Entries

Souter - Take 2

I wonder if Justice Souter's impending retirement means that we will ever learn the truth of the rumor that circulated a few years back that Souter nearly persuaded Justice Kennedy to join the four more liberal justices in a Bush v. Gore opinion that would have referred the mess to the House of …

Written by David Frum on Friday May 1, 2009

Souter - Take 1

Well at least this should mark the end of those irritating stories about Barack Obama's bipartisanship. The new president has the opportunity and the votes to push the liberal wing of the court dramatically further to the left - and who doubts he will take it?

Written by David Frum on Friday May 1, 2009

Specter's First Defection

How they cursed Arlen Specter! By switching parties, they claimed, he had put his own political fortunes ahead of loyalty and principle. He was “Benedict Arlen,” “Specter the Defector.” It all sounds quite familiar, but the year was 1965 and the Specter-cursers were …

Written by Geoffrey Kabaservice on Thursday April 30, 2009

The New Shell Shock

A recent front page report in the Toronto Star wondered why 20% of soldiers who serve in Afghanistan come down with various forms of stress disorder. Theories range from repeated long term missions causing psychological problems, to the possibility that quick diagnoses give the impression …

Written by Peter Worthington on Thursday April 30, 2009

Conservatives Cant Ignore The Achievement Gap

The achievement gap between white and minority students persists, and glaringly so, as this article in the New York Times details. The lede of this article is unfair and shows the bias against President Bush’s signature education act – No Child Left Behind (NCLB): …

Written by Thomas Gibbon on Thursday April 30, 2009

Round Two: Yes I Get It -- But Glendon Is Still Wrong

After posting span> my blog here this famous ad

Written by Danielle Crittenden on Thursday April 30, 2009

Does Admin Know More Than It Is Saying About Swine Flu?

The World Health Organization has raised their swine flu alert to Level 5. The WHO’s formal definition of a Level 5 designation is sustained human-to-human transmission "in two countries in one WHO region" (there are six regions worldwide; the US is in the Americas region). So the "two …

Written by FF Washington Insider on Thursday April 30, 2009

Last Hired, First Fired

When you move, you find things. Having just completed a move, I came across a poster from a conference I attended at the US Military Academy a number of years ago. It featured the graduation portraits of illustrious West Point alumni. U.S. Grant, was there, of course, along with George S. …

Written by Gusher on Thursday April 30, 2009

Be Afraid

Anthony Cordesman in the National Interest on what increasingly looks like a Pakistani civil war: The Pakistani army and government have shown they cannot be trusted to provide honest reporting on any aspect of military operations. They have also never provided a meaningful assessment of …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 30, 2009

How To Rebuild The Gop

My column in the current issue of The Week argues that you cannot rebuild a center-right coalition without the center. Conclusion: I’ve never heard anyone derided as a “Republican In Name Only” for opposing the closing of redundant military bases, or for supporting …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 30, 2009

Choice Of Words

At his press conference last night, President Obama expressed confidence that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal would not fall "into the wrong hands." Some will wonder whether those weapons are not already in the wrong hands now.

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 30, 2009

Would You Buy A Used Car Industry From This Man?

Let’s turn the clock back to the 2008 campaign and ask the question: If Barack Obama had run for office promising to deliver one-third of the Big Three automakers to the unions and drop another one-third on the backs of taxpayers, would people have approved? Yet, remarkably, that is what …

Written by Douglas Holtz-Eakin on Wednesday April 29, 2009

Obama Unleashes The Spanish Inquisition

It was revealed today that Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón has opened an investigation into allegations of torture at Guantánamo Bay. What inspired Garzón to open his investigation less than two weeks after Spanish Attorney General Candido Conde-Pumpido announced his opposition to …

Written by John Rosenthal on Wednesday April 29, 2009

Dont Know Much About Science Books

The liberal British philosopher John Stuart Mill once famously dismissed conservatives as the stupid party. Intellectual arrogance is something we have come to expect from liberals, but great conservative minds like Russell Kirk, Richard Weaver, and William F. Buckley dispelled the notion that …

Written by David Jenkins on Wednesday April 29, 2009

Pakistan's Nukes: A Mystery Inside An Enigma...

If there is one thing about nuclear weapons, you don’t want to guess where they are, how many the bad guys have and where the guy with the black bag with the codes is. Pakistan is one of the undeclared nuclear powers in the world with an estimated 20-60 nuclear weapons. And with the …

Written by Peter Huessy on Wednesday April 29, 2009

So Where Else Could Specter Go?

RNC chairman Michael Steele offered this comment by email on the Arlen Specter defection: Arlen Specter committed a purely political and self-serving act today. He simply believes he has a better chance of saving his political hide and his job as a Democrat. Well, obviously. What …

Written by Alex Knepper on Wednesday April 29, 2009

The Hundred Days

My take, on American Public Media's Marketplace, can be heard or read font color="#000000"> here.

Written by David Frum on Wednesday April 29, 2009

The Coming Republican Purges

Senator Jim DeMint told Arlen Specter last week he would be supporting Pat Toomey , Specter’s challenger in the Pennsylvania Republican primary. DeMint (R-SC) also said: “I would rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who really believe in principles of limited government, free …

Written by Andrew Pavelyev on Wednesday April 29, 2009

Once Rinos Are Extinct...

Now that Specter's gone, we can turn to the real enemy – Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe! Then the only thing between us and victory will be Graham, Lugar, McCain, Murkowski, Grassley, Hatch, and some of the RINOs in the House. And the Governors, like Crist and Douglas and Lingle and anyone …

Written by Bradley Smith on Wednesday April 29, 2009

Conservatives Eat Their Own

With the swearing in of Kathleen Sebelius for Health and Human Services yesterday came swearing from the social conservatives. It's time for them to grow up. Before the 2006 election cycle, the two most prominent social conservatives in politics, without a doubt, were Senator Rick Santorum, …

Written by Thomas J. Marier on Wednesday April 29, 2009