On at least a couple of occasions, I have mentioned The Battle, a book by Arthur C. Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute which defines a fast approaching pivotal moment in the form of a question that we must answer: Does America recover its commitment to free enterprise and ordered liberty or does it continue […]
Archives for January 2011
No Pardon or Excuse for Wikileaks
What don’t we understand about this? If Julian Assange and his Wikileaks operation have not perpetrated an act of war against the United States, please supply the definition. He has admitted that it has nothing to do with transparency or the public “right to know”; it is purely an act of war in the name […]
The Public Sector Union Showdown
” The moral case for unions–protecting working families from exploitation–does not apply to public employment.”–Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said that “the enemy within is much more difficult to fight than the enemy without, and more dangerous to liberty”. She had reference to the public sector unions, who […]
No Labels or No Convictions?
I am constantly bemused by the very large crowd of political activists who wants us all to “just get along” or “get things done” or drop the partisanship or avoid “going negative” in policy or electoral debates. My sense is that most of this comes from the pragmatic, “whatever works” people who are only casually […]
The New American Century
The 20th was popularly and widely known as “The American Century” for a lot of reasons, some of which are embodied in something I wrote at the end of the last century in response to a request by a publication to characterize it in 50 words or less, as follows: “They (the Americans) reluctantly assumed […]
Fannie and Freddie Must Go
There is already disappointing drift from Republican Congressional leadership that the privatization of Fanne Mae and Freddie Mac must be delayed or at least phased in over a longer period because of the anticipated impact on available housing finance that would result from a precipitous removal of what is, in effect, a government-subsidized floor on […]
The End of “the Narrative”
As we welcome the new year and a new political season, having given considerable time to analyzing the meaning of the November elections, one thing is abundantly clear: the mystique of the Obama narrative is over and the reality of governing has finally overtaken this administration. Until now, President Obama has been significantly aloof, above […]