Daily Archives: September 18, 2013

Ezra Is Terrified Because of His Framing

Here’s an exchange from last Friday’s Chris Hayes “All In” MSNBC show among Chris, Robert Costa of the National Review, and Ezra Klein of The Washington Post’s “Wonkblog.” In what follows I’ve slightly edited the MSNBC transcript to get rid of obvious verbal deviations but haven’t corrected for punctuation.

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Now is the Time to Cast Off Delusion…

By Michael Hoexter

In writing the Pedal-to-the-Metal Plan (P2M) to build a post-carbon energy system, I felt compelled at various points to turn and address what would be expectable objections to what I believe is a sensible way forward on economic and climate-related issues.  To face the massive challenge of climate change and to reorient our economy towards “real” goods and services will require people to have greater mental clarity about a number of important issues that have over several decades become muddled or swept into forgetfulness.  To sign onto and participate in an effort such as the P2M Plan or similar it would in many cases involve examining some of one’s life priorities and will take deliberate thought by each to figure out how they would come to terms with and collaboratively shape a new reality.

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My “Idiotic” Insistence on Being Fair in Criticizing Larry Summers

By William K. Black

My most recent column: Larry Summers Got a Bad Rap on Stimulus: Obama is the Problem so distressed one of my readers that he was moved to comment:

“Wow, this is a piece of shit column, full of straw men and idiotic praising of bad economists. You owe those of us who look up to you much much better than this.”

I have written a series of columns over the last several weeks criticizing President Obama’s reported desire to appoint Larry Summers as Ben Bernanke’s replacement to run the Fed.  I explained why I viewed Summers as a leading architect of financial crises because of his failure to understand fraud and financial regulation.  The reader who I distressed has a long and distinguished track record in fighting effectively for progressive causes.

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