Overview for News

The Decline Of Suburbia

In 1925, sociologist Ernest Burgess developed a simple model to explain the relationship between social class and residential location. He envisioned an archetypal city where zones of different classes stretched out from a central business district in concentric rings, like the ripples that …

Written by Tim Mak on Monday February 16, 2009

Merit Pay? Hardship Pay!

There was no keeping Ms. J; she was gone before October. My principal at the time asked me to pep talk her into staying. I did talk with Ms. J, but I didn’t shine the school up and make her feel like it was going to be easy. In the end, she hated the job, felt threatened by the students and …

Written by Thomas Gibbon on Monday February 16, 2009

Obamas Amoral Foreign Policy

In an early 2007 lecture Richard Holbrooke, now President Obama’s special envoy for Afghanistan, claimed to delineate the differences in how Republicans and Democrats approach international relations. Democrats, Holbrooke said, are “idealists” who care about the rest of the world …

Written by Martin Krossel on Sunday February 15, 2009

Persuader In Chief

For most of us, the “separation of powers” refers to the fact that our federal government is divided into three branches. There is also another version of the separation of powers, which is the subject of Peter W. Rodman’s recently published Presidential Command . What could …

Written by Michael Toth on Sunday February 15, 2009

The Party That Lost Its Mind

Have you heard about the marsh mouse? The little swamp critter that got $30 million of stimulus bill spending thanks to Nancy Pelosi? Of course you have! The mouse was highlighted on Drudge and chortled over by Glenn Beck. One Republican congressman actually dandled a toy mouse in debate. The …

Written by David Frum on Sunday February 15, 2009

Who Killed E-verify?

Liberals and conservatives, immigration restrictionists and immigration reformers, everybody likes e-verify, the simple and reliable technology for checking the work status of job applicants. Only two weeks ago, e-verify received a resounding endorsement from Doris Meissner of the …

Written by David Frum on Saturday February 14, 2009

What We Just Did

Congress has just voted - and Barack Obama will soon sign - the most radical transformation of the US government since ... well you pick. 1965? The 1930s? The Civil War? In percentage terms, the stimulus package just passed is more than double the size of the cost of the New Deal, 5% of …

Written by David Frum on Saturday February 14, 2009

The Chronic(le) Of Michael Phelps

For those currently living under a rock, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps had his picture taken smoking pot in Columbia, SC. I am (a) in law school, (b) in Columbia, SC, which has made me, (c) follow the Michael Phelps pot ordeal closely, and (d) know a bunch of people who swear their …

Written by Cheves Ligon on Friday February 13, 2009

What To Do About Philip Weiss?

In the mid 1990s, I worked at United Feature Syndicate -- think Peanuts, Jack Anderson, Dilbert and Miss Manners. I edited newspaper columns on everything from business advice by Bruce Williams ("I wish you well, my friend") to bridge strategy by Philip Alder. Another of my assignments included …

Written by Ken Kurson on Friday February 13, 2009

The Plot Thickens

Our thesis is that the U.S. will need help to recover. The assumption was that to get that help, the U.S. will need to be seen to be doing everything it can to help itself. The greatest danger since July 2007 has been that of policy mistakes. While there has been much honest effort on the part of …

Written by William Macdonald on Friday February 13, 2009

Will Mexico Collapse On Obama's Watch?

Gun battles between drug gangs in Ciudad Juarez. An army general kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in Ciudad Juarez. And now the collapse of the Mexican bond market. From today's em> Los Angeles Times

Written by David Frum on Friday February 13, 2009

Obama's First International Goof?

Last August, Poland and the United States struck a deal to base a battery of U.S. antimissile systems, consisting of about 10 missiles, on Polish soil. To make the deal, Poland had to fend off opposition from both Russia and the European Union. Now, after Poland has toughed its way through …

Written by Jeff Cimbalo on Friday February 13, 2009

Party Before Country

We’re getting to know the Obama administration, and what we are seeing is not pretty. President Obama came into office with two urgent priorities. One priority was urgently needed by the country: save the banking system. The other priority was loudly demanded by his party: spend a …

Written by David Frum on Friday February 13, 2009

Target Dems, Not "rinos"

Listening to talk radio while driving to and from work last night and this morning, and reviewing some of the conservative blogs this morning, one could not help but be struck by the level of anger at three Republican Senators - Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Arlen Specter of …

Written by Bradley Smith on Thursday February 12, 2009

Immigration And The New Majority

We are being told by advocates of more immigration that the Republican party has scared off Hispanic voters. What underlies this argument is that opposition to illegal immigration has no net political plus. That is, immigration enforcement is only an issue to immigrants (primarily Hispanics). …

Written by Howard Foster on Thursday February 12, 2009

Too Big To Count

According to one senior House staffer, the spending bill is so massive, not one single member knows everything that's in it. That being said, the short amount of time between its unveiling and proposed vote tomorrow breaks the unanimously passed motion from Tuesday that requires a 48-hour review …

Written by Moira Bagley on Thursday February 12, 2009

The Taliban's New Old Sniper Rifle: The Pride Of Britain

Now, wealthy drug lords are buying expensive hunting and sniper rifles for their militias, but so far, the Taliban Snipers appear to be using grandpa's old Lee-Enfield. “ Afghans Rediscover The Lee-Enfield ” by James Dunnigan, strategypage.com, January 22, 2009 A scrimmage in …

Written by J. Moses Browning on Thursday February 12, 2009

This Valentine's Day, Read "the Satanic Verses"

Not so long ago, Shirley Williams, a Liberal Democrat member of the British House of Lords, appeared on the BBC’s Question Time programme; when asked by a member of the audience if she thought Salman Rushdie should have been given the knighthood, she replied: “I think it was a …

Written by Kapil Komireddi on Wednesday February 11, 2009

Republican Economics And The Young: The Fundamentals Are Not Sound

Young voters overwhelmingly voted Democrat in last year’s election, and greatly contributed to the GOP’s losses. Aside from alienating them on social issues, the Republicans have failed to deliver a consistent message about the economy that can appeal to America’s youth. …

Written by Jonas Stankovich on Tuesday February 10, 2009

Is Obama Open To Education Reform?

After watching President Obama's first prime time press conference from the White House, I want to highlight a section on education for readers of New Majority. It will likely receive little attention given the stimulus bill and other assorted crises, but it provided a road-map for possible future …

Written by John Avlon on Tuesday February 10, 2009