The “FairTax” Fraud

Bruce Bartlett tax a look at the latest scam to harness the power of antitax sentiment without actually cutting taxes, the so-called FairTax. Something in general that the not-very-rich, which is most of us, should keep in mind: any revenue-neutral tax reform is going to be a massive tax hike on people like you and [...]

President Alden Pyle

Greg Mitchell of Editor and Publisher comments on George W. Bush’s rather surprising invocation of Graham Greene in his speech earlier this month to the VFW in Kansas City: Greene’s novel, in any case, pits the cynical, apolitical newspaperman (who has a Vietnamese girlfriend and an opium habit) against the Pyle character, who seems to [...]

A Karl Rove Postmortem

I guess this makes Joshua Green’s article in the September Atlantic, a look at what went wrong with “The Rove Presidency,” even more timely. (The same issue also includes Matthew Scully’s much discussed debunking of the myths surrounding his fellow Bush speechwriter,Michael Gerson. It’s well worth picking up.) Green attributes much of the Karl Rove [...]

Huckabee Spent $58 Per Vote

…according to USA Today, which also crunches the numbers for Romney and Brownback.  If Huckabee were able to raise some money, he could indeed turn himself into a top-tier candidate.  He’d have to concentrate on Iowa and spend millions there, with the aim of finishing second in the caucuses or even pulling off an upset [...]

Huckabee vs. Brownback

From Time: Brownback, who finished about 400 votes and 3% behind Huckabee, maintained a happy outlook. “The results today are this is a ticket to the caucuses,” he said. “Iowa’s a field of dreams … and I’ve still got the dream.” Fighting for largely the same voters, Huckabee and Brownback’s campaigns sparred frequently during the [...]

Taking Ames

Ron Paul has finished fifth in the Ames straw poll, behind Romney, Huckabee, Brownback, and Tancredo, but ahead of Tommy Thompson, Fred Thompson, Giuliani, Hunter, McCain, and that Cox guy.  Results here. McCain’s abysmal showing suggests just how far his campaign has collapsed. Even though he said he wouldn’t compete, he’s still a big enough [...]

LRC Secedes!

Lew Rockwell’s website is now 501(c)(4), which means that the site, and its writers, don’t have to hold back even an inch in their support for Ron Paul. Of course, as Burt Blumert points out, the change comes at a cost, a $70,000 cost. Donations are no longer tax exempt, but, if anything, the cause [...]

Who’s Arming Iraq’s Insurgents?

Syria? Iran? Or Uncle Sam, who has lost “about 190,000″ pistols and AK-47s? From WaPo: “They really have no idea where they are,” said Rachel Stohl, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information who has studied small-arms trade and received Pentagon briefings on the issue. “It likely means that the United States is [...]

The Taft Club in August

If you’re anywhere near the vicinity of Washington, D.C., consider coming to the meeting of the Robert Taft Club at 8 pm on August 21 at the Boulevard Woodgrill in Arlington, Virginia.  The meeting’s topic will be “The GOP and the Right: Can This Marriage Be Saved?” featuring panelists Terence Jeffrey, W. James Antle III, [...]

Quick Links: Heinlein and Kirk

Thought I would call attention to Brian Doherty’s Reason essay on Heinlein, which is now on-line, and to R. J. Stove’s review of The Essential Russell Kirk, which comes to Kirk with fresh eyes..