“Healthy Government Is Strife”

Note by , February 11, 2013

Playwright and screenwriter David Mamet caused a stir a few years back by coming out as a conservative, which is way more controversial in Hollywood than any other kind of coming out. Unfortunately, Mamet embraces conservatism for the worst reason: his belief in the inherent depravity of man (which, come to think of it, has […]

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The Economy of Illusions

Feature Article by , February 8, 2013

Recently Mark Perry and Don Boudreaux published an article in the Wall Street Journal challenging “The Myth of a Stagnant Middle Class.” They point out that the middle class is better off than nominal measures of income might suggest, because “Household spending on food, housing, utilities, etc. has fallen from 53% of disposable income in […]

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The Ur-Source

Feature Article by , February 4, 2013

An Atheist Reads the Bible, Part 2 Most religions provide some version of a creation myth. This is, after all, necessary to elevate the role of a god or gods in the history of the world—to establish a Supreme Being’s supremacy by making Him the ultimate source and creator of all things. So it is […]

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The Population Implosion

Note by , January 23, 2013

For years, we were told to worry about a “population bomb.” Well, it’s finally going off, but it’s not an explosion. It’s an implosion. In defiance of the Malthusian world view, the real population problem is not too many people, but too few. China has deliberately induced a population implosion with its “one child policy.” […]

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They’re On Their Own

Note by , January 23, 2013

With America withdrawing from the world militarily, we will have to rely more on diplomacy, right? But New York Times columnist Roger Cohen declares that “Diplomacy Is Dead,” that we no longer seem to be able to cut big diplomatic deals any more. One of the reasons is precisely this military withdrawal from the world. […]

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The Enemy Gets a Vote

Note by , January 23, 2013

We have entered a period of foreign policy “isolationism.” I use that description for lack of a better word, because it has something of a history as a smear term for anyone who opposed the old “liberal” interventionists. But I use it, with that caveat, because I want to capture the stubborn and dogmatic anti-interventionism […]

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Reality Gets a Vote in Israel

Note by , January 22, 2013

If you’re looking for evidence that not all election results are terrible, and not every political culture is sliding back in the wrong direction, look to the result of the election in Israel. The Israeli political system is still very messy, not least because they have one of those crazy parliamentary systems with a half-dozen […]

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“There Doesn’t Have to Be a Bill”

Note by , January 22, 2013

Tracinski’s Rule has been broken, and the left feels emboldened and liberated. That was the clear message of President Obama’s second inaugural address, and we can see its ripple effects everywhere, particularly in the Senate, where the Democrats are making the most of their majority. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is foolishly attempting to weaken […]

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Barack Obama Is Boring

Note by , January 21, 2013

I was not going to comment on President Obama’s second inaugural address until I saw a headline quoting a line from the speech: “We are made for this moment.” Really? “This moment”—again? “This moment” was in Obama’s big speech in Berlin as a candidate, when he declared to the “people of the world” that “this […]

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We Told You So

Feature Article by , January 19, 2013

As the Affordable Care Act—otherwise known as ObamaCare—begins to be implemented, we are seeing its first big consequence: it is making care less affordable. The New York Times reports that “Health insurance companies across the country are seeking and winning double-digit increases in premiums for some customers, even though one of the biggest objectives of […]

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