Jerry Shenk
Mon, May 20, 2013
Farm Policy Foolishness
Redistricting and retirement have introduced most Central Pennsylvanians to less-familiar representatives in Congress. Todd Platts retired and, in 2013, was replaced by Scott Perry. After Tim Holden ...
Mon, May 13, 2013
Triage for Obamacare
In a January column, I declared Obamacare to be greatly flawed, unsettled and at risk of collapse. Readers who wrote angry denunciations of the evidence presented in it should redirect their ire to, ...
Wed, April 17, 2013
Young Americans, Free Yourselves!
Kids, you're screwed, but you bought the scam - and you're still buying it. Whassupwiddat?
American conservatives and liberals differ fundamentally on ownership: ...
Wed, April 03, 2013
Sequester? What Sequester?
Households do it. Businesses do it. If there's one outfit that could easily cut its budget, it's one that spends other people's money.
Federal government ...
Fri, March 29, 2013
Who Will Stand Up for the Old White Man
Sure, most of us vote "wrong," but when and how did peace-loving, law-abiding, elderly, white, conservative, heterosexual males become politically disreputable? And why do many on the American left ...
Tue, March 19, 2013
Economics: The Keynesian Failure
Historical studies are enlivened by court intrigues, gossip and warfare. Language studies, including English, introduce students to rich literary traditions. The study of science or engineering ...
Wed, March 06, 2013
The Chumps Are Wising Up
In President Barack Obama's America, responsible citizens who follow the rules, work hard and pay their bills, in full and on time, are chumps. The chumps are wising up.
Wed, February 27, 2013
Gasoline Prices: 'Nothing to See Here Folks'
In mid-2008, the average price of a gallon of gasoline briefly broke the $4 barrier before dropping back to $1.89, the price on President Barack Obama's 2009 Inauguration Day.
Fri, February 15, 2013
SOTU - Deja Vu
Unsurprisingly - and against all evidence - on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, President Barack Obama told a joint session of Congress and America that the state of our union is strong.
Wed, February 13, 2013
A Modest Proposal to Improve Public Education
For years, academic excellence in American public schools has been progressively subordinated to artificial notions of fairness, diversity and social justice — and to union interests.
Fri, February 01, 2013
Democrats Undone by Tax Hike 'Victory'
Political truth is seldom self-evident, because when truth doesn't fit preferred narratives, many political practitioners willfully obscure it.
For example, since the enactment of the 2001 ...
Thu, January 17, 2013
PA Will Prosper with Right-to-Work
Unions have poured millions of dues-payers' dollars into the campaigns of Pennsylvania politicians who pass and preserve laws favoring unions, and who approve pay and benefits - especially pensions - ...
Fri, January 11, 2013
Still Nothing Certain on Obamacare
The U.S. government once confiscated and planned to run a legal Nevada brothel to recover delinquent taxes. It was forced to auction the business.
Now, the same ...
Wed, December 12, 2012
Liberals Shout Because They Can't Debate
American political discourse has been debased.
Many liberals, or "progressives," tend to hold common political and social assumptions seldom challenged by their ...
Wed, November 21, 2012
Term Two: From Bad to Worse
First the good news: America has vast untapped reserves of conventional energy sources - petroleum, natural gas and coal - that could reduce energy costs and make the nation energy independent. ...
Mon, November 12, 2012
No Mandate
As Ron Fournier of the National Journal wrote on Election Day, "Barack Obama won a second term but no mandate. Thanks in part to his own small-bore and brutish campaign, victory guarantees the ...
Thu, October 25, 2012
We Must Stop it Now
Four years ago, American voters elected as president a man who offered "Hope and Change," but no specific plans for America. Barack Obama's campaign vagueness created a blank canvas upon which voters ...
Fri, October 12, 2012
Universities Shield Liberal Thinkers from Reality
"There is usually only a limited amount of damage that can be done by dull
or stupid people. For creating a truly monumental disaster, you need people
with high IQs." - Thomas Sowell ...
Wed, September 26, 2012
Big Media's Credibility Tied to Obama
ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS, NPR, AP, NYTimes and Washington Post, the core of
the national, or mainstream, media that went all in for Barack Obama in
2008, have doubled down on Obama's ...
Sat, September 08, 2012
Grievances and Condescension
Despite other commitments and a desire to avoid, live, the overwrought grievance-mongering and arrogant condescension of certain speakers, speech transcripts provided details of the recent ...
Wed, August 29, 2012
Obama Campaign Fears Ryan Pick
Since Mitt Romney selected Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate, the
Obama campaign, its shills and America's national left-wing media echo
chamber (forgive the redundancies) have ...
Thu, August 16, 2012
Liberal Bigotry
Regrettably, there's a history of religious bigotry in my family -- Germans on both sides -- some of whom continued to fight the Thirty Years War until their deaths. My maternal grandparents (long ...
