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Politics of economic redistribution

Whatever happened to the Democrats’ reputation as the party favoring the working man? Put another way, what happened to the Democrats as the party promising economic redistribution from the rich to the average man? Those are questions that Democrats are asking after Vice President Kamala Harris’ decisive, but not landslide, loss to President-elect Donald Trump. Her economic policies were obviously thin gruel. Her $25,000 payment to first-time homebuyers would be vacuumed up by sellers, her ban on “price gouging” was directed at notoriously competitive grocery chains, and her ...

If we can reelect, we can be honest

En route to visit family in South Texas for Thanksgiving, we stopped in San Antonio to enjoy the riverwalk and take our 9-year-old son to the Alamo. Most kids in America learn the story of the Alamo in history class at some point. If you’re a student in Texas, the state is really particular about how that 1836 battle at the old Spanish Mission (and the rest of Texas history) gets taught. Perhaps this is why I did not find a single mention of slavery on the placards or timelines displayed when we visited. I had suspected as much and came prepared with a copy of the 2021 bestseller ...

What the headlines missed

In a shocking development last week, Amnesty International effectively exonerated Israel of genocide. This was easy to miss, and not just because of the recent crush of news. Amnesty’s report, titled “ ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza,” buried the lede, as journalists say. And most of the media coverage reflected that. The New York Times’ headline read: “Amnesty International Accuses Israel of Genocide in Gaza.” The Los Angeles Times’ was similar: “Amnesty International says Israel is committing genocide in ...

What Cheney deserves from Biden

When she was a member of Congress, former Representative Liz Cheney took positions on many issues that I abhorred. I suspect you did, too. But on the transcendent issue of American democracy and Trump’s culpability in trying to destroy it, she’s been a rare voice of clarity and courage — and continues to be. Yesterday, Cheney called out Trump’s threat, which he made on “Meet the Press,” to imprison her and other members of the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. She said Trump’s threat was an “assault on the rule of law ...

Resurgence in the heart of the rebellion

The making of whiskey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, has often been fraught with a fair amount of drama. Whether it was those trying to make it or those trying to drink it, the government has sought to tax and sometimes even ban both activities. Two hundred thirty years ago, William Findley, a Revolutionary War hero, farmer and statesman, drew the wrath of Alexander Hamilton over the severe measures the Treasury Department placed on Pennsylvania farmers who opposed the newly enacted federal whiskey excise tax. Findley, who lived in Latrobe, petitioned the new government to repeal the 1791 ...

Pardoning the unpardonable

Media reports say President Biden is about to issue a slew of blanket pre-emptive pardons for people associated with his administration to thwart any “revenge” the incoming Trump administration might take against them. While the Founders intended presidential power to be nearly unlimited (there is an exception for a president who has been impeached), their intent was quite different from its use by modern presidents. Colleen Shogan of the Rubenstein Center has written: “While the pardon power is robust, there are ... important limitations,” among them is that “a crime must ...