Entries

Who's Welcome At The House Of Lords?

Geert Wilders, No. Hamas? Yes .

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 21, 2009

An "Earth" To Delight In

It’s Earth Day. Republicans can ignore it as a made-up event with links to old hippies, or we can embrace the role of stewards for our shared home. I vote for the latter. Several times in the past I have urged the GOP to put aside its aversion to a certain presidential loser/Nobel Prize …

Written by John Murdock on Tuesday April 21, 2009

Obama's New Diplomacy: Good For Him, Not So Good For America

I have just watched a TV report on the French mainstream channel TF1 which was indirectly dealing with the Guantanamo issue. Briefly, the report compared Guantanamo, a summum of horror and shame, to some Saudi "secret reeducation camp" where ex al-Qaeda operatives are gently re-civilized through …

Written by Jean Granville on Tuesday April 21, 2009

Thanks, Pat Toomey!

Former Congressman Pat Toomey recently resigned as head of the Club for Growth to run for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania , setting up a primary rematch between him and incumbent Arlen Specter. As Keystone State Republicans start pondering the choice between Toomey and Specter, it is worth …

Written by David Jenkins on Tuesday April 21, 2009

Healthcare: What Liberals Really Want

Democrats are clear that they have no intention of proposing a British-style single-payer health care system this year. That said, many liberals believe that government-run health care really works. And while strategically they are willing to acknowledge the shortcomings of the Canadian and …

Written by David Gratzer on Tuesday April 21, 2009

Why Not Investigate?

"Pressure grows to investigate interrogations," the New York Times reports . And why not investigate? Are not answers better than questions? Here's why not: In Washington, there's an old rule that the process is the punishment. You don't have to convict people of any crime - you don't even …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday April 21, 2009

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue: A Compromise That Works

Lately, the debate over Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue has been heating up— letters from retired generals on both sides of the issue have been printed in national newspapers, and Defense Secretary Gates has been questioned regarding it. To the joy of the policy̵…

Written by Dustin Siggins on Monday April 20, 2009

Public Transit's Real Enemies: Big Government, Big Unions

President Barack Obama’s call for $13 billion in initial payments on a new high-speed rail system in America is likely to turn into a massive and wasteful boondoggle without the fundamental reforms that Democrats almost surely will not deliver. For example, until a recent expose in …

Written by Jeremy Carl on Monday April 20, 2009

Britains Baby Step Obesity Initiative

The British government has just announced a new initiative to reduce obesity, with the goal of being the first western country to stem the tide of this epidemic. The core idea? Sending people to their physician for an obesity check (including a calculation of their Body Mass Index, a measure …

Written by David Gratzer on Monday April 20, 2009

In Dodd We Trust

The New York Post is reporting that President Obama will extend a helping hand to Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd. "I will be helping Chris Dodd because he deserves the help," Obama told the Boston Globe in a phone call from Air Force One on Thursday. "Chris is going through a rough …

Written by David Frum on Monday April 20, 2009

What Did Your Smile Get You, Mr President?

Here is the President of the United States having a seemingly jocular moment with a two-bit dictator and avowed enemy of the U.S. like Hugo Chavez, a man President Obama himself in the past has labeled as a demagogue. I understand his mindset. “What can it hurt to talk?R…

Written by Brad Schaeffer on Monday April 20, 2009

Importing An Underclass

That's what current immigration policies are doing - see Jason DeParle's amazing report in the New York Times . About 18 million youths 17 or younger are immigrants or the children of immigrants. In an interview, Mr. Portes estimated that as many as 20 percent face elevated chances of …

Written by David Frum on Monday April 20, 2009

David's Bookshelf

I have just posted a new short book note , this on William Dean Howells' The Rise of Silas Lapham , in the bookshelf section of NewMajority. There are now almost 130 of these mini-essays . These essays should be especially valuable I think to the desperate high school or college student …

Written by David Frum on Sunday April 19, 2009

The Rise of Silas Lapham

Silas Lapham, the hero of William Dean Howells’ famous novel, The Rise of Silas Lapham , is a self-made man. Born on a homestead in Vermont, Lapham combines the minerals in his farm’s soil into a specially weather-resistant paint. The paint establishes Lapham’s fortune: He …

Written by David Frum on Sunday April 19, 2009

Worst Earnings Drop In Modern History

Fortune is reporting an average 85% drop in earnings at Fortune 500 companies in 2008, the worst report since the series commenced 55 years ago. This week's tea parties demonstrated that the GOP retains an activist base. (Although to put that base in context, the highest estimate of the total …

Written by David Frum on Sunday April 19, 2009

At Least He Didn't Bow

President Obama and Hugo Chavez - really what more is there to say? Originally posted at STORMBRINGER .

Written by Sean Linnane on Saturday April 18, 2009

Endgame In Ny-20

What a difference two weeks make. As the special congressional election in NY-20 enters its twilight, things may no longer go as once heavily hoped or expected by the GOP. On the evening of March 31, 2009 in upstate New York, after the polls had closed and the ballots had been counted, …

Written by Tom Qualtere on Friday April 17, 2009

Is Canada Cooling Towards Its Commitment In Afghanistan?

Although there are two years to go before Canadian combat troops are scheduled to be withdrawn from Afghanistan, there are signs the government is cooling on its commitment to expand funding and improve the military. In the National Post , military historian Jack Granatstein noted that …

Written by Peter Worthington on Friday April 17, 2009

Oppose Obama's Immigration Plans

At his joint press conference today with Mexican president Felipe Calderon , President Barack Obama reminded listeners of his two votes for immigration measures that included amnesty – and then declared his continuing support for the so-called comprehensive approach. These statements do …

Written by David Frum on Thursday April 16, 2009

A Pro-family, Pro-gay Gop

Earlier this week, I wrote that the GOP needs to move beyond gay marriage. Instead, it should focus its energies on developing conservative policies that will appeal to homosexual citizens. Such efforts are not just critical if Republicans hope to compete for gay voters. They are …

Written by Henry Clay on Thursday April 16, 2009