Michael Barone - A truce in culture wars as voters focus on economy
Back in June, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, whom many think would be an attractive 2012 presidential candidate, was quoted by Andrew Ferguson in the Weekly Standard for saying the next president "would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues." That quickly attracted some harsh criticism from opponents of abortion and same-sex marriage. But Daniels has declined to back down, telling the Indianapolis Star the other day that such issues are secondary to the economy and foreign policy.
I think both Daniels and his critics have missed the point. The fact is that there is an ongoing truce on the social issues, because for most Americans they have been overshadowed by concerns raised by the weak economy and the Obama Democrats' vast increase in the size and scope of government.
Mark Tapscott - Answering FOI for Palin emails may take longer than she was governor (An apology, too!)
Bill Dedman of MSNBC.com says "you can do the math." If you do, odds are you won't be surprised if Alaska officials require more time to fulfill requests for copies of former Gov. Sarah Palin's official emails than she was actually in office. Here's how Dedman puts it: "On Monday evening, Sarah Palin's former staff in the Alaska governor's office requested another delay in making public 25,000 e-mails exchanged by Palin, her husband and her senior aides. Read More
Mark Hemingway - The Democrats' conundrum: If you want less income inequality, does that means fewer illegal immigrants?
Mickey Kaus makes a very interesting observation. It will be interesting to see if the Democratic party even tries to square the circle on this issue or just ignores it: Read More
Mark Tapscott - Only one in five Americans want government to regulate the Internet
Upwards of 60 percent of Americans opposed Obamacare before it was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. Now that it's on the books, the same percentage want Obamacare repealed, according to Rasmussen Reports. Read More
Timothy P. Carney - Outlawing incandescent bulbs and unintended consequences
The mens room at the Washington Examiner recently received an energy-saving device: a motion sensor switch for the lights. In Europe, every public accomodation I visited had timed lights or motion-sensor lights in the bathrooms. I bet they pay for themselves in energy savings. Read More
Mark Hemingway - About the need to achieve parity between federal and private sector compensation...
Whenever you point out that the average federal worker makes over twice as much in salary and benefits as the average private sector worker, defenders of the public sector are quick to point out that it's not an apples to apples comparison. Federal workers often have to be more skilled than average joe in the private sector. Read More
Mark Hemingway - Malthusians wrong again -- this time on oil prices
The New York Times' John Tierney explains why those who predict doom and gloom on commodity prices and scarcity are almost always wrong: Five years ago, Matthew R. Simmons and I bet $5,000. It was a wager about the future of energy supplies — a Malthusian pessimist versus a Cornucopian optimist — and now the day of reckoning is nigh: Jan. 1, 2011. Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment