Point-Counterpoint Articles

In the past few weeks, Rush Limbaugh has proven conclusively that he is the head of the Republican Party and speaks for all conservatives.  Indeed, the connection between all Republicans and Rush is so strong that when he eats buffalo wings every Republican in the country gets heartburn.  What most people still don’t realize is that Rush Limbaugh is actually in charge of the entire country.  He has constructed an alternate power structure by infiltrating talk-radio-obsessed conservative zombies into key government agencies.  Over the past two months, he has been re

The debate over what to do with the Guantanamo detainees has devolved into a whiny cry-fest for both sides of the partisan debate.  Some whimper about the supposed rights of these non-citizens, while others belly-ache about security concerns and want to waste good money caring for them in Guantanamo.  I, for one, am disappointed that no one seems to have considered all of the useful things your country could do with these prisoners.  Having conquered an empire much more vast than your puny conquests in the Middle East, I know a thing or two about how to make profitable use of

While criticism of George W. Bush has grown redundant in today's climate of Bush-bashing, most of his accomplishments remain overlooked. Defining success by public approval ratings, of course, yields a poor result. However, Harry Truman, who left office with approval ratings almost as low as those of Bush, now is credited with achieving victory in World War II, the genius execution of the Marshall Plan, and pioneering containment that secured our eventual victory in the Cold War. Perhaps Bush will find a similar vindication after an objective review of his achievements.

The regulation debate has started again in the United States. The recent financial crisis has caused scholars to return to the question of whether or not, and how much, the government should meddle in the financial markets. While defenders of significant government intervention operate under flawed assumptions according to neoclassical economic theory, so too do defenders of complete financial deregulation. Minimal, but well-designed, regulation is required in order to guarantee a properly-functioning market.

Imagine if you will, the primitive steppes of Mongolia circa 1200 AD. Imagine Merchants and traders robbing and killing each other, men abducting the women of their slain foes, and the strong crushing the weak under their jackbooted domination. Now imagine a level of anarchy a million times worse than that and you will begin to appreciate the vicious, unfettered credit markets on the eve of the current financial crisis.

John McCain once remarked that his opponent, Barack Obama, would “rather lose a war than lose an election.” Obama, he claimed, was willing to knowingly support counterproductive policies in order to increase his chances of winning the Presidency. Given the Republican vice presidential nomination of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, it appears that the McCain campaign has now taken the same approach.