Political Thought
As Marc notes, traditional marriage won big, this election, despite a political turnout that would have seemed likely to point in the other direction. For federalist conservatives, these results are pretty close to the ideal of how things should work: The people of each state decide their policies, and when the judiciary over reaches, the…
Markos Moulitsas (Daily Kos himself) recently wrote (h/t) that he wants to “break the conservative movement’s backs and crush their spirits.” He wants to “destroy their most beloved leaders” and silence “some of their most cherished voices.” Further, he writes, with the 2008 election, the liberal/progressive/Democratic movement “[has] been blessed with an opportunity to help…
How quickly we could slide into tyranny! All it takes is a perceived need to reveal that human beings are very comfortable asserting government ownership and leveraging its power: What if Congress suddenly awoke from its spineless ho-hum existence and passed a law that stated that heretofore every American’s body would become the property of…
I just caught a few moments of Beyond the Politics with Bill Bennett, and on a question pertaining to the government’s tendency to usurp the powers of civil institutions, black leftist academic Cornel West argued that the two could enhance each other, “if its done right.” What’s needed to make the difference, according to West,…
Soon-to-be-former Town Councilor Brian Medeiros (who isn’t running to maintain his seat) expresses a potentially alarming notion about governance: Government is supposed to help us all do things we can’t do individually. If he’s talking about communal defense against plausible military attack, then I’d agree. If he’s talking about making teachers into an unaccountable class…
Yeah, I gotta vote “no” on this one: Having tried without success to unlock frozen credit markets, the Treasury Department is considering taking ownership stakes in many United States banks to try to restore confidence in the financial system, according to government officials. Treasury officials say the just-passed $700 billion bailout bill gives them the…
I’ve got a letter in the current Sakonnet Times looking ahead in the effort to get Tiverton on a better, more sustainable track: In short, if a revolt is to be successful and enduring, it must be considered, and from that necessity derives the difficult, often tedious work that must be done. Razing the town…
Something from a recent David Brooks column ought to sound familiar: The government will be much more active in economic management (pleasing a certain sort of establishment Democrat). Government activism will provide support to corporations, banks and business and will be used to shore up the stable conditions they need to thrive (pleasing a certain…
Perhaps it was inevitable, in view of their advocacy of certain issues which they perceive benefits all women, issues primarily, though not exclusively, advanced by one political party. And they certainly telegraphed this action ten years ago with silence in the face of Bill Clinton’s serial harassment of vulnerable and subordinate women, a group whom…
Charles Pinning’s op-ed in today’s Providence Journal may present an awkward blend of maudlin setting and ideological sneer, but perhaps it offers a chance for productive conversation. Pinning puts the following in the mouth of an older male character from Providence’s west side, speaking of the regular schmoes whom his elderly sweetheart just encountered at…
