Short Review

Readers should access an article from the Christian Science Monitor by David R. Francis. Congress is still playing Politics with the Budget, and has little hope of cutting down the budget's overall size, even after the November Elections. (sense of proportion: elimination of all dicriminatory Spending--without touching Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare--would not equal the 33% increase in Federal Spending brought by George W.'s first term).

Arnold Kling again provides an essential Read on the problem of financing Medicare. I, though, contend the necessity of universal provision in Health Care, as does Krugman. My proposal has always been to provide Health Care through the basic Necessities, then have private health insurance handle all expensive exotic care.

Ritholtz brings the Oil Prices decline into prospective. The major reason I advocate, though, he did not list; the level of production at Oil-producing and Oil-refining facilities has been dropping off full production.

An Associated Press article is unremarkable except for two Quotes here listed:

The conflict, now in its fourth year, has claimed the lives of more than 2,600 American troops and cost more than $300 billion.

a government-produced National Intelligence Estimate became public that concluded the war has helped create a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Synopsis: The Iraq/Afghanistan Wars have not met any of the criterea advanced for a War on Terror, or have they attained any of the Mission Goals of the Military and White House. The Bush Tax Cuts would not have been attainable within a balanced Budget, even if the foreign wars had been canceled. Even the Oil Speculators have become sceptical (or weary) over the continuous Crisis exhortation of the current administration. Arnold Kling can still be counted on for a judicious assessment, but he may be among the last of the honest of the Conservative stripe. Why does the current leadership so remind of the Nazi hierarchy in the Period 1943-45? lgl