Politics & Prose
John McCain is on the ropes. He needs another “game changer” to win the election—something as bold and unexpected as the Sarah Palin pick. Here it is.
The next president must be willing to introduce policies that may incur the wrath of his constituents, his party, or both. Obama’s track record on making such tough choices is not reassuring.
We had taken shelter in the broken wreckage of a ruined McMansion for the night—Me, Okie Pete and Skinny Bill Cox. Us three had taken up with each other back in Appaloosa after the bulls had busted up the Obamaville we’d set up and sent us packing. We were going West—heard there was still work out there for boys with knowledge of complex financial derivatives. Heard the same about Appaloosa too for that matter, but all I’d found was hard luck.
Massachusetts may soon pass legislation bringing itself in line with the National Popular Vote movement. This is a mistake with unfathomable consequences.
Is America deranged? Matt Taibbi thinks so.
What constitutes legitimate criticism of Israel? (From the print edition.)
Now that even the Democratic presidential frontrunners are endorsing keeping troops in Iraq, the doves have lost. But that doesn’t mean the issue is anywhere near settled.
An online gambling website based in Antigua may wind up responsible for one of the greatest fights in intellectual property rights ever. Who would you bet on?
Politics might just be a game, but it’s still broken.
The First Solo Female Anchor should probably be the First Solo Female Anchor to Quit. After all, she doesn’t like it, right?
Senator Craig’s resignation was less about anonymous sex in a bathroom, and more about his inability to live up to his moral rhetoric. Would he have been better off never discussing morality in the first place?
It’s the franking privilege, stupid. Also, the unions are stymied over endorsements, until they remember the Dodd loophole. Finally, Mike Huckabee’s diet plan can work for anybody, it just needs to be required by law.
Bob Novak’s chronicle of Beltway history is really the love story of a journalist and his beat.
Mike Huckabee’s victory lap is more like a victory slap. Also, Barack Obama for Taliban Information Minister! And Ted Stevens is earmarked for an indictment.
Critics of Matt Sanchez think he’s a hypocrite for being and a conservative activist and a former porn actor. Is he?
Democratic Structure: Promise the world. Republican Structure: Quit while you’re not ahead. And the New Hampshire primaries are likely to include time machines in the next go-round.
President Bush leaps ahead of the news cycle by signing wiretapping legislation Sunday night, but that won’t stop the criticism. Sunnis aren’t too happy with their government. And Sarkozy’s bold work ethic doesn’t apply to photographers.
Barack Obama, you silly war hawk you. Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition gets criticism from the New York Times. And liberal bloggers are all about free speech — keeping it to themselves, that is.
An exclusive interview reveals that libertarians dissatisfied with Ron Paul have another option: Former Senator Mike Gravel.
Hillary’s the real man when it comes to foreign policy. Joe Biden’s got a thing about guns, but it’s not a clue. And is Fred Thompson’s leaky ship seaworthy?
Are cigarette taxes a great new way to fund healthcare for poor kids, or will it wind up hurting the poor anyway?
Don Young: Representative of Alaska, or Scrooge McDuck? Jack Murtha’s a big fan of the Department of Creative Energy, what with all the creative ways Congress is spending money. And be sure to visit the Rangel Center for Public Service — because selflessness is a virtue.
He’s for getting out of Iraq. He wants to dissolve government agencies. But what about gays in the military, or in marriage?
The U.S. Treasury isn’t a party favor, but someone ought to tell that to Congress.
How to win friends and become a key public official. But just don’t acquire a hooker habit. And one Nobel Peace Prize winner teaches us how to kill someone. Nonviolently, of course.
McCain is getting thrifty with his money, while Obama is eyeing the not-Hillary vote (and cutting his own hair). Meanwhile, Gore is leaving a big carbon footprint.
Apparently, Brownback voted for the immigration bill before he voted against it. Really.
Our weekly podcast discussing current events. This week: Bloomberg and the GOP, Giuliani and the Iraq Study Group, torture, and the Take Back America straw poll.
This potential presidential candidate needs to learn that there’s already a reward for good behavior — it’s called success.
Bloomberg has a big truth problem, but not as big as a Giuliani’s little friend in South Carolina. And faced with talk radio critics, Hillary and Nancy surmise that there ought to be a law…
Join us as we discuss the surge, the Gonzales saga, immigration reform, 9/11 profiteering, and below the fold news from our panelists.
Speaker Pelosi is going to have to fire her travel agent. Meanwhile, Democrats are showing America how to get things done, and America is crying “stop!” And somebody get Mike Gravel a translator.
How can libertarianism guide your conscience?
Mike Huckabee for Education Secretary, Kucinich for Osama’s executioner, and Bono for an appointment with Canadian PM Steve Harper’s secretary.
This weekly roundup notes Fred Thompson’s innovative (read: lazy) run for President, Justice Ginsburg’s newfound appreciation for legislation, and a few people having the nerve to walk into America.
If the government is acting like our parents, why not rebel?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is cracking down on seat belt usage, but are they overusing their scare tactics?
Ron Paul might have given Rudy to score political points, but don’t think that means his remark on 9-11 was wrong.
The Evangelical right is going nowhere if it continues to go negative on Romney.
John Tabin rounds up notable political stories of the week.
The show’s panelists this week are David Freddoso of Inside Political Report, Brainwash editor J.P. Freire, and Kerry Howley from Reason magazine. David White hosts. Topics covered include funding Iraq, Giuliani and abortion, and below the fold news from our panelists.
A podcast hosted by David White, join David Freddoso of Inside Political Report, Brainwash editor J.P. Freire, and and Amanda Carpenter of Human Events as we discuss the Republican’s first presidential debate, the Iraq funding fight, and other current issues.
The Republicans weren’t the only ones debating last night.
A podcast hosted by David White, join David Freddoso of Inside Political Report, Brainwash editor J.P. Freire, and and Kristen Soltis of the Winston Group as we discuss the Democrat’s first presidential debate, the Iraq funding bill, and other current issues.
According to the Supreme Court, the unborn can run, but they can’t hide.
A podcast hosted by David White, join David Freddoso of the Evans-Novak Inside Political Report, Brainwash editor J.P. Freire, and Chris Beam of Slate as we discuss the Virginia Tech tragedy, the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion, and other current issues.
Don Imus’s firing gives Sen. Obama something ridiculous to say, and Harry Reid is a pretty forgetful senator.
ABC News anchorman Terry Moran’s recent remarks on the Duke rape case make Don Imus look like a racially sensitive civil rights activist.
Join David White, David Freddoso of the Evans-Novak Inside Political Report, Brainwash editor J.P. Freire, and James Kirchick of The New Republic as they discuss the fall of Don Imus, the vindication of Duke’s lacross team, and below-the-fold news.
Taxes are too complex for the good of the economy, too complex for families, and too complex for small businesses. For big business and for Washington lobbyists, complexity means profit.
Hosted by David White join David Freddoso of the Evans-Novak Inside Political Report, Brainwash editor J.P. Freire, and Peter Suderman of National Review Online as we discuss Obama’s fundraising, General Pelosi’s trip to Syria, and the epic Bill O’Reilly vs. Geraldo Rivera.
The Republicans are reticent, so the Democrats are the ones bringing in the cash. Also, Speaker Pelosi brokers a middle east peace deal — in her mind. Finally, Zell is the belle of the ball now that he purchased the Tribune company.
Join host David White, David Freddoso of the Evans-Novak Political Report, Brainwash editor J.P. Freire, and special guest David Robinson, editor of The American as they discuss Gonzales on the rocks, Giuliani’s recent press, and Romney’s latest fundraising tactic.
Ann Coulter isn’t just a schoolyard bully; she’s a conservative comedian.
The ‘1984′ Hillary commercial was less sensational, and more factual… fortunately.
Hosted by David White, we’ll tackle the US Attorney scandal, the Iraq war spending bill, and YouTube and campaign finance laws.
Hillary’s derailing the freight-train momentum of her own campaign, so why worry?
Al Gore, Vice President? Big deal. How about Al Gore, King of Hollwood?
The Center for Science in the Public Interest keeps trying to scare us away from food, but even talking about it makes us hungry.
A toast to the WASP that makes our culture work.
JetBlue passengers may have gotten the shaft temporarily, but American taxpayers get it regularly — and continue to pay for it.
Ann Coulter’s outrageous approach to politics has been widely criticized, but what does it mean for conservatives?
Seeing the Capitol building lit up at night may be inspiring to some, but they’re not thinking about what’s going on under the dome…
The rich are getting richer, but then again, so are the poor.
Any time someone tells you that one side of a policy debate favors “big business” and the other side favors “consumers,” you are probably being lied to.
Philadelphia misses a heaping dose of irony when the city orders retail stores to remove all Phillie blunts and other “drug paraphernalia” from their shelves.
Gay marriage advocates do their cause injustice when they sacrifice democratic principles just to reach success.
There are only eleven months left in 2007, but it’s not too late to make a few predictions for the coming year on issues we all care about.
The pro-life cause is making great gains, but there are still hurdles ahead.
Christians ought not get too upset by un-Christian businesses or people. They do not interfere with our ability to live as Christians. We should be afraid of government restricting our freedom to live according to our beliefs and consciences.
“Purity-test libertarians” stand in the way of any libertarian influence on politics.
There’s something fishy about the new animated penguin feature Happy Feet.
President Bush, wrongly blamed for many things, is indeed to blame for making so many conservatives commit themselves to a neo-Wilsonian foreign policy of shaping the world according to our image and likeness — a policy both unworkable and un-conservative.
Virginia Senator George Allen’s loss earlier this month to Jim Webb was more than just a win for the Democratic Party, which needed Allen’s seat to gain a majority in the Senate. It was a victory for decency over boorishness.
To deal with man’s flaws, a conservative trusts in tradition and community. He also tries to guard against the concentration of power. Milton Friedman warned constantly about the concentration of power, and looked always to the past for a guide.
This election has ignored almost all ideology and become a narrative about issues of scandal and incompetence.
What do these three lawmakers have in common? They’ve all benefited from the Republican’s win-at-any-cost strategy.
The blogosphere’s influence is growing, but there’s a reason you don’t always notice it.
How to handle this year’s Senate race with machine-like efficiency.
Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey forgets to bring the facts along for his new, confessional book tour.
This Novak insider only needed publicly reported information and a dab of common sense to tell just how far off from the truth was much of the media’s coverage of the Valerie Plame story.
The Pope’s recent comments about Islam were well stated–an atheist should know.
A review of “An Enemy of the People,” now playing at the Shakespeare Theatre, explaining why Henrik Ibsen wants Al Gore to run for president.
The thing about the coming Democratic takeover of the House is that it just might not happen.
Often the problem isn’t that Congress and Big Business have gotten cozy; in many cases they don’t seem to have gotten cozy enough.
To be successful, libertarians, wherever they can, need to promote policies that not only decrease onerous regulation, but also revive the American passions for not only freedom, but for full independence from the managerial elite — in politics, education and media.
Morton Blackwell’s thoughts on AFF’s libertarians v. conservatives debate: “I’d be careful not to generate too much of a good thing. Once every five years may be sufficient.”
Even accepting the premises of the Green Movement at face value, there is no reason to make society suffer, just to bring about minor reductions of emissions that won’t make a difference.
The story of the private army that, in 1892, shut down upstart western ranchers, and why the White House took its side.
The recent federal crackdown on online gambling and pornorgraphy doesn’t apply to big American companies that profit from offline vice.
If conservatives want the president to wield wartime power so that the Hamdans of the world can be shoved under the rug, all that is needed is a declaration of war from Congress.
Justice Kennedy’s looseness with language has real consequences for the law.
An exclusive excerpt of Tim Carney’s new book The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money, now available now from John Wiley & Sons.
Like erotica, can esoterica be too much of a good thing?
Should politicians be fined for lying in their campaigns? The Washington State Supreme Court will soon decide that question.
Are the loudest culture warriors using pro-life rhetoric as a veil for the regulation of sex?
While Congress scampers to make new ethics rules in response to the Abramoff and Jefferson scandals, we see once again why the conservative answer to this problem is the libertarian one. Conservatism, understood in the sense of Russell Kirk or Edmund Burke, largely means acting upon the realizations that man is fallen and that power corrupts.
Can Democrats still lose in 2006? You bet they can.
We’ve grown accustomed to assuming that computerized devices are always better than older technologies. That’s true of most devices, but it’s probably not true of voting machines. When it comes to our elections, it would be a good idea to follow the KISS principle: Keep It Simple,
Stupid.
Why does Steve Jobs insist on keeping all songs on the iTunes Music Store priced equally at 99 cents? Has he never heard of supply and demand?
James Burnham provided a conceptual framework for understanding the dominant economic, cultural and political trends of his century and single-handedly imported a tradition of political thought absent in the English-speaking world. But despite his accomplishments and the tendency of conservatives to enshrine their heroes in the movement Parthenon, Burnham is hardly discussed.
A critique of David Vogel’s The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility.
A humble attempt at explaining to Democrats how supply side economics works–and why it works.
A cautionary tale of how good business sense and prudent business practice is denigrated in favor of familiarity with regulations and friendships with regulators and politicians.
