Nathaniel Ward » Obama

Tuesday Links

Nathaniel Ward — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:16:18 +0000

President Obama has proposed a freeze on discretionary, non-entitlement, non-military, non-emergency federal spending. Yuval Levin says this is “a welcome tiny first step.” Dan Mitchell is more skeptical.

Newsweek says neoconservatism is alive and kicking.

CAP responds to Citizens United: ”Indeed, with hundreds of billions of dollars of corporate profits at stake every time Congress begins a session, wealthy corporations would be foolish not to spend tens of billions of dollars every election cycle to make sure that their interests are protected.” Of course, it’s the fact that billions are at stake whenever Congress meets that’s the real problem. Ilya Somin, meanwhile, defends free speech rights.

And finally, Conan O’Brien stays classy in his final Tonight Show.

Monday Links

Nathaniel Ward — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:11:13 +0000

James Ceasar explains how the passion for Obama can be traced to radical thinking about replacing traditional religion with a “Religion of Humanity.”

What happens when science becomes politicized? The truth is sacrificed to the “greater good.”

What I’m Reading — September 16th

Nathaniel Ward — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:04:02 +0000

Updated Book Titles.
Washington’s Most Expensive Bike Rack. It features all kinds of amenities and cost $4 million. And it was paid for with your tax dollars, of course.
The Unintended Consequences of Protectionism. "Mr. Obama may not intend to start a trade war, but then Hoover didn't set out to pick one either. His political abdication is what made it possible, however, and trade passions once unleashed can be impossible to control. On his present course, President Obama is giving the world every reason to conclude he is a protectionist."

What I’m Reading — September 4th

Nathaniel Ward — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:43:51 +0000

Did Big-Government Labor Policies Cause the Depression?
Charles Kesler on How Conservatives Can Get Back on Track. "It is necessary to reground our conservatism in [America's] revolutionary [Founding] principles, but it will not be sufficient. Although conservatives cannot remedy America's problems without them, our principles need to be explained in a contemporary idiom and applied prudently to our present circumstances. That requires, for want of a more comprehensive word, statesmanship. "
Why High-Speed Rail Won’t Catch on in America. Geography, scheduling and personal preference means air travel will likely dominate in most of the country, Megan McArdle argues.
New York’s Tenured Teachers. Exploring the consequences of the city's inane union contract.

What I’m Reading — August 30th

Nathaniel Ward — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:50:14 +0000

100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man’s Library.
How Consumer-Based Reforms Can Fix What Ails Health Care. David Goldhill on how the current system fails us and what to do about it. "The most important single step we can take toward truly reforming our system is to move away from comprehensive health insurance as the single model for financing care. And a guiding principle of any reform should be to put the consumer, not the insurer or the government, at the center of the system."
Is Conservatism Dead? "Like the liberal writers of the 1950s, Tanenhaus wants to see a conservative movement that accommodates rather than opposes liberalism, and thus one that will accept its role as subordinate to the dominant liberal tradition in American life."
Should the NEA Promote the Obama Agenda? "Do you think it is the place of the NEA to encourage the art community to address issues currently under legislative consideration?"

What I’m Reading — August 20th

Nathaniel Ward — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:39:56 +0000

Obama Contradicts Himself on Health Care. "So the health-care status quo needs top-to-bottom reform, except for the parts that "you" happen to like. Government won't interfere with patients and their physicians, considering that the new panel of experts who will make decisions intended to reduce tests and treatments doesn't count as government. But Medicare shows that government involvement isn't so bad, aside from the fact that spending is out of control—and that program needs top-to-bottom reform too."
Another ‘Public Option.’ How government "competition" is wrecking the private student loan industry.
Market Rationing Isn’t Government Rationing. "Using the government's coercive power to decide the price of something, or who ought to get it, is qualitatively different from the same outcome arising out of voluntary actions in the marketplace."

What I’m Reading — August 7th

Nathaniel Ward — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:48:14 +0000

John Quincy Adams Starts Tweeting. Very clever.
Is American Health Care Really Worse Than Europe’s?
A Curious Task for the Homeless. Homeless men in Poland are building a ship. Might their energy be better directed at securing employment or a permanent residence?

What I’m Reading — July 30th

Nathaniel Ward — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:43:26 +0000

Mark Steyn on the Birthers. "A true conspiracy theorist would surely believe that Obama deliberately started the birth-certificate business in order to make it easier to dismiss his opponents as deranged."
A Time for Choosing, Redux. "For centrists in both parties the moment has come to decide which side of the public-private divide they want the U.S. and its future workers to be on."
Can the Fed Prevent Bubbles? The new president of the New York Federal Reserve, Donald Luskin writes, "thinks the Fed should be responsible for identifying and preventing asset-price bubbles. Considering that the Fed’s track record reveals more skill at causing bubbles than preventing them, this is a very dangerous idea."

What I’m Reading — July 30th

Nathaniel Ward — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:18:11 +0000

Tax Burden of Top One Percent Now Exceeds That of Bottom 95 Percent. It's not bad per se that top earners pay more in taxes, but it's something we should keep in mind as we consider still more tax increases to ensure "the rich" pay their "fair share."
In Defense of Profits. Yale Law Professor Stephen Carter argues that "high profits are excellent news. When corporate earnings reach record levels, we should be celebrating. The only way a firm can make money is to sell people what they want at a price they are willing to pay. If a firm makes lots of money, lots of people are getting what they want."
Overdoing the Security Details. Might anonymity more effectively protect our leaders than attention-grabbing security arrangements?
National Review’s Editors Take on Birth Certificate Conspiracy Theorists.

What I’m Reading — July 21st

Nathaniel Ward — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:06:25 +0000

Obama Is No Post-Partisan.
Deconstructing a Poor Argument for Same-Sex Marriage.
Samuelson on the Consequences of Big Government. "Without anyone much noticing, our national government is on the verge of a permanent expansion that would endure long after the present economic crisis has (presumably) passed and that would exceed anything ever experienced in peacetime."