Terence Jeffrey from Creators Syndicate

Government Guaranteed for 07/16/2008

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Look over old news reports about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and you will repeatedly read that these two corporations were believed to carry an "implicit guarantee" from Uncle Sam.

That would apparently make them distinct from Social Security and Medicare, which most Americans assume carry an explicit guarantee from Uncle Sam.

"Though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say ...

Updated: Wed Jul 16, 2008

How Big Can Government Get? for 07/23/2008

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Much attention has been paid in recent months to the mortgage crisis and the difficulty many Americans face because they bought or built a home they cannot afford.

But Americans must soon face a greater crisis: We have a built a government we cannot afford.

Three studies published this year put some perspective on just how big our government has grown, and how much bigger it could ...

Updated: Wed Jul 23, 2008

Obama's War Party for 07/30/2008

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Barack Obama has joined the party of war.

Since it became clear that he would be the Democratic presidential nominee, Obama has left behind his peacenik rhetoric and seems eager to inform anyone who will listen that as president he would escalate U.S. military intervention — in Afghanistan.

Last week, immediately after completing his first-ever trip to Afghanistan, Obama mad ...

Updated: Wed Jul 30, 2008

The Real Competition in China for 08/06/2008

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The eyes of the world will turn to China in the coming days to watch the Olympic Games. Far too few, however, will fix their attention on the greater competition for the soul of that country.

Here is a story about two champions in that contest, whose most dangerous race you did not see on TV.

Their story starts in Rome, in May of last year, when Pope Benedict XVI published a lette ...

Updated: Wed Aug 06, 2008

A Crude October Surprise for 08/13/2008

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Republicans may be planning a crude surprise for Democrats this October. I mean crude in the sense that it will involve unrefined petroleum.

Since the House recessed earlier this month, Republicans have been demanding that Speaker Nancy Pelosi call it back into special session to vote on whether to allow new offshore oil-drilling.

The Republicans know Pelosi won't do that. So, wha ...

Updated: Wed Aug 13, 2008

Obama and Pro-Life 'Liars' for 08/20/2008

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In an interview with David Brody of CBN on Saturday, Barack Obama leveled a startling charge at the National Right to Life Committee.

Brody brought up the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, noting "there was some literature put out by the National Right to Life Committee. And they're basically saying they felt like you misrepresented your position on that bill."

"Let ...

Updated: Wed Aug 20, 2008

Kennedy's 'Right' Is Wrong for 08/27/2008

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

When Sen. Ted Kennedy, valiantly fighting brain cancer, took the stage at the Democratic convention on Monday night, he made it clear that he is now on a mission that cannot be completed unless he returns to the Senate next year — with Barack Obama in the White House.

Kennedy's quest is to socialize medicine in America.

"For me, this is a season of hope," he said. ...

Updated: Wed Aug 27, 2008

Married Liberals With Children for 09/03/2008

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Suddenly, the liberal establishment is earnestly interested in traditional family life, and there is a good — if cynical — reason for this.

When Michelle Obama, a Harvard Law grad, appeared at the Democratic convention last week, she did not come a la Hillary Clinton, who bragged when her husband first ran for president that if you elected him you would also get her — & ...

Updated: Wed Sep 03, 2008

To Whom Joe Biden Bows for 09/10/2008

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Take a leap of faith. Assume Sen. Joe Biden is an intellectually rigorous man who never fails to act on his own convictions when he votes in the Senate — and that he is especially careful in thinking things through when he votes on matters of life and death.

Now, try to entertain Joe Biden's logic — on a matter of life and death.

"I'm prepared as a matter of faith ...

Updated: Wed Sep 10, 2008

Democratic Leaders to American Commuters: Ride a Bike for 09/18/2008

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives sent a message this week to hard-working commuters forced to pay historically high prices for gasoline: Ride a bike.

The message was buried on page 255 of a 290-page bill the Democratic leadership introduced at 9:45 p.m. on Monday night, forced through the Rules Committee at 10:00 p.m., and put up for a "debate" and final vote ...

