HAVANA (AP) — About 500 people have marched through the Cuban capital to the rhythm of conga drums in an early celebration of the international day against homophobia.
President Raul Castro’s daughter Mariela led Saturday’s procession of gays and their supporters, some of whom chanted “Homophobia no! Socialism yes!”
She’s head of the National Sexual Education Center and a leading campaigner for gay rights in Cuba, where the government persecuted homosexuals, especially in the 1960s. She says she’s optimistic that the communist nation will eventually legalize gay marriage, but says “What is most complicated is the time it takes to overcome prejudices.”
Promoters plan a series of expositions and conferences leading up to another celebration in the city of Ciego de Avila on the day against homophobia itself, which falls on May 17.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The U.S. is a top market for gay-friendly surrogacy.
Portland, Ore., famous for its coffeehouses, indie music, microbreweries and bookstores, is now gaining recognition — particularly among gay couples — for a lesser-known attraction: reproductive medicine.
Gays and lesbians who want babies are flocking from as far away as France and Israel to conceive their dream of becoming parents using donor eggs, donor sperm and surrogates — something not allowed in their home countries.
The USA is a top market for gay-friendly surrogacy, and a growing number of couples come from overseas, creating a burgeoning travel segment commonly called medical tourism.
“They all, without exception, cannot do surrogacy or egg donation in their countries,” says Ron Poole-Dayan, executive director of Men Having Babies, a non-profit support network for biological gay fathers and fathers-to-be. At least 40% of the 1,000 couples in the group are European.
The popularity of the USA with gays and lesbians worldwide who aspire to be parents is understandable. But Portland?
There are several reasons why the City of Roses, which combines small-town charm (fewer than 600,000 people) with a big-city vision that’s become an international model for good planning (light-rail, an urban-growth boundary), is becoming a magnet for gay couples on a parental mission:
• Top clinic. Oregon Reproductive Medicine (ORM), based in Portland, is ranked one of the top in the world for its high success rate, egg and sperm donor options and quality of medical service.
“They are really very highly rated,” says Poole-Dayan, whose group rates agencies and clinics. He and his husband are dads of 12-year-old twins through surrogacy.
About 85% of surrogacy attempts at ORM result in a child’s birth and “that’s the biggest reason people all over the world come to Portland,” says Jonathan Kipp, marketing director.
Ten years ago, the clinic might have seen one gay couple in a year but “now, it’s absolutely a normal day to have gay couples in our hallways every week,” he says.
• Gay-friendly. Portland is”very left-leaning, it’s welcoming, it’s small and it’s down to earth,” Kipp says. “Really, it’s a lot of things that people, no matter where you are in the world, like.”
The domestic and international LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) travelers “looking for a friendly, safe and fun place to travel are important pieces of the tourism story,” says Megan Conway, of Travel Portland, the city’s visitors association.
The community supports gay-owned businesses, she says, and “that, in turn, is why this is also such a great destination for LGBT travelers.”
• Healthy and young. The city, nestled between the Willamette and Columbia rivers, attracts outdoorsy, health-conscious people, says Carl Abbott, professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University.
“There are lots of hikers and bicycle commuters and healthy people in their 20s and 30s … and people in that age range with a college education are more socially liberal and progressive,” he says.
Liberalism aside, “We have lots of young, healthy women willing to donate their eggs and lots of young mothers who want to be gestational carriers who are healthy people,” Kipp says.
• Cheaper. The process of making babies usually costs $130,000 to $170,000 in more typical destinations — larger cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
“The California and northeast agencies have become very expensive,” Poole-Dayan says. “The cost in Portland is somewhere around $90,000, and its reported success is very high.”
Guy Tatsa, 43, and Lucian Laur, 38, live in Tel Aviv, Israel. They had their first child, Ella, now 5, through a surrogate in Los Angeles. But they came to Portland for their next child and wound up with two: twins Eitan and David, just under 4 months old now.
“We had friends who had done it through ORM, and we searched clinic’s statistics and saw they were one of the best,” Tatsa says. “We found Portland a wonderful place … a very-child-oriented city.”
They came three times for tests, to meet the surrogate and see the ultrasound and finally for the births.
“You have to want to get here if you’re coming from Tel Aviv or Paris,” Abbott says. “It’s a long trip.”
