Archive for the ‘politics’ Category

Obama: your parent, guidance counselor, principal, etc., etc.

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Gene Healy of the Cato Institute says it quite well: The president isn't a benevolent father-protector, charged with the welfare of all creatures great and small — and educators do kids a great disservice if they help promote such a childish notion. Still less was he supposed to be the educator ...

Colorado town hall meetings

Friday, August 7th, 2009

I am maintaining a list of upcoming Colorado town hall meetings where people can discuss health care policy. If you know of others or if any I list are wrong, please e-mail me.

Come “together,” right now, it’s the law

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

As published in today's Daily Camera: Do you want politicians to put you "in it together" with others, or would you prefer to reserve that choice for yourself? Last Tuesday guest editor Clay Evans wrote that one of President-elect Obama's "great challenges" will be to "bring us together." While defending Social Security, ...

AP: News or pro-Obama bias?

Monday, December 8th, 2008

The Associated Press reports that president-elect Obama's proposed economic policies caused the stock market to close higher on Monday.  But do the authors,  Joel Bel Bruno and Tim Paradis, give any evidence for this causal relationship, or do they just assert it?  Here's how the article starts: A stock market gaining ...

How the GOP Lost My Vote

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Paul Hsieh has an excellent essay on this in the Denver Post: After a resounding electoral defeat, in which voters in this once-red state rejected Republicans McCain, Schaffer, and Musgrave, the Colorado Republican Party will undoubtedly be asking themselves, "Why did we lose?" I want to let them know that they lost ...

Support tax-funded schools? Then donate your own money.

Monday, November 24th, 2008

The Rocky Mountain News published my letter to the editor last week: Amendment 59 backers should send refunds to schools Let the "begathon" begin! That's what educators would need to raise school funding because Amendment 59 failed, said Colorado Association of School Boards director Jane Urschel ("Despite defeat, Ritter aims for budget ...

The Road to Serfdom: Like Catching Wild Pigs

Monday, November 10th, 2008

This parable is does an excellent job explaining how the incrimental growth of seemingly benevolent government programs can result in taking away our freedom. [A student asks a professor...], 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?' The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The ...

In Defense of the Electoral College

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

It's a good a time as any to bring up this subject. John Samples at the Cato Institute argues for the Electoral College in an essay from the 2000 election.  Selections: James Madison’s famous Federalist No. 10 makes clear that the Founders fashioned a republic, not a pure democracy. To be ...

Practical, political, and moral reasons not to vote

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Wendy McElroy presents some food for thought on principled non-voting in a recent speech.   I think her ideas are worth considering, but Bill Bradford's rebuttal (not to this speech, but to an article of McElroy's) is also worth reading for an opposing perspective.  Here are some excerpts: But what if the ...

Capitalism and Socialism: Who Owns You?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

From last week's Daily Camera Editorial Advisory Board: The question: "Recent debate on economics and politics has been framing recent events in terms of socialism and capitalism. Is this warranted or a sign of hyperbolic rhetoric?"  My response: Debating political issues in terms of socialism and capitalism helps address a fundamental question: ...