Education Policy & the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary

Education Policy & the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary by Dr. Ted Williams III.  MGB: The issue of school choice could largely be settled if a requirement to receive funds under the program were some kind of teacher representation, if not outright unionization.  This might do the teachers unions some good, since it would mean that not every local would be dominated by Democratic Party politics - which is a particular Republican concern.  Breaking the power of the NEA and ATF is part of the Republican educational agenda and this is an essential fact of education policy that must be noted.  As for improving education - until under-served parents are paid to undertake remedial education, whether it is for English literacy or remediation to replace welfare reform - there is not much else that will work.

How Big Is Too Big? | Capital Commentary

How Big Is Too Big? | Capital Commentary by Stephen V. Monsma.  MGB: There is a difference between stupid libertarianism and smart libertarianism. Stupid libertarians believe that if only government were ended, people would do the right thing as free people. Smart libertarians first develop non-governmental alternatives, such as a private law practice to fund suits against polluters, coordinated institutions to raise money for PEPFAR, business associations to do non-governmental standard setting so the government does not have to and a living wage in employee owned companies so that each family can afford an additional child (with a tax redistribution scheme to make sure it happens in firms which don't).


As for abortion, the question is not whether liberals favor abortion rights but whether the conservatives have any well developed proposals (or even a vision statement) to actually change the status quo (they really don't). On contraception, this was a stunt on both sides, considering that policies that include preventative care have all included contraception since 2000 according to EEOC regulations. All that is changing is the copayment.

Republican Arguments for Social Mobility and the Common Good | Capital Commentary

Republican Arguments for Social Mobility and the Common Good | Capital Commentary by Michael Gerson.  MGB: The problem is not so much current K-12 schools.  Usually when Republicans mention these, they are about to attack teacher unions.  The real problem is that the parents of low income schools have deficient educatons.  Educating them rather than training them for low wage jobs or prison industries will yield stronger results.  While Catholic schools can certainly play a part in that (although they have been decidedly absent from the adult education, votech world), massive reform is necessary to undo what Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton agreed on in 1997.

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters, Part III: Democracy in Tunisia | Capital Commentary

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters, Part III: Democracy in Tunisia | Capital Commentary by Chris Seiple.  MGB: We need to send representatives who are either Muslim or who have the respect of Muslims.  General Wes Clark comes to mind as a special emissary for both MED and Afghanistan-Pakistan.

Honoring God on Election Day and Beyond | Capital Commentary

Honoring God on Election Day and Beyond | Capital Commentary by Amy E. Black.  MGB: A good tool for voting is partisanship, as the electoral slate of candidates from a party share views on a variety of issues and are supported by a constituency which also agrees on these views.  If you are still unsatisfied with the mix of views and cannot support any one party, then the necessary next step is working with others who share your views to establish one, as there are likely others who share your views.  This seems to be the next step in the Christian Democratic movement in the United States, which might be the lynch pin in bringing in both the Libertarians and the Greens into a single coalition.  This will be easier as the Republican Party moves toward minority status of aging white mailes.

Environmental Policy in the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary

Environmental Policy in the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary by Rusty Pritchard.  MGB: The biggest burden comes from cars and until a reasonable alternative is found, people won't give up their gas guzzlers.  Luckily, one is avaiable.  We could create a system of electric cars powered from overhead lines which also control their routing using existing technology with far fewer emission sources.  If hydorelectric and nuclear are maximized, this could be done with zero emissions.  Until oil is actually gone, however, there will be no movement in this direction absent truly bold leadership.  Neither technocrat in the race will go that far.

Religion, Abortion and the Role of Government | Capital Commentary

Religion, Abortion and the Role of Government | Capital Commentary by Timothy Sherratt.  MGB: The author misses the point on why abortion is legal.  Privacy applies to a relationship to which no third person is a party, that person being the child, because the child is not recognized as a person before the law.  Until the movement puts forward a cogent proposal to change that status, there is no real issue to discuss on abortion.  More in keeping with a Christian Democratic soluton, supportive care to parents can be provided to not only get through the pregnancy, but to support the child until maturity without the parents having to give up their future - necessitating a much more robust program of income support than is currently customary in the United States - although it is quite common in European democracies.

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters on the Frontlines of Change, Part II: Dialogue with Islamists and Salafis | Capital Commentary

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters on the Frontlines of Change, Part II: Dialogue with Islamists and Salafis | Capital Commentary by Chris Sieple.  MGB: In the end, when dealing with traditionalists, one must address the question of the role of egotism in religious practice - a belief that you are doing something to meet the needs of God, which cannot be true.  Islam is actually better on this question because of its attitude of surrender to God - however to go the next step of imposing external order in God's name is an extreme act of egotism because it implies that God needs us to do his bidding - just as Satan thought that his worship was supreme to the worship of Jesus because Jesus took the form of a mortal.  All that God does for us is for our benefit, not for His.  That kind of humility is necessary to address why we have moved away from religiously insprired law to mandate conformity within the law, with police structures to enforce them rather than moral suasion. 

Principles for Health Care Policy: A Guide for Voters | Capital Commentary

Principles for Health Care Policy: A Guide for Voters | Capital Commentary by Leah Anderson.  MGB: The bottom line is that no part of Obamacare should be repealed unless something of sufficient detail is passed in its place.  I suspect that because Obamacare is based on Romneycare, the universe of changes will be small.  What is telling about this debate is that Romney states that its main fault is that it taxes the middle class too heavily.  As far as we know, however, the only real tax increase is an expansion of Hospital Insurance taxes and an additional health care levy on non-wage (or unearned) income for families making more than $250,000.  If this is Romney's idea of being middle class, it is very telling on how he sees society, since one must be in the top 2% of taxpayers to make that much money.  That may be middle class in Romney's neighborhood - however others call that at least well-off if not simply wealthy.

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters on the Frontlines of Change, Part I: Democracy Matures from Within | Capital Commentary

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters on the Frontlines of Change, Part I: Democracy Matures from Within | Capital Commentary by Chris Seiple.  MGB: Wise words in a world dominated by the 24-hour news cycle (with al Jazeera being no exception).

Election Guide 2012: Immigration Reform | Capital Commentary

Election Guide 2012: Immigration Reform | Capital Commentary by Ruth Melkonian-Hoover.  MGB: Determining Romney's position on any issue is a dubious exercise and sadly he appears in part to be pandering to his base.  This issue really has some teeth in more local races for House, Senate and state government offices.  It is largely where the parties differentiate themselves regardless of the top of the ticket.  Efforts by the GOP to torn back the hands of time will not bear fruit in either the short or long term, in much the same way that their attempts at voter ID as voter suppression will also fall flat with voters, particularly Latinos.

French-style Polarization in the U.S.? | Capital Commentary

French-style Polarization in the U.S.? | Capital Commentary by David T. Koyzis.  MGB: The biggest dividing line is not so much religion as age.  While there are certainly young trads and Randians and old liberals, by and large the split in the culture and the seismic shift in social relations is on the lines of age.  Religion will, of course, survive, but it will not be organized along the models the old hierarchs cling to, especially in the Catholic Church.