A Presidency Fit for a King
It is said that on the final day of deliberation at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, a female passerby asked an exiting Ben Franklin, "Well Doctor, what have we got —...
Politics
Globalization Driven by New, Apocalyptic Horsemen
Over the past several months, a steady drumbeat in elite media circles has been pounding out a persistent theme: global crises have exposed the limits of national sovereignty and underscored the...
Roland Burris Goes From the Frying Pan into the Fire
Just when it looked like things couldn't get any worse for Illinois Sen. Roland Burris, it got worse. The state's governor and its senior U.S. senator, Majority Whip Richard Durbin, had...
Earmarks and the Federal Budget
When President Barack Obama discussed earmark reform last week, he favorably cited the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as an example of legislation devoid of any congressional earmarks. But...
Obama & Sanford Spar Over Stimulus Funds
Governor Mark Sanford (R) of South Carolina has repeatedly made national headlines by being one of the fiercest critics of President Barack Obama's stimulus plan. Controversy arose when rumors surfaced that...
Tenth Amendment Movement: Taking On the Feds
We Americans are expected to play by the rules — to obey traffic regulations, pay taxes, observe zoning ordinances — in short, to abide by the law. If we don’t, we...
Gov. Mark Sanford on Stimulus, Economy
Governor Mark Sanford (R) of South Carolina has been a vocal critic of President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, and in the process has become one of the most prominent fiscal conservatives...
Obama’s Budget: Where’s the Peace Dividend?
Candidate Barack Obama pledged to get the United States out of Iraq, one of the two costly wars of occupation in which the United States is currently engaged. His campaign website...
Obama Plans to Renew Public Education
On March 10, President Barack Obama spoke in generalities about his plan to improve the nation’s public schools. His plan can be summarized fairly easily: merit pay for teachers who excel,...
Republicans Open to More Stimulus
"Second verse, same as the first," go the lyrics to a '60s Herman's Hermits song about Henry VIII and repetition ad naseum. And so it goes with a new wave of...
Some Trade Restrictions on Cuba to Be Lifted
The U.S. Congress has moved to lift some of the punitive economic measures the United States takes against Cuba. President Obama supports a partial lifting of the restrictions, though he has...
Pelosi: More Bailout Funds Needed
On both sides of the aisle, lawmakers are beginning to express doubts that more bailouts will solve the nation’s economic problems and have labeled their frustration “bailout fatigue.” House Speaker Nancy...
Obama Lifts Ban on Embryonic Stem-cell Research
President Barack Obama signed an executive order on March 9 that reverses the current ban on federal funding of human embryonic stem-cell research. The move overturns an August 9, 2001 executive...
The G20 Push to “Supersize” the IMF
The big push to “supersize” and transform the International Monetary Fund (IMF) into a global Federal Reserve System has been developing in elite political and economic circles for months. The campaign...
Public Lands Bill Threatens Energy, Economy
With our economy already staggering under an avalanche of debt, taxes, regulations, and the high costs of energy, Democrats in the Senate have decided to pile on a real economy killer:...