The Hollywood Liberal

Rick Perry’s newbie mistake on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Question: Do you believe there should be a Palestinian state?

“I certainly have some concerns. The first step in any peaceful negotiation for a two-state solution for the Palestinians is to recognize the right of Israel’s existence. They have to denounce terrorism in both word and deed. And they have to sit down and negotiate with Israel directly. Anything short of that is a non-starter in my opinion.”

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Obama proposes new taxes on wealthy for half of debt plan

President Obama made a defiant call on Monday for $1.5 trillion in new taxes as part of a plan to find $3.2 trillion in budget savings over the next decade, issuing his most detailed proposal yet to tame the soaring federal debt.

Abandoning earlier compromises, Obama adopted a posture that cedes far less ground in cutting the nation’s social safety net and demands much more in terms of new levies on millionaires, other wealthy Americans and some industries.

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Old debate over raising rich’s taxes plays out on new landscape

On Monday, President Obama arrived at the place that many presidents reach when a recession won’t quit: He went after the rich.

Obama said he planned to increase tax rates on the wealthy, to ensure they “pay their fair share, just like everybody else.” Republicans called Obama’s ideas “class warfare” and suggested that they would hurt the economy by leaving small-business owners with less money to spend.

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Fact checking Obama’s Rose Garden statement on taxes and spending

Analysts have decreed that President Obama’s speech in the Rose Garden on Monday was a political statement designed to rally his political base rather than engage in real negotiations with Republicans on Capitol Hill — who may be beyond negotiations with this president in any case.

 But we deal in facts. How factual were various assertions made by the president?

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Get Real: Bush, GOP to Blame for Obama Woes
Bill Keller, New York Times
Just a few winters ago my wife and I took our daughters to witness the inauguration of a man who had campaigned on hope and embodied possibility. We are pretty immune to political euphoria, but, circulating among the footsore pilgrims, we could imagine our country had embraced the idea that we were all in this together. When the newly sworn-in president congratulated us all on choosing unity of purpose over recriminations and worn-out dogmas, we wanted to believe that we had done exactly that.Inaugurations, of course, are ceremonial ephemera. After the "Ask not" comes the…

A Better Way to Rank Our Schools
Paul Glastris, RealClearPolitics
Back in the 1990s, when the American economy last bestrode the globe, many smart people observed that the secret to our success was our system of higher education, said to be "the finest in the world." These people weren't exactly wrong. America's colleges and universities really were, and are, key to the country's greatness. They produce the research and human capital that fuel the economy. They help Americans who are poor to become Americans who will prosper. And they shape the thoughts and ethics of the young Americans who will someday lead the country.But…

The Next Electoral Wave
Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Another wave is coming, Washington "“ and “the 'ins' may be thrown out, and the 'outs' may be thrown in,” according to Michael Genovese, Loyola University political-science professor. Genovese thinks the economic and political turbulence of the past 12 years are "eerily similar" to the Panic of 1893 and the unsettling election cycles of 1884 to 1896.

Welcome to Solyndra Nation
Matthew Continetti, Weekly Standard
To find a metaphor for the failed Obama presidency, look no further than Solyndra. Before it went bankrupt, the solar panel manufacturer was more than the recipient of a $535 million loan guarantee from the federal government. It was the model for the White House effort to put the American economy on a “new foundation.”Solyndra was environmentally friendly, technologically advanced, and politically correct. It was an exporter, not an importer. Politicians and government were instrumental in the company’s growth. The money disbursed to Solyndra, it was said, would…