Osborne's Doing Better Than Obama

Osborne Has A Long Way To Go, But At Least He’s Started, Yorkshire Post, June 30, 2010. "According to the Left, there is never a good day to cut government spending. When the economy and tax revenues are growing, the Left wants to spend more because it can. When the economy is stagnant and tax revenues are shrinking, the Left argues it has no choice but to spend more, in order to cushion the blow. The result is that progressive governments transfer money from savers to spenders, from the productive economy to the unproductive state, and from the unborn to the living. For progressive governments, the economy is a goose that will keep on laying golden eggs, no matter what they do to it."

Advise and Consider on New START

Morning Bell: No Rush to Judgment on New START, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 24, 2010. "Last week, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) expressed concern over the U.S.-Russian Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) now before the Senate. The senator particularly questioned the treaty’s limits on America’s “ability to advance our missile defense” and its “failure to deter proliferation and future attacks on our nation and allies.” Given the consequences that New START poses for U.S. national security and the calls for its swift passage, Inhofe is right to ask questions – and the entire Senate is obligated to do so, as well."

The Implications of Honorary Sovereignty

The Need for New International Institutions, The New Ledger, June 23, 2010. "A major challenge for conservatives, and indeed for everyone who believes in fundamental human rights, is to move away from de facto universal membership and towards a world with new international institutions. There is simply no way to derecognize abusive states – or to work effectively on a basis of genuine respect for sovereignty – unless we create new institutions to do it, ones that have standards for membership. That does not imply that all the existing institutions should disappear. But it does imply that, over time, they should lose their centrality."

On Defence Procurement

"Is Reform Enough? Assessing the Gap Between Challenges and Response in Defence Acquisition Reform", RUSI Defence Systems, June 2010, Vol. 13, No. 1. "The current enthusiasm for defence acquisition reform in the US and, especially, the UK cannot be understood outside the broader challenges facing the defence establishment in both nations. Indeed, while it is obviously important that the defence acquisition process be efficient, the hopes currently entertained for increased efficiency are out of proportion with the likely gains. In other words, there is a substantial gap between the broader challenges and the response in the realm of acquisition reform. The hopes persist because they promise to diminish the pain of the gap, and because they offer a way to justify strategic choices that would be less appealing if presented on their own terms."

If At First You Don't Succeed . . . .

The Most Active Recovery Act Season Yet!, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 18, 2010. "As Mike Allen of Politico reports, Vice President Joe Biden has kicked off what the Obama Administration calls its “Recovery Summer.” According to senior adviser David Axelrod, “This summer will be the most active Recovery Act season yet.” It sounds like Axelrod has never heard the popular saying about what to do when you’re in a hole: stop digging."

Introduction to Book on Obama Nuclear Agenda

Dangerous Road: The Nuclear Policies of the Obama Administration, Center for Security Policy, June 17, 2010. "On 8 April, 2010, President Obama and Russian President Medvedev signed the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or "New START," lowering the limit on deployed strategic nuclear weapons by either nation. The following week, President Obama hosted the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., the stated purpose of which was to address "the threat of nuclear materials in the hands of terrorists or criminals." Against this backdrop, three panels of distinguished experts on nuclear policy convened in Washington, D.C. to offer critical assessment of President Obama's nuclear agenda-and whether it is compatible with maintaining an American nuclear arsenal that can credibly, reliably, and effectively address today's threats. The panels were organized under the auspices of the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for Security Policy and its New Deterrent Working Group."

Kick Them Out

Honorary Sovereignty and International De-Recognition, Contentions, June 14, 2010. "In his recent piece in the New York Times, “To Save Africa, Reject Its Nations,” Pierre Englebert, professor of African politics at Pomona College, advances an important — fundamental, even — idea: i.e., that sovereignty, understood as a privilege accorded to a state by virtue of international recognition, is based on the satisfactory performance by that state of certain basic duties."

The EU and the Tapas Bar

Defense of the EU Lacks Substance, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 14, 2010. "In the latest issue of the Economist, a correspondent – Dewi Williams, a senior lecturer in European law at Staffordshire University – writes in to complain about the unfairness of the British dislike of the European Union. Williams argues that the reason why the EU is unpopular in Britain is because the EU hasn’t done enough to promote itself, and the benefits of EU membership."

Action in US-UK Relations Happens Off the Field

Take Your Eye Off the Ball, Foxnews.com, June 12, 2010. "In one respect, the World Cup match between England and the United States is a study in symbolism. For Americans, it symbolizes, first, the fact of our exceptionalism. Unlike the rest of the world, we just don’t care very much about soccer. The fact that the U.S.’s first match is against England has brought out the second bit of symbolism: the U.S. media’s belief that England is the one nation against which American patriotism may legitimately be directed."

Does Big Government Work?

Obama Waves the Big Stick But Can’t Stop the Oil Leaking, Yorkshire Post, June 10, 2010. "If the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico is ever going to be shut off, the US government is not going to do it. BP will. Of course, they made the mess, so they should clean it up. But it’s not simply BP’s responsibility to plug the leak. They’re the only ones who physically can do it."

Churchill At His Best

'I Am Ashamed of You for Writing Such a Letter', Contentions, June 3, 2010. "Time for a bit of encouraging news. Christie’s has just finished the first part of a sale of Churchill memorabilia collected by Malcolm S. Forbes Jr. Among the items sold was an exchange between Churchill and Eliot Crawshay-Williams, who had in the early 20th century been one of Churchill’s assistant private secretaries."

Labour's Biggest Failure and Cameron's Challenge

Why Cameron Needs That Something Special to Get Britain Back On Its Feet, Yorkshire Post, June 1, 2010. "David Cameron has a big job ahead of him. This week, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development said it again: with the exception of Ireland, the outlook for Britain's public finances is the worst in the industrialised world."