David Frum's Blog, page 39

Maggie Won't Jump

Alex Massie (@alexmassie) draws attention to another Thatcher television interview from the archives. In this one, an unfortunate Swedish interviewer asked the prime minister to "jump" literally. Watch.

How Did Continental Europe Get the Welfare State?

In a thought-provoking review of a new book on the legacy of Vichy France, Robert O. Paxton reminds us that the continental European welfare state

Bassem Youssef, Egypt's Jon Stewart, Harassed for Being Offensive

"Freedom activists" (kidding: they're definitely not) in Egypt are trying to punish Bassem Youssef for making fun of people, ideas, and Pakistan... aka, what I do on most weekdays. Remind me never to travel to Egypt.

The Cost of Using Rail Instead of Pipelines to Move Oil

As I briefly mentioned in a recent post about the burgeoning rail industry, oil from the Bakken Shale in North Dakota is largely transported by rail. According to a Bloomberg story, we should be using pipelines as much as possible if we want to prevent spills, especially with the soon to be decided Keystone XL pipeline.

Bravo to Rand Paul for Speaking at Howard University

I'm not the world's leading Rand Paul fan, to put it mildly, but good for him for speaking at Howard University. Now if he can only refrain from explicating why Lincoln was wrong about the Civil War …

The Time Margaret Thatcher Met One of India's 'God Men'

Kapil Komireddi sends the amazing story of the day Margaret Thatcher, not yet prime minister, met one of India's leading "God men," as the Indians amusingly call them. The story comes from the memoirs of K. Natwar Singh, a high-ranking Indian diplomat.

The American Conservative Union Offers to Lobby Against Certain Spending Cuts

I welcome recognition of defense and infrastructure spending as important parts of a modern Republican program. That said, there's something more than a little disturbing about this New York Times report on the recent activities of the American Conservative Union:

Lessons from Sweden on Equal Pay Day

Christina Sommers makes an incisive point at the American Enterprise blog: in a crazy way, Sheryl Sandberg is right about "lean in": if women are given the choice of a "mommy track," many of them will … want to take it.

British Tabloids Can't Quite Agree on How to Mourn Thatcher's Death

The Daily Mail and the Morning Star don't quite agree on the Iron Lady. (Then again, what commie rag would mourn the death of a legendary Tory Prime Minister?)

If You Keep Paying for People to Build Things Where They Shouldn't, They'll Keep Doing It

The New York Times discovers the moral hazard created when the federal government repeatedly provides massive disaster assistance to people who build homes and businesses along our nation's most flood-prone shorelines: