LOS ANGELES — Among the charges leveled against King George III on July 4, 1776, in the Declaration of Independence was this one: "He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Land." So it was ever thus here in the New World. The immigration debate goes on 234 years later. In 1776, there were a little over 2 million people in Great Britain's American colonies. More were needed to fill the……Continue Reading Naturalized On The Fourth Of July
Tag: richard reeves
Let Us Now Praise Famous Conspiracy Theories
WASHINGTON — Last Saturday morning, Mike Allen's Politico Playbook, the early-morning blog Washington whisperers wake up to, began this way: "IF YOU READ ONLY ONE STORY — N.Y. Times 2-col. lead, 'Karzai Is Said to Doubt West Can Defeat Taliban,' by Dexter Filkins, in Kabul: President Hamid Karzai 'has been pressing to strike his own deal with the Taliban and the country's archrival, Pakistan … Mr. Karzai's maneuverings involve secret negotiations with the Taliban outside the purview of American and NATO officials. … People close to the president say he began to lose confidence in the Americans last summer. …'"……Continue Reading Let Us Now Praise Famous Conspiracy Theories
The California Winners: Corporate Power
LOS ANGELES — You can't fool all the people all the time, only about 48 percent. That, rather than the triumph of women billionaires, may be the abiding lesson of California's spring elections this year. Yes, Meg Whitman, formerly of eBay, showed that you can win a Republican primary for governor by spending about $80 a voter. And Carly Fiorina, formerly of Hewlett-Packard, showed that it could be done for only $20 a voter in the same party's Senate primary. Interesting, maybe a corporate takeover of government, but hardly new or surprising. More interesting this year was the defeat of……Continue Reading The California Winners: Corporate Power
Where the Buck Stops
Senior Fellow Richard Reeves has published his latest article available in syndication and on Yahoo! News. This week, he examines President Obama's measures to contain the Gulf Coast oil leak…….Continue Reading Where the Buck Stops
Where Does The Buck Stop?
LOS ANGELES — President Obama, in an impossible position, decided to take a page from the Harry Truman-John F. Kennedy playbook as oil fouled the Gulf of Mexico and the second year of his presidency. "The Buck Stops Here" read the sign on Truman's desk in the Oval Office. "I am the responsible officer of this government," said Kennedy at a press conference after the disaster of the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. In fact, or in private, Kennedy felt he was the victim of the incompetence and hubris of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint……Continue Reading Where Does The Buck Stop?
Pentagon Papers II
Senior Fellow Richard Reeves published an OpEd article for Yahoo! about the current state of Afghanistan's government and the foreseeable issues of the future…….Continue Reading Pentagon Papers II
Republican political bubble may lose hot air
LOS ANGELES — In a rather charming video at randpaul2010.com, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Kentucky, Rand Paul himself, a libertarian by birthright, says that he was not named for Ayn Rand. The writer is acclaimed as a prophet by many libertarians, although she once said she would rather vote for the Marx Brothers than a libertarian. No, says Paul. The candidate chuckles and says his first name was actually "Randal." His wife called him "Rand" and it stuck. He goes on to express great admiration for the other Rand, the lady who invented "Objectivism" as……Continue Reading Republican political bubble may lose hot air
Why Washington Doesn’t Work Anymore
What killed bipartisanship in the governing of America? Basically, I think, it was the jet plane and Blackberries. In fact, those two mechanical marvels may break up the whole nation into, say, 350 million countries. A country for every man, woman and child. Why can't the representatives of we, the people, agree on even the things they agree on? The answer is that they don't know each other. In the old days there was a community called Washington — or maybe just Georgetown — where Republicans and Democrats lived together. They carpooled. They had dinner with each other and exchanged……Continue Reading Why Washington Doesn’t Work Anymore
An Audience Of One
Most of what you read, see and hear about Afghanistan is not meant for you. The words, optimistic and pessimistic, right and wrong, all the leaks, all the numbers of troop estimates, costs and polls are aimed at an audience of one: the president. It is very hard to get to chat with any president. But any president has to know what is in the big three of American newspapers (or their Web sites): The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal. And those papers right now are filled with shouting and whispering to President Obama. The……Continue Reading An Audience Of One
Galbraith recommends no troop surge in Afghanistan at Day Two of Global Communication Leadership Forum
Former U.N. Deputy Special Representative to Afghanistan Peter Galbraith criticized the U.S. government's handling of the war in Afghanistan and said because of the country's recent presidential election, he does not recommend sending more troops. "The core issue is that Obama's strategy relies on having a reliable partner," he said. "A president who is not believed to be legitimate is not a reliable partner. We have to remember that troops are a valuable resource, and if the resource cannot be effectively used, it shouldn't be used. As you can see, I'm not wildly optimistic."……Continue Reading Galbraith recommends no troop surge in Afghanistan at Day Two of Global Communication Leadership Forum