by Thomas Sowell

It is understandable that many people do not pay nearly as much attention to political issues as they do to practical decisions that they have to make in their own lives. For one thing, they have only one vote among millions, so their influence on what policies the government will follow is in no way comparable to the weight of their decisions in their own personal affairs.

by George Will

Demure Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, but since then has not made many waves. It might, however, be part of a political wave a year from now, thanks to a direct descendent of Benjamin Franklin.

U.S. Troop Funds Diverted to Pet Projects

Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.

'09 Budget Deficit Tripled to $1.4 Trillion

The federal budget deficit more than tripled to $1.4 trillion in the fiscal year that ended last month, the Treasury Department confirmed Friday. Relative to the size of the economy, the fiscal 2009 deficit was 9.9 percent of gross domestic product, the biggest shortfall since 1945. For each dollar of revenue, the federal government spent $1.67.

Left's Rush Blitz a Cheap Shot

by Diana West

Before I get to the chilling implications for free conservative speech underscored by the vicious, public campaign to blackball Rush Limbaugh as a potential owner of an NFL team, I want to provide a little context about the pre-existing NFL comfort zone of expression.

The Censorious Sound on the Left

by Brent Bozell

Rush Limbaugh was convicted of racism in a kangaroo court of "objective" media and dropped as a potential owner of the St. Louis Rams football franchise. His accusers claimed he once said slavery "had its merits" and that the assassin of Martin Luther King deserved a "Medal of Honor." The story circulated on the Internet and was eventually picked up by the major media, including both CNN and MSNBC.

Thought While Shaving: It Just May be Huckabee's Time

by Tom Roeser

As one who has either sat in an audience or on press row for 56 years...auditing speaking performances from Hubert Humphrey, Everett Dirksen and Ronald Reagan and through the campaign rosters of two midwestern states including Barack Obama here...I must say that the performance delivered by Mike Huckabee last night at the Illinois Family Institute (my presence due to Kirk Dillard who invited me as his guest, for which thanks) was unrivaled.

McDonnell Confronts Climate Change

Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert F. McDonnell said Saturday he thinks the globe is warming but wouldn't fix blame on man-made carbon emissions as its cause.

Bipartisan Facade Can't Hide Health Plan's Flaws

by Debra J. Saunders

If the Democrats' health care package is so great, why are President Obama and Dem congressional leaders so hungry to share the credit for its passage with a Republican?

Money and Meltdown (Part 6)

by Wes Riddle

It is time we address some fundamental issues about money. First, money didn't originate with government. It originated amongst people who needed a way to exchange their goods indirectly, instead of through direct barter all the time.

GOP to Orchestrate Health Attacks

House Republicans are planning an interest-group strategy to try to stop a health care bill and will spend the next three weeks arguing that the Democrats' measure will be a bad deal for small businesses, senior citizens, and women and children.

Tea Partiers, GOP Regulars Scuffle in N.Y. House Race

Republican officials turned to a conservative icon and invoked an anti-tax pledge Thursday to salvage the slumping campaign of a New York congressional candidate competing with a more conservative third-party challenger, part of an ongoing battle between the fiscally hawkish "tea party" movement and the Republican establishment.

The Race Card, Football and Me

by Rush Limbaugh

David Checketts, an investor and owner of sports teams, approached me in late May about investing in the St. Louis Rams football franchise. As a football fan, I was intrigued. I invited him to my home where we discussed it further. Even after informing him that some people might try to make an issue of my participation, Mr. Checketts said he didn't much care. I accepted his offer.

Budget Tricks Rife in Health Reform Effort

Advocates of health care reform are relying on budget manipulations to stick with President Obama's pledge to overhaul the system without adding to the deficit, critics on and off Capitol Hill say.

Harry Reid Plan: 'Vaporize' 2010 GOP Opponent

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is prepared to run a sharply negative campaign if that's what it takes to win reelection next year, with a top adviser predicting that the Nevada Democrat will "vaporize" his Republican challengers with attack ads.

Feds Threatened to Oust BofA Execs over Merrill Deal

Government regulators threatened to remove top Bank of America executives if they backed out of a buyout of failing brokerage giant Merrill Lynch, and offered to provide taxpayer funds to compensate for Merrill's poor performance, according to company records obtained by The Washington Times.

Justice Concludes Black Voters Need Democratic Party

Voters in this small city decided overwhelmingly last year to do away with the party affiliation of candidates in local elections, but the Obama administration recently overruled the electorate and decided that equal rights for black voters cannot be achieved without the Democratic Party.

TARP Watchdog: Full Repayment 'Unlikely'
The auto industry, AIG and other struggling recipients of the government's $700 billion Wall Street bailout will make it "extremely unlikely" that taxpayers will receive a full return on their investments, says a new report by the Treasury Department's independent watchdog.

American Idea

by Walter E. Williams

Americans are harder workers, more philanthropic, individualistic, self-reliant, anti-government than people in most other countries. We've turned what was an 18th-century Third World nation into the freest and most prosperous nation in mankind's entire history. Throughout our history, United States has been a magnet for immigrants around the world. What accounts for what some have called American exceptionalism?

Health Costs and History

Washington has just run a $1.4 trillion budget deficit for fiscal 2009, even as we are told a new health-care entitlement will reduce red ink by $81 billion over 10 years. To believe that fantastic claim, you have to ignore everything we know about Washington and the history of government health-care programs. For the record, we decided to take a look at how previous federal forecasts matched what later happened. It isn't pretty.

"Democrats' Hidden Gas Tax"

by Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison & Kit Bond

There's something the Democratic lawmakers who are pushing cap-and-trade legislation don't want the public to know. The controversial climate-change legislation winding its way through Congress will impose a massive new national gas tax on the American people.

CNN Explores Conservative Talk Radio, the Last 'Dark Continent'

by Jim Lakely

CNN, fresh off being dubbed a "real" news organization by the Obama White House, has embarked on a three-part series examining that bizarre and foreign cultural subset of America called conservative talk radio listeners. To those not in the liberal elite, they're known simply as "normal folks."

Low Black-Voter Turnout Threatens Dems in Va., N.J. Races

Voter doldrums - especially among blacks far less energized than they were for Barack Obama's historic presidential bid last year - pose problems for Democrats struggling in the governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey.