There is an immutable reason why centralized socialist policies don’t work over time: government, unlike the private sector, has no incentive to maintain the fiscal discipline needed to stay on budget.  more

Let’s hope that Tom Hanks’ latest project, The Pacific, will be more true to history than his recent comments blaming America for the brutality seen in the WWII campaign against Japan.  more

This week, Rep. Charlie Rangel stepped down as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee due to an ongoing ethics probe. In the end, power can corrupt even the best of us. That is the risk of staying in Washington too long — for Democrats and Republicans.  more

As the protests in Greece show, even if the GOP regains control of Congress, once an entitlement has been enacted — be it healthcare here or public service pensions there — it can be impossible to take away.  more

If the Democrats are smart, they will take a page from Dick Morris’ winning formula for Clinton’s resurgence and pull Obama back to the center.   more

To someone who has observed the Democrats take the black vote for granted for years, while offering mere lip-service in lieu of constructive policies, Harry Reid’s recent comments on race come as little surprise.  more

On the campaign trail, Obama promised to take federal funding for his campaign, to close Guantanamo, and to televise dealmaking on healthcare reform. Promises made – promises all broken.  more

A new Quinnipiac poll shows that only 52% of American Jews now have a favorable opinion of President Obama. This is a remarkable drop in Jewish support considering that he won 78% of their vote in the 2008 election.  more

My daughter is fast approaching her teen years and I am steeling myself for “the discussion.” But it is not about sex. It is about drugs.  more

It is laughable for the Democrats to criticize President Bush for being cautious about supporting a massive commitment of men and material to Afghanistan in 2001, when so many in their party feel that same way today.  more

The trials of Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the other 9/11 plotters in civilian court will degenerate into a show trial of the Bush Administration’s methods in the War on Terror.  more

The Fort Hood shooting is yet another battle in our continuing struggle with Islamic radicalism. Americans are sharp enough though to know the difference between decent law-abiding citizens of any faith and mad jihadists.  more

Last night, by a 2 to 1 margin in Virginia and by almost as much in New Jersey, self-described independents sided with the GOP — the same independents who backed Obama in 2008.  more

While strolling down the streets of Manhattan the other day I saw a shirt which declared: “Communism Killed 100 Million People And All I Got Was This Stupid T-Shirt.” After immediately buying it, I reflected on what I had learned from those who had actually lived under the red jackboot.  more

In a recent poll, the United States emerged as the “most admired country” on the planet, thanks to the rock star popularity of new president Barack Obama. But Obama’s popularity still has not translated into foreign policy wins for the United States.  more

Today, September 17th, is a date that Republicans should look on with pride. In 1787, a great constitution was drafted, and then in 1862, exactly three-quarters of a century later, a great and terrible battle was won to right its inherent wrong.  more

To understand some of the rancor in the town hall meetings, pick up today’s Wall Street Journal. The paper reports that Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), Chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, recently “amended” his 2007 tax returns to include an extra $780,000 in assets and income. Oops.  more

Allowing the government to compete with private insurers would be the first step towards an ultimate take-over of the entire healthcare system by the “single payer” entity… Uncle Sam. Once a program of this magnitude is enacted, it can never, ever, be repealed.   more

I watched some longer segments of Congressman Barney Frank’s Tuesday night town hall meeting and, I never thought I would say this, but Frank was right in the way he dealt with many of the questions.  more

The latest Rasmussen poll (August 7) shows that only 14% of Americans give Congress good or excellent marks and that 56% believe they are doing a poor job. In every way we can measure, we have seen rising frustration with government that seems simultaneously intrusive and remote, overbearing and incompetent.  more