Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously described the US Constitution as “made for people of fundamentally differing views.” (Lochner v. New York dissent) By that, he meant that the Constitution does not commit the nation to any particular ideological or economic theory, including laissez-faire capitalism. Instead it leaves decisions about national policy to the democratic process, subject to the constraints of the Bill of Rights. Within the range of ordinary politics, Holmes was correct: Americans can decide, through their elected representatives, to have high taxes or low, generous welfare payments or a basic social safety net, government-owned enterprises or privatization, heavy-handed or light-touch regulation. That is the difference between democratic socialism and a largely free-enterprise economy.
Why should America anchor Germany's defense? It cuts deals with Russia, has never met its NATO commitment, and is the most anti-American nation in Europe.
James Sweeney explains the differences between crises present and past, and suggests ways California can better balance population and environmental concerns.
by David Brady, Brett Parkervia Real Clear Politics
Thursday, August 20, 2020
In mid-August of 2016, YouGov polling placed Hillary Clinton six percentage points ahead of Donald Trump among registered voters (41%-35%). Four years later, Joe Biden also leads Trump in mid-August YouGov polling -- only this time, the lead is about 10 points. Everyone knows what happened to Clinton’s late-summer advantage. Biden supporters naturally wonder whether their lead is any more secure.
Achieving a nuclear-free world starts with a joint effort from nuclear-capable countries to mitigate the factors that drive nations to possess these weapons.
The final report on Russian electoral interference by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence notes “several ways in which hostile actors [are] able to capitalize on gaps in laws or norms and exert influence.” And it highlights in particular the problem posed by “a campaign’s status as a private entity intertwined with the structures of democracy.” The report calls on campaigns to build protections against becoming channels for illicit foreign state influence.
On August 17, 2020, California’s Governor Newsom signed into law a requirement that every student enrolled in any of the 23 California State University Campuses take a course on ethnic studies as a graduation requirement. Options include courses on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina and Latino Americans.
Hoover Institution fellow Victor Davis Hanson discusses President Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention as well as the overall message of the Democrats.
Hoover Institution fellow Richard Epstein discusses the virtual Democratic National Convention and how well it is conveying its message and inspiring voters.
These days it seems there is not much good news out there. People are still panicked over the coronavirus, governments are still trampling civil liberties in the name of fighting the virus, the economy — already teetering on the edge of collapse — has been kicked to the ground by what history may record as one of the worst man-made disasters of all time: shutting down the country to fight a cold virus.
Bjorn Lomborg’s new book, False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor and Fails to Fix the Problem, makes so persuasively clear that ordinary people have been needlessly terrified by those who falsely decree that the apocalypse is upon us.
JK Rowling, Scarlett Johansson, Jodie Comer, Kanye West. All have been ‘cancelled’ – denounced on social media for doing or saying something considered wrong or offensive, often on matters to do with race or gender. And it’s not just celebrities who have been targeted. Senior journalists and academics, as well as ordinary citizens, have lost their jobs amid storms of protest. Some people have pushed back.
