Dan Calabrese

Old and busted: Repeal; New hotness: 'Transition' away from ObamaCare

Avik Roy, one of the most prolific and insightful critics of ObamaCare on the scene today, has written an interesting if somewhat confusing piece for Forbes in which he seems on first glance to view the notion of repealing ObamaCare as delusional folly. But when you read it carefully, you see that what Roy is really talking about is the need to use the right language when speaking to the electorate - especially in 2016, because without a Republican in the White House, we're probably not getting rid of ObamaCare no matter what happens in congressional elections.

Shocker: Congressional liberals not too interested in Paul Ryan's poverty ideas

I give credit to Paul Ryan for his willingness to sit down and talk with anyone, and to work with anyone who is willing to be serious about solving problems. And I really give him credit for trying to tackle the issue of poverty, when most Republicans won't bother because they figure there's nothing to gain politically by doing so.

Mugged by reality: Ex-Dem congressman starts business, discovers it's hard work, regulations are insane

I wish David Bonior well. I really do. Maybe I shouldn't after everything he did in the '80s to prop up communist thugs like Daniel Ortega. But if you've started and run a small business, and you've experienced the challenges of trying to make one survive and thrive, then you can't help but empathize with another person who's taken on the same challenge.

Ouch: GDP grows only 0.1 percent in first quarter of 2014

Six months ago, the Obama White House was pretty excited to be able to tout GDP growth of 4.1 percent in the third quarter of 2013. That was followed by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, which is nothing to throw a party about but at least it's better than the annualized growth of less than 2 percent we've seen throughout Obama's bleak presidency. But you can't build an economic legacy on the occasional strong quarter. What this nation needs is sustained economic growth, preferably of 4 percent or better.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: You're just now realizing what Donald Sterling is?

A lot of us are thinking this, but no one has expressed it quite like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar does this morning in Time. The media are aghast all of a sudden because of a secretly recorded conversation in which Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling said racist (and quite bizarre) things to his partially black girlfriend, but for many years there has been plenty of evidence on the public record as to the true nature of Sterling's character. That includes several housing discrimination lawsuits as well as an employment discrimination suit, all based on race.

Hillary: Jesus' loaves and fishes thing was his way of teaching us liberal policies

A good rule of thumb with Hillary Clinton is this: If it comes out of her mouth, it's insincere. You will never lose money taking that bet 100 times out of 100. And a good corollary to that rule is this: When she tells you what something is supposed to mean, that's not what it means at all. Especially when she's talking about the Bible.

Nervous New York Times looking for dirt on Scott Walker

Here are some things I'm looking for in a 2016 Republican presidential nominee:

Thuggish government not such a big problem now that Cliven Bundy is a racist

The Cliven Bundy story was convoluted even before we found out the other day that his attitudes on matters of race are, um, interesting. Now that we know his thoughts on "Negros", conservatives are backing away like Bundy is a car about to explode:

Oops: Oregon pulls the plug on its ObamaCare exchange after blowing $300 million

ObamaCare has certainly been beneficial for one constituency, and that is web developers who charge hundreds of millions for web sites that don't work. Maybe I should be in that business. But it doesn't work out too well for the taxpayers who get stuck with the bill, as we're finding out in the case of Cover Oregon.

Even the State Department can't name anything it accomplished under Hillary

Rob told you a couple of weeks ago that even Hillary Clinton's aspiring cheerleaders at MSNBC can't name a single thing she accomplished as Secretary of State.

Left freaks out as Supremes find affirmative action permissible, but not mandatory

We assume readers of this site have a basic understanding of the role of the judiciary, which is not to decide if a given policy is good or bad on the merits, but rather to decide if it is legal and constitutional. And if you do understand that, you've got a serious leg up on most of the people covering and talking about yesterday's Supreme Court ruling concerning affirmative action.

UAW suddenly abandons quest for Chattanooga do-over

What the United Auto Workers learned from the devastation it helped to wreak on the hapless Detroit automakers was - well, not much, really. Rather than realize their combination of outlandish demands, political pressure and individual intimidation had created cost structures that no company could sustain, the union decided it could only survive by heading south and attempting to wreak the same devastation on transplants operating auto plants in the south.

Chicago Magazine: City's 'improved' crime stats are being faked

You may have heard that crime is going down in Chicago. You might regard that as good news, and indeed, it certainly would be - if it were true.

Meet the man who took Paul Ryan on 12 trips through the ghetto

To the extent that poverty could be addressed by public policy, there is this big honking problem: For the most part, neither party sees political advantage in really trying to make that happen. Democrats benefit when poverty persists and their political allies in the poverty industry enjoy the steady flow of public funds, especially as low-income voters continue to embrace the illusion that voting for Democrats is in their best interests. Republicans figure there is not much point because venturing into the inner city would eat up lots of time and resources and bring you little reward.

VIDEO: Democrat senator almost hit by train during safety presser

Granted, it would be funnier if he freaked out and jumped out of his skin. You do have to give Blumenthal props for keeping his cool as the speeding train is flying by just inches from his shoulder. On the other hand . . . dude:

ABC News: Chelsea Clinton having 'America's version of the royal baby'

You already know that the MSM long ago gave up on covering the substance of governing, preferring instead to obsess over the horse race aspect of politics, and more importantly, the personalities. Did you always sort of suspect they'd like nothing better than to have American royalty to slobber over like their British counterparts?

Secret Service was ready to shoot . . . Mr. Met?

I knew justice in this country was contorted, but I had no idea. At the same time they've loosened the screws on John Hinckley, we now learn that in 1997 the Secret Service was seriously contempating opening fire on that dastardly threat to the life of President Bill Clinton . . . Mr. Met?

Northwestern study: Even occasional pot smokers damage their brains

It will come as a surprise to those who think nothing has come along to illustrate the dangers of marijuana since "Reefer Madness," but a new study from Northwestern University throws a pretty big wrench in the machinery of the marijuana legalization movement.

LGBT activist intimidates Michigan utility into cancelling Duck Dynasty look-alike contest

Per the good folks at Charisma Magazine, where many of you will recognize the name of the writer, Todd Starnes of Fox News. The Lansing, Michigan Board of Water and Light had planned a Duck Dynasty look-alike contest as part of an upcoming chili cook-off - mainly as a time-killer while they waited for the conclusion of their really popular activity, which is a rubber duck race.

The tragedy of Venezuela

Barack Obama and the Democratic Party insist they are not really socialists, because in socialist countries the government controls all the means of production. My rejoinder to that would be that U.S. Democrats have a goal at all times of controlling as much of the economy as they can - definitely including the means of production (what do you think "climate change" is really all about?) - and if you want to examine what the result would be if all their policy goals were realized, I present to you, the wonderful but tragically troubled country of Venezuela.