Buried in the Wall Street Journal's article on Virginia Governor-Elect Bob McDonnell is the following: Mr. McDonnell also scored politically with his proposal to allow oil drilling in the state's coastal waters. His proposal builds on a policy set in motion a year ago when a federal ban on drilling off the Atlantic Coast was …
Revolution in Iran is Easier Said Than Done
There's a persistent liberal drumbeat out there that, somehow, the current regime in Iran is about to be overthrown. Iran's current power holders are taking no chances: Police chief Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam made a harsh threat to protesters to stay off the streets. "In dealing with previous protests, police showed leniency. But given that …
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Obama’s Health Care Plan Undercuts Civil Marriage
Or so Mike McManus thinks: While abortion and public plan aspects of health reform have been debated, a far more vexing issue for defenders of the traditional family should be the very substantial marriage penalties buried in the 2,457 page bill moving through Congress. Indeed, the low and middle income subsidies in the "health insurance …
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Allan Bloom’s “Baptism of Fire” and Cornell’s Student Protests
Fans of Allan Bloom will find this article a fascinating account of Cornell University's 1969 student revolt: While the administration cowered, many students and faculty members objected. Allan Bloom, one of Cornell’s most popular—and controversial—professors, told the Cornell Daily Sun that he was “shocked” by the agreement, and an unnamed “senior government professor” warned that …
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Health Care: Which End of the Camel is in the Tent?
I agree with Grace-Marie Turner that the health care proposals currently bouncing through Congress are overreach. But I'm getting especially tired of "camel's nose" analogies such as this: When Sen. Joe Lieberman vowed to vote against the Senate bill if it contains a public plan, Reid had to have something to replace it. He revived …
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Chandrasekhar Rao: A New State From the “Fast Unto Death” and a Lesson for Christians
Christians who admire the non-violent protest methods of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King should consider this: Wonder what Mahatma Gandhi would have made of this. India's newest state, its 29th, came about with a local politician, Chandrasekhar Rao, using the Gandhian protest of "fasting unto death". It ended 11 days later with the central …
When Both Sides are Wrong About Afghanistan
Mark Perry's piece about the conflict between Stanley McChrystal and Karl Eikenberry over how to proceed in Afghanistan--a conflict little documented in our myopic press--makes for riveting reading: The State Department's frustration extended into the embassy in Kabul, where the US ambassador, Karl Eikenberry, was having his own problems with McChrystal. The appointment of Eikenberry …
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When “Change We Can Believe In” is all we have left
Some people are just too sensitive: Pencils and notebooks resembling President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign ads have been sold in at least one Columbia school and other public schools, causing the company that distributes the materials to travel around the state yanking the supplies out of machines. “Don’t be mad at us,” said Greg Jones, …
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The Russians are Right About Barack Obama
This, from Ivan Krastev, in the Washington Post: Obama himself is largely viewed in Russia as the American Mikhail Gorbachev, but Russians are less impressed than other Europeans have been with Obama's brilliance and rock-star popularity. They remember the Gorbi-mania that conquered the globe at the moment the Soviet Union was about to crumble. Russians …
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The White House’s Thankless Thanksgiving: But at Least They Squared Things With the Native Americans
E.J. Dionne, of all people, found that our President's Thanksgiving message falls flat: The Gawker Web site called it an "uninspiring first effort from our most literary president" and expressed hope that he would spend "a little more time on it next year." Politico damned it with faint analysis -- it was "basic" and "brief" …
Positive Infinity 