Today, the U.S. Senate voted, largely along party lines, to eliminate the filibuster for most judicial nominees and executive office appointments. This means, practically, that a simple majority vote will be needed both to close off debate and confirm these nominees. Previously, as with other matters, 60 votes were needed to bring matters to a […]
Archives
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The Nuclear Option & the March of Democracy
21 Nov 2013
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Taking Blessings for Granted–Why We Ignore the Benefits of Sound Political Economy to our Ruin
11 Nov 2013
As Christian political economists, your Berean bloggers are neither conservative nor liberal (in the classic sense), but rather a combination of both. And while there is nary a drop of modern liberal blood in our bones, we nonetheless appreciate modern liberalism’s discontent with the status quo, often agreeing with their ends, even though almost always […]
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A Ringside Seat at “The Hearing”
30 Oct 2013
After two hours at the House Subcommittee hearing October 30 on the Obamacare rollout, I asked myself why I had come. After three and a half hours I knew. There were three things to be learned. One: Politicians of all stripes certainly do like to hear themselves talk, and especially, today, Democrats who had little […]
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Conflict, Clinton, & the Government Shutdown
15 Oct 2013
Editors Note: This post’s headline has been edited since initial publication. Channeling his inner James Madison, former President, and current raconteur, Bill Clinton said yesterday that “Constant conflict is actually often good politics, because the more you can inflame your supporters the more likely they are to show up at Election Day,” Clinton is speaking […]
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The Great Fact
15 Oct 2013
Once again the “Great Fact” was brought home to me in the morning sermon at my church. The Great Fact is not popular among non-Christians and not very popular among many calling themselves Christians. Instead autonomy and self-interest tend to rule the day. You could also say that many in the church as well as […]
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Foundations Matter
12 Oct 2013
Pope Francis continued to make surprising statements recently by suggesting that God would grant forgiveness to atheists as long as they followed their consciences. “Sin,” he said, “even for those who have no faith, is when one goes against their conscience.” Pope Francis has not maintained his predecessor’s more conservative stance on issues of faith […]
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You say “Really? Are you just an anti-Fed nut case?” Well, I’m certainly anti-Fed, and my wife won’t confirm or deny #2. But let me make my case. As economist Russ Roberts likes to say, economists often tell “stories” that we think reflect reality. These stories are backed by a particular theory and often have […]
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The Day After in DC: Random Thoughts
02 Oct 2013
The old saying is “Another day, another dollar” and it certainly applies to the Federal workforce here in DC, only without any official work (some would say, there is no difference between now and before). I have gained some interesting insights (maybe just observations–I need to be modest here) about the Federal government, including Congress, […]
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Quinnipiac University’s most recent polling results suggest Republicans will struggle to convince the American people the government shutdown is a good idea. Key findings include: Americans oppose, 72-22%, the government shutdown in order to de-fund or delay Obamacare Republican voters support the shutdown narrowly (49-44%), while Democrats (90-6%) and Independents (74-19%) oppose it overwhelmingly In a […]
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There is something viscerally satisfying about the possibility of a government shut down. Consider the stated and implied conservative motivations: We need to show people they can survive without their daily suckling from the federal teat We need to inculcate a new sense of independence, a re-emergence of the homesteading spirit that once defined our […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach