Netizen

Description: Front side (obverse) of one of the Nobel Prize medals in Physiology or Medicine awarded in 1950 to researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I agree with Paul Krugman, my favorite political columnist. How many political columnists have a Nobel Prize? But I liked him plenty before he won the prize. Actually I was in disbelief he did. Columnists are not supposed to win Nobel Prizes, I remember thinking.

The Secret of Our Non-Success

the stimulus was both too small and too short-lived, partly because of administration errors but mainly because of scorched-earth Republican obstruction

And I argued the stimulus was too small back in 2009. Paul was going on deep knowledge, I was going on instinct.

The faster way to reduce the debt would be for this country to do another stimulus, this time a full trillion. But I don't see it happening. Such common sense would be too much to ask of the political system.

King Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz in 2002 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As someone who would like to see an Egypt style uprising also in Saudi Arabia - I could live with a constitutional monarchy there - I read this with great interest.

Twitter Gives Saudi Arabia a Revolution of Its Own

Open criticism of this country’s royal family, once unheard-of, has become commonplace in recent months. Prominent judges and lawyers issue fierce public broadsides about large-scale government corruption and social neglect. Women deride the clerics who limit their freedoms. Even the king has come under attack. All this dissent is taking place on the same forum: Twitter.