Category: bureaucracy

What a Serious New Congress Must Do

News analysis Let’s say that all the predictions come true and the Republicans sweep both the House and Senate in November, plus gain effective political control of most states. The presidency then becomes the main tool controlled by the Democrats. This will be a very satisfying rebuke of woke politics and possibly signal a much-needed…


The Mighty Gorsuch Versus the Administrative State: Quotes From West Virginia v. EPA

Commentary The power of the administrative state to destroy liberty and property—to blast through legislation, science, and judicial oversight—was never more on display than in the last two and a half years. One would hope that the deep bureaucracies would have learned their lessons on how not to respond to a new pathogen. There is…


Supreme Court Targets the Real Enemy

News analysis The flurry of rulings from the Supreme Court has everyone’s head spinning. The most significant among them, even if it doesn’t capture all the headlines, is West Virginia vs EPA. The majority opinion is impressive but the part I found truly wonderful is the concurring opinion by Neil Gorsuch. This is where we…


What If People Actually Controlled the Government?

Commentary Imagine, if you will, the following system. Government is managed by elected representatives who are in turn elected by the people. Government is further restrained by checks and balances between three branches, each of which is accountable ultimately to the people who live under the laws. Unlike the ancient system of government in which…


The Astonishing Implications of Schedule F

Commentary Two weeks before the 2020 general election, on Oct. 21, 2020, Donald Trump issued an executive order (E.O. 13957) on “Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service.” It sounds boring. Actually, it would have fundamentally changed, in the best possible way, the entire functioning of the administrative bureaucracy that rules this country in a way that…


The Origin and Operation of the US Administrative State

Commentary On July 2, 1881, only four months into the first term of President James A. Garfield, an angry attorney from Illinois named Charles J. Guiteau shot Garfield in the torso at a Baltimore, Maryland, train station. Guiteau had a motive. He was furious because he believed, due to his work for the campaign, that…


Nonprofit, Community-Owned, Locally Controlled Utilities Are a Bad Joke

Commentary Sometimes government tries too hard to pursue initiatives that telegraph its supposed concern about the topic of the day. Let’s discuss one of the newer “feel good” efforts. Opinion polls have revealed that most of the planet’s population is concerned about climate change and its potential impacts over the next twenty years. What is…


‘China and Russia Are Kicking Our Butts’ in Military Modernization: Retired Marine General

The United States is not adequately deterring China and Russia and its military modernization efforts are being hampered by needless bureaucracy, according to a retired Marine general. “China has not only modernized their military, but they have quadrupled their military,” said Arnold Punaro, a retired major general of the U.S. Marine Corps. “I don’t care…


Pentagon’s Bureaucratic Waste Ensures US Loses Ground to China: Former Chief Software Officer

News Analysis Bureaucracy and waste are hamstringing U.S. military development and adversely affecting the nation’s military readiness, according to the former chief software officer of the Air Force. That means the United States is less prepared for a potential conflict with China. “Any bureaucracy which slows down outcomes for the sake of bureaucracy is going…


US Losing Ground to China Due to Pentagon’s Wasteful Bureaucracy: Former Chief Software Office

News Analysis Bureaucracy and waste are hamstringing U.S. military development and adversely affecting the nation’s military readiness, according to the former chief software officer of the Air Force. That means the United States is less prepared for a potential conflict with China. “Any bureaucracy which slows down outcomes for the sake of bureaucracy is going to…