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Who is monitoring debt?

National Columnists

People of a certain age will recall a lyric from the Tennessee Ernie Ford song "Sixteen Tons": "Another day older and deeper in debt." I thought of that song as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth asked Congress to approve a $1.5 trillion budget for fiscal year 2027 to put the military on what he called a "wartime footing." Hegseth says the Pentagon needs the money for more drones, munitions and modernized systems. Though President Trump has denied it, bragging that we have the strongest military in the world, it would appear that the Iran conflict has significantly depleted U.S military ...

It is possible to defeat poverty

National Columnists

In 1964, former President Lyndon B. Johnson declared an "unconditional war on poverty." He warned it "will not be a short or easy struggle," but that "the richest Nation on earth can afford to win it." He was right that it wouldn't be a short or easy struggle. Johnson and Congress created a host of new federal programs, including the Job Corps, Head Start and the Office of Economic Opportunity. His "Great Society" programs included Medicare and Medicaid. In 1965, he signed a housing bill that included rent subsidies. It's grown from there. In 2022, the Cato Institute ...

King of Pop endured isolation as fame skyrocketed

National Columnists

I vividly remember when Michael Jackson's signature "Thriller" album exploded in 1983 with the release of Billboard No. 1 hits "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," as well as Top 10 singles like "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and "Human Nature." These songs were the soundtrack of my eighth- and ninth-grade years, and almost every talent show I attended featured a boy moonwalking or donning a red leather jacket, sporting black slacks and penny loafers highlighted with white socks. Everyone was trying to emulate the King of Pop. I was still a bit too young to understand some of ...

'Drill, baby, drill' was beginning of energy policy wisdom

National Columnists

It's not 1973 anymore, and that's a very good thing for the United States. Back then, the U.S. imported more than a third of its oil, much of it from the Middle East, and it paid the price. Now, it's in a transformed position. "Drill, baby, drill" is arguably the most successful public policy of the past 20 years. It started life in 2008 as a catchphrase coined by Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, and has now been effected, with enormous economic and strategic benefits to the United States. As anyone who has filled up their car recently knows, we aren't immune ...

We lost one of great grumps

National Columnists

In every school, work or personal gathering, you need at least one grump for the group to thrive. Grumps do the work that no one else will. When everyone else is being mercilessly upbeat, they swim against the tide and complain. The grump may follow your inane rules — but grudgingly, oh, boy, will it be grudgingly — but they never let them pass unremarked upon. Where other folks try to fit in, the grumps stand out, not because they want to, but because they must. Even in a children's show like "Sesame Street," you need an Oscar the Grouch to balance out what otherwise ...

Guest in our house

National Columnists

The king came to town for tea, dinner and a little chat with Congress and the president. By the time you read this, Charles III's state visit may be a little piece of history. The "special relationship" between the United States and the United Kingdom could undergo a stress test. For one thing, Charles is probably horrified and mystified at the shooting at the White House Correspondents' dinner but probably too polite to say so. The British disapprove of making scenes in public, with gunfire interrupting dinner parties. Charles did refer to "the incident not far from this great ...