Domestic Policy
Charleston, etc.
So, the Confederate flag will probably come down from the South Carolina state capitol grounds, as it should. I have no patience with those who assert that the flag is a legitimate symbol of the South’s heritage. Yes, it is ...
Read MoreOnce Again: Why is the TPP bad, and Why is Obama Promoting it?
I’ve dealt with both of these questions already, but re-reading the relevant posts, I realized there were points I would have liked to develop but left at best implicit, so here I go again. First: what’s wrong with the TPP ...
Read MoreDemocrats Divided
The surprising rebuke that Senate Democrats delivered to President Obama on Tuesday has been reversed. A bi-partisan agreement among supporters of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) will enable debate to proceed on the president’s requested fast-track authority. Whatever its outcome, ...
Read MoreThe TPP: “Free Trade” Protectionism
On one side of the issue are the Sierra Club and most environmental organizations, the left-leaning consumer group Public Citizen, organized labor and the majority of Democrats in Congress. On the other side are the Chamber of Commerce, most of ...
Read MorePresident Obama on the State of the Union
President Obama in his SOTU address has proposed a number of worthwhile initiatives that he knows have no chance of passage. Many Republicans were outraged. Doesn’t he know that he lost the last (midterm) elections? How dare he propose ...
Read MoreSnowden and the Surveillance State
A combination of ambivalence and uncertainty has kept me up till now from posting on the Snowden/NSA affair. I was prompted to give some new thought to the matter by the latest issue of The Nation, whose cover story/lead editorial reports ...
Read MoreThe Economist as Rock Star
I thought I would put off posting on the new book by French economist Thomas Piketty, Capital in the 21st Century, until I’ve had a chance to read it, but I can’t help saying something about the sensational reception it’s ...
Read MoreDavid Brooks: Compassion, Myopia and Paternalism
The New York Times’ David Brooks is a compassionate conservative. I’m not being sarcastic: in contrast to many of his brethren on the right, who are neither compassionate nor conservative but mean-spirited and reactionary, Brooks really does care about people, ...
Read MoreRoe v. Wade at 41 and the Case for Abortion Rights
Several thousand anti-abortion protesters marched in Washington yesterday on the 41st anniversary of Roe vs. Wade—just a small manifestation of the attack on abortion rights taking place across the country these days. I have no doubt that abortion rights will ...
Read MoreA Brief Disquisition on Ideology and Interest
Unemployment insurance is expiring, and the Republicans in Congress seem quite happy to let that disaster happen. One reason frequently cited for the Republican stance is their belief that unemployment insurance reduces incentives to work; in the conservative worldview, the ...
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