Political Thought
Amidst a parade of economists and business advisers who see the prominence of unionized labor in Rhode Island to be a hindrance to economic growth in the state, the labor point of view is interesting: George H. Nee is the secretary-treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and a member of the state Economic Policy Council,…
As I intimated yesterday, conservatives’ appropriate fear of populist movements connects with our conviction that the nexus of power and desire ought to be checked. (One can be fearful even of that which is necessary, of course.) During Friday night’s all–Anchor Rising Violent Roundtable on the Matt Allen Show, Marc and Matt kicked off a…
A second conversation in which sufficient articulation proved difficult on Friday night’s all–Anchor Rising Violent Roundtable on the Matt Allen Show related to Matt’s statement that the Catholic Church is in some respects an anti-American institution. Having such a strong statement catch one off guard doesn’t make measured extemporaneous response an easy accomplishment, but upon…
Last night’s Violent Roundtable on the Matt Allen Show was the most difficult public appearance/talk show that I’ve done yet. Probably because Matt correctly assessed that an hour of harmony wouldn’t have been very interesting, his questions touched on a number of weighty subjects on which expressing comprehensive thoughts on the spot is not easy.…
“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.…