Disarray?
For months now we have been hearing that the Republican Party is in complete disarray – no viable leader, no agenda, and little or no voice in matters of public policy. Now it seems the Democrats have also taken out membership in that elite club. The victory in Massachusetts of Senator-elect Scott Brown has the […]
Then What?
The tragedy in Haiti gives American’s an unprecedented opportunity to consider our approach to renewing a nation. Right now, thousands of self-denying, heroic American men and women are working around the clock to help the battered and suffering people of this sad island. Untold thousands more have given money and in-kind gifts to relieve the […]
Budget Freeze
Flailing in a turbulent sea of unwise policies and bad decisions, the Obama Administration is grasping at everything it can to stay afloat. The latest life preserver is the budget freeze the President will announce tonight. No matter that it has but very little substance – given the unprecedented budget increases approved last year, the […]
A Lesson from Ford
Ford Motors announced yesterday that it will make a $3 billion profit for 2009. Neither GM nor Chrysler will make any profit whatsoever. It is instructive, I think, to recall that of the “Big 3” automakers, Ford is the only one who did not take federal bailout money or succumb to the lash of federal […]
Qualifications
Asked by ABC news’ Barbara Walters about his views on abortion, Senator-elect Scott Brown insisted that he would oppose federal funding for abortion. He then hastened to add that he is “pro-choice” and believes that “such matters” are best decided between a woman, her family, and her physician. It’s what we always hear. But let’s […]
No Political Solution
The backlash against the progressivist policies of the Obama Administration is now taking a definitive political shape. The primary focus of the Tea Party Movement and aspiring Republican officer-holders is on fiscal conservativism – saving the country from a crisis of debt, inflation, and renewed recession. Senator-elect Mark Brown has made his fiscal conservatism clear. […]
The Debt No-Ceiling
The federal government yesterday raised the debt ceiling another $1.9 trillion, thus allowing themselves a nice cushion of over $14 trillion of non-existent money to spend on their pet causes. The difference between the federal government and you and me when it comes to debt is simple: The federal government can print more money to […]
Snowed
This will be a short column. My hands and fingers are so stiff and sore from shovelling snow that I don’t think they’ll take much more than a few succinct comments. Hamilton, VA, is snowed in – big time. I dug 30 inches of snow off my driveway Saturday and yesterday, and now I’m so […]
The Element of Seduction
Are Americans being seduced by government to acquiesce in the increasing centralization of power? Roger Kimball fears it may be so. Writing in The New Criterion (January 2010) he insists, following Hayek, that government’s tendency to usurp responsibility from citizens becomes a form of seduction, enticing Americans to prefer an existence of being provided for […]
Nice Job, Guys
The Obama Administration is positioning itself to receive the credit for what they consider to be imminent success in Iraq. Talking with Larry King on Wednesday night, Vice-President Joe Biden claimed that the success enjoyed in the past year and the upcoming draw down of troops will be viewed as major achievements of this Administration. […]
Toyota Syndrome
The business community has watched in amazement the near-meltdown of Toyota over the past several weeks. The Japanese car maker has recalled some 9 million vehicles worldwide to repair problems of which they were aware, but “which the firm has only belatedly taken seriously”, according to The Econmist (February 13th 2010). How could this happen […]
Better Late…
Word yesterday that the White House has formally approved the construction of two new nuclear power plants, to be built in Georgia. If there was ever a “better late than never” scenario, this is it. American industry has more genius and resources for making nuclear power a key player in our insatiable diet for electricity […]
Someone to Blame
You will recall the story of King Saul who, charged with eliminating the Amalekites, spared the best of the spoil and took the king captive as a kind of political trophy. Confronted by Samuel concerning why he had not accomplished the task appointed to him by the Lord, Saul blamed the people. He claimed that […]
The Voice, not the Echoes
Saturday night Fox News host Glen Beck wowed the faithful as keynote speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. His address was, in typical Beck fashion, a lesson in history as much as an exhortation to action, and both Democrats and Conservatives felt the ruler across the wrist. Beck showed how America’s political […]
Government by Euphemism
What an odd name for a legislative procedure that promises to alienate Republicans and Democrats even more than at present and drive the wedge between Congress and the White House even deeper into the wood of government: Reconciliation? Not to mention the way this maneuver, if it succeeds, will further infuriate the Tea Party crowd. […]
