Overview for FF Spotlight

Obamacare: More Regulation, Less Innovation

The health bill coming out of Congress will likely mandate that insurers spend a large percentage of total premiums paying medical claims. This sounds like a common sense measure but will only squelch innovation. When a healthcare bill lands on President Obama’s desk sometime after the New Year, …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday December 22, 2009

Obamacare’s Lethal Flaw

The Senate's healthcare legislation offers plenty for any free marketer to dislike. But one feature that’s gotten little attention -- the introduction of centralized price control for health insurance policies -- may rank as the new bill’s very worst feature. The healthcare legislation almost …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Monday December 21, 2009

The Dems' Health Care Win

Ultimately, the Democrats who really do want to help people weren't going to miss a chance to get 30 million plus people health insurance for the rest of their lives. Here's some more details on the final bill —Sen. Ron Wyden's exchanges were expanded, and smart cost control measures introduced …

Written by Eugene Debs on Saturday December 19, 2009

Insurgents "Hacking" Our Drones? No Big Deal

Recent reports that insurgents in Iraq have been hacking video from our military drones are overblown. While the militants have shown some ingenuity, our video feeds aren't even encrypted. The headlines read : Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones $26 Software Is Used to Breach Key Weapons in …

Written by Sean Linnane on Saturday December 19, 2009

Pakistan: Committing Genocide Against Fellow Muslims

In 1971, assisted by 13 battalions of mujahideen, Pakistan’s soldiers slaughtered three million people over 9 bloodcurdling months. This is the ninth installment in Kapil Komireddi’s series, Pakistan: Anatomy of a Failed State. Click here for the rest of the series. On the night …

Written by Kapil Komireddi on Saturday December 19, 2009

How the Military Deals with Snakes

There's more than one way to handle a snake in the middle of a mission. Differential Theory of U.S. Armed Forces (Snake Model) Upon Encountering a Snake in the Area of Operations (AO): 1. "Straight-Leg" : Sees snake, runs screaming from the area. 2. Airborne …

Written by Sean Linnane on Friday December 18, 2009

Will the Left Kill Obamacare?

The American left's hatred of health insurance companies seems to be trumping its desire for healthcare reform. Sure looks that way. First Howard Dean objects, next the AFL-CIO . Now Mickey Kaus directs us to this Wall Street Journal poll showing that 45% think it "unacceptable" to drop …

Written by David Frum on Thursday December 17, 2009

Economists Agree with GOP Leaders: Spending Must Slow

When House Republicans presented President Obama a plan for creating jobs without cost to the taxpayer, Obama challenged them to produce economists who would back up their case. Frum Forum asked four economists for their views. Last Wednesday, a delegation of House Republicans presented …

Written by Tim Mak on Thursday December 17, 2009

A Do Nothing Immigration Policy

The best thing to do about the existing population of illegals in the U.S. is nothing. Let enforcement and recession shrink the population spontaneously - and then leave the rest to time. My new column for The Week argues that the best thing to do about the existing population of illegals in …

Written by David Frum on Thursday December 17, 2009

Killing the GOP One Race at a Time

On Tuesday, Redstate.com's Erik Erickson penned a piece calling on “real conservatives” to reconsider their support for Mark Kirk in the Illinois GOP Senate primary. Targeting Kirk though will only further divide the party and weaken its eventual nominee. On Tuesday, Redstate.com's Erik Erickson …

Written by Jeb Golinkin on Thursday December 17, 2009

Frum vs. Klum

Jonah Goldberg a few days ago expressed his disapproval of the frequent pairing of David Frum and Bob Shrum in newsmagazines and cable TV. Jonah Goldberg a few days ago expressed his disapproval of the frequent pairing of David Frum and Bob Shrum in newsmagazines and cable TV. Conor …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday December 16, 2009

The Obvious Choice

Of course Ben Bernanke is Time magazine’s Man of the Year. The financial crisis threatened the Federal Reserve, the U.S. economy, and the economies of every country on the planet. And Bernanke led a Fed response of almost unimaginable scale and scope. Of course Ben Bernanke is Time magazine’…

Written by Douglas Holtz-Eakin on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Obama's Mistakes, Carter's Excuses

President Obama isn't looking like Jimmy Carter yet, but many of the excuses used to explain away his mistakes have a familiar ring. Matt Yglesias had a blogpost the other day arguing that it's not Obama's fault that his healthcare agenda has stalled. The smarter elements in Washington DC …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Waking Up to the Obama Doctrine

It seems like only last week -- after his speeches at West Point and Oslo -- that Barack Obama was a neoconservative hero. But now some neocons are beginning to see Obama and his foreign policy as they really are. It seems like only last week that Barack Obama was a neoconservative hero! Oh …

Written by John Guardiano on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Poizner Doubles Down

Yesterday, Steve Poizner's campaign announced that Poizner would be contributing $15 million to his campaign for governor, a development Frum Forum first predicted over a month ago. New developments in the Whitman-Poizner campaign for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination in California show …

Written by Tim Mak on Wednesday December 16, 2009

Tea Party Could've Used Some Crashers

A crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 Tea Partiers gathered on Capitol Hill for an afternoon rally to protest the Democrats’ health care legislation, a figure far short of the organizers’ expected turnout of 15,000. A crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 Tea Partiers gathered on Capitol Hill for an afternoon rally to …

Written by Tim Mak on Tuesday December 15, 2009

Sacrificing Human Rights for Naught

Obama’s silence on human rights and his continuing outreach to authoritarian regimes has yielded only discouraging results. One of the ugliest aspects of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy has been its indifference to human rights abuses worldwide. Despite the administration’s claim that …

Written by Eric Trager on Tuesday December 15, 2009

Enforcement Not Amnesty

Granting amnesty to illegal immigrants will only make things harder for the already large number of native-born Americans living in poverty. The Washington Post December 7 article “Struggles of the Second Generation” describes how second generation Hispanics are doing no better than their …

Written by Crystal Wright on Tuesday December 15, 2009

Tea Partiers "Storm" Congress

Some 80 Tea Party activists gathered on Capitol Hill this morning to protest the "unconstitutionality" of the healthcare reform bill currently before the Senate. The Tea Partiers threatened to "storm" Senate offices and stage a "die-in". Some 80 Tea Party activists gathered on Capitol Hill this …

Written by Tim Mak on Tuesday December 15, 2009

Will Greece Break the Euro?

Fears are growing that the Greek government's inability or unwillingness to address their deficit and high public debt will damage Europe's common currency. This December, Greece has seen more media coverage since it pitched camp outside the walls of Troy in pursuit of a misguided woman. It’s …

Written by Napoleon Linardatos on Monday December 14, 2009