The Nerd is Governing as He Campaigned — Muddling Through
So Gov. Snyder wants to take $500 million in money to burn on Government Rail. Why am I not surprised? Perhaps the history so far of the Tough Nerd proves that O’Sullivan’s law applies to individuals as well as organizations. Here it is: All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing. As I recall, Snyder went out of his way during the campaign […]
GOP Smackdown, Round One
First impressions from Thursday’s first official presidential “debate” of the looooong 2012 season. The lineup: GOPers who have jumped in the presidential ring. Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico I want to like him, but he acted too much like an earnest professor (or worse, kindergarten-class teacher), often clasping his hands. He spoke a lot of sense, but got energized only when he was […]
The Daily Grope: bin Laden’s revenge
OBL is dead, which is good news. The bad news is that even from the grave he exerts an influence on not only how we fly, but on how we view government. As Randall Holcombe says, “Most people don’t question things we’re told to do for our safety”. He adds, “We have been intimidated, by bin Laden’s terrorist network and our own federal government, into complying […]
Sorry, public radio, I gave at the IRS
One of the PBS stations in my part of the country is having a beg-a-thon, asking listeners for money. The station, which occupies one of the presets on the radio in my car, plays classical music. Since I don’t have an MP3 player hooked up through my car’s audio system, it’s one way to add some variety to my musical selection. I might be tempted […]
A George Bush clone?
Republicans looking for a suitable presidential candidate for the 2012 election might be interested in Texas Gov. Rick Perry. A recent article in National Review planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Gov. Perry. Perry is a booster of federalism, which is once again in vogue. As NR author Kevin D. Williamson quips, “Lots of conservatives have been in fights over public displays of the Ten Commandments, […]
Can we get over the birther nonsense now?
The White House has released a certificate of live birth for President Obama. Can we move on to more serious problems, now, such as the damage that are being inflicted on the country by the policies of his administration? Like many people, I think Obama let the “distraction” (as he calls it) go on for as long as it did so that his political opponents could […]
US State Announces Passport Application Worthy of Kafka
One fundamental element of a free society is the idea that government operates by clearly defined laws. We’ve abandoned that concept in so many ways (tax code, ObamaCare, etc.) But now it’s threatened in something as basic as the freedom of movement. Want to travel outside the U.S.? You need a passport. The State Department is proposing some new regulations on passports, which will require […]