Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal reported on the soaring rate of food stamp participation in the western United States. The author notes that this recent growth comes from “a region that has always prided itself on self-reliance and [held] … disdain for government handouts.” Regrettably, this story of growth is not that new for the food […]
Americans read the increasingly panic-stricken reports of deepening catastrophe at Fukushima Daichi, speed to the pharmacy to look for iodine and ask, “It’s happened there; can it happen here?” They already know it can, and almost certainly will. The late great environmentalist David Brower, used to tell audiences solemnly, “Nuclear plants are incredibly complex technological […]
After proclaiming a cease-fire, Colonel Muammar Qadhafi’s regime cynically ordered its troops to attack Benghazi, the leading rebel stronghold, in defiance of the U.N. Security Council resolution prohibiting attacks on civilians. The regime hopes to consolidate control in Libya’s second-largest city before the U.N.-backed military forces can begin counter-attacks. Once entrenched in the city, […]
Should it be any surprise that in a state like Wisconsin that has been under the thrall of liberals for far too long, a local judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the collective bargaining law recently passed by the legislature? Or that the judge sees nothing wrong with interfering directly in the legislative […]
Coloring President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2012 are the undeniable shades of masked fiscal disaster and a want of long-term solutions. According to analysis (pdf) by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the President’s budget would result in $1.43 trillion and $1.16 trillion deficits for FYs 2011 and 2012, respectively, adding two […]
To date, over 1,000 companies, covering nearly 2.4 million employees, have been granted waivers to escape the burdensome requirements of Obamacare. The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Health Care, the District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives held a hearing this week to further examine the transparency and fairness of the waiver […]
Two days ago a mail bomb exploded at the office of an Islamic group in Jakarta, injuring four people including two police officers who tried to defuse it. The package was addressed to Ulil Abshar Abdalla, a liberal Islamic scholar and activist known for his criticism against radical Islamist groups in Indonesia. Ulil, as he […]
On Monday Politico ran a column by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) taking issue with my critique of his proposal to accelerate the granting of waivers under Obamacare. Unfortunately, he missed a central point I was making about limitations on the waivers that could be granted. Apparently the senator was offended by this paragraph, from my […]
Untouchable. That’s the treatment being given to the $23.6 billion being spent right now to implement Obamacare. This $23.6 billion is part of the $105.5 billion appropriated by the last Congress to fund Obamacare. The remainder (Think of it as post-dated checks for the other $81.9 billion.) automatically becomes available between now and FY2019. None […]
A spike in radiation levels at Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has forced workers to abandon their operation, a government spokesman says. He was speaking after smoke was seen rising from reactor three. Earlier, a blaze struck reactor four for the second time in two days On Wednesday, Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at […]
