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Published in the 8/18/2010 Edition of the Wall Street JournalEarlier this year, Barney Frank and Ron Paul convened the Sustainable Defense Task Force, consisting of experts “spanning the ideological spectrum.” They recommended a 10-year, $1 trillion reduction in Pentagon spending that disturbed some in the military-industrial complex. Other members of Congress were surprised by this…
The recent reports by the two deficit commissions—one appointed by President Obama (fiscalcommission.gov) and the other from the private Bipartisan Policy Center (bipartisanpolicy.org)—do not lack specifics. In fact, they are so specific that they obscure the need for a more explicit public philosophy that reveals both their value biases and their establishment thinking. The compositions…
A new cartoon by Matthew Marran appears at: Cartoon By Matthew Marran
November 23, 2010 James E. Lentz, President and CEO Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. 19001 South Western Ave. Torrance, CA 90501 Dear Mr. Lentz: I was disappointed with the unresponsiveness to my October 15, 2010 letter from your public relations Vice President, Mr. Michels. This is not a PR matter. That is what my letter…
A new poll by Zogby International demonstrates the increasing public concern about full-body scanners that use low-level X-rays and extremely invasive pat-downs. Members of Congress and the flying public are just starting to uncover the numerous problems with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s decision to deploy these scanners without adequate public input. Ralph…
After nearly two years out, I can imagine George W. Bush writing his successor the following letter: Dear President Obama: As you know I’ve been peddling my book Decision Points and while doing interviews, people ask me what I think of the job you’re doing. My answer is the same: He deserves to make decisions…
Published in the 11/18/2010 edition of USA Today. To airline passengers: Get ready for naked insecurity. To the Department of Homeland Security: If you thought this week was bad, brace yourself for a tsunami of protests in the days ahead. This month Homeland Security has implemented a new rule calling for extremely invasive pat-downs of…
By suddenly selling much more of the taxpayer owned stock in GM than Washington let on before Tuesday the Obama Administration has made it far less likely that it will fully recover the bailout money when the Treasury Department sells the remaining shares next year. Once again the taxpayers are kept in the dark to…
George W. Bush is on a roll—a money roll with a $7 million advance for his book Decision Points and a rehabilitation roll to paint his war crimes as justifiable mass-slaughter and torture. His carefully chosen interviewers—NBC’s Matt Lauer and Oprah Winfrey—agreed to a safe pre-taping to avoid demonstrations and tough questions. Requests for him…
November 11, 2010 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama, The U.S. government bailout of, and acquisition of a majority share in, General Motors was an exceptional action, taken in response to exceptional circumstances. The U.S. stake in GM obviously poses novel managerial challenges to the…