Entries

An Industry Worth Fighting For

I’ve read a lot of libertarian drivel over the years (legalize all drugs, withdraw from NATO), but this piece from the Ludwig von Mises Institute (discussed in a Washington Times column on March 30) really takes the cake. Jeffrey Tucker of the Institute suggests that we really …

Written by John S. Gardner on Wednesday April 1, 2009

"moderate" Taliban: Don't Diss Al-qaeda

Earlier this month, Friederike Böge of Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) spoke in Kabul with Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef: a former Taliban official who is rumored to be a key player in facilitating potential talks between the United States and the Taliban. On Zaeef’s …

Written by John Rosenthal on Wednesday April 1, 2009

Dc Voting Rights Act Is Unconstitutional

By a 61 to 37 vote, the Senate at the end of February passed a bill to provide the District of Columbia with voting representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. At the insistence of Republicans, an amendment intended “to restore Second Amendment rights to the District of …

Written by Jessica Leval on Wednesday April 1, 2009

Voting Day In Ny-20

Today’s the big day in upstate New York . Jim Tedisco vs. Scott Murphy . I’m naturally nervous but not at all in despair over Jim’s chances. As Matt Dill, Jim’s political director in the State Assembly, told me on Sunday night, “I think we’re gonna win …

Written by Tom Qualtere on Tuesday March 31, 2009

Who Killed Gm?

Mickey Kaus beat me into print with it , but the exact same thought crossed my mind when I heard that President Obama had demanded the head of GM CEO Rick Wagoner in return for further government aid: Is Rick Wagoner the Ngo Dinh Diem of the Obama administration? Of course, it took JFK nearly three …

Written by Gusher on Tuesday March 31, 2009

Bye-bye Reagan Democrats

The General Motors and Chrysler meltdown are only the latest, and it appears final, chapter in a long and sad book. The government first bailed out Chrysler in 1979. And in the 1980s, GM was already proceeding with massive plant closures. Given the past and future impact of GM’s and …

Written by Henry Clay on Tuesday March 31, 2009

Mccain's Farewell

Public financing of presidential campaigns is “dead” John McCain told the Washington Times on Sunday. The rest of McCain’s campaign finance reform agenda is not looking too healthy either. Any funeral oration however needs to note something. John McCain and the campaign …

Written by David Frum on Monday March 30, 2009

Pork 'n Fly

O’Hare International Airport has long been a source of politicking, patronage and lucrative contracts for the City of Chicago and its dynastic mayor, Richard M. Daley . For the mayor, the airport represents appointments he can distribute, contracts he can hustle, and votes to win. It …

Written by Tim Mak on Monday March 30, 2009

Europes Canned Outrage

There is outrage in Europe. Jean-Marie Le Pen has done it again. In a debate in the European Parliament on Wednesday, Le Pen repeated his well-known remark about the Nazi gas chambers being “a detail of the Second World War.” Indeed, he could hardly have avoided repeating it, since Le …

Written by John Rosenthal on Monday March 30, 2009

No Nukes? No Climate Progress

The Obama Administration talks a good game about shaping bipartisan energy and climate change policies. The talk is good. History shows that the best way to ensure that these policies work and survive shifts in the political winds is to pass it with strong support from both sides of the aisle. …

Written by David Jenkins on Monday March 30, 2009

The Afghan Dead End

The media have paid a lot of attention to the factors that play a role in retarding progress in Afghanistan...Pakistan, corruption, lack of a rule of law, disenfranchisement, decentralized societies, etc. Those factors, while all true, are outside our immediate span of control. The main issue …

Written by Benjamin Collins on Sunday March 29, 2009

Story Of My Life

My column in this morning's National Post is a little more personal than usual… These days, the question I hear most from political comrades is: “What the hell happened to you?” Okay, okay, my old friend Andrew Coyne put it a little more politely than that in a recent …

Written by David Frum on Saturday March 28, 2009

The Reading List

The Wall Street Journal does a weekend feature in which they invite outside contributors to list the "five best" books on a particular subject. I chose "the five best books on political change" - the rise & fall of American political parties. The article was instead titled as the 5 best books …

Written by David Frum on Saturday March 28, 2009

Down To The Wire In Ny-20

Jim Tedisco, the Republican candidate for Congress in upstate New York’s Republican-dominated 20 th district, is currently losing his bid to win Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s vacated House seat in this Tuesday’s special election. Even if the Siena poll released today …

Written by Tom Qualtere on Friday March 27, 2009

An Act Of Civic Decency

The Jake DeSantis a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/opinion/25desantis.html"> piece

Written by FF Street Scene on Friday March 27, 2009

Say It Out Loud: The Taliban Are Terrorists

A U.S. drone attack on Wednesday on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border killed at least seven Taliban members, including a number of foreign fighters, Reuters reported . U.S. drones have carried out more than 30 strikes over the last year, including 7 under the watch of U.S. President Barack …

Written by Jonathan Schanzer on Thursday March 26, 2009

Geithner's Power Grab: Not All Bad

Testifying before the House of Representatives today, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner asked for vast new powers to oversee banks, investment houses, hedge funds, and insurance companies. Although most media attention will focus on proposals to create clearer lines of regulatory authority for …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday March 26, 2009

Green Power's Hidden Agenda

Environmentalists invoke a “climate crisis,” yet they are often committed to using that crisis to advance other, undeclared priorities. You must know the TV game show, “Jeopardy.” In this game, the host provides an answer. Contestants compete to guess the question. Let’s play the public …

Written by David Frum on Thursday March 26, 2009

Trade: Another Democrat Strikeout

Korea may have lost the finals of the World Baseball Classic at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, but according to the Wall Street Journal , South Korea is about to get a big win for its economy with the forthcoming and possibly imminent conclusion of a European Union-Republic of Korea Free …

Written by John S. Gardner on Thursday March 26, 2009

In Memoriam

March 26 is the date of the death of my mother, Barbara Frum. It is a date not easily passed for me or anyone in my family. I have found on YouTube one of my mother's very last TV appearances: It is featured in our WatchNow box. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation offers a small public video …

Written by David Frum on Thursday March 26, 2009