David Frum's Blog, page 63

Should We Substitute ObamaCare for Medicare?

This post by Avik Roy at National Review Online is worth your time and thought.

Earth to Oberlin

John S. Wilson laments Oberlin College’s response to a recent series of racist and homophobic incidents by canceling classes and having a “Day of Solidarity.” While it is noble that Oberlin cares so much about ending hate crimes, creating “a collegiate version of a ‘Sesame Street’ marathon,” as Wilson puts it, won’t solve the problem. Rather, it actually makes the problem much worse.

Father Ted: Comedy as Liberation

Tom Doran, our Welsh friend, will be writing a regular Friday post on comedy. Here's his first submission. Give it a read, and feel free to abuse him with across-the-pond humor in the comments section.

Barbarism Watch: Saudi Arabia Still Uses Crucifixion

Everything old is new again. You may think crucifixion has gone out of penological style. But not in Saudi Arabia, where a group of seven young men face execution for robbing jewelry stores.

Rand Paul's Superficial Question

At The Week, Jeb Golinkin details just how 100% substance-free was Rand Paul's great publicity stunt.

Nine Dog Pictures That Will Totally Make Your Day

Enjoy:

The Sequestration Cuts Education Benefits for Active Duty Military Personnel

The first major casualty of sequestration has hit the Army and Marine tuition assistance programs. Earlier this month, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus released a statement saying that the program would be closed until to new enrollees until further notice. On Thursday, the Army followed suit, saying in a statement that

The Price of the Randstand

A friend with experience in government laments that the #StandwithRand filibuster succeeded in pushing Republicans even further away from an electable agenda:

The February Jobs Report: Not Bad

The American Action Forum reviews the February jobs report. Overall, America seems to be moving in the right direction, as the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7% (as compared to January’s rate of 7.9%). In addition, both employment hours and weekly earnings rose. The private sector also added 246,000 jobs.

Meet Your New Members of Congress: Deb Fisher Edition

As an effort to move the focus a little bit outside the immigration, sequestration, confirmation hearings, and grand bargaineering bubble, I'm going to start identifying profiles of incoming congressmen and featuring them in this space.