There’s no good reason for televising Supreme Court oral arguments, and plenty good reasons not to.
Honoring The Dartmouth Review on its 25th anniversary.
Will Charles Murray’s idea to replace the bureaucratic welfare state with a simple redistribution scheme work?
By failing to enforce our immigration laws from the start, we have provided the safety valve for the political pressure that should have destroyed Mexico’s reigning culture of corruption.
Why big business is as responsible for higher taxes as ted Kennedy.
What do the French labor protests and the American immigration protests this week have in common?
Lost in last weekend’s hubbub over the three year anniversary of the Iraq war was an anniversary from the Western hemisphere. March 18 marked the third year since the Cuban Black Spring of 2003. But it’s highly unlikely that you’ve heard of this if you rely solely on the mainstream media for your news.
Conservative blogger Ben Domenech’s world collapsed in just a few hours on Friday and many a politics and media junky, through the magic vision of the internet, “watched” the whole thing happen.
Amid the debate over the “war on drugs,” there is an irrational hope surrounding the idea of legalization that often ignores the uglier side of drug use and its consequences not only to the users, but to society as a whole.
President Bush has been quoted as saying, “in Texas, we don’t do nuance.” But on the issue of ethanol, the Bush administration does so much nuance that they manage to take both sides of the issue–and then some.
A tribute to bestselling author and former Libertarian Party presidential candidate Harry Browne.
In the end, pro-lifers may eventually get the reversal of Roe that they have always wanted, but with it will come the realization that ending abortion simply isn’t possible.
How Rod Dreher has probably bit off more than he can chew when he takes on agribusiness, public education, McMansions, the free market and a conservative movement that long ago stopped being interested in the Eternal Verities.
In ancient times, men looked up at the stars and saw warriors, bears, and flying horses. Today we have a different sort of visual treat for the imagination — congressional districts.
The federal budget is too big. It’s way too big. George W. Bush has called for total spending this year of $2.47 trillion. Here’s why corporate welfare should be the first thing on the chopping block.
In the PR-savvy Western world, extremists of all stripes have learned that if you make a big fuss about something, everyone will want to see what all the fuss is about.
Delphi auto parts recently filed for bankruptcy because it couldn’t keep up with its pension obligations. How long before the same thing happens to America?
The federal government owns 29.6 percent of the land in the U.S. But this land is hardly public; Uncle Sam likes to keep it fenced in.
Maryland’s new ‘Wal-Mart bill’ encourages the retail giant to leave the state, and it’s all for the benefit of declining labor unions.
Most newspapers pay for the op-eds they publish in their editorial sections. Think tanks are in the business of paying scholars to write op-eds, studies, and books. Does that make those published opinions dishonest?
Contradictions abound in Nancy Altman’s new book, The Battle for Social Security: From FDR’s Vision to Bush’s Gamble.
From public works to steel subsidies, government rarely gets it right. Government is not an inherent evil, but it is the next best thing.
If it’s absurd to require newspapers to sell their news, sports, and business sections separately so that consumers can get just what they want, how is forcing cable TV to offer channels “a la carte” any less nuts?
Liberals talk endlessly about a wall of separation between church and state when someone dares erect a manger scene in a city park, but that talk ceases when a church wants to follow its own rules.
The Right is scared of a judge who actually argued against Roe, while the Left is starting to walk away from Roe altogether. How times have changed.
A close examination of the political scene in Washington suggests that conservatives have far more reason to be upset with big business influence over government, while liberals ought to be pleased in some cases.
Democrats’ best hope in the 2006 midterm election is that voters will become fed up with an apparently corrupt status quo — a ruling party whose leaders are constantly living under a cloud of legal and ethical suspicion. Republicans, on the other hand, can only hope that Democrats continue to be themselves — overreaching, arrogant, and unbearably shrill.
The debate over Judge Alito and the Supreme Court cannot be an honest one until this simple truth is laid bare: Roe v. Wade was a bad Supreme decision, which no honest reading of the Constitution can support.
While often reviled for its unilateral foreign policy, when there is a difficult task to be done, it’s the United States that is relied upon to act. And there is a particularly difficult job to do right now in Sudan.
Movies tickets are priced the same, regardless of whether the movie is a much-anticipated blockbuster like “Revenge of the Sith” on opening night, or a proven bomb like “Gigli” after three listless weeks. In a supply-and-demand economy, flat pricing like this makes little sense.
