The current thinking among many foreign policy experts, including those with particular expertise in Iranian relations, seems to be that the new foreign policy alignment in the Obama administration–State, Defense, CIA–combined with the instincts of the President and Vice President, will have the most pro-engagement bias since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. This comes into […]
Archives for March 2013
Here We Go Again III — Minimum Wage
I have often said that there are many complicated issues in public policy, but the concept of a minimum wage is not one of them. It is a “feel good” impulse that makes no sense for any of its intended purposes and, in fact, is harmful to those it is designed to help, the young […]
Here We Go Again II – Gun Control
First, it is pretty clear to me that nothing since the event that has been proposed to add to our control of guns in this country would have prevented the Sandy Hook tragedy. And the proponents of additional controls are missing a critical point, as recently noted in an essay by constitutional attorneys David Rifkin […]
Here We Go Again I – Immigration Reform
I reviewed my archives and found that over the life of the Pilgrim I have written more on immigration than any subject, and I will readily admit that I don’t have much to add. But I will restate some basics and add a couple of thoughts: I am not a “restrictionist” as that term has […]
The Education Battleground Takes Shape in Austin
With the regular Texas legislative session about one-third complete, the battle lines in public education are coming into sharper focus on the four major issues identified last year by our organization, the Texas Institute for Education Reform (TIER). What is at stake is no less than the future direction of standards and accountability based reform […]