Author Archive

Editors note: This article, written by guest contributor Eugene Schlanger, was originally published at The University Bookman. Recently, Forbes magazine attempted to measure the effect of Ruth Lilly’s $185 million bequest to the Poetry Foundation. That foundation, which publishes Poetry magazine, claims that it reached 19 million new poetry readers last year. John Barr, its president, a poet and a former investment banker, suggested this was positive evidence of the growth of the public’s awareness... Read More→

Gallup Finds U.S. Unemployment Hitting 10.3% in February “Warren Buffet said Wednesday on CNBC that the U.S. unemployment rate should be in the low 7% range by late 2012. If that is going to be the case, the job creation environment must change dramatically from what it is today.” http://www.gallup.com/poll/146453/Gallup-Finds-Unemployment-Hitting-February.aspx Meanwhile, the Labor Department reports unemployment dropping to 8.9%. “The unemployment rate dropped in February to 8.9% as the... Read More→

With the tax revolt against greedy public sector unions continuing in Wisconsin, I thought it might be interesting to quote the great economist Ludwig von Mises on coercive labor unions.  From his A Critique of Interventionism: If employees receive the right to shut down an enterprise as long as its owner rejects their demands, the control over production, in final analysis, has been placed in the hands of labor unions. The problem must not be obscured by the confusion between free collective bargaining-the... Read More→

At last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the NYYRC, club member R.D. Ferman recommended starting a Republican/conservative book exchange. As a complement to this idea, the blog committee has offered to create a discussion pages for books that are being read by our members.  If you have any requests for books, please feel free to comment at the bottom of this page and the Blog committee will create an online discussion forum. Reading what the greats have said before us is the best way to sharpen... Read More→

The residual excitement from CPAC has left conservatives hearing more and more about master self-promoter and coiffure wonder boy Donald Trump.  While I admit to never finding the guy particularly likable, I understand he does possess a certain broad appeal to conservatives, and even some liberals.  (Full disclosure: After I heard he was stumping for Rahm Emmanuel, I knew I could never support him.) Is he a real conservative?  Here is the Donald by the numbers. For me, this section was all that... Read More→

Question: If you are the overspending father of a family of 5, and your rich uncle keeps paying your bloated credit cards bills, will you ever tighten your belt?  Will your habits ever change?  Will you ever decide that you can live without a new pair of hi-def speakers? Now let’s depersonalize the situation:  You are a governor with constituents, minority (in the strict sense of the word) interest groups, lobbyists, and legislators knocking down your door.  Each group is dependent in one... Read More→

Bruce Caldwell, Hayek scholar and editor of The Collected Works of F.A. Hayek, has a recent piece at Heritage offering his and Hayek’s views on our current and enduring recession depression. In Ten (Mostly) Hayekian Insight for Trying Economic Times, Dr. Caldwell examines a number of economic insights which help explain why after 34 months after the collapse of Bear Stearns significantly elevated unemployment remains a concern. The ten themes are as follows: Theme #1: The Business Cycle Is... Read More→

The Left does not get Conservatism, much less talk radio.  As this article in Commentary Magazine explains, of all the leaders on the Right, none is less understood than the dynamo Rush Limbaugh. Loved and hated, Rush’s popularity in the Obama era is as formidable and influential as ever.  What doesn’t the left get about Rush?  In part, He is equipped with a resonant and instantly recognizable baritone voice and an unusually quick and creative mind, a keen and independent grasp of... Read More→

The American people won a huge victory in court yesterday when a Florida Federal Appeals Judge ruled that all of “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (aka Obamacare) violated the Constitution.  This is the second ruling in two months against Obamacare. In December, Virginia District Court Judge Henry Hudson ruled with respect to the “individual mandate” to purchase health insurance:  “An individual’s personal decision to purchase — or decline purchase —... Read More→

One of my best friends is an Egyptian Catholic Copt. Youssef was raised in Cairo, educated in a French Catholic school, and speaks Arabic, French, and English.  His father is Catholic and his mother is Coptic Orthodox.  I met Youssef 7.5 years ago on my first day of college in Montreal.  We were roommates for 3 years. Much of my understanding of Egypt comes from Youssef and his stories about home, complemented by my own readings and close following of current events.  Youssef’s father owns... Read More→