The Exquisite Contrarian

Relentless attacks against al-Qaeda in the Pakistan tribal region appear to have driven Osama bin Laden and other top leaders deeper into hiding, leaving the organization rudderless and less capable of planning sophisticated operations, CIA Director Leon Panetta said Wednesday. More at Al-Qaeda crippled as leaders stay in hiding, CIA chief says – washingtonpost.com.

The Christian Science Monitor chimes in with an opinion as to why US healthcare so expensive today, and their answer goes like this: Those on the economic left [in England and the US] simply don’t want to admit it. It is, in fact, the same problem we have with healthcare in our country: People don’t pay [...]

I suspect we could be seeing Iraq’s final gasp of democracy this weekend, a last purple-fingered salute before the country slips back into a more familiar authoritarianism. It’s not this election we need to worry about, in other words—it’s the next one, four years from now.  This uncomfortable truth was hard to ignore after the [...]

“I believe the time has come to consider a change to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” General David Petraeus told the Armed Services Committee today, in his most direct public comments about the policy. “I think it should be done in a thoughtful and deliberative matter that should include the conduct of the review that Secretary [...]

Only 16% have received mortgage relief so far, and now – rather than fix the actual problem – the government’s starting up a new program to encourage mortgage companies to push their customers into a short sale. This has been a massive failure on everyone’s part and will continue to be until the government decides [...]

Jim Jubak presents the case that just like any government, including the US — and perhaps more than most — China probably runs its balance sheet through “budget magicians” who don’t want to show you that “China is indeed broke.” More: New evidence indicates China may be Bankrupt / The Christian Science Monitor.

Are we finally in a recovery? Who’s “we,” kemosabe? Big global companies, Wall Street, and high-income Americans who hold their savings in financial instruments are clearly doing better. As to the rest of us – small businesses along Main Streets, and middle and lower-income Americans – forget it. Read more: This recovery is a sham .

It turns out that the efforts to prop up AIG are also working out much better than expected. AIG still owes the Fed and the Treasury a combined $127 billion. But—surprise!—AIG is paying a lot of its debts back. And theres a not too far-fetched scenario in which we come close to breaking on our [...]

So now what do you do? Calif state senator says he’s gay after DUI arrest.

Great line. Watch Dave’s entire interview here.