Barney Frank Weds Jim Ready  —  IT was perhaps fitting that Representative Barney Frank met his future husband, Jim Ready, at a political fund-raiser in 2005.  —  “I told him I had a crush on him for 20 years,” said Mr. Ready, recalling that meeting.  —  And what did Mr. Frank make of that?

We're getting wildly differing assessments  —  The announcement of the Supreme Court's decision largely upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Thursday, June 28 precipitated a genuine media drama.  Millions tuned in to get the result in real time, and were rewarded …

Al-Qaeda terror suspect caught at Olympic Park  —  A suspected terrorist who MI5 believe is a would-be suicide bomber was found repeatedly near the Olympic Games venue.  —  The alleged al-Qaeda militant was caught crossing through the Olympic Park five times, breaking a ban imposed by the Home Secretary …

McConnell sees 50-50 chance of GOP winning back Senate majority  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday that Republicans have even odds of winning back the Senate majority in this fall's elections.  —  “Fifty-fifty.  I think it is going to be a very close, competitive election,” McConnell said on CNN.

The Gary Johnson factor  —  Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson's chances of becoming president haven't changed much over the course of the 2012 cycle, during which he ran for the Republican presidential nomination, participated in two national debates, dropped out of the primaries and reentered …

DNC chairwoman presses Romney to release additional tax returns  —  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, called on Mitt Romney to release more than one year of tax returns, following a report that detailed the presumptive GOP nominee's use of offshore accounts.

LePage says IRS ‘new Gestapo’ in radio address  —  Gov. Paul LePage used his weekly radio address to blast President Obama's health care law and described the Internal Revenue Service as the “new Gestapo.”  —  The IRS description was a reference to a provision in the Affordable Care Act …

The New Obama Typeface: Revolution Gothic  —  A source points out that President Barack Obama's new typeface is Revolution Gothic, a style inspired by retro Cuban propaganda posters.  Who vets the fonts?  (Obama press secretary Ben LaBolt emails: “Your GOP operative should have had the courtesy …

ABOUT ME … I am a professor of economics at Harvard University, where I teach introductory economics (ec 10) among other courses.  I use this blog to keep in touch with my current and former students.  Teachers and students at other schools, as well as others interested in economic issues, are welcome to use this resource.

John Boehner: Voters Need Not Love Mitt Romney  —  By now, Republican laments that presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney is not the most inspiring figure to ever run for president are well-known.  —  “The Republican bench had several candidates stronger than Romney, but they chose not to run …

Groups Shield Political Gifts of Businesses  —  American Electric Power, one of the country's largest utilities, gave $1 million last November to the Founding Fund, a new tax-exempt group that intends to raise most of its money from corporations and push for limited government.

Holder says civil rights ‘under renewed threat’  —  In an address to the National Council of La Raza convention in Las Vegas on Saturday, Attorney General Eric Holder told the Hispanic advocacy group that the gains of the Civil Rights era were coming “under renewed threat,” …

Political Memo: Obama and Romney Gamble on Wealth Divide  —  WASHINGTON — The complex and fraught politics of wealth and class, undercurrents all along in the race between President Obama and Mitt Romney, are surfacing in increasingly visible ways in the presidential campaign, presenting big risks and opportunities to both sides.