by jpitney | Feb 19, 2025 | Foreign Policy, Reagan, Russia
Ronald Reagan, 1983: It was C. S. Lewis who, in his unforgettable “Screwtape Letters,” wrote: “The greatest evil is not done now in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is not even done in concentration camps and...
by jpitney | Feb 18, 2025 | Claremont McKenna College, Technology
by jpitney | Feb 17, 2025 | 2776, California Politics, Congress, Declaration of Independence, Disabilities, Dreier, Emergency, Environment, Race, Redistricting, Trade, Transparency, Vaccine
Jenny Jarvie and Grace Toohey at LAT: What went wrong with L.A. county’s warnings and evacuations is now the subject of two different investigations after Times reporting found that emergency wireless alerts went out to west Altadena almost five hours after fire began...
by jpitney | Feb 16, 2025 | Congress, Presidency, Separation of Powers, Transparency, Volunteering
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: It is clear from the Trump-Musk blitz that the president wanted to swiftly impose his will through executive orders before the courts and Congress could catch-up and reverse them. Musk’s DOGE team serves as a “heat shield” for the...
by jpitney | Feb 15, 2025 | Claremont McKenna College, Higher Education, Republican
Henry Long at The CMC Forum: Recently, The Forum obtained access to California voter registration data to determine the political party affiliations of professors across the Claremont Colleges. The data encompass counties within a 50-mile radius of the Claremont...
by jpitney | Feb 13, 2025 | civic virtue
George Thomas at The Atlantic: The founding generation’s fear of demagogues is well known. Alexander Hamilton insisted on the problem in Federalist No. 1: “Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by...
by jpitney | Feb 12, 2025 | Economic Policy, Trade
Jeff Luse at Reason: The U.S. is the second-largest steel importer in the world, according to the International Trade Administration. In 2023, the U.S. imported 25.6 million metric tons of steel and exported a little more than 8.2 million metric tons. About half of...
by jpitney | Feb 10, 2025 | Congress, House of Representatives, Senate, Transparency, Uncategorized, Volunteering
Philip Wallach at AEI: Key Points The 118th Congress passed 274 laws, fewer than any other since the Civil War. Other metrics confirm its poor productivity. It was also among the most omnibus-dependent congresses in American history. Especially in the House of...
by jpitney | Feb 9, 2025 | Congress, Elections, House of Representatives, Transparency, Volunteering
Mike Johnson: I believe that Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have character and respect for their respective houses of Congress. I believe that of democratic leaders, as well, such as Hakeem Jeffries and senior statemen such as Steny Hoyer....
by jpitney | Feb 8, 2025 | Congress, Elections, House of Representatives, Transparency, Volunteering
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: Former Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (D-Texas) and House Speaker Sam Rayburn (D-Texas) were great party leaders in their time. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) probably comes closest to their caliber of leadership in...
