My soundtrack for the drive up to Cleveland was Hamilton: An American Musical. My oldest daughter, Madelaine, is an evangelist for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterwork. The writing is vibrant, the music is beguiling, the vocal performances are remarkable, and the emotion generated, even by the soundtrack (after all, I am not wealthy enough to afford the […]
Archives
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Missives from the Morass: July 17
18 Jul 2016
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Rule of Man
10 Jul 2016
The recent decision by FBI Director James B. Comey recommending against charging Sec. Hillary Clinton for violations of the law while she served as Secretary of State under President Barak Obama, calls into question the rule of law in this country. Our country was founded on the concept of rule of law. Our mother country, […]
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I hate to beat a dead horse, but the issue of trade keeps coming up in the news, whether from Donald Trump and the Trumpists or from Paul Ryan or from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, all claiming to have the right position on trade and the place of the United States in the global […]
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The Conservative Soul for a Supreme Court Seat?
19 May 2016
“Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world . . . But for Wales!” Thomas More, Act 2, A Man for All Seasons Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the presidency, yesterday released a list of Supreme Court prospects that might fill Antonin Scalia’s vacated seat. The […]
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“The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.”
04 May 2016
I woke this morning earlier than usual (around 4:30) and my mind raced to the reality that Mr. Trump is the Republican nominee. It’s certainly easy to get discouraged, perhaps even to lose sleep. Yet in my quiet time this morning (one of the benefits of getting up early), as I reflected on what God […]
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Trumpeting toward Irrationality
03 May 2016
During my graduate studies at George Mason University, I was blessed with outstanding faculty, especially in the field of Public Choice economics (the study of the public sector using economic methodology). Nobel Laureate James Buchanan led the intellectual tradition, but there were many other fine minds, including a brash young economist from Princeton, Bryan Caplan. I […]
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All of Trump’s Men
18 Mar 2016
“During all that time I didn’t see Willie. I didn’t see him again until he announced in the Democratic primary in 1930. But it wasn’t a primary. It was hell among the yearlings and the Charge of the Light Brigade and Saturday night in the back room of Casey’s saloon rolled into one, and when […]
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Trump. How Did We Get Here?
09 Mar 2016
Donald J. Trump, the New York billionaire, has the political world on a string. If he wins Ohio and Florida on March 15 (as I write, polls have him leading in both states), Trump will emerge as the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Typing that sentence six months ago was fantastical. Six years ago and […]
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The Trumpist Phenomenon
06 Mar 2016
I know many pundits, think tanks, politicians, advisors to politicians, strategists, academics and consultants are trying to explain the “Trump phenomenon.” Some have made excellent contributions. But I came across one in the Washington Post of March 5, 2016 which seems to capture the movement well. As an added benefit the article also traces the […]
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Trump, Sanders and Unemployment
04 Mar 2016
This morning the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly Employment Situation Summary. The unemployment rate remained at 4.9%. I was reading MoneyBeat blog at the Wall Street Journal. The following quote (posted at 8:45 AM) caught my attention. U-6 includes everybody, and that rate is at 9.7%. That is a high number for a purported […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach