National Politics

Gridlock is Good

By Marc Comtois | September 2, 2010 |

Via this piece against the implementation of a Value-Added Tax (ie; “A VAT is a terrible idea if it triggers bigger government, and a VAT is a bad idea if it merely finances bigger government.”), I came across the below from a decade-old interview with Milton Friedman. It was 2000 and we had a budget…

National Budget Deficit Trends

By Marc Comtois | August 23, 2010 |

Randell Hoven (h/t) uses CBO figures and a simple chart to put the lie to the now familiar claims that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and Bush tax cuts caused a $3 Trillion budget deficit. The CBO breaks that cost down over the eight calendar years of 2003-2010. Below is a picture of federal deficits…

Go Get ‘Em, Nancy!

By Monique Chartier | August 19, 2010 |

For some reason, it never occurred to the Speaker that the negative reaction of many millions of people to the construction of a mosque within the crash zone of Ground Zero was spontaneous and not in response to a pre-arranged, pre-paid campaign. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is raising questions about who is funding criticism of…

Take Two on the Proposed NY Mosque: Feeling Compelled to Comment, President Obama Succeeds Only in Stating the Broadly Obvious

By Monique Chartier | August 15, 2010 |

Breaking weeks of silence on the subject, President Obama remarked on Friday, Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This…

The ObamaCare Scam

By Justin Katz | August 10, 2010 |

The healthcare legislation should never have become law, and as time goes on, we continue to discover what a shoddy bit of law-making it was: Talk about a paperwork nightmare: Tucked into the massive new health care law is a demand that nearly 40 million U.S. businesses file tax forms for every vendor that sells…

Swap Out Hillary C. for Joe B. in 2012??

By Monique Chartier | August 8, 2010 |

That’s the idea that “Tingles” Matthews has been exploring. From NewsBusters’ Noel Sheppard. The panel of the syndicated “Chris Matthews Show” this weekend campaigned for Hillary Clinton to replace Joe Biden as Vice President in order to assist Barack Obama’s re-election in 2012 and set her up for a successful presidential bid in 2016. As…

The Trouble with Obama (and Don’t Forget His Legislative Enabler)

By Monique Chartier | August 8, 2010 |

Joe Bernstein articulates it under Justin’s post. My objection to him is simple-he’s a left wing ideologue who’s made bad appointments and seems to not be competent and experienced enough for the job. I would not argue, only amplify: President Obama is leading the charge on some really bad policies. Government take-over of our healthcare…

Topics Local and International

By Justin Katz | August 5, 2010 |

Last night Monique and Tony Cornetta talked, on the Matt Allen Show, about Iran, teachers’ unions, and partisan ethics. Stream by clicking here, or download it.

On Ethics: Maxine Now, Maxine Then

By Monique Chartier | August 3, 2010 |

When, last October, the House Ethics Committee placed Congressman Charles Rangel in exactly the same spot that Speaker Gingrich found himself fourteen years earlier, Congresswoman Maxine Waters observed “What happens is, unfortunately with the requirements for disclosure that we all have, mistakes are made,” she said. “And you do get a chance to correct them.…

Issues Big and Small

By Justin Katz | July 30, 2010 |

I’ve been preoccupied, today, with the sorts of thoughts that are hugely important to the individual, but quotidian details on a larger scale… and there’s been so much on that larger scale that might otherwise have merited consideration. The economy, obviously: The recovery lost momentum in the spring as growth slowed to a 2.4 percent…