10 | October | 2012

Saturday, May 25, 2013

‘Carpe oleum’ (seize the oil): North Dakota’s exponential oil production sets additional records in August

Mark J. Perry | October 10, 2012, 4:34 pm

The “Economic Miracle State” of North Dakota pumped another record amount of crude oil during the month of August, surpassing 700,000 barrels per day for the first time ever, according to data released today by the state’s Department of Mineral … read more >

Pethokoukis

The unemployment rate has dropped by 0.3% or more 9 times since 1990. But none looked anything like last month’s decline

James Pethokoukis | October 10, 2012, 2:41 pm

Sam Ro over at Business Insider notes that a 0.3% or greater decline in the unemployment rate in a single month has occurred nine times since 1990 and four times since 2000, including last month. I decided to go back … read more >

Image Credit: Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson (Wikimedia Commons)

Foreign and Defense Policy, Middle East and North Africa

Clinton cuts Rice loose on Libya

Marc Thiessen | October 10, 2012, 2:39 pm

Madam Ambassador, you’re on your own. That’s the message the Clinton State Department effectively delivered to UN ambassador Susan Rice as Congressional hearings into the cover-up over the September 11 terrorist attack in Libya get under way. Five days after … read more >

Carpe Diem

2012: The year of the housing recovery, updated

Mark J. Perry | October 10, 2012, 1:53 pm

Local metro areas around the country are starting to report this week on home sales for the month of September, and the positive news about the U.S. housing recovery continues, with more homes being sold faster at higher prices in … read more >

Image Credit: Senator Charles Schumer Flickr stream

Pethokoukis

Chuck Schumer’s tax reform plan made a ‘grand bargain’ less likely and a plunge over the fiscal cliff more likely

James Pethokoukis | October 10, 2012, 1:07 pm

I don’t see how Sen. Chuck Schumer’s speech on tax reform yesterday helped anything — other than providing further clarity on how Democrats are going to try and deal with the exploding national debt: taxes, taxes, and more taxes. The … read more >

Pethokoukis

New government report casts even more doubt on the September jobs data

James Pethokoukis | October 10, 2012, 11:29 am

According to the Labor Department’s just-released Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey, there were 3.6 million job openings on the last business day of August, “essentially unchanged from July.” The hires rate (3.3 percent) and separations rate (3.3 percent) “were little changed in August.” … read more >

Image credit: U.S. Dept. of Defense (Wikimedia Commons)

Politics and Public Opinion, Elections

College students: What questions would you ask the candidates?

Karin Agness | October 10, 2012, 10:54 am

In the first presidential debate, Governor Mitt Romney remarked that half of recent college graduates can’t find a job. He was likely referring to the government data that showed 53.6% of people under age 25 with a bachelor’s degree—about 1.5 … read more >

Pethokoukis

This video shows why the Ryan-Biden debate might not go as expected

James Pethokoukis | October 10, 2012, 10:09 am

Sometimes debating a lightly informed or less informed opponent can be tougher than squaring off against an extremely knowledgeable one. This is something Paul Ryan and Joe Biden might want to keep in mind before their debate tomorrow. As proof, … read more >

Politics and Public Opinion, Elections

27 days: U.S. 2012 elections live

Henrik Temp | October 10, 2012, 9:22 am

News & analysis on Election 2012. Updated throughout the day. read more >

Image Credit: Sam Felder (Flickr) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Foreign and Defense Policy

Hey Hillary Clinton, what’s wrong with Maryland (PS I don’t have AIDS)?

Michael Rubin | October 10, 2012, 9:07 am

Even at the best of times, navigating government bureaucracy can be like living in George Orwell’s novel 1984. Under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, however, the State Department appears intent to write a sequel. Here’s the background: As a requirement … read more >