In Depth
PROEM: To mark the historic elections today in Iraq, I republish, here, a column from December 10, 2001, that has been available in full only in my book, Just Thinking: Volume I. A view that was then extreme has proven predictive, and I, for one, do not question that the world is better for it.…
At the risk of trying the patience, or interest, of some, I offer one last (I promise) analysis on President Bush’s Inaugural Address. Today, the Providence Journal’s Philip Terzian succinctly encapsulated what Bush’s speech was all about. : George W. Bush declared that “the great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations.”…
Apart from catharsis, the griping of the previous post raises a point worth considering. It’s important that individuals and groups are stepping forward across Rhode Island to spur the state in a better direction, and it’s great that we’re beginning (slowly) to find and work with each other. It’s also important for everybody from unknown…
Heading back from the post office, where I’d hoped to find waiting any of a handful of checks that I desperately need, I heard a caller to the Dan Yorke show who’s in a position with which I’ve some personal experience. The guy had just incurred $25,000 of debt so that his wife could acquire…
The Family Institute of Connecticut notes an interesting development on the same-sex marriage front in that state: Even Rep. Staples and the Courant are beginning to realize that Love Makes a Family is an extremist organization. But they should not be surprised by LMF’s position. It follows naturally from the group’s misreading of Connecticut public…
Peggy Noonan has responded to those critical of her Inaugural critique. In short, she stands by her original thoughts and essentially believes that we Americans have enough on our plate now and don’t need to worry about larger goals at this time. This seems to contradict some of her earlier writings, though. We cannot leave…
Austin Bay has offered perhaps the most pragmatic reason for heeding the President’s call to spread freedom. Bay writes : Idealism, however, isn’t the sole spine of “the democracy strategy.” The strategy seeks to address a very concrete issue: technological compression. Technological compression is a fact of 21st century existence — and it is the…
In an interview yesterday, Senator Jack Reed managed to offer a backhanded compliment to the Bush Administration while setting up and knocking down a straw man. Reed called a recent Pentagon pledge of a long-term military presence in Iraq “helpful prudence.” And he deemed it a welcome change from Bush administration skimping on Army troop…
Marc’s posting highlights another outstanding piece by Terry Moe. I would encourage you to read both Marc’s fine posting and the entire editorial by Moe, which you can access in Marc’s posting. As a former East Greenwich School Committee member, I would like to expand on several of Marc’s points: First, I agree that parents…
Terry Moe of the Hoover Institution and a Stanford University political-science professor (and winner of the Thomas B. Fordham prize for distinguished scholarship in education) has written an important piece explaining the motivation of Teachers’ Unions. The most important point is that the unions aren’t inherently “bad,” but that they are merely looking out for…
