The Audit

The $600 Million Homeowner Bailout

An economic disaster for the country and a political one for Obama

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 12, 2010 at 07:27 AM

Remember when a little ol' homeowner bailout set off CNBC's Rick Santelli, igniting the Tea Party movement back in February... More

MSNBC’s Ratigan Goes Way Off the Deep End

Discussing violent revolution as if it’s just another policy option

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 11, 2010 at 04:06 PM

MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan not only decided it was a good idea to have on far-left cartoonist Ted Rall to... More

Overplaying the Two Old Guys’ Report

The Times busts out the war font for a deficit plan with dubious prospects

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 11, 2010 at 02:00 PM

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times misplay the report out of the deficit commission panel today. The Journal... More

Medicare and the Deficit

The commission noise aside, it’s all that matters

By Felix Salmon   Nov 11, 2010 at 11:40 AM

The most clear-eyed view of the silliness of the deficit commission report comes from Kevin Drum, who points out that... More

A Biovail/60 Minutes Coda

By Dean Starkman   Nov 10, 2010 at 06:13 PM

Some stories just never go away. 60 Minutes's poor decision four years ago to portray a small pharmaceuticals company... More

Audit Notes: WSJ Explains Ireland, Eisinger, Tragedy of the Technocrats

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 10, 2010 at 04:13 PM

Every once in a while, we get one of those page-one stories in The Wall Street Journal that remind you... More

A Times Story Bodes Ill for the Washington Post

An investigation shows how Kaplan used predatory tactics to get students and government money

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 10, 2010 at 03:32 PM

The for-profit college business just looks worse and worse, and a New York Times investigation this morning paints a disturbing... More

Audit Notes: Foreclosure Scandal, Gold Still Not a Record, Facebook Ads

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 9, 2010 at 06:11 PM

The Washington Post drops this eye-raising info from a Long Island judge who's not happy with the banks' actions in... More

Brad DeLong’s Fiscal Manifesto

By Felix Salmon   Nov 9, 2010 at 03:13 PM

Brad DeLong is fed up with vague hand-waving from technocrats, Bob Rubin very much included, who call for the government... More

WaPo: OCC Had the Banks’ Back on Foreclosures

Comptroller John Dugan rejected requests from states to investigate

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 9, 2010 at 09:58 AM

This Washington Post story yesterday didn't get as much attention as it ought to have. Zachary Goldfarb reports on yet... More

Sarah Palin, Media Critic

The former veep candidate (and journalism major) misleads readers on the WSJ with selective quotes

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 8, 2010 at 09:25 PM

Aw, shucks. Sarah Palin is "just a former governor and current housewife from Alaska, but even humble folks like (her)... More

Audit Notes: Palin Holds Forth on QE2, Top 400 Taxes, Too Big to Jail

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 8, 2010 at 05:25 PM

If you, like me, had been eagerly awaiting Sarah Palin's thoughts on Quantitative Easing: Part Deux, the wait is over!... More

Beyond Just-the-Facts

A debate illuminates the Fed’s latest moves

By Felix Salmon   Nov 8, 2010 at 12:15 PM

After the Fed formally announced its new bout of quantitative easing, the CFR’s Sebastian Mallaby lost little time in declaring... More

A Big Story or a “Technicality”?

Sorkin, Nocera, and other intra-newsroom battles over whether the foreclosure scandal matters

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 8, 2010 at 07:42 AM

I get the sense that the foreclosure scandal has opened up some rifts in at least a couple of newsrooms.... More

Audit Notes: A Foreclosure Tragedy, Dirty Diapers, 1994, Hyatt’s Jingle Mail

By Ryan Chittum   Nov 5, 2010 at 04:57 PM

The Miami Herald finds a sad twist on the foreclosure scandal: Who do you sue when your toddler drowns in... More