Free Republic

Books and articles – scientific as well as theological – have been written on human nature. Still, most people don't understand it, or refuse to learn from it, or worse, play to its dark side. Some politicians play to the dark side of human nature because it empowers them and extends their careers at taxpayer expense. They never have to solve a problem; they only have to appear to care about a problem. Doubt me? Then why after many years of talking, legislating, studying and spending, are so many problems unresolved? The Wall Street Journal reported on several states that...

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty," and as the joke goes, "Poverty won." Five decades after a blizzard of programs began descending on the American people, the poverty rate remains essentially unchanged. That's a little unfair. What counts as poverty today would not have seemed so impoverished 50 years ago, when many of the poor lived without electricity and were no strangers to hunger. Today, the biggest health problems of the poor are more likely to stem from obesity than anything approaching starvation. Defenders of the war on poverty -- and the massive bureaucracy...

The discord between Democrats and Republicans regarding the three-month extension of unemployment benefits will be used by the Democrats for political fodder against the Republicans, if Republicans let them. The mid-term elections during a president's second term tend to be tough on the president's party. Additionally, Obama's approval rating tanked in December to 40 percent as the rollout of his signature health plan foundered. With the recent passage of a bipartisan budget bill, the need for a diversion -- a new target to focus political operatives and therefore voters -- is key. President Barack Obama laid out his 2014 agenda...