Wed, August 08, 2012
Unraveling Liberals' Understanding
In any dispute, a refusal by one side to understand or even acknowledge an opponent's argument renders that side incapable of effectively challenging or disproving their opposition.
Sun, July 15, 2012
Election May Not Even Be Close
It may not even be close
Aside from the logically-strained Supreme Court opinion preserving
Obamacare, President Barack Obama has nothing to show for more than ...
Mon, June 25, 2012
Walker Challenged Unions, Survived
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker just won a first term in office for a second
time - by a margin greater than his 2010 victory.
In his first election, Walker beat ...
Mon, May 21, 2012
Economists Are Not Historians
It's past time for some economic myth-busting: the American government is not "starved" for revenues, but it should be. The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury collect more taxes annually ...
Fri, May 18, 2012
Gay Marriage Debate Needs Honesty
President Barack Obama has ended months of equivocation about gay marriage by coming out in favor, a potential election-year game-changer, but while his position was "evolving," other events took ...
Thu, May 03, 2012
Theft by Another Name
The governmental action of taking assets from its citizens under a threat of civil or criminal action for noncompliance is, by definition, confiscation. Taxation, then, is legalized ...
Fri, April 27, 2012
Blue Dog Blues
In July, 2009, before the watershed health care vote, the Blue Dog coalition consisted of fifty-two Democratic members of the United States House. Formed in 1995, the Blue Dogs self-identify as ...
Tue, April 10, 2012
The Chumps Are Wising Up
In President Barack Obama's America, responsible citizens who follow the rules, work hard and pay their bills in full and on time, are chumps. And the chumps are wising up.
Fri, March 30, 2012
Health Care Defines 2012 Presidential Race
This year, for the first time in many years, Pennsylvania has the chance to
be a factor in nominating a presidential candidate. The outcome of the
Pennsylvania GOP presidential primary will ...
Tue, March 13, 2012
Obama Hasn't Put His Foot on the Gas
Unsurprisingly, the price of gasoline has doubled since President Barack Obama's January 2009 inauguration and is forecast to go significantly higher. In three years, the costs of other forms of ...
Sun, January 29, 2012
Spending Cuts Vs. Tax Hikes
Do you remember the old saying about paying your taxes with a smile? Neither
do I. The folks at the IRS don't accept smiles. They want our money. If
we're not careful, they'll get more of ...
Thu, December 22, 2011
Boola Moolah
Cynically and opportunistically, New York University has announced that it will offer two courses on Occupy Wall Street. Given the current state of higher education, and especially of liberal arts ...
Mon, December 19, 2011
Campaign Funding Corruption
The United States House of Representatives recently voted to cancel the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, the check-off option on federal tax returns that allows the dwindling numbers of Americans ...
Fri, December 02, 2011
Stimulus Was a Failure
A politician's admonishment to "Look it up!" inspired some research and a postmortem on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a/k/a, the stimulus.
A ...
Fri, November 18, 2011
Occupy This!
America's Bill of Rights expresses no right of occupation, no right to take
over private property and no right to disregard federal, state or local
laws.
Thu, October 27, 2011
Tea Parties ≠ Occupiers
(This article first appeared in The American Thinker
Tea Parties and the Occupiers have a few commonalities, but, although many media outlets have ...
Thu, October 20, 2011
ŁĄ$€ capitalism! It’s, like, not fair and stuff!
Who are the Wall Street protesters, and why are those at the media-styled core of Occupy Wall Street protesting? There are plenty of misfits among the protesters, but others are more conventional ...
Mon, October 10, 2011
The Dance Masters
As a long-time observer of and occasional participant in the national dialogue on a range of political and social issues, I am interested in how the opposing sides engage -- or fail to.
Thu, October 06, 2011
Old Energy, New Applications
(This article first appeared in the American Thinker)
An old energy source has the potential to drive down the cost of gasoline, thanks to new technology. ...
Thu, September 22, 2011
European Woes Telling U.S. Hard Truths
Since 1980, America's left wing has disparaged the Laffer Curve, a tax theory that postulates that some tax-rate reductions will "pay" for themselves by stimulating additional economic ...
Fri, September 09, 2011
Future Americans will Celebrate Tea Party Focus n Debt
New members of Congress are among the least powerful people in government – less powerful than their seniors in both parties; less powerful than many unelected bureaucrats in executive branch ...
Tue, September 06, 2011
Three Congresses: A Study in Worldviews
(This article first appeared in the American Thinker.)
The 112th Congress is on summer hiatus. It's a good time to reflect on the recent activities of the body and ...
Fri, September 02, 2011
Voter ID: Racist or Prudent?
When the Legislature returns later this month, the Pennsylvania State Senate will consider a bill, thought to be controversial by some, that would require each voter to be identified at the ...
Sat, August 06, 2011
One Cheer for the Debt Ceiling Deal
It's billed as the best deal possible, but nothing was solved. A modest
start, the debt-ceiling deal merely flattens the trajectory of America's
unsustainable spending.
