Belarus Dictator Popular? How Would We Know?
I recently drew attention in an article for Frum Forum to the imminent threat to the life of Andrei Sannikov, the pro-democracy opposition leader of Belarus, Europe’s last dictatorship. Robin Tim Weis’s riposte to my piece coincides with news that Sannikov has disappeared. If nothing else, …
Answers for the Next Foreign Policy Debate
img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-107040" title="gop debate" src="/files/wxrimport/2011-11/gop-debate.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="320" />What's Germany Thinking?
A friend involved in the Euro crisis writes this about the most recent German actions to rescue the Euro: This is a selfless act on Germany's part actually. A reversion to the drachma would lead to a massive devaluation & hurt the competitiveness of German exports (and it's tourism sector - …
Shrinking the Zone to Save the Euro
The Merkel-Sarkozy strategy for changing which countries are able to use the euro is taking shape. Their next efforts will likely include an attempt to change the treaties that govern how to exit the euro and how the countries more deeply integrate . Additional treaty powers to decide who can …
That's a Lot of History!
It wasn't $300,000 that Freddie Mac paid Gingrich for his work supposedly as a non-lobbyist " historian ." It was between $1.6 million and $1.8 million. Gingrich says that all he did for that money was tell Freddie that their business model was "insane." Anybody find that believeable?
$1.2 Trillion in Cuts Still Avoids Hard Choices
Gloom has descended on the work of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (JSC) as the Nov. 23 deadline for its work nears. As JSC Co-Chair Jeb Hensarling said over the weekend, it has been a roller-coaster ride. Republicans have made offers; Democrats have made offers. Both long-term …
Sanitation Returns to Zuccotti
Anarchy is not good for anyone. One of the joys of the “Occupy Wherever” movement is the swift return of the Gods of the Copybook Headings to wreak divine wrath on its most clueless transgressors. The wrath includes the return of tuberculosis-the scourge of the 19th century; scrofula from the …
How Gingrich (Literally) Cleaned Up Congress
Newt Gingrich’s surge in the polls raises at least an outside chance that the former House Speaker is going to end up topping the GOP ticket next November. Nobody disputes that Gingrich is very smart and a good debater. He also has the sort of high-level political experience (including foreign …
The (Liberal's) Case for Mitt
Kevin Drum states it: A few months ago I was pretty much rooting for a Perry or a Bachmann to win the GOP nomination because I figured (a) they'd lose big in the general election, and (b) their loss might push the Republican Party back toward the center sooner than otherwise. But it's just …
Rick Perry's Chutzpah
Rick Perry is calling for legislators to be thrown into jail for insider trading. Perry's comments are particularly bold given that allegations of insider trading have followed him through his own political career. Most people forget that Michele Bachmann's original criticism of Perry's HPV …
Kagan is No Rehnquist
Elena Kagan meet Bill Rehnquist. That Bill Rehnquist. Like Kagan, Rehnquist was once young, smart, and ambitious. Like Kagan, Rehnquist served as a political appointee at the Department of Justice. And like Kagan, Rehnquist was once an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. But …
British Conservatives Face the Future
Anyone who gets drawn into the attempts to modernize the Republican Party inevitably ends up reading about the experiences of the UK and Canadian conservatives. The Canadian Conservatives went through many years in the wilderness before they eventually secured their current governing majority and …
With Friends Like Obama...
As Chris Sands writes at Huffington Post Canada about the Obama administration's hostile action on the Keystone pipeline, with friends like President Obama, who needs enemies? [Canadian Prime Minister Stephen] Harper has been a great friend to Obama: supportive of the U.S. global warming …
Merkel's Plan to End the Euro
Whatever political settlement the Lisbon Treaty created to allow for the permanence of the euro is about to change. Chancellor Merkel will propose a significant change in the existing treaties, which will finally allow Greece and perhaps others to leave the euro but not the EU, and likely bestow …
The Case of the Century
The U.S. Supreme court has agreed to hear essentially all of the challenges to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care and Protection Act, President Obama’s health care law. The AP is reporting that there will be five hours of oral arguments in March or April, after all of the briefs are …
Waterboarding and the Candidates
Why couldn't one of the candidates have responded to the waterboarding question in Saturday night's CBS/ National Journal debate as follows: I won't second-guess the actions of the Bush administration. But you are asking about policies that were abandoned some 8 years ago, largely at the …
The New Threat from Europe
img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-106896" title="EU" src="/files/wxrimport/2011-11/eu2.jpg" alt="" width="410" height="273" />Res Judicata: Jobs for Americans First
Last week’s blog post on restricting legal immigration as a partial solution to persistently high unemployment drew many comments. They made three basic arguments: 1) immigrants create demand for goods and services that results in a net plus for the economy, 2) immigrants do not compete with …
New Laws Won't Stop the Next Sandusky
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett says he wants new laws to stop crimes like those that Jerry Sandusky is alleged to have committed. He’s wrong. Terrible as former Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky’s alleged crimes are, there’s no case for new laws. In fact, insofar as Pennsylvan…