Political Thought
“From the beginning, I made it clear that I would not put any more tax dollars on the line if it meant perpetuating the bad business decisions that had led these companies to seek help in the first place,” he said. “I refused to let these companies become permanent wards of the state, kept afloat…
Put aside the contentious context of the debate in question. Doesn’t something just seem wrong about this? Because a compromise must receive unanimous support to survive, Roberge was then removed from the committee and replaced with Sen. Matthew Houde, D-Plainfield, who voted with the majority. Roberge said she was disappointed she was removed. What’s the…
Despite agreement with the thrust of the initiative, this sort of thinking is proving insidiously detrimental to the health of the nation: … the federal stimulus law gives Obama a powerful incentive to push the expansion of charter schools. The law set up a $5 billion fund to reward states and school districts that adopt…
Michael Morse has up a humorous post describing his personal household deficit reduction plan, but his intended point isn’t quite clear. It’s worth reading the whole thing for enjoyment, though, before making it a subject of discussion. In some respects, he illustrates well the things that families actually do have to cut back, but that…
Senator Arlen Specter says it all in just a single sentence: “I am not prepared to have my 29-year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate — not prepared to have that record decided by that jury,” he said. After three decades in the federal government, the folks who’ve…
Herewith, the text of my speech at the Tiverton Citizens for Change Taxpayer Forum on Monday night. (Audio, with some extemporaneous differences: stream, download [5min 29sec]) Let’s be honest. For most of us, this whole civic participation thing is a chore. It’s a responsibility. We stay informed; we vote; and really that should be enough.…
David Goldman (aka “Spengler“) writes in First Things: After a $15 trillion reduction in asset values, Americans are now saving as much as they can. Of course, if everyone saves and no one spends, the economy shuts down, which is precisely what is happening. The trouble is not that aging baby boomers need to save.…
It’s disorienting to hear folks who follow politics for a living take speeches as sincere explanations of politicians’ hopes and intentions. One would expect, as a case in point, David Brooks to understand the dangerous undercurrents of a speech by President Obama that Brooks describes as “a small masterpiece” of “explication.” His view was clear.…
Stream, Download This is one of those times in history when a society must make a decision. Social commentators of the near future will say one of two things about us: If we fail to be heard, then these tea parties, these expressions of outrage across the nation, are the final lunge of a fading…
Ed Achorn’s column, yesterday, is more relevant to today’s demonstration than may seem at first to be the case: What’s at the center of [Brown’s Columbus Day] debate, and others like it, is whether we believe in our civilization anymore. Growing numbers of people seem to be losing faith in it. To my mind, Columbus…
