I’ve been following the BP oil spill situation with some interest, and I think that America has gotten it all wrong. The anti-corporation, anti-business sentiment is nothing new. Neither is the anti-big oil sentiment. But on closer inspection, this kind of attitude makes very little sense, and the way that the media is feeding into … Read more
The most populous state in the Union went to the polls on Tuesday, and as Californians were voting, the Supreme Court issued a bizarre ruling that put an immediate halt to a crucial provision of Arizona’s public financing program. What do the two have in common? I’ll get to that later, but first, here are … Read more
Pieces like this Newsweek one come out every so often. They compare today’s Apple to the Apple that lost against Microsoft, insisting that Apple is doomed to repeat history and stumble in the battle against Google: Meanwhile, Android is already outselling Apple, according to market researcher NPD…My sense is that today’s Apple event marks an important … Read more
The New York Times had a very interesting article recently detailing how Democrats have made the conscious choice to avoid town hall style meetings in recent and future Congressional recesses. Traditionally, these times were great opportunities for representatives and senators to return home to their respective districts and states to get intimate contact with voters … Read more
Apparently, Obama’s BP Oil Spill performance has been a total disaster. Just check the news. He’s weak, aloof, unemotive, Maureen Down explains. “Mr. President, take command,” David Gergen urges on CNN. James Carville exhorts: “This president needs to tell BP, “I’m your daddy.” And Peggy Noonan, writes, simply, for WSJ: “I don’t see how you politically … Read more
The threat of Islamism in Turkey is overblown On Feb. 25, 2010, some 40 top Turkish military officers were arrested for allegedly plotting a coup against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (the AKP). The Islamic party had recently exacerbated its already strained relations with the military, which has long … Read more
A close election indicates a strengthening democratic process Iraq’s parliamentary elections in March prompted a 62 percent voter turnout, with 12 million Iraqis voting for the next leaders of their fledgling democracy. For a country that has recently been dominated by sectarian conflict, the sight of millions of Iraqis going to the polls in spite … Read more
As long as Hong Kong’s economy is booming, calls for democracy will remain on the backburner When Google stopped complying with China’s censorship laws, users could still access the Hong Kong site, where they could see unfiltered results, including ones about Tiananmen Square and Tibet. This was a victory for the former colony, a reminder … Read more
Time is running out for the Mexican drug war Since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006 promising to end Mexico’s illicit drug trade, more than 18,000 people have been killed, and the death toll rises every month. In Ciudad Juarez, a border city and a primary smuggling point to the United States, 2,600 people … Read more
In a generally well-written article, HPR staff writer Will Rafey recently addressed the need to raise the gas tax “to make the private cost of driving a car reflect its actual social costs: global warming, air pollution, traffic congestion, and highway maintenance,” and how difficult this has become in the current political climate. I have … Read more