Entries

Unironic Advice for a Struggling President

Like most readers of this site, I read and study the political polls every day. No matter how one feels about the president, the polls for Obama are not good, and recent decisions on key issues may soothe certain political interest groups, while simultaneously poking a finger in the eye of others. …

Written by Hank Adler on Monday August 22, 2011

Would You Defend THESE Teachers?

Steve Brill writes at reuters.com about the "Rubber Rooms" in which New York stashes teachers who have been removed from the classroom pending arbitration of complaints about their performance. How to know whom to believe? I could read the thousands of pages of testimony offered by both …

Written by FrumForum Editors on Monday August 22, 2011

Cheerleading Ryan

What's more fun to try and figure out: why Paul Ryan is not running for president or why the Weekly Standard and Bill Kristol are very sad that Ryan is not running for President? For the past week, the Weekly Standard has had Stephen Hayes wearing his reporting hat and his reporting-advoc…

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Monday August 22, 2011

If Every Job Required a Pledge

The new school year is almost here. Teacher assignments should be coming out soon. I hope my daughter gets the teacher who has signed the pledge. You know, the one that says that while in the classroom, the teacher will never, ever deviate from the textbook. I think it’s called: The Textbook …

Written by Christine Matthews on Monday August 22, 2011

Unemployed for a Year. Who Speaks for Me?

I received The Call exactly a year ago at 11:30 a.m. EDT. That was a bit early. For almost nine years I had worked from my home in Charlotte, NC for a small company in California, so calls from the office before noon my time were not frequent. When I heard that my boss, his boss and the HR director …

Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Monday August 22, 2011

Give Obama a Break

In my column for CNN, I discuss why it ridiculous to try and score political points by attacking presidents for taking vacations: Back during the George W. Bush years, Democrats sneered and scoffed at the 43rd president's extended visits to his Crawford, Texas, ranch. Where was the guy's work …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 22, 2011

Res Judicata: Anthony Kennedy, The Unprincipled Justice

The brewing controversy about President Obama’s healthcare law means that the case will end up in the Supreme Court. One appellate court has upheld the constitutionality of the law (by a 2-1 vote) and another has struck it down (by a 2-1 vote). Splits on appellate panels are rare. Two split …

Written by Howard Foster on Monday August 22, 2011

Nice Central Bank You Have Here

One of the highest forms of political jiu-jitsu is to accuse your opponents of exactly the same offense that you yourself then proceed to commit. If executed properly, the audacious maneuver will stun critics into silence - and overwhelm spectators so impressed by the Parson's sermon against …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 22, 2011

O'Donnell Camp's Method: Lie, Then Slander

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Written by Maria Evans on Monday August 22, 2011

At Least He Has a Job

Daniel Alexandre Protoraro has an awful summer job . But at least he has a job. His American counterpart might not. Canada’s unemployment rate is 7.4 percent (it would be 6.2% if calculated with the American method) America's is 9.2 percent. And Protoraro’s own story, provides a case study as to …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Sunday August 21, 2011

That Was Me Who Interrupted Your Dinner

While I waited outside the building for the second round of interviewing for my first real job, I saw a man get into a fight with a homeless drug addict. I was 17 years old. After I had gotten the job, I sat down at my desk. And in the cubicle next to me was the same man who had downed the …

Written by Daniel Alexandre Portoraro on Saturday August 20, 2011

The Fat Diaries: Learning to Love the FDA's Diet Plate

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Written by Monica Marier on Friday August 19, 2011

Advice From The Younger Generation

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Written by Bea Frum on Friday August 19, 2011

'Rescue Me' Heads Towards a Fiery End

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Written by Telly Davidson on Friday August 19, 2011

Summer Romance: Struggling With Pull-Ups and Men

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Written by Vanessa Rodriguez on Friday August 19, 2011

God Does Not Play Baseball

As if Jews haven’t suffered enough, it turns out that Ralph Branca is a member of our tribe. The man who served up Bobby Thompson’s Shot Heard Round The World in 1951 recently learned that his mother was a closeted Jew. The full story, told in poignant detail in a recent New York Times …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday August 19, 2011

The Prowl: Downward Dogs

I have recently embraced a new fitness regimen. This is partly because I lead an almost entirely inactive lifestyle which I am certain is not healthy. If I keep lobbying while wining and dining without increasing my level of physical activity, the odds of falling into a diabetic coma are …

Written by Vivian Darkbloom on Friday August 19, 2011

Old Creatures Great and Small

Some 30 years ago, my family and I went to the Galapagos Islands, rented a cabin cruiser and (sort of) followed the path of Charles Darwin, who had visited the islands in the 1830s and came up with his theory on the origin of species. A fond memory is slogging deep into one of the islands …

Written by Peter Worthington on Friday August 19, 2011

Sarah Palin is Right About Chickenpox

Nearly everyone who tells parents not to vaccinate their children is misinformed, deceived, or lying intentionally. Discouraging people from vaccinating their children is an awful idea and the leaders of the anti-vaccine movement should all be ashamed of themselves. Although I disagree strongly …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Friday August 19, 2011

Call These Scientists Crazy

On August 18, a few days after Rick Perry went off on climate scientists as money-grubbing carbon cultists, Jon Huntsman had some craziness of his own to share. "To be clear, I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy," the presidential candidate and former Utah …

Written by Jim DiPeso on Friday August 19, 2011