The first week of the Trump administration was a vindication of the American nation-state. Anyone who thought it was a “borderless world,” a category that includes some significant portion of the country’s corporate and intellectual elite, was disabused of the notion within about the first five days of the Trump years. The theme running throughout […]
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Moral stupidity, lack of compassion on display
A few thoughts on the lonely death of Naika Venant. As you may have heard, Naika, a Miami teenager, hanged herself in the dark hours of a Sunday morning. She did this live on Facebook. We’ll likely never know why she chose to do it that way. Perhaps she felt invisible. Perhaps she wanted to […]
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President’s actions push nation in new directions
“It’s a new dawn It’s a new day It’s a new life For me And I’m feeling good.” — “Feeling Good” President Trump’s critics are finding it difficult to stay focused following a flurry of actions taken by the new American CEO. In just the first two working days of the new administration, the president […]
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Trump looks to change America’s role
NEW YORK — In his first days in office, Donald Trump has begun to reverse the domestic policies of the previous eight years. But with regard to America’s relations with the world, Trump seems far more radical. In word and deed, he appears to be walking away from the idea of America at the center […]
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Abandoning global leadership could prove perilous for U.S.
WASHINGTON — The flurry of bold executive orders and of highly provocative Cabinet nominations (such as a secretary of education who actually believes in school choice) has been encouraging to conservative skeptics of Donald Trump. But it shouldn’t erase the troubling memory of one major element of Trump’s inaugural address. The foreign policy section has […]
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Puzder the right man for Labor Dept.
While President Donald Trump has been inaugurated, his cabinet nominees are undergoing another week of grueling confirmation hearings. Proponents hope that they can quickly be confirmed and get started bringing reforms to increase American prosperity — and more specifically, bolster small businesses in Maine. At the top of the list of nominees who can help […]
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Taking comfort where it can be found
It’s still hard wrapping my brain around the words “President Donald Trump” — but there are strategies for moving in that direction. Indeed, I’ve come up with three comforting thoughts about the next how-many years. 1) Trump has no fixed principles. He’s not a real conservative, which presents some interesting possibilities for those of a […]
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Washington becomes redistribution facility
“For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth.” — President Donald Trump, Jan. 20. Washington is not a swamp. Since at least the days of Jimmy Carter, presidential politicians […]
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Response to China push long overdue
Since the 1990s, China has insistently waged a slow and deliberate imperial war of territorial expansion in the South China Sea. “Imperial war” is the apt description. China exhibits classic imperial ambition. Using economic, diplomatic and military muscle (camouflaged by propaganda), Beijing adds territory to its imperial dominion at the expense of less powerful neighbors. […]
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Call ‘alternative facts’ what they are
This president lies. Granted, every president tells the occasional politically expedient untruth. But this guy is different. He lies constantly. He lies about relatively unimportant things. He lies when the truth can be easily verified. None of this comes as a surprise, of course. It’s been obvious since long before Donald Trump took the oath […]