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Trump and Thune: just you wait

Here in Washington, D.C., we endure slights of the president’s barking, his constant use of capital letters and his ever-present red ties. These are forms of shouting, weapons of psychological warfare that he wields as the master of repetition. Then there’s the 250-foot Arch he plans to build, which would block the view across Arlington Cemetery to the Lincoln Memorial shrine to freedom. But the Greek gods may yet get President Donald Trump for his hubris. Let me explain. When it comes to Senate Republican leader John Thune, Trump had better tread more carefully. The strong ...

It’s on us to choose how to use our freedom

Coincident with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the American Declaration of Independence is the 250th anniversary of the publication of “The Nations.” The full title of Scotsman Adam Smith’s book, published in 1776, is “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.” One might say that in that one year 250 years ago, the American Declaration of Independence provided the road map for political freedom and Adam Smith’s book provided the road map for economic freedom. The result was a great new achievement in the history of ...

President Trump has lost the plot on governance

Republicans don’t want to say this publicly, but privately they do: President Trump’s personal political obsessions are hurting his presidency, harming the chances for policy gains the rest of this year and putting control of the House and Senate in jeopardy. That’s the backdrop to the GOP revolt this week in Congress on war powers and funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Trump’s unrelated priorities are handing Democrats gift after gift and forcing Republicans to take difficult votes that could cost them in November. His desire for political revenge is also ...

Why liberals never need to say ‘sorry’

It’s so easy and comfortable being a liberal. You never have to admit you’re wrong when you’re demonstrably wrong. Neither do you have to be concerned with lack of support, because the liberal establishment — from the news media to your fellow Democrats, academia, “science” and Hollywood elites — are always with you (like The Force). None are about to admit error, so they simply move on to the next cause. For half a century we have been told that the end is near, and if we don’t immediately allow government to impose significant changes on the way we live and use energy ...

The Trump takeover nears its end

Are we almost at the point of no return? Let America be America again, please, in a post-Donald Trump world. Rebuilding our institutions, arts and trust in government is not a sure thing. Given a global economic, environmental or medical crisis, the endeavor could cross country boundaries, as natural historian David Attenborough said, in “an international ambition for survival.” But on the first day of President Trump’s second term, he ruined hundreds of thousands of lives by making Elon Musk cancel all foreign aid and then fire much of the federal career workforce. He also ...

New prediction markets need more oversight

Athletes can’t bet on their own sport, right? That could lead to charges of taking bribes or fraud. Employees of publicly traded companies can’t give stock tips based on nonpublic information. That’s insider trading. There are legal consequences for some people who make money based on information only they have, or on situations over which they have some control. Meanwhile, prediction markets such as Kalshi or Polymarket provide platforms so new there are not yet consequences for many cases in which a person might make money betting on something they know more about than the ...