Cindy Amberger, left, and her partner, Lynne Hvidsten celebrate after the Minnesota House passed the gay marriage bill Thursday, May 9, 2013 in St. Paul, Minn. The two women have been together for 20 years.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Supporters already are celebrating the Minnesota House’s passage of a measure to legalize gay marriage, but there are a few more steps before it gets to Gov. Mark Dayton’s desk.
“It’s not time to uncork the champagne yet. But it’s chilling,” Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-Hopkins, said at a spirited rally in the Capitol rotunda a few minutes after the House voted 75-59 to let same-sex couples start getting married in Minnesota come Aug. 1.
The state Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill Monday, and leaders expect it to pass there too. Dayton has pledged to sign it into law, and a spokesman said the Democratic governor likely would do so at a Tuesday ceremony.
Final passage would make Minnesota the 12th state in the country to allow gay couples to wed, and the first in the Midwest to pass such a law in its Legislature. It comes just six months after the state’s voters rejected banning gay marriage in the state constitution.
The bill passed in the House after more than three hours of debate that was emotional at times but remained respectful throughout. Many hundreds of demonstrators on both sides of the issue chanted, sang and waved signs outside the House chamber, prompting heightened security at the Capitol. But no disruptions were reported.
Rep. Karen Clark, the bill’s sponsor, said her only goal was equal treatment under state law for same-sex couples. In a deeply personal speech, the Minneapolis Democrat talked of the support she got from her own family after coming out as gay decades ago.
“My family knew firsthand that same-sex couples pay our taxes, we vote, we serve in the military, we take care of our kids and our elders and we run businesses in Minnesota,” Clark said.
Four of the House’s 61 Republicans voted for the bill, while two of its 73 Democrats voted no. None of the four Republicans committed support beforehand. One, Rep. Jenifer Loon of Eden Prairie, said she made up her mind during the debate, in which lawmakers listened with rapt attention while their colleagues spoke.
“There comes a time when you just have to set politics aside and decide in your gut what is the right thing to do,” said Loon, whose suburban district southwest of Minneapolis voted strongly against last fall’s gay marriage ban. The other Republicans to vote for gay marriage also hail from suburban or exurban districts: Pat Garofalo of Farmington, David FitzSimmons of Albertville and Andrea Kieffer of Woodbury.
Opponents argued the legislation alters a centuries-old conception of marriage, and leaves those people opposed for religious reasons to be tarred as bigots.
“We’re not. We’re not,” said Rep. Kelby Woodard, a Republican from Belle Plaine. “These are people with deeply held beliefs, including myself.”
House Republican Leader Kurt Daudt acknowledged views on gay marriage are changing but said the bill’s sponsors stood to alienate thousands of Minnesotans who still believe in the male-female definition of marriage.
“Hearts and minds are changing on this,” Daudt said. “But Minnesotans are still divided.”
The two Democrats who voted no, Patti Fritz of Faribault and Mary Sawatzky of Willmar, represent largely rural districts where the gay marriage ban was backed by a majority of voters. But most of the Democrats from rural, more socially conservative areas ended up voting for the bill.
Outside the chamber, supporters and opponents of the bill stood shoulder to shoulder and chanted with equal vigor. Gay marriage backers dressed in orange T-Shirts and held signs that read, “I Support The Freedom to Marry.” Behind them, opponents held up bright pink signs that simply read, “Vote No.”
Among the demonstrators was Grace McBride, 27, a nurse from St. Paul. She said she and her partner felt compelled to be there to watch history unfold. She said she hopes to get married “as soon as I can” if the bill becomes law. The legislation would allow her to do so starting Aug. 1.
“I have thought about my wedding since I was a little girl,” she said.
On the other side of the divide, Galina Komar, a recent Ukrainian immigrant who lives in Bloomington, brought her 4-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son to the Capitol to express her religious concerns.
“I do believe in God, and I believe God already created the perfect way to have a family,” Komar said.
Eleven other states allow gay marriages — including Rhode Island and Delaware, which approved laws in the past week.
Iowa allows gay marriages because of a 2009 court ruling. Leaders in Illinois — the only Midwestern state other than Minnesota with a Democratic-led statehouse — say that state is close to having the votes to approve a law too.
More than two dozen House Democrats gave speeches for the bill, many sharing personal stories of gay friends and family members.
