Touch My Junk, Please!

Last updated on: November 19, 2010 at 6:24 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

A lot of commentary has appeared in recent days over the new TSA regulations that call for full-body-scanner nakedness or state-sponsored sexual molestation. On the one hand, I am inclined to think we’re all getting a little carried away here. Do we not want to be safe on our plane flights? Do we not understand that this requires certain sacrifices, certain inconveniences, and that it is the job of the Homeland Security Department and the Transportation Security Administration (otherwise known... Read more

Worth Reading Today – November 16 – What the Midterms Meant, How Bad Data Spreads, and Vernon Grounds

Last updated on: November 18, 2010 at 6:00 am By Timothy Dalrymple

A few items worth reading today: 1. Steven Malanga is an excellent writer for the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal. He’s also an editor for RealClearMarkets, where he reports on the extensive amount of research he’s done into municipal debt. We speak a great deal of federal debt and state debt, but Malanga tells us that the problem runs deeper. “Cities Face a Deepening Fiscal Crisis.” 2. The American Enterprise Institute has a detailed break-down of the midterm election exit polls... Read more

Warren Buffett's Thank You Note – And When Was the Crisis Averted?

Last updated on: November 17, 2010 at 12:23 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

A nice piece in the New York Times today from Warren Buffett, in which he writes a “thank you note” to Uncle Sam for pulling the country away from the brink of utter economic collapse. Knowing that Buffett publicly supported Barack Obama for the presidency, I wondered whether this was an attempt to suggest that criticism of the Obama administration has gone too far. There have been signs that Buffett’s affection for Obama has waned, but I certainly expected that... Read more

More on the Wages of Spin

Last updated on: November 15, 2010 at 11:02 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

I published a column today called The Wages of Spin. It addresses the question of whether the Obama administration has suffered its loss of public confidence due to a poor product (its legislative initiatives) or a poor sales pitch (the public relations effort explaining those initiatives and the (ostensibly) manifold ways in which they benefit the American people. To which I answer: YES. The Obama administration has offered a poor product, not because it has not passed momentous legislation but... Read more

The Global Faith Forum – First Thoughts

Last updated on: November 12, 2010 at 10:31 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

Yesterday I arrived at NorthWood Church in Keller, Texas, to attend the Global Faith Forum, which has gathered together leaders of conservative Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities that want to learn how to build relationships with one another and work together for the healing and redemption of the world. Here is an image (h/t) from the first night, of a panel of Christians, Jews and Muslims discussing both their commonalities and their differences. Right now, as I write, pastor Bob... Read more

My Absence

Last updated on: November 12, 2010 at 9:35 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

Just a note that I have been absent for a little over a week now, due to a combination of travel and illness. Today I am in the midst of the second day of the Global Faith Forum, a fascinating event in which conservative Christians, Muslims and Jews are discussing how they can retain the integrity of their beliefs and yet (1) build relationships of mutual respect and (2) work together to serve the cities and the nations in which... Read more

More Election Winners and Losers – Republican Minorities, Republican Women, Women in General, Nepotism, Tea Party Apologists, and California Weed Growers

Last updated on: November 4, 2010 at 12:17 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

Winner: Republican minorities. From Marco Rubio and Nikki Haley to lesser-known figures like David Rivera of Florida and Quico Canseco of Texas, all of whom were victorious on Tuesday. Other minority Republicans ran and lost, including three Asian-Americans (Tran, Chao, Djou). The GOP still needs to do a better job of reaching out to people of color, especially African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans, but it becomes less monochromatic everyday. Loser: Republican women, and women in general. Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman had a... Read more

Election 2010 – Major Winners: DC Democrat Power-Brokers, Republican Party, and (Mostly) the Tea Party

Last updated on: November 3, 2010 at 11:52 am By Timothy Dalrymple

1. Winner: DC Power-Broker Democrats. If you are a Republican, don’t fool yourself. Last night could have been much worse for the Democrats. The loss of the House was a given. But Democrats held onto the Senate, and while Republicans picked up many governorships the Democrats held onto some important ones, California and New York foremost among them. And predictions that Republicans could gain 80 or even 100 were shown to be exaggerated. Democrats also prevented some fantastic Republican candidates... Read more

In Defense of Obstructionism

Last updated on: October 29, 2010 at 8:43 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

When Rush Limbaugh declared, shortly after the election, “I want Obama to fail,” he received a righteous round of condemnation from many people, Left and otherwise. In a moment of financial peril, some said, in the midst of two wars, we should all hope that President Obama succeeds. We should all help him to succeed. Indeed, in the “hope and change” era, Rush’s brand of strident partisanship seemed like an anachronism. In the rush to condemn Rush, there was no... Read more

How Harry Potter Brings the Devil Near

Last updated on: October 28, 2010 at 8:58 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

With the election around the corner, and (appropriately?) Halloween this weekend, I am feeling the need for something a little different. Therefore I offer a piece I wrote some time ago (before the social media buttons were installed, so ignore those). For those of you who know me for my political writing, well, forgive a little writing of a different character: I can date precisely when my dangerous dalliance with Harry Potter began. I had seen the news stories, of... Read more