Re: a contested or “brokered” convention, as critiqued by Larry Sabato http://tinyurl.com/73cmtnz Larry Sabato is definitely a smart guy, with clear thought behind his positions. In this case, I generally agree with him, but feel this case is often overstated. 1) In modern times, each party’s National Convention is not really a nominating activity, but a kick-off of the general election campaign. It becomes dog | Read More »
“Unconscionable”? What this Denver Judge did was unconscionable. Legislatures have the responsibility to allocate taxpayer funding, not Judges. But that did not slow District Judge Sheila Rappaport down. In a 183-page ruling, she claims that the state’s school-funding system “is not rationally related to the mandate to establish and maintain a thorough and uniform system of free public schools,” as required by the Colorado Constitution. | Read More »
What to Do about the Dilemma of Voting for the “Less Bad” Candidate vs. the 3rd party “Protest Vote” 1 – I would never myself, nor ask someone else, to violate their core principles. Some things are absolute, and we cannot support things that are outright evil. For many, the issue that meets this criterion is abortion. I will never vote for someone who is | Read More »
A friend sent me a link to Zachary Karabell’s article in Time Magazine, asking “What Would the Founding Fathers Say about the National Debt?” http://moneyland.time.com/2011/07/02/what-would-the-founding-fathers-say-about-the-national-debt-dont-default/#ixzz1SSw8nt22 Some critical comments to ensure you are not sucked in by his arguments: 1 – The conclusion of the article is that the Founding Fathers would have said don’t default. But this is a straw-man argument, because nobody is suggesting | Read More »
(responding to link from my friend at Heritage Action, Joseph Muniz (www.heritageaction.com) http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2011/0628/Slash-that-budget-deficit-No-cut-it-artfully The Christian Science Monitor article linked above has some thought-provoking features, but make sure you do not take EVERYTING it says at face value. In particular, the CSM leans left-of-center, and therefore their perspective skews their take on the debt problem. And therefore, the final conclusion is manipulated to their preferred solution, | Read More »
Or so says Dr. Donald Berwick, who is Obama’s Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He writes in an opinion article titled “We Can Have It All”: I am absolutely certain that we can have what we want and need-better care, better health and lower costs-all at the same time. http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20110517/NEWS/305179959#ixzz1Obhb4c1Q How can we achieve this nirvana of more care, | Read More »
The American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems and several other lobbies for inpatient care providers have embarked on an extensive ad campaign to stem further payment cuts to hospitals, reports AHA News Today. The print ad, entitled “Enough is Enough,” discusses some $155 billion in payment reductions it claims the hospital and related sectors have already | Read More »
Citizens for Tax Justice finds that 12 big U.S. companies paid an average -1.5% rate during 2008-2010, while earning $171 billion in profits. If they had paid at the full 35% U.S. statutory rate, they would have coughed up about $60 billion in taxes, the study says. Instead, they actually got a little money from the government, on net – about $2.5 billion. GE was | Read More »
In today’s “Breakpoint” commentary, Chuck Colson says that the war in Afghanistan does not meet the “Just War Doctrine” criteria, and the US should immediately withdraw. Read his commentary here: http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/16990 I strongly disagree, and wrote the following response: —————————– Chuck Colson, I respect you tremendously, and quote your application of worldview to current events frequently. You are one of the most potent moral thinkers | Read More »
It is disturbing to hear continued referral to the mythical “Social Security Trust Fund.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, most significantly, cites this fund as proof that Social Security is not bankrupt and in urgent need of reform, because the “Trust Fund” has sufficient money to pay full benefits thru the year 2035. I suspect he knows that this is a lie, but says it | Read More »
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