I’m more than half-expecting Obama to win this one. Why? One reason is that I’m hearing a lot of conservatives say that Romney is going to win, and in a way that makes me think they’re whistling past the graveyard. There’s something about overconfidence that makes me run in the other direction. I’d love to be wrong on this, but I think conservative need to […]
John LaPlante
About John LaPlante
Posts by John LaPlante:
U.S. political history, as told in football
One key issue in American political history, dating back to the founding of the country, has been this: How extensive should the national government be, compared with the states, and how extensive a role should it play over the daily life of citizens? There has been some give and take over the centuries, much like football teams battle over field position. The trend, however, has […]
Apocalypse on the installment plan
An ancient sage has said, “there is nothing new under the sun,” and so it is with American politics. I have stopped keeping count of the number of “most important election in my lifetime” elections I have been through. So is Romney-Obama “the most important election in my lifetime”? It is and it isn’t. If Obama wins, the conservative, free-market ideal of America as a […]
One-time “monopolist” rolls out new software; America yawns
Starting sometime in the 1990s, the U.S. government, plus the European Union, aggressively took antitrust action against Microsoft. “We must act,” said the smart ones in government. “If we don’t, Microsoft will get too big, and control too much.” What a difference a few technological revolutions make. Last week, Microsoft rolled out a new version of its Windows operating system, and America yawned. Fewer than half of […]
One government mandate I might support
While I’m generally opposed to one unit of government mandating that another unit of government do anything, I might be willing to make an exception. As I recall from my days of high school, so many years ago, Michigan children who attend a public school are required to take a class in government. Perhaps the Legislature ought to go further, and require that classes in […]
When will the college bubble pop?
As someone who has earned not one but two college degrees–neither of which is in a “marketable” program such as engineering–it pains me to say the obvious: Higher education today is unsustainable, inflicting high personal and financial costs. As Forbes magazine tells it in a recent article, advocates for college have preyed on ignorance of a simple fact that should be drilled into every student […]
Lack of trust in government is a problem only for its managers
Talk about a non-problem. I was driving about town this morning when I switched the radio to the local government-subsidized news outlet. Conservatives who wish to counter the argument that talk radio leans predominantly to the right point out that there are in fact left-wing talk shows on the radio–they’re on National Public Radio stations. The topic for discussion was the question, “Why is trust in […]
Debate bounce?
Do presidential debates matter? I thought of that when I came across a comment from an online friend of mine. I don’t know his political views. He’s knowledgeable enough about economics that he should vote Republican more often than not, but he’s also a public employee who thinks he has suffered under Michigan’s Republican legislature, so he may vote Democratic. Here’s what he said: “The […]
Republican women politicians “more feminine,” say UCLA researchers
Well this is going to get Republican activists buzzing. According to a press release from UCLA, Republican women are more attractive than Democratic ones. Granted, the university didn’t put it precisely that way. Instead, it said, “Female politicians with stereotypically feminine facial features are more likely to be Republican than Democrat, and the correlation increases the more conservative the lawmaker’s voting record.” The researchers, who looked […]
School Lunch Controversy Shows Problems of Centralized Planning
Students in Sharon Springs, Kansas, have produced a YouTube sensation mocking school-lunch guidelines laid down by the federal government.In the video, students collapse from hunger while playing school sports, or even sitting in a classroom. Critics say the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act” is leaving students hungry by limiting the calories they can get, and restricting their intake of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Even so, some […]