Economic Policy

• Fiscal austerity in a recession is bad policy – really, really bad policy.  (The numbers from Europe tell the story – see graphic above.)
• A strongly-worded denouncement of the potential Grand Bargain
• Whenever well-off individuals and organizations talk about tax ‘reform’ keep an eye on your wallet.

Politics

• A few words about the coalition which got Pres. Obama re-elected.
• Drew Linzer’s self-evaluation of his election forecasting model. (Linzer is not as well known as Nate Silver but his forecasts are comparably good.)
• Richer people continue to prefer Republicans.
  
• In a saner world this would be the real Petreaus story.
• I wonder, what fraction of patronage hires actually turn out well?

Wake up! calls to the GOP in the wake of last Tuesday

• An open letter from a really White guy.  (He just might be my long-lost brother.)
• Matt Taibbi, another really White guy, weighs in.
• Former Lt.Gov. and Acting Gov. Jane Swift 

Misc

• No matter how low the bar is set, Romney can’t get over it.
• Wither the Fourth Amendment?
• Trashing NYT columnist Tom Friedman is hardly sporting but it can be good fun.  (If you saw a hand grenade lying on the ground, why exactly would you pull the pin?  I’m at a loss to understand…)
• Renewable energy in Germany