Updated: Thu Sep 18, 2008

The Real Class Conflict in America for 09/24/2008

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

You don't have to listen long to politicians in Washington, D.C., to hear the rhetoric of class war. Both major party presidential candidates have used it at times with strategic purpose — that is, when it advanced their ambitions.

The expanding government bailout of institutions and individuals caught up in the national financial fiasco, however, points to a real class conflict in ...

Updated: Wed Sep 24, 2008

Who Needs to Pay Their Mortgage and Who Doesn't? for 10/01/2008

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Will the U.S. Treasury Department help pay your mortgage or force you to help pay someone else's?

In the Great Bailout of 2008, on which side of the line do you, your home and your life savings sit? Are they in the land of individual responsibility, financial prudence and private property? Or in the land of government dependency, financial recklessness and expanding government control of ...

Updated: Wed Oct 01, 2008

The Obama Debate Every American Should See for 10/08/2008

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The most telling debate Barack Obama ever had was not with John McCain but Patrick O'Malley, who served with Obama in the Illinois Senate and engaged Obama in a colloquy every American should read.

The Obama-O'Malley debate was a defining moment for Obama because it dealt with such a fundamental issue: The state's duty to protect the civil rights of the young and disabled.

Some ba ...

Updated: Wed Oct 08, 2008

The Price of Banking on Government for 10/15/2008

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

There was instructive value even in the language that The Washington Post and The New York Times used to describe the Monday meeting at which nine large banks agreed to surrender part ownership to the government.

In describing how it came about, the Post said, "The government ordered the chief executives of nine prominent banks to attend a meeting yesterday at the imposing offices o ...

Updated: Wed Oct 15, 2008

Obama's Mandate for Nationalized Same-Sex Marriage for 10/22/2008

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Appearing Monday on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Joe Biden made the most high-profile statement yet of the Obama-Biden position on same-sex marriage.

DeGeneres asked where he stands on California's Proposition 8, a 14-word proposal that says, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

Those exact words were enacted originally ...

Updated: Wed Oct 22, 2008

Will Government Give up Ownership in the Banks? for 10/30/2008

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Sweeping acts of government power are certain to have unintended consequences. Americans have seen this truth played out in the conduct of recent wars.

But what are the potential unintended consequences of the sweeping move the government is making now to purchase $250 billion worth of shares in American banks?

One possibility: Government holds the banks indefinitely.

The b ...

Updated: Thu Oct 30, 2008

Wanted: Small Government for 11/04/2008

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Up until the 1930s, the United States maintained a small federal government that mostly focused on the limited number of things the Constitution authorized it to do.

Americans were responsible for their own food, clothing and shelter, and if they could not take care of themselves, they looked to their extended family, their neighbors, their churches and local governments to give them a h ...

Updated: Tue Nov 04, 2008

Send Your Children to D.C. Public Schools, Mr. President-Elect for 11/12/2008

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Barack and Michelle Obama are poised to commit a classic act of limousine-liberal hypocrisy — in this case, turning their backs on tens of thousands of inner-city kids in Washington, D.C.

Public schools, it seems, are good enough for poor and middle-class families, but not for rich families like the Obamas.

In July, when he addressed the NAACP's annual convention, Sen. Barac ...

Updated: Wed Nov 12, 2008

Trusting Paulson for 11/19/2008

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

President Bush's trusted treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, is setting the stage for the all-Democratic government that comes to power in January to vastly increase government control over our economy.

At an Oct. 23 briefing, CNSNews.com correspondent Fred Lucas asked White House Spokesperson Dana Perino whether Bush wanted there to be a timeline for the Treasury Department to give up th ...

Updated: Wed Nov 19, 2008

Drafting Ken Blackwell for 11/26/2008

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

After Ken Blackwell graduated from college, he did a short stint with the Dallas Cowboys, but soon decided playing professional football was not his destiny. Now some longtime Republican activists are seeking to draft Blackwell, Ohio's former secretary of state, into the race for national Republican Party chairman. They believe it is his destiny to lead the GOP.

Blackwell is seriously co ...

Updated: Wed Nov 26, 2008