Overview for News

"i Had To Get Some Ghetto In Me"

When she first started working as a hall monitor and secretary at one of the local city high schools, my favorite co-worker, Ms. K, said she dressed up real fancy for work and tried to befriend the children. “They tore the fur off me,” she said of her first few weeks. “But then …

Written by Thomas Gibbon on Thursday February 5, 2009

Good News For Republicans In Cook County

The Chicago Sun-Times CST-NWS-Carol04.article"> announced on Wednesday that education reformer extraordinaire, Paul Vallas, has decided to leave his position as New Orleans superintendent and return to his suburban Cook County home, register as a Republican, and run for Cook County Board …

Written by Jeffrey Singer on Thursday February 5, 2009

As Fairfax County Goes...

Pat Herrity's loss on Tuesday for a position of which most Americans have never heard -- Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Fairfax County, Virginia -- is an unfortunate setback for Republicans and a sharp illustration of the problems the GOP faces coming back in the suburbs, especially in the …

Written by John S. Gardner on Thursday February 5, 2009

What Went Wrong in Iraq - The Definitive Account, Part 5

This is part five of a series. Read part one here , part two here , part three here , and part four here . Stuart Bowen’s IG operation has thus far convicted 35 Americans on charges of fraud. Yet as appalling as fraud is, it occurs in all wars. What most sapped American …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday February 4, 2009

Optimism At Kansas Gop Convention

With this report from the Kansas GOP convention, FF launches a new feature: occasional reports on the proceedings of state and local Republican organizations and conventions. “Nationally, Republicans lost much ground and were swamped by a wave of enthusiasm for Obama, but you …

Written by FF Political Report on Wednesday February 4, 2009

Sending Gitmo Grads To Europe: A Suicidal Proposition

There has been much talk recently of sending Guantánamo detainees to Europe. The measure is supposed to apply to detainees who have been cleared for release, but who cannot be returned to their home countries on account of human rights concerns. It has been pushed, notably, by the Austrian …

Written by John Rosenthal on Wednesday February 4, 2009

What Went Wrong in Iraq - The Definitive Account, Part 4

This is part four of a series. Read part one here , part two here , and part three here . The Iraq war was supposed to pay for itself, as the Gulf War had done a dozen years before. Instead, since 2003, Iraq has become the largest single-nation recipient of US international assistanc…

Written by David Frum on Wednesday February 4, 2009

Mr. Cutler Goes To Washington

span> A Harvard professor moves to Washington !

Written by David Gratzer on Wednesday February 4, 2009

The Show Goes On

I chuckle each day I drive up to my school and see smoke coming out of the chimney and lights on when I walk in the door. No matter what kind of hell the day before brought or how dysfunctional the school system is, we always do manage to put on the show each day. The bell always rings. I have …

Written by Thomas Gibbon on Wednesday February 4, 2009

Killefer's Out Of The Box Thinking Is What We Need

Whatever one thinks about Nancy Killefer's tax issues, from one perspective, I'm sorry to see her go. She's obviously eminently qualified for the position, and as my post on the AMT last week noted, she supported AMT repeal in her capacity as a member of the IRS Oversight Board. This kind of …

Written by John S. Gardner on Tuesday February 3, 2009

Ethics, First Step To A Gop Comeback

The GOP has lost its old stronghold of New England, while poaching the Democrats’ Dixie redoubt. This is called trading up. New England is in demographic collapse and economic decline and does not set the National tone. There is one aspect of old New England Republicanism that could …

Written by John Vecchione on Tuesday February 3, 2009

A Free Turkey From The Unions

These are dark days for free-market enthusiasts. The gloriously uncomplicated path of more and more deregulation we trumpeted in years past now finds us facing on Wall Street a problem so complicated that our best and brightest (even Rush Limbaugh!) can no longer see their invisible hand in …

Written by Cheves Ligon on Tuesday February 3, 2009

The Un's False News Industry

Over in our RIGHT NOW column, we are featuring a news story from Canada's Globe & Mail carefully debunking allegations that Israeli shelling killed people inside a UN school in Gaza. While it seems to be true that 43 civilians were killed when three Israeli mortar shells landed in a street …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday February 3, 2009

Wetlands - An Environmental Issue for Free Marketeers

Conservatives have good reason to question parts of the environmental movement's wish-list. Proposals for new energy taxes, "green jobs" programs, and restrictions on private property use all ask conservatives to sacrifice long-standing principles in favor of a nebulous desire to save the planet. …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Monday February 2, 2009

"better Not Be Blood On My Car"

A guy got shot across the street one day during my planning period. I was just sitting at my desk typing a lesson plan and listening to Rush Limbaugh when I heard three or four shots in succession. Being on the third floor, I was in no real danger. I crouched down and looked outside the window. …

Written by Thomas Gibbon on Monday February 2, 2009

Israel - A First Visitor's View

Just a few days ago, I visited the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. I was part of a week-long trip to Israel organized by my synagogue, in part to tour areas damaged by Hamas rockets, and also to visit with wounded IDF soldiers and Israeli victims of terrorism. This was my first trip to …

Written by Nat Frum on Monday February 2, 2009

Coaching Success, Teaching Failure

Cross Country running is not an ideal sport for a 250 pound kid with a history of medical problems, including having a stroke as a young boy and a current struggle with epilepsy. Learning what he needs to in a school without the kinds of services he is supposed to have with his severe learning …

Written by Thomas Gibbon on Sunday February 1, 2009

American Politics, Global Obsession

It might strike Americans as odd that people in other countries gather to watch U.S. presidential elections as if they were their own. But they do. Every four years on the first Tuesday in November, for example, I host a dinner for fellow political junkies. We eat, drink and watch the returns …

Written by Lorne Gunter on Saturday January 31, 2009

Go Nukes

Fortunately, the US has experienced only a few black-outs and regional power outages in the last three decades. The biggest happened on August 14, 2003 Ñapparently the result of a tree branch falling in Ohio--and affected much of the Northeast, the Midwest, and Ontario. Such incidents may not …

Written by Stanley Jevons on Friday January 30, 2009

Update: No Mail On Tuesdays?

As an update to u> my piece on USPS

Written by John S. Gardner on Friday January 30, 2009