To bake the cake or not to bake the cake? That is the question. It seems simple, but this query is generating a fair amount of controversy within the Christian community. The question is not really about whether our cakes should be from scratch or a box, but it is about gay marriage and the […]

Free-trade between individuals and nations is the backbone of economic growth. The more trade we have and the wider the markets for that trade, the more we will be able to develop and utilize productivity enhancing technological changes that further spur the economic engine. An article in the February 22 edition of The Economist: “How […]

The Congressional Budget Office recently reported new numbers related to the impact of the Affordable Care Act.  The report provided good news for Democrats and other presidential supporters when it estimated that the number of uninsured has dropped to approximately 30 million Americans.  On balance, however, Republicans and opponents have more fodder for the political […]

Ajit Pai, an F.C.C. (Federal Communications Commission) commissioner dropped a media bomb in The Wall Street Journal. Pai revealed the F.C.C.’s plans to conduct an intrusive study of broadcast newsrooms throughout the country, primarily by interviewing owners, editors, and reporters about their story choices. The stated purpose is to find out whether or not the stations […]

After a few weeks of being immersed in arcane historical reading and teaching, I have concluded it isn’t so arcane as we think.  Of course, I knew that already, but there is nothing like being away from blogging to remind one.  What I mean is this:  Many or most of the political thinkers and ideas […]

Target: poverty Number positively effected: 16,500,000 Number pushed above the poverty line: 900,000 900,000/16,500,000 = 5.45% In his State of the Union address President Obama said: “It’s easy to remember, $10.10”. One option for increasing the minimum wage is to increase the federally mandated minimum to $10.10 an hour. Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office released […]

On Thursday evening, a federal district court judge overturned Virginia’s 2006 constitutional amendment, and other statutes, that defined marriage as between one man and one woman. The ruling, by Arenda L. Wright Allen, also required Virginia to respect same-sex marriages performed in other states. Allen’s ruling sets the stage for another appeal ultimately to the […]

When Mr. Boehner announced his strategy Tuesday at a closed-door conference, no one objected, a senior House GOP aide said. He was halfway back to his seat when he said: “I got this monkey off your back and you’re not even going to applaud?” Lawmakers took the hint and gave him a round of applause. […]

The 2014 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation marks 20 anniversary of this important piece of economic analysis. The index measures economic freedom based on 10 quantitative and qualitative factors. More economic freedom correlates with better economic performance, less economic freedom correlates with poorer economic performance. The index calculates the relative economic […]

The amazing this is NOT that Ray Nagin, former New Orleans’ Mayor, was convicted on corruption charges, but that he is the FIRST mayor in the Crescent City’s sordid history to be so charged.”Laissez les bons temps rouler!” I taught for a year at Tulane University, which is in New Orleans. The food is delicious […]