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Category Archives: Columns
The Growing Cyberthreat – Forbes.com
First your cellphone doesn’t work. Then you notice that you can’t access the Internet. Down on the street, ATMs won’t dispense money. Traffic lights don’t function, and calls to 911 don’t get routed to emergency responders. Radios report that systems … Continue reading
The Gonzo Life of Mayor McCrack – The Daily Beast
Gather round, children, and you will hear the strange true tale of Mayor McCrack. Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford seemed simply obese, unwise, and shady until earlier this week, when he confessed to smoking crack cocaine in what he casually described … Continue reading
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9/11 Amnesia – The Daily Beast
As we approach tomorrow’s eighth anniversary of the September 11th attacks—the first since President George W. Bush left office—there’s been a creeping complacency to the remembrance, a feeling of obligation bordering on inconvenience. It’s as if America wants to turn … Continue reading
Obama Losing Independent Voters – CNN.com
NEW YORK (CNN) — Over the course of this summer, President Obama’s approval ratings have plummeted among independent voters — the largest and fastest-growing segment of the American electorate. In May, 66 percent of independents approved of Obama’s job performance, … Continue reading
New York & California Need Constitutional Conventions – Wall Street Journal
Frustrated with steep budget deficits, unprecedented spending, and chronic government dysfunction, citizens in a growing number of states are calling for constitutional conventions. In recent weeks, both former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and former New York governor Mario … Continue reading
Independents and the Obama Mandate – Wall Street Journal
In the months since Barack Obama won the presidency, independent voters have rocketed to their highest number on record. Meanwhile, the ranks of Republicans and Democrats have thinned dramatically. Independents hold the balance of power in the Obama era. That’s … Continue reading
Hollywood’s Dirty Secret – The Daily Beast
Conservatives love to complain about Hollywood liberals hijacking our culture and our politics. With the likely seating of SNL-alum Al Franken in the Senate and the possible candidacy of actor Val Kilmer for New Mexico governor, you can expect such … Continue reading
Worse Than the War
It’s time for a reality check. More Americans have been murdered in mass shootings over the last month than have been killed on the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan this year. Here are the grisly statistics: 54 innocents dead in … Continue reading
How the Party of Lincoln Forgot About Lincoln – The Daily Beast
Today is the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln and rarely has Honest Abe been in such demand. Our nation’s first African-American president—also a self-made lawyer from Illinois—rarely loses an opportunity to compare himself to the Great Emancipator. There are new … Continue reading
Our Screwed Up Tax System: Fix It – The Daily Beast
With tax snafus scalping Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer—and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner narrowly escaping a similar fate—the Obama administration has hit its first rough patch. From Zoe Baird to Linda Chavez, we’ve seen this movie before. The tax code’s … Continue reading
Family of Hate
What are you doing for your family’s summer vacation? Shirley Phelps-Roper decided to take her two daughters to New York City from Topeka, Kansas. To protest outside Walter Cronkite’s funeral yesterday. They even had a fancy sign made up that … Continue reading
How I Got Interrogated by the Bushies
At his final press conference, President Bush seemed mystified by one aspect of his legacy in particular—his failure to change the tone in Washington. The man who campaigned on his bipartisan record as governor of Texas, and was confident that … Continue reading
Obama’s Infrastructure Opening – City Journal
The president-elect can rally support for public works, homeland security, and government transparency at the same time. The neo-Keynesian fervor sweeping Washington is set to culminate in President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed $775 billion stimulus package. The Democratic congressional leadership has … Continue reading
How Obama Can Avoid the Mistakes of Carter
You get graded on a steep curve as president. Getting elected should be accomplishment enough to last a lifetime, but once you enter the Oval Office the goalposts get moved and you’re competing against the ghosts of presidents past. On … Continue reading
3 Things Ford Can Teach the Rest of Detroit
After billion-dollar-bailout binges, bankruptcies, and the death of the Big Three, it’s time somebody said thank you to Ford on behalf of the American taxpayer. The last man standing is also the only major U.S. automaker to choose free markets … Continue reading
What If New York Goes Bust? – The Daily Beast
UPDATE: Looks like the tsunami has arrived in California, with state legislators one vote short of a spending cut and tax-hike compromise to close a $42 billion budget deficit. (By comparison, that’s twice the national debt during the Great Depression.) … Continue reading
Mandate for Modernization – National Review
When entering the wilderness after two consecutive election defeats, it is good to have a vigorous and clarifying debate — because something is not working. Demographics are destiny, and election returns show that the GOP base is shrinking. The party … Continue reading
New York GOP must reconnect with centrists – Newsday.com
Like a drunk after a decade-long bender, the Republican Party needs to hit bottom before it can bounce back. The good news is that it can’t go much lower. The numbers are ugly: Ten years ago, New York had a Republican … Continue reading
The Repudiation of Karl Rove – Politico.com
We don’t know yet who will win or by what margin, but we know one thing for certain: This election represents the repudiation of Karl Rove and his play-to-the-base strategy. There was always something dicey about stoking the fires of … Continue reading
What Independent Voters Want – Wall Street Journal
They tend to be fiscally conservative and strong on security. Independent voters, once a political afterthought, are now the largest and fastest-growing segment of the American electorate. This shift led to the nomination of two candidates who ran against the … Continue reading