From the beginning of our Union until present day, each President has given the heavily publicized and often polarizing State of the Union address. Each President’s address reflects the issues of the time: the agenda for the year to come, the passion of the President, and often-fiery political rhetoric. This year marks President Obama’s third … Read more
Benjamin Netanyahu is the current and ninth prime minister of Israel. He assumed office in March 2009. Upon contemplation of what Netanyahu has accomplished during the first half of his term with regards to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, one can only answer: “nothing substantial.” As to the second half of his term, we will likely be … Read more
Amy Chua’s WSJ article, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” is well worth the read, if only for socio-historical reasons. The debate that it kicked off centers around the basic questions of what it means to be alive today. These questions only benefit from the the fact that they’re featured in a Rupert Murdoch publication by a woman who … Read more
Sam and Samuel are having an interesting discussion about originalism and the constitutionality of healthcare. If they’ll permit me, I’d like to broaden that conversation somewhat, and then pose a question that I hope someone will take up. What this conversation is about at a certain level is rights. It is about powers, yes, but … Read more
Apparently, by raising questions which are always raised against originalists and asking for an originalist’s reply, I am guilty of pedantry and disparaging the debate about the Constitution. Who knew? Other than those digs, Samuel Coffin has a thoughtful reply to my last post. He argues that I engaged in “bad originalism” in order to … Read more
In light of recent developments in Tunisia, Arab dictators in neighboring countries have come to realize that law enforcements, or dictator-existence enforcements for that matter, are of no value in face of a national uproar. The ratio of police officers to citizens in Tunisia was a staggering 1:40. Yet, such police force could not contain … Read more
I was really excited to see how the U.S. was going to receive Chinese president Hu Jintao’s visit this week. A lot has happened throughout the world since the Chinese president’s last visit in 2006 including China officially becoming the world’s second largest economy, the U. S. financial meltdown, as well as human rights concerns … Read more
I suspected that Wyatt Troia’s editorial piece in The Crimson would drive some political discussion at Harvard. After reading Sam Barr’s response, I think it is telling that Sam essentially cedes Wyatt his point that much of the liberal agenda does not have a Constitutional basis. However, by raising a number of pedantic issues that supposedly highlight … Read more
Wyatt Troia has a column in the Crimson arguing that the Constitution, as it stands, does not permit many “liberal schemes” (including the health insurance mandate) and that, if liberals want to make their schemes constitutional, they need to pass constitutional amendments. Wyatt correctly notes that the enumerated Congressional powers in Article 1, Section 8, … Read more
The headline at RealClearPolitics: “65% of doctors think new law will worsen care.” The headline at CNBC: “Survey: U.S. doctors fear healthcare reform.” The headline at the Wall Street Journal: “Survey of U.S. physicians finds pessimism on future of health care.” The reality: This poll was conducted through a “fax-response methodology,” which means it didn’t … Read more