Sun, July 24, 2011
Obama: A Whole Lot of Nothing
This article first appeared in the American Thinker
That was then; this is now: Now America is facing a sovereign debt crisis
caused by excessive government borrowing and ...
Thu, July 14, 2011
Are Conservatives Being Fair to Obama?
(This article first appeared in the American Thinker)
Every day conservative media outlets devote incredible amounts of column inches, pixels, and air time to ...
Fri, July 08, 2011
Break Incumbents' Protection Rackets
No matter how witless or mediocre, no matter how thin their legislative records, once elected, members of Congress have a far better chance of re-election than challengers have of unseating ...
Wed, June 22, 2011
Market System Works for Schools, Too
Fifty years after graduation, I have no residual nostalgia for public school, though I remain mindful of the value I received from some excellent teachers during my 12-year hostage ordeal.
Fri, June 10, 2011
A Nation of Government Dependents
(This article first appeared in the American Thinker/
Most of us are in some way dependent upon the central government. It's only ignorance of our ...
Thu, June 02, 2011
Is PA Next Union Target?
Governments have commonly raised taxes to cover increasing costs. But in most large governments, tax increases are often an indication of mismanagement, of government taking on never-envisioned ...
Mon, April 18, 2011
A Consequential Man
(This article first appeared in the American Thinker.)
What would you think of a man who knew he was not well for more than a year, then assembled a team of experts ...
Thu, April 07, 2011
Regulatory Dysfunction
(This article first appeared in the American Thinker)
Government costs us more than the taxes we pay, because taxes do not include the cost of regulatory ...
Fri, March 25, 2011
The Energy Myth That Won't Die
(This article first appeared in the American Thinker)
The renewed prospect of $4.00 or even $5.00 per gallon gasoline has brought greater urgency, if not clarity, ...
Sun, March 13, 2011
Challenging the Teacher Unions
(This article first appeared in the American Thinker.)
The public school monopoly on taxpayer education funds is under challenge,
and the unions are ...
Tue, March 08, 2011
Quids and Quos, but Never a Pro
(This article originally appeared in the American Thinker.
In recent media coverage, a congressional mover-and-shaker and a back-bench congressional ...
Tue, February 15, 2011
Don't Expect Grassroots Movement to Exit
Following some successes in the general election of 2010, tea parties, Patriots organizations, constitutional and similar groups, cumulatively described as the grassroots, are again facing ...
Mon, February 07, 2011
Energy Dollars and Sense
(This article initially appeared in the American Thinker.)
One of the most pressing problems for businesses, individuals and families is the cost of energy. ...
Fri, February 04, 2011
Washington Glossary and Phrasebook
Words have meanings, and using words inaccurately has consequences - everywhere but in Washington.
There, ordinary words are used, probably intentionally, in ways ...
Mon, January 24, 2011
The 'Business' of Government
Government is not and never will be a business -- although we would certainly benefit from having it run like one. Most politicians are not and never will be businesspeople. Yet neither of those ...
Thu, January 13, 2011
Pay/Go, Cut/Go, No Go
Among the most deceptive measures passed in the 111th Congress was the Statuary Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, or, in Washington vernacular, Pay/Go.
Democrats passed Pay/Go in February 2010 ...
Mon, January 03, 2011
National Debt Exemplifies Immorality
Elected national politicians have spent or committed trillions of dollars of wealth Americans - including many millions of unborn Americans - have yet to earn and saddled future generations with debt ...
Mon, December 13, 2010
America's Political Class: In Business for Themselves?
(This article origionally appeared in the American Thinker.)
Many citizens living outside the Beltway correctly think Washington is a swamp. Our capital city pulls ...
Mon, December 06, 2010
Playing Chicken with Seniors
(This article first appeared in the American Thinker)
Last February, President Obama named Clinton White House staffer Erskine Bowles and former ...
Wed, December 01, 2010
Earmarks: Embracing and Ignoring a Message from Voters
(The following article was originally published at American Thinker:}
As the installation of a new Congress with a Republican House majority and a larger ...
Sat, November 20, 2010
America in Need of a Contest of Ideas
A problem with both national parties is that, too often, they appear to be
more interested in the accumulation and exercise of power than they are in
pursuing the legitimate interests of ...
Wed, November 03, 2010
For TEA Party: Now What?
For tea party and grassroots, the question is: Now what?
Grassroots enthusiasts are learning that attracting attention and gaining power are not the same things.
Grassroots ...
Fri, October 15, 2010
The Keys to Success Aren't Mysterious
One of the most negative and troubling features of the message of the American left is its constant, thoughtless class warfare; its class-based demagoguery; its anti-rich, anti-privilege silliness. ...
Sat, September 04, 2010
Spending and Debt
Depending upon their definition of "balanced," up to forty-three states,
Pennsylvania among them, have an obligation to balance their budgets, but,
in recent years, very few, ...