“There are kids being raised by grandparents, single parents, two moms or two dads,” said Rep. Laurie Halverson, a Democrat from a suburb south of St. Paul. “Some of those folks are my friends. And we talk about the same things as parents. We talk about large piles of laundry, and how much it hurts to step on a Lego. That’s what we do, because we’re all families.”
ST. PAUL — A historic vote Thursday in the Minnesota House positioned the state to become the 12th in the country to allow gay marriages and the first in the Midwest to pass such a law.
Lawmakers approved it 75 to 59, a critical step for the measure that would allow same-sex weddings beginning this summer. Six months ago, voters turned back an effort to ban gay marriage in the Minnesota Constitution.
The state Senate plans to consider the bill Monday and leaders expect it to pass there, too. Governor Mark Dayton has pledged to sign it into law.
‘‘It’s not time to uncork the champagne yet. But it’s chilling,’’ Representative Steve Simon, a suburban Democrat who backed the bill, said at a rally in the state Capitol rotunda minutes after the vote.
Representative Karen Clark, sponsor of the bill, said her only goal was equal treatment under state law for same-sex couples. In a deeply personal speech, the Minneapolis Democrat talked of the support she got from her own family after coming out as gay decades ago.
‘‘My family knew firsthand that same-sex couples pay our taxes, we vote, we serve in the military, we take care of our kids and our elders, and we run businesses in Minnesota,’’ she said.
Four of the House’s 61 Republicans voted for the bill, while two of its 73 Democrats voted no. None of the four Republicans committed support beforehand; one, Representative Jenifer Loon, said she made up her mind during the three-hour House debate.
‘‘There comes a time when you just have to set politics aside and decide in your gut what is the right thing to do,’’ said Loon, whose suburban district southwest of Minneapolis voted strongly against last fall’s gay marriage ban. The other Republicans to vote for gay marriage also hail from suburban or exurban districts: Pat Garofalo of Farmington, David FitzSimmons of Albertville, and Andrea Kieffer of Woodbury.
The two Democrats who voted no, Patti Fritz of Faribault and Mary Sawatzky of Willmar, represent largely rural districts where the gay marriage ban was backed by a majority of voters. But most of the Democrats from rural, more socially conservative areas ended up voting for the bill.
Opponents argued that it would alter a centuries-old conception of marriage and leave those people opposed for religious reasons tarred as bigots.
‘‘We’re not. We’re not,’’ said Representative Kelby Woodard, a Republican from Belle Plaine. ‘‘These are people with deeply held beliefs, including myself.’’
House Republican leader Kurt Daudt acknowledged that views on gay marriage are changing, but said the bill’s sponsors stood to alienate thousands of Minnesotans who still believe in the male-female definition of marriage.
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Mikki Snyder-Hall married her partner, Claire, in California in 2008, and moved two years ago to Rehoboth, a gay-friendly Delaware beach town.
Now they’re looking forward to July 1, when Delaware officially becomes the 11th state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage after Gov. Jack Markell signed a gay marriage bill into law Tuesday.
“As of July, we are considered married,” said Snyder-Hall said. The couple said that while they don’t intend to have another wedding ceremony, they may have another reception to celebrate their new legal status in Delaware.
Markell, a Democrat, signed the measure into law just minutes after its passage by the state Senate on Tuesday.
“I do not intend to make any of you wait one moment longer,” a smiling Markell told about 200 jubilant supporters who erupted in cheers and applause following the 12-9 Senate vote barely half an hour earlier.
“Delaware should be, is and will be a welcoming place to live and love and to raise a family for all who call our great state home,” Markell said.
Delaware’s same-sex marriage bill was introduced in the Democratic-controlled legislature barely a year after the state began recognizing same-sex civil unions. The bill won passage two weeks ago in the state House on a 23-18 vote.
While it doesn’t give same-sex couples any more rights or benefits under Delaware law than they have in civil unions, supporters argued that same-sex couples deserve the dignity and respect of married couples. They also noted that if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars married gay couples from receiving federal benefits, civil unions would not provide protections or tax benefits under federal law to same-sex couples in Delaware.
“All couples under the law should be treated equally by their government,” Lisa Goodman, president of Equality Delaware, a gay rights group that drafted the legislation and led the effort to get it passed, told lawmakers near the end of Tuesday’s three-hour debate.
