Political Thought
Apart from the complications of Rhode Island law, as a matter of political theory, this strikes me as a reasonable argument: The lawsuit [by the city of Woonsocket], which also names State Controller Marc A. Leonetti and General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio as defendants, said the money [that the state was supposed to give towns…
First, a line that’s supremely relevant for those of us who’ve been beating our heads against a wall of political inertia, in Rhode Island: In my experience, compulsively objective scientists are evenly matched, or even outmatched, by shamelessly subjective humanists. More than once I’ve been shocked by colleagues who seem unable to grasp that richly…
It shouldn’t go unremarked that radical left historian Howard Zinn has passed away at the age of 87. Zinn, Matt Damon’s favorite historian, is best known for his A Peoples History of the United States, a controversial work that has generated mountains of debate within (and outside of) the historical profession. (He even caused a…
The current print edition of National Review includes a collection of pieces on turn-of-the-last-century founders of modern liberalism that are valuable not the least in the degree to which they shed light on current strains of thought on the Left (strains that seem not to have progressed very much, in the last hundred years). Although…
Thomas Sowell: …It may seem strange that so many people of great intellect have said and done so many things whose consequences ranged from counterproductive to catastrophic. Yet it is not so surprising when we consider whether anybody has ever had the range of knowledge required to make the sweeping kinds of decisions that so…
Somehow, one is not surprised that this instance of governance has not sparked the shock and outrage that accompanied the decision of Swiss voters to ban minarets: … the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, has ruled that the government of Italy must remove crucifixes from public school classrooms throughout that country. According…
As Monique insisted, last night, healthcare is not an “inalienable right.” Because it requires other people (doctors, et al.) to provide services, it is actually a consumer good. It’s a vital one, to be sure, and one for which people will exchange significant percentages of their resources, but that doesn’t make it a right. It…
So another year closes, and another company comes under the umbrella of United States of America, Inc.: The federal government said Wednesday that it will take majority control of troubled auto lender GMAC and provide an additional $3.8 billion in aid to the company, which has been unable to raise from private investors the money…
Thomas Sowell puts it pretty starkly: The appointment of White House “czars” to make policy across a wide spectrum of issues — unknown people who get around the Constitution’s requirement of Senate confirmation for cabinet members — is yet another sign of the mindset that sees the fundamental laws and values of this country as…
We’re all familiar with the concept of separating powers across government. Especially in the United States, the notion of checks and balances is woven throughout civic education. Too few in the modern era appreciate the importance of separating powers across society. Not for long will powerful people in business, religion, and government maintain mutual respect…