Overview for FF Spotlight

Fishy Chicago Politics

Do I have this straight: a Daley resigns to make room for Rahm, Rahm resigns to make room for another Daley, and nobody thinks this fishy? Do I have this straight: a Daley resigns to make room for Rahm, Rahm resigns to make room for another Daley, and nobody thinks this fishy?

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Written by David Frum on Monday January 3, 2011

Steele: 'My Record Stands for Itself'

At today's RNC debate, incumbent Michael Steele defended his controversial tenure as chairman. The Republican National Committee’s debate for potential chairmen today was less contentious than some might have expected – there was general agreement on issues of policy and management, and no shots …

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Written by Tim Mak on Monday January 3, 2011

Do Voters Really Care About the Deficit?

American voters might claim concern over the deficit but when it comes to any real fixes their answer seems to be a resounding "no." Democracy and deficit reduction do not play nicely with one another.  A December 9, 2010 Pew Survey found that 93% of Americans say they understand that the …

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Written by Jeb Golinkin on Monday January 3, 2011

Mexico's Drug War: Made in the USA

In 2010, Mexico’s drug war reached new levels of brutality. That violence though will only worsen unless the U.S. acts to cut drug consumption. In 2010, Mexico’s drug war reached new levels of brutality.  However, as my latest column for CNN points out, that violence will only worsen unless the …

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Written by David Frum on Monday January 3, 2011

Billy the Kid Deserves No Pardon

Who in their right minds would consider a posthumous pardon for Billy the Kid – a homicidal psychopath who boasted that he'd killed 21 men? On the eve of his quitting after eight years as New Mexico’s governor, Bill Richardson announced he was denying a pardon to the infamous outlaw, Billy the …

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Written by Peter Worthington on Monday January 3, 2011

A Face-Saving Exit for Republicans

Republicans who feel trapped by commitments to vote against an increase in the debt ceiling may want to consider a less-damaging way out. Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard tweeted this morning: Hearing lots of buzz about GOP linking votes on raising the debt ceiling to a balanced budget …

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Written by David Frum on Monday January 3, 2011

Great Recession or Great Retooling?

History may look on the Great Recession as the period when the US halted government's growth and moved to an export-led production cycle. The Wall Street Journal reports on China's oil shock: cooking oil. These days, Liu Chuansheng nervously scouts five locations before he buys cooking …

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Written by David Frum on Monday January 3, 2011

With DADT Gone: Can We Unite to Beat the Taliban?

The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell offers the patriotic political center to chance to move the debate on the War on Terror beyond the usual Left-Right rhetoric. America is engaged in a defining civilizational fight against the medieval forces of religious and political extremism.  We will win this …

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Written by Alex Morgan on Monday January 3, 2011

The Year Ahead

A rise in the stock price of online job search site Monster.com may provide a promising sign for the economy in 2011. Here's a promising sign: The stock of Monster.com, the online job search engine, has risen almost 36% over the past 12 months. Somebody's expecting employment advertising to …

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Written by David Frum on Sunday January 2, 2011

Why Corporate America Will Bounce Back in 2011

2010 saw many high-profile corporate bankruptcies. But many of those corporate failures could lead to good economic news in 2011. Borders Books, the once-demonized slayer of independent booksellers, appears headed for bankruptcy court: its stock trades at only a little more than a dollar a …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Saturday January 1, 2011

Was the Blizzard Christie's Katrina?

Did NJ Governor Chris Christie’s vacation during the recent Northeast blizzard clean-up seriously harm his political future? New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s vacation during the recent Northeast blizzard has garnered much national media attention. But did his decision not to return to directly …

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Written by Brad Schaeffer on Saturday January 1, 2011

The Health Care Revolution, 2011 Edition

The new Congress will stage an early vote on outright repeal of the Democrats' healthcare reform. After that vote fails though, the GOP's real work begins. Kaiser Family Foundation offers a helpful timeline of the portions of the federal healthcare law that go into effect in 2011. Among them: …

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Written by David Frum on Saturday January 1, 2011

Taxing Our Way to a Green America

Democrats are committed to advancing the green agenda through regulation. But there's a better way that protects freedom... and raises money. The green agenda has imposed upon us the elimination of Thomas Edison’s incandescent bulb -- an invention so iconic that cartoonists use it as a symbol of a …

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Written by John Vecchione on Friday December 31, 2010

The Prowl: When New Year's Goes Wrong

This year for New Year's Eve, I'm merely hoping that I can ring in 2011 without suffering any physical injury or memory lapse. Last year on New Year's Day, I woke up with a profound hangover and a patchy memory of the night before.  The events of the night before were recapped for me over brunch …

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Written by Vivian Darkbloom on Friday December 31, 2010

Can I Disinvite Friends from a New Year's Bash?

Socializing in general is a never-ending festival of “hurt feelings and awkwardness.” Why should New Year’s Eve be any different? Writing in the Globe and Mail , David Eddie hears from a reader wondering if they can disinvite their friends from a New Year's Eve party. The reader writes: …

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Written by David Eddie on Friday December 31, 2010

Were the Founders Libertarians?

UPDATED: Asking if the Founders Fathers were libertarians is as meaningful as asking whether the Founders would have preferred Macs or PCs. Let me toss in my 5 cents worth on the question of whether the Founders were "libertarians." This seems to me a question approximately as meaningful …

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Written by David Frum on Thursday December 30, 2010

Putin Comes Clean on Katyn

Vladimir Putin has finally acknowledged Russia's responsibility for one of WWII’s worst massacres: the execution of 20,000 Polish officers in the Katyn Forest. Vladimir Putin, the real ruler of post-Soviet Russia, has acknowledged his country’s responsibility for one of WWII’s horrendous …

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Written by Peter Worthington on Thursday December 30, 2010

Obama's Eagles Shout-Out

Does Obama really think Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, hired convicted felon Mike Vick because of a commitment to social justice? Could Obama really think that Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, hired convicted felon Mike Vick because of his commitment to …

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Written by Henry Clay on Thursday December 30, 2010

2010's Most Overblown News Stories

2010 saw many events that history will regard as only moderately important receive far more media coverage than they deserved. Remember when an unknown pastor in Florida planned to burn a bunch of Qurans? Or when that television host managed to get a bunch of people to hang out on the Washington …

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Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Thursday December 30, 2010

How Chavez Lines His Pockets

Hugo Chavez isn't redistributing wealth from rich to poor, but rather from a business elite to a political elite, and from non-relatives to his own family. This New York Times dispatch from Venezuela is fine so far as it goes, but it risks leaving behind a very wrong impression. The idyll …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday December 28, 2010