Under the bill, no new civil unions will be performed in Delaware after July 1, and existing civil unions will be converted to marriages over the next year. The legislation also states that same-sex unions established in other states will be treated the same as marriages under Delaware law.
Scott Forrest, 50, of Newark said he and his partner of almost 21 years, Kevin Fenimore, look forward to having the civil union they entered into last year converted to marriage.
“I am elated,” he said.
Lambda Legal, a national gay rights advocacy group, applauded passage of Delaware’s gay marriage bill.
“Today, we celebrate with the thousands of Delaware same-sex couples and their children who will soon be able to have the full recognition and respect accorded to married families,” Susan Sommer, director of constitutional litigation at Lambda Legal, said in a statement.
Tuesday’s debate included the first public acknowledgment by Sen. Karen Peterson, D-Stanton, that she is a lesbian. Saying she and her partner of 24 years entered into a civil union last year, Peterson rejected the notion that people choose to be gay, any more than they choose to be heterosexual.
“We are what God made us. We don’t need to be fixed, we’re not broken,” said Peterson, 63, adding that if her pursuit of happiness affects someone else’s marriage, perhaps they need to work on their marriage.
But opponents of gay marriage, including scores of conservative religious leaders from across the state, argued that same-sex marriage redefines and destroys a centuries-old institution that is a building block of society.
“Let’s be careful about the concept of social evolution,” said the Rev. Leonard Klein, a Roman Catholic priest speaking on behalf of the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, which serves more than 200,000 Catholics in Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
“When you remove male and female from the definition of marriage, all bets are off,” added Klein, who urged lawmakers to show an “appropriate humility” for thousands of years of human experience.
Opponents also argued that the gay marriage will bring unintended and unforeseen consequences on broader issues ranging from religious freedom to school curricula and could be used as a basis to argue for acceptance of even more forms of marriage, such as polygamy.
“We’re about to change the entire definition of marriage in order to make people feel good about themselves,” said the Rev. Chuck Betters, pastor of Glasgow Reformed Presbyterian Church in Bear. Betters recounted how he became the subject of scathing attacks in social media recently after posting a sign outside his church suggesting that Christianity was more powerful than the movement for gay marriage.
The new law does not force clerics to perform same-sex marriages that conflict with their religious beliefs. But under an existing Delaware law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, business owners who refuse to provide marriage-related services to same-sex couples for reasons of conscience could be subject to discrimination claims.
Delaware joins neighboring Maryland and the nearby District of Columbia as jurisdictions that have approved gay marriage. Last week, Rhode Island became the 10th state to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed, with independent Gov. Lincoln Chafee signing the bill an hour after its final passage.
Minnesota appeared poised to legalize gay marriage after the Democratic speaker of the state House said Tuesday that a gay marriage bill endorsed by the governor and likely to pass in the state Senate also now has enough backing in his chamber. The House will vote on the measure Thursday, and if it passes, the Democratic-led Senate could vote on it as soon as Saturday.
WILMINGTON, Del. — Delaware became the 11th state to legalize same-sex marriage after a lengthy debate Tuesday in the state Senate and the surprise votes of two lawmakers.
A half hour after the 12-9 Senate vote, Gov. Jack Markell signed the legislation into law on the main stairs in the lobby of Legislative Hall.
Democratic Sen. Bethany Hall-Long and Republican Sen. Catherine Cloutier provided the swing votes in favor of the legislation. Cloutier was the lone Republican yes vote in the Senate and one of two in the General Assembly as a whole.
According to the bill, Delawareans will be able to enter into same-sex marriages effective July 1. The law provides a mechanism for converting existing same-sex civil unions established in Delaware to marriages.
“I think this is the right thing for Delaware,” Markell said after the vote, while posing for pictures with supporters outside his legislative office. “It took an incredible team effort.”
Gay rights activists and their supporters in the chamber erupted in cheers after the Senate vote.
Delaware’s same-sex marriage bill was introduced in the Democrat-controlled Legislature last month, barely a year after the state began recognizing same-sex civil unions. The bill won passage two weeks ago in the state House on a 23-18 vote.
