Editorials

The Background That Made the Revolution Possible

The Background That Made the Revolution Possible As we inch toward the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, let me share a couple of reflections on the background of how this extraordinary, unprecedented and daring event succeeded. Two decades ago, I set out to write a book about the events known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89. I suspected that this revolution -- the ouster of the Catholic King James II of England and the installation of his Protestant son-in-law (and nephew) William III and daughter Mary I -- was helpful, perhaps a necessary ...

War and Constitutional Indifference

Since its inception, the government of the United States has inexorably exceeded its powers under the Constitution. All three branches have been complicit in a consistent pattern of constitutional indifference. Congress has regulated in areas of governance nowhere articulated in the Constitution. Its general regulatory powers were granted to address interstate commerce, but during the FDR years, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress can regulate events that affect interstate commerce. This has resulted in federal regulation of matters too infinitesimal to measure, that are not ...

On Iran Trump gets a mulligan (a do over)

To borrow a golf term, President Donald Trump has finally agreed to take a "mulligan" per the war in Iran. Sadly, it was the most expensive mulligan in history, potentially amounting to half a trillion dollars, the deaths of 13 American service members, increased fuel costs, a major reduction in our military weaponry, and a near depletion of our Strategic Oil Reserve. In a friendly game of golf when you hit the ball in the woods you ask for a mulligan in most cases. As a professional golfer, when this happens, you are given a choice: You can ask for a "drop" which will cost you shots or ...

Editorial Cartoon

World Cup Visitors Get It; The Pope and Socialists Don’t

Several things have taken place over the past week that shore up the importance of understanding what has truly made the United States of America the most prosperous country in human history. First, we have the foreigners visiting the U.S. to cheer on their teams in this year's World Cup soccer championship. As I wrote last week, it's been heartwarming to see how much these people love America, and how surprised they've been to find that Americans are warm, welcoming, generous and kind people. Another aspect of America that has astonished our guests is the number, size and variety of ...

A look at the past

Research for a project like our upcoming America 250 publication is always interesting work. It is interesting to look back at old newspapers and see what the important issues of the time were. The challenge, of course, is that it is hard to stay on task, and the temptation to read through all of the old stories and study the old pictures is usually too great. It can turn what starts out as a straightforward search for a specific topic into many minutes spent reading about the past. That was the case when a copy of our Progress Edition from 1975 turned up. Dated Feb. 28 of that year, ...