Politics

Dave Barry on Taxes

Posted by on February 14, 2011 at 10:21 pm

Came across these yesterday and decided it was time for a light-hearted post: “I’m not the only taxpayer who has no idea what he’s sending to the IRS. This year, only 28 percent of all Americans will prepare their own tax returns, according to a voice in my head that invents accurate-sounding statistics.” “Here’s my […]

Brits Learn that Hospital Competition is Good for Patients

Posted by on February 2, 2011 at 10:30 pm

Normally, when a conservative such as I mentions healthcare in the UK, it is to decry the largely socialist nature of their system — complete with reports of people waiting for years to get treatment or surgery, plus the occasional horror story from the news of people literally dying of neglect in their hospital beds […]

What Can We Learn from Ireland’s Meltdown?

Posted by on January 29, 2011 at 9:40 pm

The “Celtic Tiger”. Until recently, the Emerald Isle was enjoying tremendous economic success, due to dramatic fiscal policy reform. First, they put a cap on government spending in the late 1980s, then reduced tax rates during the 1990s. Hugely important was the reduction in the corporate tax rate from 50 percent down to 12.5 percent. […]

School Reform That Works

Posted by on January 25, 2011 at 5:41 pm

One-third of American fourth-graders are functionally illiterate. Read that again. That’s 33%! These are the findings of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Not surprisingly, other studies have shown that students who cannot read but are still promoted to the next grade — something that happens all too often — will continue to fall […]

Governor Bentley’s ‘Christian Brother’ Remarks

Posted by on January 21, 2011 at 10:46 pm

Just days after being sworn in as the new governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley has already found himself in a bit of hot water for something he said. In a speech at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church’s service honoring MLK, Jr., Bentley declared, “Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their […]

BP Oil Spill Aftermath (Part 2 of 2)

Posted by on January 14, 2011 at 10:00 pm

And, now for some good news…. Last post, I started off my “BP Oil Spill Aftermath” report by citing the harsh realities facing local economies along the Gulf Coast. I then focused on the prevalent delays in oil drilling, despite Obama’s having lifted his ban against deep-water projects. One thing I did not discuss, however, […]

BP Oil Spill Aftermath (Part 1 of 2)

Posted by on January 12, 2011 at 10:54 pm

I am sure you all remember the dire predictions of environmental disaster resulting from last year’s huge oil “spill” in the Gulf of Mexico. I was concerned, too, of course. But, I know that God’s Creation — or, Nature, if you prefer — has proven itself quite resilient in the past, bouncing back from disaster […]

Gardens and Abusing the Commerce Clause

Posted by on December 31, 2010 at 9:25 pm

From the Truth-is-Stranger-than-Fiction file… In my last post, I (via Judge Napolitano) mentioned that the government has even “skulked into” our backyards (literally). The backdrop for this particular incident is the Great Depression, and the federal government has imposed artificial restrictions on farm production of wheat — “a problem industry for some years” — via […]

Natural Law, Due Process, and Personal Property Rights

Posted by on December 29, 2010 at 11:08 pm

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas holiday! All too short, I’m sure. Now, back to “business”…. One often hears the terms “natural law” and “due process” used when discussing various (real or perceived) rights and constitutionality of laws. But, to me, at least, it isn’t always clear what people mean by that. (I have […]

Reigning in the Radical Liberal Judiciary

Posted by on December 15, 2010 at 12:11 am

Who Guards the Guardians? In his book The Tyranny of Tolerance: A Sitting Judge Breaks the Code of Silence to Expose the Liberal Judicial Assault, Judge Robert Dierker reveals and discusses the many ways in which radical liberals in the U.S. courts — judges and attorneys — have eaten away at our constitutional liberties. The […]