While it doesn’t give same-sex couples any more rights or benefits under Delaware law than those they already have in civil unions, supporters argued same-sex couples deserve the dignity and respect of married couples. They also noted that if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bars married gay couples from receiving federal benefits, civil unions would not provide protections or tax benefits under federal law to same-sex couples in Delaware.
Opponents, including scores of conservative religious leaders from across the state, argued same-sex marriage redefines and destroys a centuries-old institution that is a building block of society.
Under the bill, no new civil unions will be performed in Delaware after July 1, and existing civil unions will be converted to marriages over the next year. The legislation also states that same-sex unions established in other states will be treated the same as marriages under Delaware law.
The bill does not force clerics to perform same-sex marriages that conflict with their religious beliefs. But under an existing Delaware law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, business owners who refuse to provide marriage-related services to same-sex couples for reasons of conscience could be subject to discrimination claims.
Delaware joins neighboring Maryland and the nearby District of Columbia as jurisdictions that have approved gay marriage. Last week, Rhode Island became the 10th state to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed, with independent Gov. Lincoln Chafee signing the bill an hour after its final passage.
WILMINGTON, Del. — Delaware became the 11th state to legalize same-sex marriage after a lengthy debate Tuesday in the state Senate and the surprise votes of two lawmakers.
A half hour after the 12-9 Senate vote, Gov. Jack Markell signed the legislation into law on the main stairs in the lobby of Legislative Hall.
Democratic Sen. Bethany Hall-Long and Republican Sen. Catherine Cloutier provided the swing votes in favor of the legislation. Cloutier was the lone Republican yes vote in the Senate and one of two in the General Assembly as a whole.
According to the bill, Delawareans will be able to enter into same-sex marriages effective July 1. The law provides a mechanism for converting existing same-sex civil unions established in Delaware to marriages.
“I think this is the right thing for Delaware,” Markell said after the vote, while posing for pictures with supporters outside his legislative office. “It took an incredible team effort.”
Gay rights activists and their supporters in the chamber erupted in cheers after the Senate vote.
Delaware’s same-sex marriage bill was introduced in the Democrat-controlled Legislature last month, barely a year after the state began recognizing same-sex civil unions. The bill won passage two weeks ago in the state House on a 23-18 vote.
While it doesn’t give same-sex couples any more rights or benefits under Delaware law than those they already have in civil unions, supporters argued same-sex couples deserve the dignity and respect of married couples. They also noted that if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bars married gay couples from receiving federal benefits, civil unions would not provide protections or tax benefits under federal law to same-sex couples in Delaware.
Opponents, including scores of conservative religious leaders from across the state, argued same-sex marriage redefines and destroys a centuries-old institution that is a building block of society.
Under the bill, no new civil unions will be performed in Delaware after July 1, and existing civil unions will be converted to marriages over the next year. The legislation also states that same-sex unions established in other states will be treated the same as marriages under Delaware law.
The bill does not force clerics to perform same-sex marriages that conflict with their religious beliefs. But under an existing Delaware law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, business owners who refuse to provide marriage-related services to same-sex couples for reasons of conscience could be subject to discrimination claims.
Delaware joins neighboring Maryland and the nearby District of Columbia as jurisdictions that have approved gay marriage. Last week, Rhode Island became the 10th state to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed, with independent Gov. Lincoln Chafee signing the bill an hour after its final passage.
(Reuters) – Delaware lawmakers will take up a gay marriage bill on Tuesday in a bid to make the state the 11th to allow same-sex couples to wed.
The scheduled vote in the state’s Democrat-controlled Senate follows the General Assembly’s passage of the bill several weeks ago. Governor Jack Markell, an outspoken supporter of gay marriage, has vowed to sign the bill into law if it clears the Senate.
The vote follows a string of victories for advocates of same sex marriage. Last Friday, lawmakers in Rhode Island gave final approval to a marriage bill, which Gov. Lincoln Chafee quickly signed into law.
Last November, voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington state approved ballot measures legalizing gay marriage, marking the first time voters in any state extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in a popular referendum.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal recognition for same-sex couples.
Other states that allow same-sex marriage are: Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York and Iowa. Delaware has allowed same-sex couples to enter into civil unions since 2011.
A majority of U.S. states, including much of the South, have approved constitutional amendments that define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The amendments effectively bar those states from formally recognizing same-sex relationships.
(Reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Paul Thomasch)
Harvard Professor and author Niall Ferguson says John Maynard Keynes’ economic philosophy was flawed and he didn’t care about future generations because he was gay and didn’t have children.
Kostigen writes that Ferguson, speaking in front of hundreds of financial advisers and investors at the Tenth Annual Altegris Conference in Carlsbad, Calif., broached the subject in response to a question comparing Keynes’ theories and Edmund Burke’s.
Burke had many children, Keynes had none, Ferguson reportedly said. And thus, Burke believed in a “social contract” that would endure for generations, while the childless, gay Keynes believed in a philosophy of self-interest.
Ferguson, “says it’s only logical that Keynes would take this selfish worldview because he was an ‘effete’ member of society,” Kostigen wrote. “Apparently, in Ferguson’s world, if you are gay or childless, you cannot care about future generations nor society.”
Kostigen went on to call Ferguson’s comments “gay-bashing,” “intellectually void,” and “vulgar,” saying they put “the full weight of the financial crisis on the gay community and the barren.”
On Twitter, senior editor at InvestmentNews Dan Jamieson confirmed the comments:
Ferguson to McCulley: Keynes didn’t care about the long-run ‘cause he was a homosexual, had no children. #AltegrisSIC2013
“A lot of people have this idea that Keynes didn’t care about the future because of the famous line, ‘in the long run, we’re all dead,’ which people take to mean that the only thing that matters is the short term.”
But that line is taken out of context and the full quote says something entirely different, according to Weisenthal.
“In other words, [Keynes] is slamming economists for being sanguine about near-term troubles, merely because in the long term, stability and equilibrium will return,” Weisenthal writes.
In the New Yorker’s review of Robert Skidelsky’s biography, “John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Freedom,” Louis Menand notes that Skidelsky “is wisely inconclusive in assessing the bearing of Keynes’ sexuality on his economic views. Implicit in those views is a rather sharp distinction between public and private life, with private life given a nearly absolute priority.”
“Saying that Keynes’ economic philosophy was based on him being childless,” Blodget noted, “would be like saying that Ferguson’s own economic philosophy is based on him being rich and famous and therefore not caring about the plight of poor unemployed people.”
In Ferguson’s apology, posted to his website Saturday, he wrote that the comments “were as stupid as they were insensitive:”
My disagreements with Keynes’s economic philosophy have never had anything to do with his sexual orientation. It is simply false to suggest, as I did, that his approach to economic policy was inspired by any aspect of his personal life. As those who know me and my work are well aware, I detest all prejudice, sexual or otherwise.
My colleagues, students, and friends – straight and gay – have every right to be disappointed in me, as I am in myself. To them, and to everyone who heard my remarks at the conference or has read them since, I deeply and unreservedly apologize.
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Chris Christie
Krugman has a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/opinion/krugman-the-comeback-skid.html?_r=1″ target=”_hplink”slammed Christie/a for touting a New Jersey comeback, even when the state still faces a 9.8 percent unemployment rate. He’s also criticized the governor for his decision to raise taxes on low-income New Jersey residents, while vetoing a temporary tax boost for millionaires.
Ron Paul
Krugman hasn’t been shy about criticizing Ron Paul’s economic theories, particularly his dislike of the Federal Reserve. Krugman said of Paul’s interest in keeping the government out of monetary policy during a a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/30/paul-krugman-ron-paul_n_1465870.html” target=”_hplink”debate on Bloomberg TV/a: “If you think that you can avoid that you’re living in the world that was 150 years ago.” Krugman’s also called a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/27/paul-krugman-gold-standard_n_1832767.html” target=”_hplink”returning to the Gold Standard/a — a view Paul’s touted for years — “an almost comically (and cosmically) bad idea.”
Paul Ryan
After presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced that Paul Ryan would be his running mate, Krugman wasted little time deriding the Wisconsin Republican’s views on the economy and budget. a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/opinion/krugman-galt-gold-and-god.html?_r=1hp” target=”_hplink”Krugman wrote of Ryan/a that he “evidently gets his ideas largely from deeply unrealistic fantasy novels.”
