July 15, 2018

Twenty-First-Century Immigration Policy for the USA

We hear the saying "we are a nation of immigrants" often.  Historically, this was true up to the 20th century.  It was to our advantage to import many people from several different countries and various parts of the worl...

December 31, 2017

A Closer Look at Apocalyptic Predictions on Trump's Tax Reform

On December 20, Congress passed a historic tax reform and tax cut measure that was signed into law by the president on December 22.  Critics of this measure have been insisting that the reduction in taxes will exacerbate the deficit and long-ter...

October 11, 2017

An Epic Lack of Congressional Fortitude

A few days ago, the Congress passed aid for damage caused by two hurricanes, a three-month continuing resolution, and an extension of the debt ceiling for three more months.  The debt ceiling and calls to raise it come up entirely...

April 12, 2017

A great power solution for the Korean Peninsula

The USS Carl Vinson Task Force is currently steaming toward the Korean Peninsula.  President Xi Jinping of China was recently hosted at Mar-a-Lago by President Trump, and one of the items discussed almost for sure was the recent action by North ...

September 9, 2015

How to Defeat Iran and ISIS without Getting Our Boots Dirty

Sometimes it is hard to keep up with activity in the Middle East without a scorecard. However, if we keep our eye upon the donut and not upon the hole, we can see where our interests lie and how we can influence the action to best serve them. F...

November 1, 2014

In the Middle East, No Permanent Friends. Only Permanent Interests.

President Obama may have indeed dropped the ball in Iraq by not forcing a status of forces agreement and departing too soon, leaving a vacuum.  He also dropped the ball in Syria by not quickly supporting the (non-terrorist) opposition to Assad....

June 29, 2014

The Two-State Solution Pipe Dream

John Kerry used the word “apartheid” and upset a lot of people who should have been upset with him years ago.  However, the focus on his use of that word has obscured the real problem with his thinking, and that of quite a few others...

May 20, 2014

The IRS Scandal: Another Unforeseen Consequence of the 16^th Amendment

The House of Representatives voted last week to hold Lois Lerner in contempt for her failure to testify about her actions involving misuse of the taxing authority to harass and delay the application by certain groups for tax-exempt status. These appl...

December 11, 2012

Fiscal Cliff Poker: Call Obama's Bluff!

The president and the speaker of the House are playing poker.  The imagined stakes are whether we go over the "fiscal cliff" on January 1, 2013.  The actual stakes are the direction of the country -- whether we will see any GDP growth, pu...

November 16, 2012

Once Again, Let's Not Increase the Debt Ceiling

Are our politicians all gutless wonders? Almost two years ago, I suggested that the Congress not increase the debt ceiling.  The debt ceiling was increased.  No budgets were adopted.  Spending continued.  As of November 9, 2012 (t...

August 15, 2011

One More Chance for the House to Save the Economy

Even after agreeing to establish a "Super Committee" and kicking the can down the road, the U.S. House of Representatives still has one more card to play if there are enough Congressmen with guts. FY 2012 begins on October 1st of this year -- a scant...

July 2, 2011

In Government, First, Do No Harm!

The major difference between success in government and success in business is credit for intentions versus credit for results.  Unlike the customer, the electorate is far too forgiving of bad results, so long as the politician or politicians con...

February 23, 2010

Recovery via Spending Cuts, Low Taxes, and Cheaper Government

There is an 800-pound gorilla in the room, and the 535 members of our Congress have done their best for several years to ignore him. However, he is getting bigger and bigger, and he can't be ignored any more.  The same 800-pound gorilla can be s...

January 8, 2010

Don't Tax You. Don't Tax Me. Tax That Guy Behind the Tree!

Politicians like Barack Obama try to make you believe that someone else will pay the tax he wants to impose. For example, President Obama said he will increase taxes only for those making more than $250,000 per year. Other politicians, at other times...