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July 18, 2013

Not Listening: What Republicans Could Learn From George W. Bush By Joe Conason

During most of the Obama presidency, George W. Bush has maintained a decorous silence. Keeping quiet may not always have been easy for Bush, watching his successor repudiate and unwind his legacy, from Iraq to Afghanistan and beyond, but his discretion was wise under the circumstances. Suddenly, however, he is speaking out to urge a "positive resolution" to the debate over immigration reform -- and the time to listen to him has surely arrived.

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July 18, 2013

It’s Time for Another Constitutional Convention By Mark Meckler

For many years there has been heated debate in this country about the need for an Article V convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.  On both sides of the American political spectrum, there have been calls for - and a great fear of - such a gathering.

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July 17, 2013

Strangling Life By John Stossel

There are now 175,000 pages' worth of federal laws. Local governments add more.

I'm not so cynical that I think politicians pass laws just to control us. Someone always thinks: "This law is needed. This will protect people."

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July 17, 2013

Curse of the Full-Time Job By Froma Harrop

Free time is the great hunger for so many productive Americans, often trumping money. Studies show a huge desire for more self- and family-time, especially among parents. But Americans remain stuck in work schedules drawn up early last century. That doesn't make sense today, so why do we continue punching the old time clocks?

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July 16, 2013

Obama Finds Foreign Affairs Do Not Bend to His Whims By Michael Barone

Foreign policy is hard. That's a lesson Barack Obama has been learning throughout his presidency. The world is not responding as he expected.  

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July 12, 2013

Obama Forfeits Trust by Not Enforcing Obamacare By Michael Barone

On Obamacare, as on immigration enforcement and welfare requirements, Barack Obama is following the course that cost King James II his throne. He is dispensing with the law.    

July 12, 2013

Americans Want to Exercise Their Rights -- Reasonably By Scott Rasmussen

As Americans, we tend to believe we have the right to do whatever we want, so long as it doesn't interfere with the rights of others. But sometimes the lines get a little blurry.

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July 11, 2013

Health Reform Will Happen, and None Too Soon By Froma Harrop

Obamacare is going ahead. It's happening, and concerted efforts by its foes to scare the public and otherwise delegitimize the health care reforms will be ultimately futile. That doesn't mean that Republican opponents won't try. The question is why, other than crude political posturing, would they want the Affordable Care Act to fail?    

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July 10, 2013

Meddling Overseas By John Stossel

You pay taxes? You contributed to the $2 billion your government gave Egypt this year. And last year. And every year -- for 30 years. Most of it went to Egypt's military. How's that worked out?   

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July 10, 2013

U.S. Right to 'Lead From Behind' on Egypt By Froma Harrop

 "Leading from behind" would seem the right place for America to be in the complex crisis engulfing Egypt. But critics want President Obama up front, telling the Egyptians what's what.

Sen. John McCain complains on a Sunday talk show that Egypt's second coup in 2 1/2 years is "a strong indicator of the lack of American leadership, and influence, since we urged the military not to do that."

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July 9, 2013

With Dems on Defensive, GOP Has Chance to Recapture Senate By Michael Barone

What's the outlook for the 2014 Senate elections? The Republicans once again have a chance to overturn the Democrats' majority, as they did in 2010 and 2012.    

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July 5, 2013

Moral Hazard and Nature By Froma Harrop

We call events caused by extreme weather "natural disasters" when they hit human-built environments. Had there been no shoreline civilization in Superstorm Sandy's East Coast path, we would not have called the happening a "natural disaster," but "nature." The whole thing would have been little more than an exceptionally rainy day.

July 5, 2013

Americans Still Embrace the Spirit of '76 By Scott Rasmussen

Our nation's 237th birthday is being celebrated in many ways that have become familiar over the years. Fifteen percent of Americans will watch a parade; 29 percent will sing patriotic songs; 63 percent will enjoy a cookout with family and friends; 78 percent are likely to see fireworks.

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July 5, 2013

With Its Roots in the Nuclear Family, the Nation Evolves Into America 3.0 By Michael Barone

The Fourth of July is always an occasion to think about what the United States of America has been, is and will be. A good way to reflect on that is to pick up a copy of "America 3.0" by James Bennett and Michael Lotus and ponder its lessons.

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July 4, 2013

For July 4th: Remembering Why the Right Doesn't Own the Stars and Stripes by Joe Conason

Like many men who volunteered for the U.S. Army in World War II, my late father never boasted about his years in uniform. A patriot to his core, he nevertheless despised what he called the "jelly-bellied flag flappers." But in the decade or so before he passed away, he began to sport a small, eagle-shaped pin on his lapel, known as a "ruptured duck." Displaying the mark of his military service said that this lifelong liberal loved his country as much as any conservative -- and had proved it.

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July 3, 2013

The Snowden Paradox By Mark Meckler

Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency whistleblower, is either a hero or a traitor.  We’ve heard him described both ways in no uncertain terms.  So which is it?  I’ve been withholding judgment, I thought, based on needing more facts.  Yet no matter how many facts come out about the case, I remain ambivalent.   In the Snowden situation, I believe we have encountered a paradox.

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July 3, 2013

I Shrugged By John Stossel

Many libertarians, outraged by how our government spies on us, call me a "traitor" because I'm not very angry. I understand that the National Security Administration tracking patterns in our emails and phone calls could put us on a terrible, privacy-crushing slippery slope.    

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July 2, 2013

Investigate Issa! Or How to Apply the Chairman's Own Methods and Style to Him By Joe Conason

Among the many reasons that Americans hold the House of Representatives in low repute -- at historically abysmal levels, in fact -- is the blatantly partisan and ideological misconduct of so many committee chairs. Without any evident embarrassment these mighty politicians deny science, defy mathematics and dismiss every fact that contradicts their prejudices. But bad as these chairs tend to be, none is quite as flamboyantly awful as Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the Government Oversight Committee, a special investigative panel whose latest effort to conjure scandal from nothingness at the Internal Revenue Service would provoke his removal by a responsible leadership.

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July 2, 2013

In U.K. but Not U.S., Young Voters Turn Against Big Government By Michael Barone

A trip to London provides an occasion to compare and contrast British politics and attitudes with those in America.   

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June 28, 2013

Supreme Court Offers Mixed Verdict to Conservatives and Liberals By Michael Barone

This has been a big week for the Supreme Court. In four separate cases, it applied stricter scrutiny to racial quotas and preferences in higher education, overturned part of the Voting Rights Act, ruled unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act and dismissed an appeal of a case overturning California voters' ban on same-sex marriage.   

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