‘Opinion’ Articles
France’s American colonies
The New York Times has commentators in Paris but not in Texas. It would be inconceivable to imagine a NYTs op-ed voice in Louisville, on the slow-moving Ohio River, or Indianapolis, dead center of East, West, South and The Great White North. Or Iowa, like Alaska, commandeered now by Ron Paul renegades. Or South Carolina, where the women wear red [...]
Convincing the Supreme Court
Adam Liptak’s article in Sunday’s New York Times, “Are Oral Arguments Worth Arguing About?” reminded me of an interesting and revealing experience I had years ago when I argued a case before the Supreme Court. Liptak’s point was that “it is the rare oral argument that wins or loses a case.” Results derive from the merits of the case, [...]
End of the eurozone?
The voters of Europe have spoken: They are not prepared to endure austerity measures to achieve financial responsibility and stability.This has set the stage for breakup of the eurozone. The only way to finance the stimulus that French President-elect Francois Hollande is proposing is to increase taxes or borrow. Neither option is practical. His [...]
After French vote, will Europe switch course?
The French are not a modest bunch. So it wasn’t a surprise last night when the victorious candidate in the French presidential election, the Socialist Francois Hollande, said that his victory represented “a new hope for the world.”The way Hollande sees it, Europe should chart a different course than the tough budget-cutting austerity [...]
France finds its soul
One hundred years ago France, the center of the world for the previous thousand years, suddenly experienced the darkest harbingers. The new big screen brought forth a golem, Yeats saw a rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem, the Irish poets were dreaming of rivers flowing with blood, but 1912 saw the most prescient and darkly foreboding specter. [...]
Vintage Torque Fest 2012
Spent yesterday afternoon at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Maquoketa, Iowa, taking in the 3rd annual Vintage Torque Fest, where I also took in $5 pork-chops-on-a-stick and lungfuls of dust from the quarter mile bowl dirt track. Tastiest of all...-
Why Hillary Clinton would win in an epic landslide against Sarah Palin or Nikki Haley in 2016
The moral of the story is that polls show Hillary Clinton would win in an epic landslide against any Republican in 2012, and I believe an even more epic landslide against Sarah Palin or Nikki Haley in 2016, because Clinton has qualifications and experience far out of their league, and because:Hillary Clinton fights for American workers and [...]
