by Henry Oliner | Mar 9, 2018 | Media
by Henry Oliner While that is not what drives me to read history, I do find some solace in reading about events decades and centuries ago that sound like they could be in today’s columns. We have faced strings of existential crisis and not only survived but thrived...
by Henry Oliner | Mar 7, 2018 | History, Politics
This excerpt is from The Opening of American Society (1985) by Robert Wiebe, referring to Andrew Jackson: “In two ways Jackson’s singular route to the White House freed him for the tasks ahead. First, a cunning man on the rise learned to create and dissolve his...
by Henry Oliner | Mar 7, 2018 | Economics, Politics, Progressivism, Taxes
from Jonah Goldberg at National Review, A Conspiracy against the People Steel and aluminum producers are a faction. They are aided by a larger faction — i.e., voters who have a greater grasp of their own nostalgia than on economic realities. And they have a...
by Henry Oliner | Mar 6, 2018 | Politics, Progressivism
another from Kevin Williams at National Review, ‘Donny from Queens, You’re on the Air’ The formal term for what’s at the root of all this is “rational ignorance.” Many of you will have experienced the phenomenon of the very smart person who has very dumb ideas about...
by Henry Oliner | Mar 5, 2018 | Politics
by Henry Oliner The framers of the constitution screwed up out of the gate when they discounted the idea of political parties. The Constitution was a miracle of compromises, navigating between their deep study of the wisdom of the ages and the self interest of...
