Entries

Balanced Budget Amendments: Ineffective, Untried

The Balanced Budget Amendment has more support now than at any point in the past decade and a half. Nearly all Republican candidates for President support it in some form and many Democrats in Congress also have nice things to say about it. A look at states in the United States and countries around …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday September 6, 2011

If it's Perry: Anti-Science Label Sticks

If Rick Perry is the nominee, we will hear stepped-up criticism that there is a Republican “ war on science ,” that the GOP is anti-intellectual and antipathetic to facts and analysis. Such criticism will resonate with many voters, precisely because Perry’s nomination will be evidence that it’s …

Written by Kenneth Silber on Tuesday September 6, 2011

Post-Auto America?

The Wall Street Journal reports this morning (in the print edition) that Americans drove 14% fewer miles in June 2011 than June 2010. This marks the fourth consecutive year-over-year reduction in driving mileage. The bad economy explains much of the decline: unemployed people don't commute to …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday September 6, 2011

Will Perry Win With 16% Unemployment?

Into the presidential race rides another man from Texas, Governor Rick Perry. If this election is about jobs, the Republicans would have to be crazy to nominate anyone else. While the Democrats will try to parse and spin the numbers, Texas has done better than the rest of the nation in …

Written by Hank Adler on Tuesday September 6, 2011

Bachmann's Empty EPA Trash-Talk

On a recent campaign stop in Florida, Michele Bachmann waded into a political swamp by saying that she would drill in the Everglades if that “is where the energy is.” While she gave a cursory nod to drilling responsibly, it’s clear she had no clue about the environmental or political …

Written by David Jenkins on Tuesday September 6, 2011

Res Judicata: Perry's Faux Federalism

Is Rick Perry a real supporter of federalism? I have my doubts. As I wrote last week, the concept of federalism is based upon the allocation of powers between the federal government and the states. Article I §8 enumerates the specific subjects reserved for Congress. The Tenth Amendment …

Written by Howard Foster on Tuesday September 6, 2011

What if it's Perry?

On Election Night 2012, I expect that Republican Presidential nominee Rick Perry will turn into President-Elect Rick Perry. My inbox will fill up with emails from both enemies and frenemies declaring: " Frum Forum Lost! Your cause is doomed and you have failed!" Why do I expect this? First, …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Tuesday September 6, 2011

9/11 Plus 10: The Country We Lost

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Written by David Frum on Monday September 5, 2011

Summer Reads: Vecchione on The Stories of Ray Bradbury

I have read two books this summer (not including books on tape) -- Dance With Dragons and an anthology of the short stories of Ray Bradbury (with a forward by Christopher Buckley, of all people). There are plenty of places to go find out about Westeros so I’ll just give an appreciation, …

Written by John Vecchione on Monday September 5, 2011

Advice to Public Sector Unions

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Written by David Frum on Saturday September 3, 2011

A Sad End to the Summer

The idea that young people don't want to work is a myth. The exception, i.e. he who is content to lay about the house, playing video games and soaking up cheap beer, is the idiotic exception. In a generation that is defined almost completely by consumerism, work is a necessity not only to attain …

Written by Daniel Alexandre Portoraro on Saturday September 3, 2011

The Cost of Truth is High in `The Debt'

In 1990's Aaron Sorkin calling card A Few Good Men, Jack Nicholson's gung-ho general bellows a line guaranteed to live in celluloid infamy: "You can't handle the truth!!!" And its the central question raised by that statement which animates director John Madden's English-language adaptation of …

Written by Telly Davidson on Friday September 2, 2011

The Fat Diaries: My Weight-Loss Partner

I never expected to meet the man I was going to marry at age 20. Marriage is something we think we’ll contemplate when we’re older and wiser, like 25. After dating my husband Joe for a month or two, I pretty much knew this was the guy I wanted to be around for the rest of my life. Now what does …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday September 2, 2011

Summer Romance: Overwhelmed with Dating Options

Living in the 21st century means you have options. Lots of them. A top of the line cell phone? Pick one of ten. A can of soda? First decide which flavor then which brand. A prospective boyfriend? Well, try joining an internet dating site. I imagine women have quite a different online dating …

Written by Vanessa Rodriguez on Friday September 2, 2011

Free the Economy, Free the Credit Unions

For now at least, the House Republicans' regulatory reform agenda panders to the base on hot-button issues rather than works to make real regulatory reforms with a chance of going into force. If they actually want to fix the economy, House Republicans need a broader agenda. The items won't be …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Friday September 2, 2011

A Reply to The President's Defenders

Jared Bernstein has posted a defense of President Obama's economic record at CNN.com against my criticism , also on CNN.com. The story so far: Last week, Jonathan Alter asked Obama's critics to cite specific mistakes in President Obama's economic management. I named 3: 1) A badly …

Written by David Frum on Friday September 2, 2011

Canada's Liberals Are Not THAT Desperate

Will the Liberals merge with the NDP? It ain’t going to happen. Yes, there is speculation and there’ll be debate, but the likelihood of the leaderless NDP and the deflated federal Liberals merging into one cohesive party, seems as unlikely as ... well, as unlikely as the NDP winning 59 of 75 …

Written by Peter Worthington on Friday September 2, 2011

Baltimore Braces for Grand Prix Chaos

Walking or driving in downtown Baltimore these past few weeks has been akin to walking through an ever-changing steel obstacle course. One day, a new grandstand goes up on the corner across from Orioles Stadium, blocking off a sidewalk. The following day a giant protective fence, designed to …

Written by Rachel Ryan on Thursday September 1, 2011

Home News

Frum Forum alumni continue to move on. Former Managing Editor Meg Mali was hired away by The Hill . Reporter Tim Mak has proceeded to Politico . Now we are about to lose the most crucial Frum Forum team member of them all. Danielle Crittenden Frum, who around here goes by the title of …

Written by David Frum on Thursday September 1, 2011

The Sky is Not Falling

Michael Coren's inaugural show of The Arena on Sun TV was a tour de force featuring author-columnist Mark Steyn, the fearless Ann Coulter, a laid-back Juan Willams and Muslim moderate Tarek Fatah. Most provocative was Mark Steyn, who cited an International Monetary Fund prediction that China …

Written by Peter Worthington on Thursday September 1, 2011