The current darks days for the GOP could help advance conservative policy proposals, and it could ultimately help the Right to gain a firmer grip on the Republican Party.
Facing the most serious task of his tenure–making a decisive Supreme Court nomination–President George W. Bush shied away from a fight and acted with nonchalant frivolity.
No Supreme Court nominee can be against the constitutional right to abortion while also being for it, so the “consensus candidate” is a mythical beast.
Youthful protesters, paid protesters, and Don Young’s way.
A sadly entertaining peek at some of the bills Congressmen have proposed this year.
Los Angeles gets a Dear John letter over its new business tax that affects freelance writers.
Many who have supported Bush are wondering whether his other decisions, such as the war in Iraq, were wise as well. Unfairly or not, Bush will be defined by the destruction of New Orleans.
The idea that the Postal Service should be on par with the military, treated as a public good with the power to seize private property, ought to be reconsidered.
Is it crazy for government to ask you for I.D. before you vote, or should we have “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” voting for anyone who can memorize the name and address of an alleged voter?
Assuming John Roberts is confirmed, Arlen Specter could very likely still shape the terms of debate in such a way as to make the next conservative nominee unconfirmable.
Just as the diversification of industry can open the door to social mobility for those with little starting capital, diversification of schools can help those who cannot afford to pay for educational prestige.
The incredibly libertarian storyline of the cancelled Fox sci-fi series Firefly still resonates with fans on DVD and will soon return in a feature film.
Despite all the speculation brought about by John Roberts’ nomination to the Supreme Court, the only thing secret about the Federalist Society is its membership list.
A political round-up featuring daylight savings insanity, a report on the 2008 election from New Hampshire, funeral crashers, and more.
The disabled can help us discover our common humanity, liberate us from self-centered, disordered notions of love and begin the process of truly becoming human.
Unlike Chief Jstice Rehnquist, Justice O’Connor was a pragmatist without a theory. As a result, her consensus opinions tend to teeter uneasily, never quite satisfactorily settling the matter at hand.
The extraordinary effect of the recent Kelo Supreme Court decision is that the Constitution now protects your right to burn the flag and sell virtual child pornography, but not your right to keep the home you’ve owned and lived in all your life.
Despite what Bob Geldof might think, what Africa needs is capitalism, not a bigger handout that will inevitably fall into the wrong hands.
In political Washington we all have a problem. We take our work too seriously, and believe that politics is everything. Baseball reminds us all that there is meaning outside of politics.
With President Bush having suggested that he is looking to nominate to the Court a judge in the mold of Justices Scalia or Thomas, their split on the recent medical marijuana case should have conservatives and liberals thinking carefully about which one they would rather have.
The choice of Howard Dean as chairman earlier this year was the result of Democrats’ failure to find another candidate who could stop him. Since then, the good doctor has taken up the task of euthanizing his own political party with such zeal that many suspect he is a GOP plant.
Old bits of culture are the building blocks of new culture, but they’re useless if they are locked up.
Without Roe v. Wade, the issue of abortion would be left to the democratic process in each state, which is something the patrons of the Democratic Party cannot allow.
In evaluating judges, Congress needs to look beyond the mere results of particular cases and reflect on how a particular judge’s approach to the law would affect how Congress does its own job.
More than a social insurance plan for older Americans, Social Security has become an electoral insurance plan for Democrats lacking new ideas.
While knocking down pro-abortion laws is important, it is not a necessary condition to ending abortion. What is necessary is changing hearts.
The College of Cardinals has quashed the hope that had been brewing at The New York Times, the Jesuit schools, and AndrewSullivan.com that the next Pope would not be quite so . . . Catholic.
Finding enough pork that can be cut to finance the Social Security reform transition is easy. Getting Congress to play ball is another matter.
Reconciling opposition to the death tax with antipathy to the idle rich (i.e. Paris Hilton).
It was nearing four in the morning, and seven men who had been shut out of the town’s inns for lack of funds were still warming themselves around a fire. …
As President Bush begins to think about Justice Rehnquist’s replacement, he should look to find a Justice who will accept his proper place within the system of checks and balances.
That so many think it is fine to let Terri Schiavo die shows that Pope John Paul II was painfully correct when he diagnosed our society as afflicted with a “culture of death.”
The belief that Terri Schiavo will get better is what makes her parents for fighting to keep her alive. And while such hope is understandable, the issue isn’t about what we believe. It’s about what Terri wanted.
