Newly elected Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky made one of the most important statements since the election: “America is exceptional. But it is not inherently so. America is exceptional because we embraced freedom. Because we enshrined it in our documents, … Continue reading
Don’t give mistakes more power than they deserve. Usually, if you’re conscientious, you don’t make major mistakes. When you do, learn from them. Learn from them, but don’t dwell on them. Dwelling on them won’t change them and won’t make … Continue reading
Some recent good news in a column by L. Gordon Crovitz, earlier this week: Crovitz wrote: As a reminder of unpredictability in politics, consider what happened when the Progressive Change Campaign Committee last month announced that 95 candidates for Congress … Continue reading
Of all the new faces in the new House of Representatives, the only one — so far — to not speak the Republican dialect of “Washingtonspeak” is Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin. Ryan has been in Congress for a decade, but he’s about … Continue reading
Dear Dr. Hurd: My concern with the Tea Party “uprising” is that they are making demands (reduced taxes/government spending), yet they have not properly articulated just how to go about it. Remember what Ayn Rand said about such rudderless demands; … Continue reading
There’s danger ahead. And its name is Donald Trump. In recent interviews, Trump has been claiming that there are two things wrong with government policy. The first, he says, is that the stimulus bill should have been used for roads, … Continue reading
Some people blame Obama’s failures on being “too ideological.” This is equivalent to saying: “Obama is failing because he has ideas.” Ridiculous. Nobody in politics — or anything else — fails for having ideas. People fail for having BAD ideas. … Continue reading
What will Barack do now that he’s lost much of his power in Congress? The premise of this question is wrong. The premise of this question is that he cares about whether or not he has power in Congress. He … Continue reading
As expected, Republicans now have more control of the government than before. Their gains in the House of Representatives, at least, are substantial. The more important news is that some Republicans actually do appear to stand for something different from … Continue reading
Reality: Unemployment has gone up 2 percent since Obama came to office. All of his economic proposals passed Congress. Democrats’ response: It’s all Bush’s fault. The economy is so bad that even Obama cannot save it. Bush destroyed everything. Still, … Continue reading
Don’t be too bogged down by bad, harsh or aggressive, nasty people. They’re weak. They don’t have much influence in the world, at least not the kind that’s of any use. They put others down, but they don’t create or … Continue reading
Q: I know you wrote that shame isn’t productive, but I still have a problem with shame. I tend to dwell on regrets over my mistakes. How can I stop this? A: People make mistakes and the important thing is … Continue reading