NASA Budget Grounds Space Probes
Robotic space exploration accounts for a tiny portion of NASA and the federal government's budgets. Yet, despite their merits these programs face deep cuts. For decades, there was debate among space exploration proponents about the relative merits of manned versus unmanned missions. Enthusiasts …The GOP's Dim Bulb Bill
This week, the Senate will hold hearings on a bill to undo energy standards on light bulbs. Is defending the wasteful incandescent light bulb really a priority? This week the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will have a hearing on Senator Mike Enzi’s “ Better Use of Light Bulbs Act , …Remembering David Broder
Like many in politics, I read David Broder because he told me what I needed to think about. With his passing, I've lost a friend and mentor. Like so many people in politics over the past half century or more, I read David Broder’s news items and columns religiously for the simple reason that …Oops! HuffPo Puffs 9/11 Truther
How did writer Dan Froomkin's piece celebrating a 9/11 denialist as a lonely heroic defender of civil liberties end up on the Huffington Post's homepage? You’ll miss the Mainstream Media when they’re gone. You’ll miss professional reporting. You’ll miss editors who ask questions like, …Obama Retreats on Gitmo
After sober reflection, President Obama has reluctantly come to the right conclusion that the ideal place to keep suspect terrorists is Gitmo. In the natural order of things, U.S. President Obama should perhaps consider apologizing to his predecessor, George Bush the Younger. Except he …The Fair Trade Racket
“Fair Trade” coffee is promoted everywhere. But far from helping third world farmers, "fair trade" practices are luring the world's poor into a distorted market. “Fair Trade” coffee is promoted everywhere, from companies such as Starbucks to my university's campus. Its advocates argue that the …Levin Wants a Shutdown: Real Americans Don't
Tuesday, Mark Levin upbraided the GOP leadership as cowardly for not shutting down government. But a new poll reveals why that could be a disaster. Tuesday, during the opening monologue on his radio show , Mark Levin upbraided the GOP leadership as cowardly for not shutting down government. …The Bold Budget Cuts Congress Won't Touch
Tied up in Washington's budget cut fight, neither party is focusing on the real problem: the large percentage of the budget devoted to mandatory spending. As both parties engage in Kabuki theater over cuts to the 12 or so percent of the budget that consists of domestic, discretionary, …Newt's Family Values Problem
Gingrich's personal life has been and will be politically lethal. But it's not the infidelity. It's the arrogance, hypocrisy, and (most horrifying to women) the cruelty. Pete Wehner tries to assess how much past marital infidelity will hurt Newt Gingrich's presidential chances. Many of the …"Never Stop Trying": Advice from the Last Lost Generation
My generation also faced a tough recession. I don't know how, but we managed to survive. As hard as things are now, today's millennials have to believe they will too. With the release of new employment numbers on Friday March 4th, we at Frum Forum decided that it was time to listen to the …"Believe in Your Worth": Advice from the Last Lost Generation
It's hard to accept the uncertainty of the Great Recession, but never stop believing in the worth of your life and work no matter how much others may insult it. With the release of new employment numbers on Friday March 4th, we at Frum Forum decided that it was time to listen to the voices of …Fenty Endorses Walker
Adrian Fenty, the Democratic former mayor of D.C. says he agrees with what Scott Walker is doing in Wisconsin. Do other Dem leaders feel the same? This seems to me a hugely important fact: Adrian Fenty, the Democratic former mayor of the District of Columbia says he agrees with what Scott Walker …Pawlenty: GOP Nominee by Default?
Pawlenty would be a fine president. Yet, I've never met anyone enthusiastic about him. Can he reach the presidency with everyone saying, "He's fine, he'll do"? Jonathan Chait reasons his way to Pawlenty as the most plausible GOP nominee for 2012. Chait is applying the Sherlock Holmes methods: …Will GOP Give Climate Science a Fair Shake?
The House is holding hearings today on the science of climate change. But can credible testimony really change the minds of the GOP's climate skeptics? House Democrats persuaded Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) to hold a hearing today on climate science. At a time when …Prison Rape: Not Inevitable
If U.S. prisons adopted better security standards we could halve the number of sexually abused inmates. Why then aren't these standards being adopted? Some US prisons do a much better job than others of protecting inmates from sexual abuse. In the current New York Review of Books , David …Obama’s Guantanamo About-Face
President Obama's promise to close Guantanamo may be a casualty of the "Arab spring." Hypothesis: President Obama's promise to close Guantanamo is a casualty of the "Arab spring." As Eli Lake notes in a characteristically in-depth report here , the Obama administration has transferred about 67 …