Not only is it too late to get upset about how Italian-Americans are portrayed in the media, but The Sopranos is the show that features the finest Italian-American talent on TV.
The minimum wage is such an easy issue to demagogue that it is surprising this year’s wage increase bill — from $5.15 to $7.25 — failed in the Senate by a slim 46-49 margin.
Free trade, to the degree it means the right to dispose of your own property as you wish, is a pro-freedom idea. “Free trade,” when it involves international bodies and global regulations, is anti-freedom.
Taxes may be a necessary evil, but property taxes we can do without.
To understand the significance Howard Dean’s new role as DNC chairman, one must grasp the significance both of Dean himself and of the position.
The Cuban American vote is not inevitably Republican.
Conservatives who believe in both tradition and the free market sometimes have struggles within their heart when they see Mom and Pop shutter their store in the massive shadow of a megaretailer.
Anti-privatizers have been quick to publish op-eds arguing either that Social Security isn’t in “crisis,” or that privatization just can’t work. They’re wrong.
Are animal rights activists trying to outlaw Jewish ritual slaughter?
Whatever environmentalists say, air pollution has been continuously reduced in this country and the Bush Administration has ensured that the trend will continue downward into the next decade.
Why do Americans continue to drift towards conservatism? Because liberals continue to send lawyers and judges to their small towns to tell them how to run their lives and educate their children.
The need to overhaul Social Security goes far beyond financial considerations. The current system, if left untouched, will decimate the United States military.
Government-funded educational programs try to scare children with exaggerations about sex and drugs, but children should be educated with the truth so that they can be prepared to make tough decisions.
Despite attempts by commentators on both sides to deny and spin the numbers, the so-called “moral values” voter, from whom Bush took the plurality of his support, is for real.
An open letter to Democrats: “It just occurs to me that you really don’t understand how much we have in common. Can we have a fresh start? I’d like to introduce myself to you: I’m a Republican voter.”
Doublethink preview: While young workers don’t know a lot about Social Security, they know not to depend on it.
Conservatives believe that the destruction of pain is impossible, and an attempt to do so will destroy us. The liberal dogma that culminated in this election, and which American rejected, is that pain is the fundamental human injustice that must be destroyed.
What we should be asking ourselves on the eve of President Bush’s second term.
Today, thanks in large part to Ronald Reagan, the Berlin Wall seems a distant memory, but challenges to freedom remain.
Democrats in 2004 made the same mistake the Republicans did in 1996: they let their hatred of the incumbent overcome their ability to craft a coherent and appealing message to voters.
An electoral revolution took place on election day. Now the Republican party must keep its word.
Young single female voters where aggressively courted by both campaigns. Despite the rhetoric about abortion, it was Bush who carried the day.
Why George Bush will win the election despite the odds, and why it will drive liberals mad.
Is there really any difference between George Bush and John Kerry?
Team America stands out in this year’s cavalcade of political films as the only one that satirizes liberals–not just conservatives–and its box office take reflects that.
It might be time to make peace with the end of the republican ideal and rethink the Electoral College.
The Electoral College, elector “shedding,” and John McCain (or you): How an electoral tie could install anyone as president this fall.
Analysis of the presidential contest: Why Kerry tied the race, and why personal qualities hold the key to a Bush re-election.
Adult stem cell research is not only cheaper and more promising, but it doesn’t involve any of the ethical concerns of embryonic stem-cell research.
A recap of the debates, and an election prediction, featuring George “Bumble” Bush, and John “Magic Wand” Kerry.
A right should be free of charge, and Second Amendment rights should be no different.
A thought for progressive Bush haters: You’ve already suffered through the first term of the modern LBJ. Do you really want a Nixon?
Why the back-and-forth over the President’s service during the Vietnam War has hurt John Kerry’s campaign and may be a case of consultants looting the Left.
Continued random drug testing in schools is not just ineffective, but is also an assault on Individual liberties and the constitutional values acknowledging them.
As tragic an event that 9/11 has been for America, it must be admitted that slowly, ever so slowly, things are getting back to normal.
Report from the Republican convention in New York: This election is more important than most, and the the battle lines are curiously drawn.
How the investment bankers’ game described in Michael Lewis’s Liar’s Poker is alive and well in Washington, D.C.
With plenty of speculation surrounding Senator John Kerry’s military service in Vietnam, the fate of the pet dog that accompanied him on duty is raising more questions.
Doublethink preview: Now that it’s cool to get all political, the author’s too old to really enjoy it.
