Healthcare bill: this is not History with a capital H

The health reforms in the US are neither historic nor disastrous. They simply show what ‘Change’ means under Obama: tinkering on the edges.
Read my spiked article in full here.
Health reform victory for Obama: the pundits over-react again
A healthcare reform bill has finally passed, just barely. After a last-minute deal to secure the anti-abortion Democrats, the House passed the health bill by just three votes more than necessary.
Just a day or so ago, many pundits presented Obama’s presidency as on the rocks. He is not only redeemed by the ...
March Madness!

Pictured above: Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson
March Madness is here!
The NCAA college basketball tournament has to be one of the most exciting sports times of the year. It’s also a time when employers generally look the other way as employees fill in their brackets in office betting pools. Apparently, the US economy ...
This week’s articles of note
“The real danger of debt,” Foreign Policy, by Richard A. Posner
“Midwest success stories,” New Geography, by Aaron M. Renn
“Saviors & sovereigns: the rise and fall of humanitarianism,” World Affairs, by Mark Mazower
“Who’s still biased?” The Boston Globe, by Drake Bennett
“How not to prosecute a sexting ...
To US critics of China’s currency: get your own house in order

The noise coming from the US about China’s supposed “manipulation” of its currency, the yuan (also referred to as the renminbi), has become noticeably louder this past week.
Since July 2008, ...
“Jihad Jane” and the politics of fear

Far from “keeping America safe”, the elite’s depiction of the US as fragile and at-risk makes even lonely weirdos seem like a deadly threat.
Read my spiked article in full here.
Curbing short-selling is shooting the messenger
Towards the end of February, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted, by a 3-to-2 margin, to restrict the “short-selling” of stocks when they are declining rapidly. This is the result of fear on the part of regulators that the process of deleveraging could get out of control. But it only puts ...
St. Patrick’s Day in New York

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, which means that Manhattan was a sea of green for the parade.
It’s claimed that New York’s parade is the world’s largest for St. Patty’s, with about 150,000 marchers and 2 million ...
Did I mention that JihadJane is from the suburbs?
You’ve probably heard of JihadJane, the internet name of Colleen R. LaRose.
JihadJane is an American woman who is accused of joining with Islamic militants overseas and plotting to kill the Swedish cartoonist who drew Mohammed’s head on the body of a dog. Her arrest by federal prosecutors sent ripple waves across ...
Tiger Woods is a golfer. Let him golf
Tiger Woods has announced that he will return to golf at the Masters in April. This has led a number of commentators to question his decision.
Mike Walker at golf.com says the Masters is “sports at its best” while the Tiger saga is “sports at its worst”, and the Masters is likely to suffer ...