When an economic bubble bursts, normalcy can only return if the price excesses created during the bubble are wrung out of the market. A recession is often a painful but necessary market mechanism that corrects the pricing distortion and consequent misallocation of capital that occurs in a bubble. When government intervention prevents the mispriced asset class from fully deflating, capital continues to be misallocated and economic malaise lingers on. This is the takeaway message from Peter Schiff’s Wall Street Journal editorial.

That’s what one former oil exec is saying and based on the increased demand we’re seeing in China…this doesn’t seem unlikely. From CNN Money: NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, says Americans could be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012. In an interview with Platt’s Energy [...]

2010 had many ups and downs and graphically there was a lot to draw. There is always a balance or judicious decisions to be made when covering the events and news. Natural disasters are tough as there is not a lot of comic room to debate or draw like Haiti, while the pot smoking legislation [...]

And now…David Donar’s version of The 12 Days of Christmas…as featured on CNN. In David’s own words… This is an animated video I did as part of CNN’s 12 days of Christmas. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it. For some reason, animation and holidays go together pretty naturally. Maybe [...]

After the self-described “shellacking” Obama and the Dems got in November, the turnaround in this lame duck session has been nothing short of extraordinary. 5 major pieces of legislation were passed during a time when nothing usually gets done. And all of it was bipartisan in one form or another. Let’s run down what they [...]

As the saying goes…worth a thousand words. And scene.

Claire McCaskill and other centrist Dems appear to be pushing hard next year for some pretty straightforward steps that create more transparency and accountability when the opposition tries to filibuster. And remember…Dems are they’re likely to lose more seats in 2012…so it’s not like this really helps them if they’re in the minority. Here’s more [...]

Specter lost his senate seat, but he has some parting shots for Republican appointed judges. From CNN: “Ignoring a massive congressional record and reversing recent decisions, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito repudiated their confirmation testimony given under oath and provided the key votes to permit corporations and unions to secretly pay for political advertising [...]

This is the one that started it all. No matter what your religious beliefs or non beliefs, the solstice is remarkable event and what makes this one even more remarkable is the lunar eclipse which the Earth’s shadow’s will cast an orange glow on the full moon. The solstice did not only signify the shortest [...]

Out of an apple? Donar shows you how… More at Political Graffiti.

Big time speech today from the guy who definitely has his eye on the White House. Here’s the video… I’ll offer the transcript below after my analysis. Personally, this feels disingenuous from a guy like Bloomberg who has repeatedly used the government to regulate New York City businesses and consumer behavior six ways to Sunday. [...]

Take a look… I’m sorry, but I literally can not understand the thought process here. They talk about deficit spending until they’re blue in the face, but they favor massive, unpaid tax cuts for the super rich, while wanting to deny unemployment benefits for the people who need it most. Baffling.

We all (unfortunately) knew the hell she went through the past couple years while battling incurable cancer. The reason I don’t link to that nonsense is out of respect. I’m sure you can understand. Personally, I’m glad her suffering is over, even though I’m so sorry that her children have lost their mother. That’s certainly [...]

Obama is baiting the trap and if the GOP candidate doesn’t take it in 2012, it could spell trouble for the Dems. Last night the President said this… I have no doubt that everyone will find something in this compromise that they don’t like. In fact, there are things in here that I don’t like [...]

If you haven’t heard yet, a new organization has popped up that promises to be a non-partisan/centrist/independent/moderate alternative for the rest of us. It’s called No Labels and it’s launching next Monday. Happy Birthday to me. Also, the symbol of the “party” is a buffalo. I was born in Buffalo, NY. Coincidence? Yes, completely.

In order to get the votes he needs to make sure unemployed Americans get the relief they need (and deserve) and employed Americans continue to enjoy payroll tax cuts, Obama is cutting a deal with the Repubs on the extension of the Bush tax cuts. As I’ve pointed out previously, this goes against the anti-spending [...]

Why are Republicans insisting that the tax cuts continue when the election appears to have been a referendum on spending? From CBS: The poll finds that 53 percent of Americans want the Bush-era tax cuts extended only for households earning less than $250,000 per year. That roughly matches the proposal put forth by the White [...]