I’m sure that Judd Gregg dropped out of consideration for Commerce Secretary because he just happened to notice that he and Obama had basically no policy beliefs in common. And because the White House was politicizing the Census. And not because Gregg is a hopelessly corrupt. Gregg was responsible for millions of dollars in federal … Read more
Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that the Summum, a small, quirky Utah sect, have no constitutional right to demand that the city of Pleasant Grove display their “Seven Aphorisms” in a public park where the city has long maintained a Ten Commandments monument. The question before the Court was not whether the Establishment Clause forbade … Read more
I just bookmarked the new blog for the Office of Management and Budget. And you should too. Peter Orszag, the new director, is going to be one of the crucial figures of the Obama Administration, since he’s the one who will be doing a great deal of the nuts-and-bolts planning on everything from health care … Read more
Have you seen the Santelli clip? Watch it. Now. I’ll wait. Yes, that is a CNBC reporter channeling the rage of the common volk. Raging about the “losers” getting bailed out by gubmint money. Interestingly, he neglects to mention the orders of magnitude more money getting thrown at the losers who happen to already have … Read more
The topic of bank nationalization, albeit temporary or labeled as “preprivatization,” is starting to pick up some steam. In a piece from Sunday Paul Krugman offered a pretty concise explanation for why some form of nationalization is necessary for “zombie banks” like Citi and Bank of America to survive. It’s a worthwhile read, particulalry for … Read more
Ever heard of the Pecora Commission? It was a Congressional investigation into the banking practices of the twenties, set up in 1932 at the lowest point of the Great Depression. Ferdinand Pecora was the head of the commission, and can best be described as a bona-fide bad*ss. He believed that the entire financial system of … Read more
Mr. or Mrs. “tired of liberal self-delusion” raises an interesting objection to my argument that the liberal state can remain metaphysically neutral while teaching only evolution and ignoring creationism/ID. He or she says, “If the state flipped a coin in these matters what you ‘think’ here might have merit.” So, does neutrality require the state … Read more
So there’s been some electorally-focused grandstanding by GOP governors over the stimulus package. Unsurprisingly, most of them are not turning down billions of dollars being thrown at their administrations. That is probably an impeachable offense right there, if ever I saw one. It doesn’t do a governor much good to win credibility for the Republican … Read more
George Will really doesn’t like Russ Feingold. Will’s latest column attacks Feingold’s proposed constitutional amendment, which would require elections to fill vacant Senate seats, and which the HPR will be analyzing in its upcoming issue. Will starts off by smearing Feingold’s proposal as “vandalism against the Constitution,” and says that Feingold is trying to “tamper” … Read more
Will and Alex have begun an interesting discussion on realist and constructivist views of “anarchy” in the international system, but I think the realist position on the ICC and other treaties could use greater elaboration. A typical realist view would be not just that some states form “persecution narratives” to oppose the United States, but … Read more