Republican pin-up girl Meghan McCain — daughter of Johh — takes leftie TV host Rachel Maddow to an NRA convention, where they debate gun ownership and semi-automatic weapons. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
May, 2011
Crikey Says: Crikey says: measuring our well-being
The government is busy countering coverage like The Australian’s “THAT’s not a knife Treasurer” retort this morning by promising that they’re tough enough, promise.
Social media shit storm leads to AFL revolt
AFL fans across all clubs have united on Twitter and Facebook to offer support for Jack Trengrove, who has been suspending for three weeks following a contentious tackle, writes Leigh Josey.
The cat is not for sale
The 3AW rumour file this morning had a story suggesting that Antony Catalano has sold his Weekly Review operation to Fairfax for big bucks. Margaret Simons called Catalano to see if the rumour was true.
PHOTO GALLERY 
Inside the crumbled centre of Christchurch
Photographer Ross Becker gained permission from the Director of Civil Defence in Christchurch to enter the cordoned-off CBD and chroncile the devastated buildings and crushed churches.
Maley: why aren’t we already in surplus?
Wayne Swan continues to pledge that the federal budget will return to surplus by 2012-13. The big question is why we’re not already there, asks Karen Maley?
comedy Remember: you can’t buy happiness
You would think a life of privilege would leave you with nothing to complain about. Not so. Comedian Simon Keck reminds readers why you can’t buy happiness.
Hitchens on being silenced
Christopher Hitchens reveals how cancer of the oesophagus has slowly whittled his vocal chords away, a heavy burden for a man whose career and personality is built around public speaking and writing that mimics his speaking style.
PHOTO GALLERY 
The forgotten Sahrawi Bedouins
For three and a half decades tens of thousands of Sahrawi Bedouins have lived in exile from Western Sahara. A set of poignant photographs from Andrew McConnell captures “a people living as ghosts.”
Losing my budget lock-up virginity
Young journalist and politics wonk Josh Taylor explains what it’s like being in the budget lock-up for the first time, including sitting next to Glenn Milne and spying on Leigh Sales getting her makeup done.
Advertisers bolt from The Bolt Report
A campaign to pressure companies not to air advertisements during Andrew Bolt’s new TV show appears to be working, with Tele-Choice and iPrimus reportedly among the companies pulling out of Bolt’s Sunday morning time slot.
Australia near the lead in the low unemployment stakes
The OECD’s latest review of unemployment in the world’s major economies confirms how well Australia is doing compared with its peers, reports Richard Farmer.
A frugal budget to get people back to work
Crikey media wrap: Wayne Swan’s biggest day of the year is over, and the verdicts on this year’s restrained budget, announced with much fanfare in Canberra yesterday, have been pouring in.
The BBC perspective: quasi-austere Swan delivers politically cautious budget
The federal budget was not a collection of deep cuts, but rather a lot of tiny ones. The Labor government simply doesn’t have the numbers to be bold, says the BBC’s Nick Bryan.
healthcare A wrap of reaction to the health budget
What will the budget do for healthcare? Croakey presents media statements from the Public Health Association and Consumers Health Forum and Doctors Reform Society.
The campaign to get Andrew Bolt off the air is reprehensible
This week idealistic lefties have started a campaign to try and pressure companies to pull advertising from Andrew Bolt’s new show The Bolt Report. This should concern any advocate of free speech, writes Dan Barrett.
Post-budget media wrap: what they’re saying
For many of Australia’s finest political journalists it’s out of the lock-up and straight to the bar — but not before filing copy for tomorrow’s edition. Here’s the initial round-up of the first impressions of budget 2011.
Federal Budget Live Blog
Come join Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane and economist Nicholas Gruen, fresh from the lock-up — along with the usual suspects of First Dog on the Moon, Crikey editor Sophie Black and politics wonk Charles Richardson — as they discuss the cuts, deficits, long-term unemployed and Wayne Swan’s garish purple tie. The Crikey budget live blog is on right now, so […]
The politics: it won’t save the government, but it won’t kill it
In truth Wayne Swan has produced a budget that is hard to distinguish from his effort last year or in 2008. There’s the same unwillingness to cut deeply into sensitive spending areas, in favour of fiddling at the margin and cutting rats-and-mice spending. There’s the same lingering revenue impacts of economic disruption that we saw […]
Crikey Says: Crikey says: a politically cautious budget
This is a dour, politically cautious budget.
Keane: the challenge of Swan’s two-speed budget
A collapse in receipts has ripped a $16 billion hole in government finances over this year and next. Treasurer Wayne Swan has revealed a budget deficit for 2011-12 of $22.6 billion, up $10.3 billion from November. This year’s deficit has increased $8 billion to $49.4 billion.
