Third Way Perspectives
Archive for September, 2009
National Institutes of Health: A Model for Jumpstarting Energy R&D
September 18th, 2009
Originally published on The Huffington Post.
In 1798, a new federal agency began its life in a one-room laboratory to provide health care for merchant sailors. It covered the costs of this service by sending a single clerk from across the country to collect 20 cents per month from each sailor. This agency, originally the Merchant Health Service, gave birth to what today is the National Institutes of Health. And the NIH should serve as a model for where we need to go on energy research and development in America.
Eight Weeks of America’s War, Not Eight Years of “Obama’s War”
September 11th, 2009
Originally appeared on Small Wars Journal & The Huffington Post.
Many of those advocating drawing down from Afghanistan argue that we have been fighting in Afghanistan for eight years, and if we haven’t won the war by now, we never will. The reality is that the White House has only really dedicated the effort to win for just over eight weeks, not eight years. This a worthy cause. Only if we control the ground in Afghanistan can we hunt and kill Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Fear Factor
September 8th, 2009
Originally appeared on The Huffington Post.
In The Prince, published in 1532, Nicolo Machiavelli asked whether it was better for a prince to be loved or feared. His answer: “One should wish to be both, but because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is safer to be feared than loved.” That is true for presidents as well as princes.
Health Care Reform & Abortion: Separating Fact From Fiction
September 2nd, 2009
Originally appeared on The Huffington Post.
Over the weekend, the anger and rancor over health care reform was put on hold — momentarily. The nation watched with a heavy heart as Senator Edward Kennedy was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. While uncertainty remains around the future of health care reform, we can be sure that despite this temporary pause, the health care debate will heat up again. In a heated debate, tempers and passions fly, leaving much room for misinformation and confusion. Nowhere is this more true than on the issue of abortion.