Exclusive–Rand Paul: Stop Warping Reagan's Foreign Policy Reagan clearly believed in a strong national defense and in "Peace through Strength." He stood up to the Soviet Union, and he led a world that pushed back against Communism. But Reagan also believed in diplomacy and demonstrated a reasoned approach to our nuclear negotiations with the Soviets. Many forget today that Reagan’s decision to meet with Mikhail Gorbachev was harshly criticized by the Republican hawks of his time, some of whom would even call Reagan an appeaser. Without a clearly defined mission, exit strategy or acceptable rationale for risking soldiers lives, Reagan possessed the leadership to reassess and readjust. Today, we forget that some of the Republican hawks of his time criticized Reagan harshly for this too, again, calling him an appeaser. I don’t claim to be the next Ronald Reagan nor do I attempt to disparage fellow Republicans as not being sufficiently Reaganesque. I met Ronald Reagan as a teenager when my father was a Reagan delegate in 1976.
Kevin Drum The Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in King v. Burwell, in which conservatives will argue that the text of Obamacare limits federal subsidies only to people who buy insurance from state-run exchanges, not from the federal exchange. Roughly speaking, there are two prongs of the conservative argument: The law contains text that explicitly limits subsidies to state-run exchanges. Democrats may not have intended this, but they screwed up in the rush to get the bill passed. was meant as an incentive for states to run their own exchanges rather than punting the job to the feds. The argument over #1 revolves around textual interpretation of the statute as a whole, as well as previous Supreme Court precedent that provides federal agencies with broad latitude in how they implement regulations. But the recollections of journalists aren't really very germane to a Supreme Court case.
What history can tell us about Russia, Crimea and Vladimir Putin Russia's President Vladimir Putin gestures as he addresses a joint session of Russian parliament on Crimea in Moscow on March 18, 2014. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images) On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement that formally recognized the "reunification" of breakaway Ukrainian region of Crimea with Russia. "To understand the reason behind such a choice," Putin said in a speech to parliament, "It is enough to know the history of Crimea and what Russia and Crimea have always meant for each other." History. Putin didn't stop there. Few Western observers failed to note the historical rhetoric that formed the core of Putin's argument. Putin believes he has learned history’s lessons. World War II One of the most common references in the unfolding crisis in Ukraine, Crimea and Russia has been that of World War II and Nazi Germany. Fall of the Soviet Union Cyprus Northern Cyprus is one interesting example that Putin actually neglected to mention. Czechoslovakia Yugoslavia
Moneybox This story first appeared in Inc. In six years, Interscope records mogul Jimmy Iovine and hip-hop icon Dr. Dre have turned Beats by Dr. Dre headphones into a $1 billion-plus business. Now, together with new president and former Interscope executive Luke Wood, they’re faced with a new challenge: taking a hot brand and making it, you might say, even hotter. To that end, Beats Electronics has introduced portable and wireless speakers, co-branded smartphones—and in January it even launched a new streaming music service, Beats Music, to compete with the likes of Spotify. “You’ve got to be lucky enough to identify a problem where you think you can help,” says Iovine. “We got dumped on by audiophiles on Day One,” says Iovine. Assemble an All-Star Focus Group Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Beats by Dr. When developing the first Beats headphones, Iovine would lay out various prototypes in his Interscope offices and then poll everyone who came to see him. What Are Consumers Thinking About?
President Putin's address to Parliament over Crimea — RT Russian politics Published time: March 19, 2014 11:01 President Vladimir Putin making his statement before the assembly of Duma deputies, Federation Council members, the heads of the Russian regions and representatives of civil society. His speech concerned an appeal by the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to integrate them with the Russian Federation, March 18, 2014 (RIA Novosti / Alexei Nikolsky) Vladimir Putin addressed State Duma deputies, Federation Council members, heads of Russian regions and civil society representatives in the Kremlin. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Federation Council members, State Duma deputies, good afternoon. Dear friends, we have gathered here today in connection with an issue that is of vital, historic significance to all of us. More than 82 percent of the electorate took part in the vote. To understand the reason behind such a choice it is enough to know the history of Crimea and what Russia and Crimea have always meant for each other. Colleagues, Next.
Eric Alterman Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) My new Nation column is called "The Right Loses It Over Russia—Again" and it notes that "Conservative hysteria over Putin's aggression in 2014 is eerily reminiscent of right-wing reaction to a previous Crimean adventure, at the dawn of the Cold War. Alter-reviews: Spring Quartet at Rose Hall Reed and I did not post last week so I have a number of shows to discuss. As for the headliners, they were a real band despite the generational divide separating the veterans DeJohnette and Lovano from the youngsters, Genovese and Spalding. Jim Caruso's Cast Party A week later, I returned to Jazz@Lincoln Center, this time to the beautiful Appel Room, which is the Allen Room renamed in honor of a multi-million dollar gift, and for a show called "Jim Caruso’s Cast Party." There were too many highlights to even begin to do justice to them. The next American Songbook show will be Mark Mulcahy on March 19 at the Stanley H. Drive-By Truckers
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