Alan Caruba

Why the Electoral College Decides

Call it the Gore Curse. In 2000 Albert Gore had a slim margin of popular votes nationwide until the Supreme Court shut down what had already become an endless process of re-counting votes in Florida. When, as Vice President, Gore presided over the counting of the Electoral College votes in the Senate, it was George W. Bush who was the winner.

Hillary Surrenders

It was probably symbolic in some way that Hillary Clinton made every one of her supporters wait around nearly 45 minutes before she could finally make it to the podium to offer her surrender to Barack Obama and, by extension, the Democrat Party that was waiting around for it to be made official.

Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!

I watch the TV news when I get up in the morning and when I have dinner. It's been Hillary, Hillary, Hillary all day long. When will she concede? Is she bargaining for the VP slot? Will she take the fight to the convention in Denver?

The Happiest Man in America

Guess who’s the happiest man in America today? No, it isn’t Barack Hussein Obama. It’s John McCain.

A Battle Between the Left and the Far Left

Watching the Democrat Party Committee decide to let Florida and Michigan delegates attend the convention in Denver, albeit with just a half-vote each, was greatly enlivened by those raucous folks who insisted on shouting their disapproval of the entire proceedings. The partisanship in the room between the Obama supporters and those demanding equal rights for poor Hillary was almost comical.

The Greenpeace Scam

Being attacked by Greenpeace should be considered a badge of honor. In May, the Heartland Institute was the subject of a Greenpeace news release that described the Chicago-based think tank as “a free-market, anti-regulation right wing think tank” funded by leading American corporations and reputable foundations.

Al Qaeda Kills Itself…with Some Help from the USA

An article in the Washington Post reports that the Central Intelligence Agency believes that al Qaeda has been, for the most part, defeated.

Non-Solutions to Non-Problems

A desperate push is underway to enact the Climate Security Act sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CN) and Sen. John Warner (R-VA). It would impose cap-and-trade mandates on anything that generates carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and that pretty much includes everything involving energy use, including backyard barbequing.

Would You Hire This Man?

It’s not likely that former Bush press secretary, Scott McClellan, is going to find any work in Washington, D.C. in the wake of his “tell all” book about his years in the White House job.

An Empty Suit

Day after day and hour after hour the pundits on the cable news channels and elsewhere keep telling me that Sen. Obama has the nomination sewed up and should be printing new business cards that say, “President of the United States.” Meanwhile, Sen. Clinton keeps digging herself a deeper hole in a seemingly hopeless effort to seize the nomination from this Illinois upstart.

The Price to Be Paid

I’m betting that, by the end of 2008, Americans will have adjusted to gasoline that costs $4 or more per gallon. We won’t like it, but we will accept it as the price one pays to live in a world that is filled with oil, but one where it resides mostly in nations unfriendly to our welfare and ambitions, as well as in difficult places such as the ocean depths.

Memorial Day 2008

Anyone who has ever worn the uniform of his nation feels different about Memorial Day than those who have not had that privilege. There is a bond between soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen.

Mexico is Soon to be a Bigger Problem

As if the constant flow of illegal aliens and drugs from Mexico were not already a huge problem for the United States, it is about to get worse. When Business Week took notice of Mexico’s dwindling oil reserves and failed national oil company, Pemex, in its May 5th edition, it signaled a problem whose significance is as great as the one involving an invading population.

Why Being “Green” Has Put America in the Red

What I cannot understand is why so many people cannot figure out where the blame ultimately belongs when it comes to the high price of oil these days.

Hollywood Rewrites History…Again

The movie, “Recount”, arrives at a time when the Democrat Party is trying to determine whether the “popular” vote in its primaries takes precedent over the actual number of delegates, whether “pledged” or “super delegates” whose only allegiance is to (1) retaining their power in Congress and the Party and (2) actually trying to win the national election in November.

What will Hillary Do?

There’s an old saying that, if you owe the bank $10,000, the bank owns you. If you owe the bank $10,000,000, you own the bank. Reportedly, Hillary Clinton’s campaign is in debt to the tune of $31 million dollars.

Going Nuts in Waziristan

Okay, so let’s pretend you were one of the sons of one of the wealthiest families in Saudi Arabia. You were guaranteed a good job. You had a couple of wives. The problem was that you just didn’t feel fulfilled. You weren’t a member of the royal family of Saud, so you could never be king. You probably would not become president of the family business no matter how hard you worked or prayed. So, there you are, stuck with a couple of million, a family, and a lot of time on your hands.

Greens Will Leave us Cold and Hungry

There is always a point in time when reality steps up to remind everyone that bad ideas come with a price to pay. The long history of environmental bad ideas are now beginning to cause food riots around the world with its campaign for biofuels and against the energy that powers great economies and feeds the world.

When Older is Better

Just how funny you thought John McCain was during his appearance on “Saturday Night Live” probably depends on how old you are. I thought he was very funny, but then I am only one year younger than he. To the presumably younger audience, being old or older often seems to be a handicap of sorts.

The Nightmare We Call Our Schools

A friend of mine recently wrote to me saying, “My wife is retiring in June after thirty years of teaching. A high school degree means nothing. No Child Left Behind is an even bigger joke. It is a scary situation that could lead us to third world status, but we are prepared for that since we already teach English as a second language.”