Opinion

Some reorganization

Have you heard? USDA Forest Service is reorganizing, it says. All regional research and management offices will close, it says. This is beyond reorganization. Reorganization implies systematic planning to form a functioning whole (Websters). The Detroit News has called this “a massive restructuring effort.” The Guardian calls it “chaos.” These closures effectively collapse its regional structure. I would call that devastation. It entails creation of 15 national regions headed by politically appointed “state directors.” Michigan’s Huron-Manistee, Hiawatha, and Ottawa ...

Birthright citizenship for illegals insane

Weeks after returning to the White House, President Donald Trump looked to cut straight to the heart of birthright citizenship – the notion that anyone born in the United States is an American citizen – through an executive order titled "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American ...

Federal waste of office space stifles economies at many levels

The federal government is the largest owner of U.S. real estate, including more than half a billion square feet of office space. That is far more than it needs, and the cost of maintaining it has ballooned to unsustainable levels. The Public Buildings Reform Board recently identified 26 buildings across 15 states — totaling more than 7.3 million square feet — as potential candidates for the government to dispose of due to poor usage and high maintenance costs. It’s the third set of disposal recommendations since Congress created the board in 2016. That’s a great start, but the ...

Freedom is not free

Everyone loves a good movie, especially when a wrong is made right, when the good guy wins. All ‘military movies’ have some lines that are powerful, making an indelible point you cannot forget. For instance, in the movie "A Few Good Men," Col. Jessup delivers an objective truth about the absolute necessity regarding armed forces. He states, and anyone who has served in the military will attest, “you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. I provide the very freedom you breathe.” My son, a three-tour Iraq war veteran, had the privilege of being present when Toby Keith ...

Mamdani's rent freeze threatens everyone who owns anything

Tenants' groups and leftwing activists are cheering New York City's newly announced multiyear rent freeze. But Mayor Zohran Mamdani's rent scheme is headed for a judicial smackdown at the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2023 and twice in 2024, a hesitant Supreme Court declined to hear challenges by ...

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