Earlier today I pointed out the troubles Barack Obama is having with skeptics on the political Left who even after his "courageous speech" say he's still in trouble. Well, if early signs like a large-scale Internet poll mean anything, these critics have a strong point. John Hinderaker at Power Line notes an AOL Hot Seat poll that shows an overwhelming percentage of Americans don't think Obama solved "his Jeremiah Wright problem with his speech yesterday." By a margin of 68 to 26 percent. This might be (wait, just might be) the lead weight around Obama's campaign. If this is true, it's because more people are seeing what Jonah Goldberg saw:For all the wonderful rhetoric and tantalizing promise of Obama and his speech, there’s not … [Read more...]
Ohio Can Have Hillary and Terrelle – Colorado Is Just Fine, Thank You
Jim Geraghty looks at the Rasmussen poll data (showing McCain and Obama tied at 46, but McCain clobbering Hillary 52-38) and muses:We've seen Obama running ahead of Hillary in some states, but an 11 or 12 point difference? What's got him so popular there, and her so unpopular? Does Obama come across as a mountain state kind of guy? Is he related to John Elway or something? I don't have a good answer to that question, but many hypotheses abound. Coloradans don't like the old-style Eastern politics that Hillary Clinton represents. Colorado swing voters are more open to vapid liberal platitudes than cynical ones. Frankly, it beats me. Hillary polls terribly unpopular here and would have virtually no chance to win the Centennial State in a … [Read more...]
“What is the relationship of property rights and liberty in general?”
The Independence Institute is producing more Web video content. You've seen the more entertaining side - now here's a 3-minute educational clip by Dr. Paul Prentice about property rights (via The Caldara Blog): Well, somebody had to ask the question to get it going: "What is the relationship of property rights and liberty in general?" Hey, you don't know how long I spent memorizing that line. Method acting - it's called method acting. … [Read more...]
Civil Rights Initiative Upheld
Good news yesterday for the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI). The Detroit News reports that a federal court has rejected legal attempts to undo the same sort of measure that was recently approved by Michigan voters:A federal judge Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of a Michigan law that prohibits racial and gender preferences in government hiring and public university admissions. "To impugn the motives of 58 (percent) of Michigan's electorate, in the absence of extraordinary circumstances which do not exist here, simply is not warranted on this record," U.S. District Judge David Lawson wrote. Michigan voters approved the constitutional amendment known as Proposal 2 in November 2006. Several groups -- including the NAACP … [Read more...]
Obama’s Speech Panned on the Left
Sure, I could sit down this morning and link my readers to a dozen critiques of Barack Obama's Tuesday Jeremiah Wright "damage control" speech from conservative bloggers and other commentators. That wouldn't prove very much, I think. Besides, it would require more time than I have to give a thorough spectrum of responses. Instead, here are a couple of takes from the Left. One not-too-surprising source is Mickey Kaus. On his Slate magazine blog, he highlights the "troubling equivalences" in Obama's speech. One of his more salient observations:In general. Obama's explanations of black anger seem intimate and respectful. His explanations of white anger seem distant and condescending. ("They are anxious about their futures, and feel their … [Read more...]
DC v Heller Argued Today
Oral arguments are being held today before the U.S. Supreme Court in the truly landmark DC v Heller case about the meaning of Second Amendment rights. My Independence Institute and blogging colleague - and writing mentor - David Kopel is sitting with the plaintiffs today as the case is made for gun ownership as a Constitutionally-recognized individual right. You can visit David's website to find a copy of the Institute's amicus brief filed with the high court. You also can head over to iVoices to tune into David's discussion of the case and his trip to Washington, DC, with Jon Caldara. For a quick and insightful summary of what DC v Heller is (and isn't) about, read Prof. Randy Barnett's column in today's Wall Street Journal. Also, … [Read more...]
Passion Week: Tuesday
On the Tuesday before His crucifixion, Christ was famously tested by questions from the religious teachers. Two of his dazzling responses that confounded his questioners (both from the New American Standard Bible): Mark 12:17 And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him. Matthew 22:37-40 And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the prophets." … [Read more...]
Hillman: The Bitter Medicine We Need
Mark Hillman - the rare person in political life (okay, not at the moment) whom I truly admire - writes in the clearest terms about the dose of bitter medicine America needs:The federal debt is more than $5 trillion — $48,359 per household. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We owe another $5 trillion to federal employees and veterans for health care and retirement benefits. However, the cost of retirement and health care programs for the general public really shafts our children and grandchildren. The unfunded cost of providing Social Security and Medicare benefits to everyone alive today is more than $45 trillion. That’s not the total cost; it’s the cost that cannot be covered by existing revenues. The board of trustees … [Read more...]
Liberal Covets PBS Programming?
Liberal columnist Jason Salzman writes in the Saturday Rocky Mountain News:By the time Paul Chesser arrived at the "Environmental Hysteria" cocktail party thrown in his honor Feb. 11 at the "penthouse" of the Independence Institute in Golden, he was feeling pretty good about his day in the Denver media. In his briefing to Republican lawmakers earlier, Chesser had trashed Gov. Bill Ritter's plan to fight global warming, and an article with his views would appear in the next day's Post. Chesser, of the conservative John Locke Foundation, had yakked in the morning with KOA's Mike Rosen. The conservative blogosphere had dutifully transcribed Chesser's anti-environmental message, and he was booked on John Andrews' KNUS talk radio … [Read more...]
Passion Week: Monday
By nearly all scholarly accounts, the following are from passages that happened on the Monday before Christ's crucifixion (both from the New American Standard Bible): Matthew 21:21 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it shall happen. Luke 19:45-46 And He entered the temple and began to cast out those who were selling, saying to them, "It is written, 'AND MY HOUSE SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER,' but you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN." … [Read more...]
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