05 | December | 2011

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Good News: Today marks the 78th anniversary of the repeal of America’s “War on Alcohol” on December 5, 1933, after nearly 13 years of Prohibition. Bad News: Largely as a result of America’s “War on Drugs,” more than 22,000 people … read more >

Economics

Federal Reserve: Policy uncertainty may well be stifling U.S. economic recovery

James Pethokoukis | December 5, 2011, 5:47 pm

Why does the so-called economic recovery stink so bad? Is is just poor demand and deleveraging or are job creators so worried about the future course of economic policy that they are not hiring or investing? The Federal Reserve Bank … read more >

Carpe Diem

More Casualties from the U.S. War on Drugs

Mark J. Perry | December 5, 2011, 5:40 pm

Some police officers, border patrol agents, and probation officers who support reforming America’s drug laws are among the latest casualties of America’s War on Drugs War on Peaceful Americans Who Voluntarily Use Intoxicants Not Currently Approved of by the U.S. … read more >

Economics

Under Obama, America finally has become like Europe

James Pethokoukis | December 5, 2011, 4:37 pm

In a new research note, Citigroup’s chief economist, William Buiter, says this week’s big EU summit “will not by itself resolve the euro area’s current fiscal issues, or eliminate the risk of future crises. Nor will it restart growth in the … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Latin America

Burying the Chávez legacy, soon

Roger Noriega | December 5, 2011, 4:15 pm

Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez told a gathering of regional heads of government in Caracas on Saturday that, “Roger Noriega wants me to die.” That’s not quite true. Even less true is Chávez’s unbelievable assertion that four rounds of chemotherapy left him … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Middle East and North Africa

AEI learns to stop worrying, love the Iranian bomb

Danielle Pletka | December 5, 2011, 3:52 pm

Tomorrow, AEI will release a report, “Containing and Deterring a Nuclear Iran,” which I co-authored with my colleagues Tom Donnelly and Maseh Zarif. (It will be live here tomorrow at 9 a.m.) We’ll talk about it at an event on … read more >

Carpe Diem

Higher Education Bubble: A Simple Case of Inflation

Mark J. Perry | December 5, 2011, 2:20 pm

Glenn Reynolds writing about the higher education bubble in Sunday’s Washington Examiner: “This is a simple case of inflation: When you artificially pump up the supply of something (whether it’s currency or diplomas), the value drops. The reason why a … read more >

Economics, Energy and the Environment

China makes a rare earth move

Kenneth P. Green | December 5, 2011, 2:13 pm

As I’ve written before, green-tech fans have a bit of a problem: the materials used to make things like super-strong magnets, high-efficiency solar panels, and the like are in high demand, but limited supply. And the supply of these “rare … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy

December’s Frank Ricciardone Sycophancy prize

Michael Rubin | December 5, 2011, 12:53 pm

The Frank Ricciardone Prize for Sycophancy is named after Francis “Frank” Ricciardone, the current U.S. ambassador to Turkey who, while the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, famously told Egyptian students that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was so popular among Americans that … read more >

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