Rapid decline of the US empire?
In this ...
New law doesn’t make health coverage a right
Today at the White House, President Obama signed into law the healthcare reform bill. Towards the end of his speech to mark the occasion, Obama said: “We have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when ...
Battle over humanism at the science museum
The New York Times published an excellent article by Edward Rothstein last week on the science museum. He visited science museums in the US and internationally, and discovered a variety of conflicting approaches, which he speculates may be “a sign of the science museum’s struggle to define itself.”
One of ...
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 ...
ABOUT SEAN COLLINS
I write about American current affairs for Spiked, the online magazine. I am a native New Yorker, and I divide my time between New York City and upstate New York.
In addition to articles for Spiked, The Australian and other publications, I contributed an essay, "BDS: Demonizing Israel, Destroying Free Speech," for the book Unsafe Space: The Crisis of Free Speech on Campus (2016). I also wrote a chapter on New York City's economy for the book London After Recession: A Fictitious Capital? (2012).
My writings have been cited in American Conservative, Arts & Letters Daily, the Financial Times, Fox News, the Huffington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, the New York Times, Real Clear Politics, and the Times of London, among other media.
For more about The American Situation site, go here.
