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.
Good news: The Supreme Court has struck down government restrictions on free speech. Here’s a quick history of such restrictions and why they haven’t worked.
Bad news: America’s economy is less free now than it was a year ago.
The Agitator makes the case that donations in response to disaster don’t constitute fundraising as such.
Daniel Larison asks a good question: are illiberal governments necessarily a threat to free governments?
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.”