, 2011 by Tina Korbe printer-friendly House Speaker John Boehner’s debt-ceiling-and-deficit-reduction bill, now through Revision Round 2 and headed for likely passage, has hogged most media attention over the past few days, but, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid now touting his bill as “the only compromise...

Reid changing debt-ceiling plan to woo Republicans

posted at 10:00 am on July 30, 2011 by Ed Morrissey printer-friendly After yesterday’s embarrassing plea to Mitch McConnell to save him from a cloture vote, Harry Reid went back to the drawing board. The Hill reports that Reid has altered his plan to raise the debt ceiling by borrowing more from the plans of McConnell and John Boehner, hoping...

Tech-savvy president wages Twitter campaign against GOP, loses 36,000+ followers

posted at 7:30 pm on July 29, 2011 by Allahpundit printer-friendly Unexpectedly.President Obama created a barrage of activity on Twitter on Friday afternoon when he began urging his more than 9 million followers to tweet at their Republican Congressmen to “ask them to support a bipartisan solution to the deficit crisis.”The @BarackObama account...

Dollar Falls on US Growth Slowdown

US DollarThe US dollar fell sharply against some of the major currencies today, following a report that showed that the economic growth in the second quarter of 2011 was worse than expected.The greenback was trading at a rather high level against the other currencies earlier today, advancing significantly both against the euro and the Great...

Euro Slids for Second Day on Debt Crisis Concern

EuroThe euro fell against all of its major counterparts today, as the fear of the debt crisis spreading beyond Greece and other troubled countries of the Eurozone.The euro is currently demonstrating a second bearish day in a row against the US dollar, the Great Britain pound and the Japanese yen. It is falling against the dollar despite the...

Reid: Hey, who’s up for killing another debt-ceiling increase?

posted at 2:30 pm on July 28, 2011 by Ed Morrisseyprinter-friendly Must be nice to have a job that doesn’t actually require any work, except to refuse to work at all:House Republicans are just wasting their time debating Speaker John Boehner’s debt reduction bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today.“Boehner’s bill dies tonight,”...

Oh, by the way, the U.S. just accused Iran of working with Al Qaeda

posted at 8:19 pm on July 28, 2011 by Allahpundit printer-friendly A little something light to tide you over while we wait for the next chapter in the debt-ceiling saga. I’ve been around blogs long enough to remember when claiming that Shiite nuts might collaborate with Sunni nuts against America would draw derisive snickers from lefty blogs...

Chaos: Gunmen kill Libyan rebels’ top military commander — while he’s in rebel custody

posted at 7:38 pm on July 28, 2011 by Allahpundit printer-friendly To fully appreciate how shady this is, take two minutes to read the Atlantic Wire’s excellent tick-tock of news accounts of how this guy was killed. Rumors that he was dead started turning up in Arab media four days ago, oddly enough. Then word came that he had been recalled...

Rick Perry: Abortion is a states’ rights issue

posted at 5:07 pm on July 28, 2011 by Allahpundit printer-friendly A smart middle-ground play for independents, but I thought he was supposed to be the great evangelical hope. Last week he said he was “fine” with New York legalizing gay marriage before clarifying today that he’s not fine with gay marriage itself. (In fact, he supports a Federal...

Guess who’s gotten pretty quiet this week

posted at 4:28 pm on July 28, 2011 by Ed Morrissey printer-friendly Jim Geraghty notices that the man who has spent July all over our TV screens now seems strangely … shy:This is not a complaint, but an observation: President Obama has made no public speeches, appearances, or remarks since Monday night.According to CBS News’ Mark Knoller,...

My eyes are up here

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Boehner: We, er, don’t have the votes — yet; Update: 25 Republicans leaning no? Update: Boehner still short as of 4 p.m.

posted at 3:50 pm on July 28, 2011 by Allahpunditprinter-friendlyHe can afford to lose 23 Republicans, I believe. Number of Republicans leaning or confirmed no as of 2 p.m.: 22.As much as the left hates having to make token concessions on spending, a GOP meltdown on the House floor tonight would be be a mighty fine consolation prize.House...

Reid: Hey, who’s up for killing another debt-ceiling increase?

posted at 2:30 pm on July 28, 2011 by Ed Morrisseyprinter-friendly Must be nice to have a job that doesn’t actually require any work, except to refuse to work at all:House Republicans are just wasting their time debating Speaker John Boehner’s debt reduction bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today.“Boehner’s bill dies tonight,”...

Weekly jobless claims dip below supposedly significant 400,000 level

Shareposted at 10:30 am on July 28, 2011 by Tina Korbeprinter-friendlyNot sure what accounts for this (and the Labor Department offers no specific explanation either), but a 15-week streak of 400,000+ weekly jobless claims ended last week.Claims dropped to 398,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 422,000, according...