Niall Ferguson
After Harvard professor Niall Ferguson (left) penned a emNewsweek/em cover story arguing President Obama doesn’t deserve a second term, Krugman demanded that a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/paul-krugman-niall-ferguson-newsweek_n_1810136.html” target=”_hplink”the magazine issue a correction/a, starting a bit of a spat with the emNewsweek/em columnist and historian. Krugman said of the cover story on his blog: “There are multiple errors and misrepresentations in Niall Ferguson’s cover story in Newsweek — I guess they don’t do fact-checking.” a href=”http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/a-full-fact-check-of-niall-fergusons-very-bad-argument-against-obama/261306/” target=”_hplink”The Atlantic’s Matthew O’Brien did a full fact-check of Ferguson’s piece/a, which a href=”http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/21/niall-ferguson-defends-newsweek-cover-correct-this-bloggers.html” target=”_hplink”Ferguson defended himself against/a.
Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Krugman argued that perhaps Estonia a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/estonia-krugman-toomas-hendrik-ilves_n_1575937.html” target=”_hplink”shouldn’t be held up as a model/a for successful austerity measures in a 67-word blog post in June. The country’s president Toomas Hendrik Ilves took to Twitter to slam Krugman, calling him “smug, overbearing patronizing.”
Andrew Ross Sorkin, “Squawk Box”
Krugman appeared on “Squawk Box” in July to discuss his book, but was upset to find out that they “never actually got there.” Instead, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/paul-krugman-cnbc_n_1664771.html” target=”_hplink”Krugman wrote on his blog/a that the appearance consisted of “one zombie idea after another — Europe is collapsing because of big government, health care is terribly rationed in France, we can save lots of money by denying Medicare to billionaires, on and on,” adding that people counting on the shows for sound information are getting “terrible advice.”
Mitt Romney
Krugman hasn’t been shy about criticizing Mitt Romney’s plans for America’s budget and economy, and he’s taken the former CEO of Bain Capital to task for a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/06/opinion/off-and-out-with-mitt-romney.html” target=”_hplink”touting his business career/a. In a column titled “Off and Out with Mitt Romney,” Krugman wrote, “the truth is that even if Mr. Romney had been a classic captain of industry, a present-day Andrew Carnegie, his career wouldn’t have prepared him to manage the economy.”
Rich People
Krugman has argued that the rich embrace Republican economic policies both because they want more money and simply because they’re more inclined to buy into theories that justify their wealth. In a May a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/paul-krugman-rich-people-want-to-buy-praise-as-the-salvation-of-the-rest-of-us_n_1499679.html” target=”_hplink”interview with Reuters/a, Krugman said that rich people “want the world to praise them for their wealth, so they want economic theories that praise rich people as the salvation of the rest of us.”
Wall Street
Krugman has been critical both of Wall Street’s current practices and of the industry’s ability to escape punishment for its role in the financial crisis. In a a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/17/paul-krugman-playboy-interview_n_1284417.html” target=”_hplink”February interview with Playboy/a, Krugman said “It’s hard for me to believe there were no crimes. Given the scale of [the financial crisis], given how many corners were being cut, some people must have violated laws. I think people should be in jail.”
Harvard history professor and author Niall Ferguson, seen in this file photo, apologized for saying economist John Maynard Keynes didn’t care about the future because he was gay and had no children.
Niall Ferguson, a Harvard history professor and author, apologized on Saturday for saying economist John Maynard Keynes was less invested in the future because he was gay and had no children.
Ferguson said his remarks at an earlier conference were “as stupid as they were insensitive.”
During a question-and-answer session after a prepared speech at the Altegris Strategic Investment conference in Carlsbad, Calif., on Thursday, Ferguson was asked to comment about Keynes, an influential 20th century British economist who advocated government spending as a way to make up for lagging demand in a down economy.
Ferguson suggested that Keynes’ philosophy was shaped by his homosexuality. Keynes, therefore, had no children so he wasn’t as invested in future generations as others might be, Ferguson said.
The remarks were reported by the website of Financial Advisor magazine and other online publications.
On Saturday, Ferguson acknowledged the remarks and said he “deeply and unreservedly” apologized.
“I should not have suggested — in an off-the-cuff response that was not part of my presentation — that Keynes was indifferent to the long run because he had no children, nor that he had no children because he was gay,” he said in a statement in response to an e-mailed query.
“It is obvious that people who do not have children also care about future generations,” he added.
