This story about troubled teens being exposed to nature reminds me that while there was a lot to dislike about Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Civilian Conservation Corps got lots of young people out into the natural world doing […]
Politics
Herman Cain and a New Party
DeWayne Wickham comments on Herman Cain’s campaign. Supposedly he does not understand that historically black people, conservative on some issues, have tended to view the federal government as their protector and to distrust state and local governments; and, knowing history, […]
Learning from Francis Fukuyama
I have finished Francis Fukuyama’s magnum opus, The Origins of Political Order, and as you might expect I like the way he cuts across traditional categories. Of course I have read his notorious The End of History and the Last Man, […]
Unintended Consequences of Arizona’s Clean Elections Act
Conservatives oppose campaign finance reform of any kind, even when, as in Arizona, the Tea Party has been benefiting from it! Related: “Arizona conservatives scramble after campaign finance law’s defeat” by Nicholas Riccardi at LATimes.com
And Republicans Were All So Pious About ‘Local Control’ . . .
And Republicans were all so pious about ‘local control.’ They don’t want local government to raise taxes or fees, but it seems to be OK with them – except for the ever-reliable Chris Norby – for local government to declare […]
Cigarette maker spends big to fight per-pack tax
If we are going to add to the expense of cigarettes, I can suggest better things to do with the extra dollar per pack than put it in the government coffers. 1. Have the manufacturers (or sellers) put a Ziploc […]
Who is tossing whom over a cliff?
This column by Chris Laureys of New Jersey is one of the best I’ve ever seen on the distortions of our current welfare state. Related: “Who is tossing whom over a cliff?” by Chris Laureys at USAToday.com
Democrats Are 1955 Republicans
Reinforcing my earlier comment on Barack Obama’s allergy to antithesis, here is Michael Lind claiming that Obama is, for practical purposes, an Eisenhower Republican. As for the so-called social issues, Allan Carlson, in The American Way, pointed out that the […]
Beyond Red vs. Blue
Interesting. I scored New Coalition Democrat, not conventional liberal. Related: “Beyond Red vs. Blue” at PewResearchCenter
Life in the Slow Lane
Our infrastructure has been squeezed between resistance to raising taxes on the one hand, and welfare demands on the other. Related: “Life in the Slow Lane” by The Economist