Many neocons spent the run-up to the Iraq war denouncing the conservatives who voiced opposition. But now their differences with the right are becoming clearer, and their continued alliance with conservatives comes into question.
Election 2004 is shaping up to be the first presidential race decided between two true Frat Guys, and the key may be to win over the frat boys of America.
Our man in Boston tells us what the national media didn’t report from the Democratic National Convention.
How did Ron Reagan Jr.’s speech at the Democratic National Convention measure up to his father’s legacy?
The warped notion of service to country through service to the state has had enduring appeal on both sides of the political spectrum.
Not only is Farenheit 9/11 a bad movie, Michael Moore is a reprehensible human being as well.
The recent Supreme Court decision in Blakely v. Washington has thrown sentencing guidelines out the window. Hallelujah!
The presidential race handicapped. Prediction: Bush wins easily.
Appeals to privacy are, at bottom, prudential guards against the corrupt nature of the men and women in our government.
Despite whining to the contrary, No Child Left Behind is hugely funded, and is barely a mandate at all.
A look at the judicial opinions that aren’t, but should be.
Despite the continuing chattering of his detractors, Ronald Reagan’s legacy of freedom speaks for itself.
Now that Ronald Reagan has passed, his admirers seem to be so intent on canonizing him that they largely ignore his actual presidential record.
Those of us who wish to truly honor Ronald Reagan should realize that much remains to be done to finish the Reagan Revolution. Let’s take new inspiration from his memory.
For a patriotic American it’s hard not to resent Europe, given its current anti-Americanism. But Switzerland, which still cherishes some of the gifts our nation has squandered, deserves the respect of all who love liberty.
Caught up in the never-ending search for the sensational, modern journalism often neglects accuracy and integrity.
Libertarians are often told that they must vote Republican or Democrat so that they don’t “waste their vote.” Don’t believe it; it’s a scam.
Sen. Arlen Specter’s victory in the Pennsylvania primary is a let-down for the young conservative foot soldiers in the war for the future of our country.
Free trade and globalization may be the only hope for the third world, but it’s interesting to read such arguments in the pages of The Nation.
Some people say marriage is “by definition” between a man and a woman. But that by itself tells us nothing. A look at what stands behind this definition, and why people are so attached to it.
Real outrage at indecent broadcasting would result in a market backlash without the need for Federal intervention.
Revisiting the recusal question and proposing a system to prevent Supreme Court 4-4 ties.
What’s in a word? A whole lot if the word is “marriage.” But can the legal definition be separated from the cultural meaning?
Are activist judges, legalizing gay marriage, the same as sharia courts handing down undemocratic moral edicts?
How we all benefit from corporate welfare and let governement pick market winners and losers.
Why should Justice Scalia recuse himself for his duck hunting trip with Vice President Cheney when Justice Ginsburg hasn’t recused herself when the ACLU has been a party to a case?
Tibor Machan’s latest book, Putting Humans First: Why We Are Nature’s Favorite, continues the Right’s tradition of not taking seriously the moral claims of animals.
Is the word evolution in school curriculums “a buzzword that causes a lot of negative reaction”?
Looking back at John F. Kerry’s pooh-poohing of the communist threat during the Cold War.
A new film makes concrete the still-current plight of Afghan women.
Advice for young couples buying their first new home in the District.
With the House, Senate and White House in conservative hands, the power to shape culture tempts, but should be resisted.
Remembering the legacy of Ronald Reagan, who turns 93 this week, and understanding what it means for America today.
The story of a an immigrant with a criminal record, stuck in a limbo between the U.S., which doesn’t want him, and his home country of Cuba, which doesn’t want him back.
With his State of the Union Address, President Bush has once again demonstrated a foolish willingness to indulge the culture of entitlement.
Dick Gephardt’s loss in Iowa spells the death Democrats’ blind allegiance to big labor and its ugly stepsister, anti-free trade protectionism.
President Bush’s proposed immigration reform is a good start, but the best conservative answer to immigration is real free trade.
A report from the Democratic primary race in New Hampshire where our man on the scene has been tailing the presidential hopefuls.
In memory of AFF friend and Founder Club member David Miller who passed away two years ago this week.
An optimistic eyewitness account of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra’s first performance in the U.S.
A from-the-scene report of an eventful D.C. City Council hearing last week where they considered a smoking ban on bars and restaurants like those in New York and California.
A report from the Democratic primary race in Iowa featuring John Kerry, Dennis Kucinich, and rainbow farms as far as the eye can see.
