(FORTUNE Magazine) – TALE OF TWO BUYOUTS Cingular ups its offer and wins AT&T Wireless, while Comcast tries to hold the line, refusing to increase its hostile bid for Disney. A weak spinoff of AT&T earns a premium while brand-of-brands Disney doesn't? Hmm...it appears that Comcast has forgotten what every parent knows: Nothing comes cheap at Disneyland.

FUEL EFFICIENCY Will the free market ever produce a country full of energy-efficient automobiles? It depends on what you read. The same week that the New York Times reported that Ford and Toyota plan to sell hybrid SUVs, the Associated Press announced that more American consumers were purchasing cars with gas-guzzling V-8 engines. Truth is, both articles are right. Americans want obscene luxury and great gas mileage. It's the perfect combination for the people who believe in low taxes and high spending. We're holding out for a hybrid Hummer!

THE PRO-OFFSHORING BACKLASH White House economic advisor (and former FORTUNE columnist) Gregory Mankiw caused quite a stir when he suggested that exporting American jobs can benefit the economy because it increases U.S. productivity. He's since backed down--even though many economists say he's right. The lesson is clear: The only thing more objectionable than lying to the American people is telling them the truth.

ALAN GREENSPAN Not to toot our own horn, but we called it. Just days after FORTUNE reported that the Fed chief had concerns about growing deficits, Greenspan told Congress he thought the President's tax cuts should be made permanent only if they are offset by reduced spending. (See "The Deficit: America's Credibility Gap.") Greenspan being Greenspan, he worded his critique in a way that emphasized his support for the President. Don't you wish everyone in Washington, D.C., was so diplomatic?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ Baseball's arms race is escalating. The Red Sox upped their payroll to $125 million by picking up Curt Schilling. The Yankees snatched A-Rod for $16 million a year. If the Yanks and Sox are the U.S. and the Soviet Union, does that make the Devil Rays the baseball equivalent of Paraguay?