David P. Goldman is a senior editor of First Things.

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Bloomberg and the Clerical D-List

From First Thoughts

For multibillionaire celebrity political honcho, New York’s Mayor Bloomberg is not doing terribly well with the clergy of his city.  At a press conference yesterday morning with the Statue of Liberty in the background, called to support the Ground Zero Islamic center, Bloomberg . . . . Continue Reading »

The Karachity Pakistanis

From First Thoughts

Pakistan’s largest city (and one of the largest in the Muslim world) exploded in riots this week following the murder of a leading politician, and the government has not yet brought it under control. This is a development of enormous significance; it is just this sort of prospective . . . . Continue Reading »

Demographics and Deflation

From First Thoughts

Last night I joined my old friend and Bear, Stearns colleague Wayne Angell—a vice chairman of the Fed’s Board of Governors two decades ago—on CNBC’s Kudlow Report . Wayne took issue with economists who fear deflation; I tend to share those fears, although for different . . . . Continue Reading »

Running in Tight Little Circles

From First Thoughts

Circular reasoning is the standard response to running in tight little circles, which ensues upon having one’s foot nailed to the floor. According to Bret Stephens’ column in today’s Wall Street Journal , we should employ circular reasoning to justify our present misery in . . . . Continue Reading »

Conjugular Love

From First Thoughts

Anne Rice has clarified her renunciation of Christianity, explaining, ”I didn’t anticipate in the beginning that US Catholic Bishops were going to come out against same-sex marriage. That they were actually going to donate money to defeat the civil rights of homosexuals in the secular . . . . Continue Reading »

Fed Proposals to Counter “Deflation” Are Misguided

From Web Exclusives

Senior officials of the Federal Reserve now warn that the United States faces a Japan-style deflation and a prolonged period of stagnation like Japan’s “lost decade” of the 1990s. TheNew York Times’ website reports: On Thursday, James Bullard, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, warned that the Fed’s current policies were putting the American economy at risk of becoming “enmeshed in a Japanese-style deflationary outcome within the next several years.” … Continue Reading »