A former teacher proposes a merit-based system for paying teacher salaries.
Good conservatives ask themselves, why has President Bush never vetoed a spending bill? Why is getting tough with appropriators and Washington lobbies so much harder for the White House than taking on terrorists? How much longer can we spend like this? They are good questions.
The District of Columbia exists so that the federal government can have a seat of government free from the interests of any individual state, but it doesn’t follow that D.C. residents should be taxed and denied representation.
While San Franciscans were voting for $8.50 minimum wage last Tuesday, voters in Cambridge, Mass. were voting against rent controls. Both price controls are bad ideas.
An intrepid conservative reports from a DNC fundraiser featuring Bill Clinton at a trendy D.C. nightclub.
Howard Dean’s alleged fiscal conservatism is overstated. Not since Walter Mondale has a presidential candidate tried to win office by proposing an across-the-board tax increase.
To celebrate the Pope, all thoughtful people who believe in freedom, individual rights or the value of life, ought to consider John Paul II’s teachings on the value of life.
An Orwellian look at the linguistic machinery of neoconservatism (now that we know what the meaning of “is” is).
A look at how Latinos influenced the results of the California recall election and how those results should inform the parties’ future efforts to attract Hispanic voters.
Reframing the affirmative action debate, a group of SMU students held a bake sale in which they charged people different prices based on their race and sex.
Desperate for a Republican governor, many California conservatives plan to vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger. They’re deluding themselves.
Be afraid. B very afraid. State and federal judges are usurping democracy and attempting to impose their own vision of utopia.
For those on the Right not too happy with President Bush, perhaps a Wesley Clark candidacy wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Is the Constitution’s amendment process underused? Here is a modest proposal to bring our founding document up-to-date by enacting a “housekeeping” amendment.
Bill Pryor is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. As if the scorn of Senate Democrats wasn’t enough, no he has Alabama Christians against him, too.
Gay marriage is an issue where a moral laissez faire attitude has no place. You either stand with tradition, or with the liberal forces of the cultural revolution.
After the Bush farm bill, education bill, and now the prescription drug benefit bill, will there be room for any more tax cuts left?
Conservatives and libertarians should be heartened by the fact that Gray Davis is almost out the door, but they should also be wary of former governor Pete Wilson’s role in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign.
If Justice Ginsburg had her way, American courts would look to foreign law for precedent–but only precedent that fit her worldview, of course.
Like the proverbial emperor, critics of U.S. involvement in Iraq–especially among Democratic presidential hopefuls–wear no clothes.
A copious supply of federal highway money has helped create disposable cities and a culture of flight. Moving away when a neighborhood faces a challenge is taking the easy way out and is destroying community.
The old Dubliner had bought me a pint, but he had no opening to hand it to me because of the drunken Canadian waving his arms. The Torontoan spread his arms wide while shouting about Iraq, trying to express, with his wing-span, what he thought was the magnitude of President Bush’s stupidity. Finally, the old [...]
As one of the few people I know without a personal Web
site, I thought I’d try my hand at “blogging” this month’s column.
style=’mso-spacerun:yes’> (It’s official: I’ve
never written a sentence that made me feel older or seem more out of touch.)
(Readers are, of course, free to refute the prior
claim.)
As with most of my peers, blogs constitute [...]
The federal “Do Not Call” list is unlikely to put an end to the irritating marketing tactics of Optima Dog Food, Allstate Insurance, or Disney Cruise Lines. These telemarketing pests are now moving to “phase two” of their operations, and will continue to hassle the disinterested general public despite, or perhaps delighted by, the pariah-like [...]
With the marble statues of our nation’s heroes dusted with several inches of snow, Washington, D.C., was experiencing its coldest day in recent memory. Yet the elements did not deter thousands of college students from gathering on The Mall in January to protest the prospect of war in Iraq.
Concurrently, but not quite coincidentally, I was [...]
Last year a friend of mine got Christopher Hitchens’ book Why
Orwell Matters as a birthday gift from his mother. My friend’s mother, a
refugee from the Soviet Union, inscribed in the book: “Orwell was hated by the
conservatives because he was a socialist. He was hated by the socialists
because he told the truth.”
Almost the same thing could [...]
Last Wednesday marked the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s
decision in Roe v. Wade–I was but a fetus at the time the opinion was
handed down–yet the rhetoric flying around today from both sides of the debate
has only gotten shriller from the passage of time.
Protests and marches are still organized,
abortion clinics picketed, and epithets traded.
Roughly 75 [...]