Ayn Rand

Conservatism Is Expensive

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023

Fox News just agreed to pay $787.5 million for lying about Dominion voting machines.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton offered to use $3.3 million of tax dollars to settle a whistleblower case.  Donald Trump paid nearly $300,000 to cover up his extramarital affairs. It must be nice to have millions of dollars to pay for […]

Seeds of Sedition

Thursday, July 29th, 2021

The January 6 attack on American Democracy grew from seeds planted 40 years earlier.  In the 1980s conservative activists created incendiary rhetoric to attack our government.  Since the New Deal, conservatives had lost to a wave of progressive legislation.  The Federal Government improved the lives of seniors with Social Security and Medicare.  It improved the […]

“You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”

Saturday, June 30th, 2018

Pretty clear isn’t it? “You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 22:21 How did this get warped into “Separate their families and throw the children in prison.” Greed and cruelty. Thank Ayn Rand. Thank You Milton Friedman. Thank you Frederick Hayek. You taught […]

Monkey Cage: Makers vs Takers

Friday, January 5th, 2018

I always need this explanation of government benefits.  Conservatives constantly lie about who gets help.  We, the government of the United States of America, help the least among us.    There simply isn’t a large percentage of people taking advantage of the system. Of the 24.7% of Americans who did not work and received government benefits […]

Not My President?

Wednesday, May 24th, 2017

No, I do not use that phrase.  I do understand why some might.  Donald has done nothing to reach out beyond his own supporters.  Instead he does the opposite, going out of his way to sow the seeds of discord throughout our society.  His lying words about Mexicans and Muslims make my stomach turn.  His […]

Conservatism’s Great Betrayal

Monday, March 20th, 2017

Rural America depends on Federal funding to supplement their budgets. Why? Because urban areas are more prosperous in the modern economy. Liberals recognized this fact during the New Deal and built programs to help. Ronald Reagan’s Conservative Revolution started tearing them down. Donald Trump is trying to finish the job. He is a con man. […]

The tide has turned.

Tuesday, October 14th, 2014

Having read the entire “Relatio Post Disceptationem,” I am struck by its embrace of, rather than its rejection of, the Catholic tradition. It is a tradition that has shown incredible flexibility and adaptation over 2000 years. The Catholic Church is not a fundamentalist church. Over the last 40 years, fundamentalists have tried to deny that […]

The Rise of the DestructoCons (Part II of Reagan’s Big Lie)

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

There is a traditional German saying that warns the foolish not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. A wise person realizes the value of preservation and change. Since the French Revolutionaries first took their seats in the National Assembly, politicians have divided themselves along this axis. One party favored preservation, while the other […]

Professional conservatives are simply weird.

Friday, November 4th, 2011

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), whose ex-wife says he owes $117,437 in back child support, was honored by the Family Research Council Action on Thursday for his ‘unwavering support of the family,’ the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Unwavering support for somebody’s family I guess.  Just not his own.  Someone call Ayn Rand.  She would be proud.

Exposing Reagan’s Big Lie

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Several years ago, a former neighbor, Joe Abraham had an idea.  He wanted history taught backwards.  Instead of starting with past events and coming to the present, he suggested starting with current events and working backwards.  As a professional historian, this method just didn’t feel right.  My training at USL and LSU had always focused […]