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Slate
2020 Vision
A CIA report predicts that American global dominance could end in 15 years.
by Fred Kaplan

National Intelligence Council
Mapping the Global Future: Report of the National Intelligence Council's 2020 Project

Social Security Choice Blog
Because Every American Should Have Their Own Nest Egg
Sponsored by the Club for Growth, this site seeks to promote “The Ownership Society” by advocating personal accounts for Social Security.

Cracks in the Chinese Wall
After Zhao Ziyang's death, Beijing's communist rulers try but fail to control the Internet.
by Emily Parker

To the Races
Iraqi pols debate.
by Walid Phares

W. Post
Civil Service System on Way Out at DHS
White House Wants All Agencies to Have Option of Setting Own Personnel Policies

Ukraine's Lesson for Putin
by Jim Hoagland

USA Today
Spending on PR doubled under Bush, report says
The Bush administration has more than doubled its spending on outside contracts with public relations firms during the past four years, according to an analysis of federal procurement data by congressional Democrats.

WSJ Editorial
The Airport Road
America must act to secure Iraq's most vital artery.

Self-indulgence
by Thomas Sowell
The enraged speeches and street disorders across the country that accompanied the inauguration of President Bush may tell us more than we want to know about what is happening to this country.

The Zaraqawi rally
by Larry Kudlow
No one seems to be connecting the dots, but I'm willing to bet that the capture of the top assistant to terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al Zarqawi was the trigger for Tuesday's best-in-the-new-year stock market rally.

Further Thoughts on the Inaugural Address
by Peggy Noonan

NY Sun
Bush Presses Guest-Worker Program

Digging Into Seymour Hersh
by Max Boot

Hillary Clinton's Anti-Abortion Strategy
by William Saletan

Foreign Policy Judo
by Nibras Kazimi

Bureaucracy plus plastic chairs?
by Marvin Olasky

Hopkins hysteria
by George WillIs this the fruit of feminism?

USA Today
Study: Internet doesn't deserve bad rep
New report says 72% of identity thefts done last year were offline.

WSJ Editorial

All You Need to Know

All you really need to know about the latest Congressional Budget Office figures is contained in the chart. The darker bars at the bottom measure the annual budget deficit as a share of the U.S. economy, showing that it will steadily decline throughout the rest of this decade. From 3.6% of GDP in the 2004 fiscal year, the deficit will fall steadily to an insignificant 0.5% of GDP in 2011, assuming continued economic growth.

We realize these CBO estimates don't include future spending on the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. But as CBO points out, revenues are expected to grow rapidly over the decade, especially in individual income taxes. The progressive nature of the U.S. tax code means that, as growth raises incomes, more and more people are pushed into higher tax brackets, even if President Bush's tax cuts are made permanent.

The other thing to know is revealed in the lighter bars in the chart, which show debt held by the public as a share of GDP. This is the most telling measure of the federal debt burden because it indicates a country's ability to service that debt. And the chart shows the U.S. burden staying more or less constant through this decade despite the fact that annual deficits will add to the total amount of debt...
It is also true that these debt figures do not include the future liabilities for Medicare and Social Security that politicians have promised. But Congressman John Spratt (D., S.C.) and other self-described "deficit hawks" could raise taxes beyond their wildest dreams and never raise enough revenue to pay for those promises. The only way to reduce those liabilities is to reform those entitlement programs -- for example, with private Social Security accounts that will build wealth over time. Any politician who moans about the "deficit" or the "national debt" and opposes entitlement reform is really arguing for a tax increase.

The Hill
Inaugural run-in for Reid aide

Praise for Newt Gingrich's Bold, New Political Strategy
by Steve Forbes

ESPN.com
Spring Training Reporting Dates

Bring on the Love: U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
by Jeff Keuss, Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor, currently Visiting Professor of Theology and Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, Seattle Pacific University and Northwest Graduate School.

Contactmusic.com
Bush Left Bono Speechless
Bono: I Need Bandmates To Keep Me Together
Bono Explains Conversations


Business 2.0
The Smart List
Bold thinkers. Brilliant ideas. Clever strategies. Savvy execution. Our annual tip of the hat to the brightest minds in business and the miraculous feats they've accomplished.

Smartest Ad Campaign
Silhouettes and Synergy

Thanks to a smart decision to cross-promote two well-known entertainment brands -- a collaboration hatched by U2 lead singer Bono and Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who are longtime friends -- each side contributed an edgy dose of cool to the advertising effort, which was produced by TBWA/Chiat/Day. "U2 exudes everything Apple wants to stand for -- and vice versa," says Joseph Jaffe, president of Jaffe marketing consultancy. "Independence, creativity, self-expression, and authenticity."

The pairing scored with music fans. Following its exclusive release on Apple's iTunes Music Store, U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb went on to top the iTunes sales charts for weeks after its late-November debut. Offline the album launched at the top of the U.S. pop charts, selling almost twice as many copies as U2's last U.S. release did during its first week -- a success that rescued the band from the purgatory of "classic rock" status.

For this, U2 and its Interscope/Geffen/A&M label credit iTunes and the $20 million TV campaign Apple undertook to back the partnership. (U2 agreed to appear in the ads for free.) As Bono put it, "We want our audience to have a more intimate online relationship with the band, and Apple can help us do that."

Independent of download revenue, Apple also used the U2 campaign to send a powerful message to Microsoft (MSFT), RealNetworks (RNWK), Sony (SNE), and other competitors that hope to cut into iTunes's 70 percent market share for online song downloads: Back off. "It's game, set, and match," Jaffe says. "Word of mouth built the iPod/iTunes franchise, and the U2 campaign has solidified it."