Return of the Assignment Desk
Diane Ellis ·
December 20, 2010 at 11:41pm
Is there a question or topic you'd like any of our contributors to write about? Here's your chance. Tell us who you'd like to see post about what.
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Dec '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Along those lines, I once saw someone argue that the US should extend the freedoms and rights in Bill of Rights to all people in the world. That is, we should treat everyone as if they were a US citizen, whether physically within US borders or not, except for things like the right to vote and some of the nanny state benefits.
The proposition got murkier when the issue of war came up, but what is and is not war has also become murky (overseas contingency operations). The question of when we are or not at war is something right-of-center folks may have some disagreements about. The formal explicit "declaration of war" seems to be obsolete.
Dec '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Xty
Indeed - I have attempted to delete it a thousand ways and it outsmarts me every time. I have not tried to post a link in a while, and will give it a whirl. (Kenneth - I am on page 3 of the comments about isolationism - interesting.) · Dec 20 at 7:41pm
I highlight it and paste right over it.
Oct '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
To test linking, and because it is interesting, here is the link to the Cato Institute talk about:
Empire for Liberty: A History of American Imperialism from Benjamin Franklin to Paul Wolfowitz
http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=7171
(I don't know why the font is so big, but at least the link works!)
Nov '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Here's an interesting question: how far do you go towards decentralization before you get to the idea that Lincoln was wrong to go to war to preserve the union, and that it is the right of a State to secede?
Sep '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
I'd like to know which of our contributors use expensive pens to write longhand. I'm debating whether to buy a fountain pen in the New Year and I need some moral support.
Also, I just found out that Blue Yeti is the name of a microphone. I know, I know, color me red. How many of you contributors have the Blue Yeti USB microphone and how do you like it on Skype or for cutting your own audio?
Oh, and I'd like to hear Peter Robinson talk about his most important Catholic philosophic influences growing up and now (assuming that he's not still growing up, of course).
Oct '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Sep '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Victor Davis Hanson:
(1) What do you think of the point raised by some scholars that the Assyrians are a counter example to believing that the Western Way of War is an exclusive development of Greek influenced armies?
(2) Are the Liberal Arts on the rebound at American universities compared to when you wrote Who Killed Homer?
Jul '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Gee, I've always believed Lincoln was a tyrant. But that's me.
Oct '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Someone should write about the trade deficit, and how government spending sustains it (and the difference between natural, "good" trade deficits and bad, artificial ones like we have now).
Also, did you know government spending has crowded out private investment in the past few years? Too tired to come up with sources, but its pretty aggravating (I'll gladly take a VAT tax, if it meant we'd get genuine American capital formation funding genuine investment again. stupid budget deficit!!).
(and no, I'm not a protectionist. we don't need protection from anyone other then ourselves. budget deficits close to 10% of gdp speak for themselves. foreigners didn't do that, we did).
Edited on December 21, 2010 at 10:42amOct '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
1) Pigford. Rob Long or Peter Robinson should do a blog post about it. FOXNEWS doesnt want to touch this thing because they are afraid of being called racists, after promoting the ACORN videos and the Black Panthers issue.
2) Dream Act and the Immigration issue. Will Hispanic voters punish the Republican party in 2012? I'd like to hear from everybody.
Edited on December 21, 2010 at 12:42pmMay '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Judging by his body language in that picture, Peter is the only one feeling stress. I'd like to see a post explaining why this is so.
May '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Could Peter, Troy, or Bill McGurn write a piece on Presidential speech writing.
Jul '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
I'd like to see an Epstein and Yoo conversation about the Constitution. Specifically, if he was in the room while Madison et al. crafted the document, what would he advocate to change, delete or add with the knowledge of the present. In other words, how would he change the document so that some unfortunate circumstances did not take place in the history of the United States?
Jul '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
He's just intimidated by all those laptop-thingies. Peter still uses a quill pen.
Nov '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
I would enjoy reading more posts about the intricacies of professional sports from Ursula Hennessey.
Topics of never-ending interest on my list:
Yankees, Patriots, anything NHL and any review of sports-related literature written by Mark Lewis.
Edited on December 22, 2010 at 5:00amOct '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Public vs private education. Is all state education bad? How much influence should a government have over curriculum? Home-schooling vs the desire to make sure all children get access to some sort of learning. John Stuart Mill's notion of the improvement of mankind through education running into the horror of government indoctrination. How to move towards a society of engineers rather than one of lawyers (no offence to the lawyers in the room).
Nov '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
P.S. Ms. Hennessey... Could we add some NCAA - Geno's UConn Huskies to the list?
Edited on December 22, 2010 at 5:02amJun '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Here's just a thought for some guest commentators - either for Ricochet, the Ricochet Podcast or for Uncommon Knowledge:
Mark Helprin - would be interesting to get his take on the START treaty, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Israel, the fiscal meltdown in Europe and foreign policy in general.
Amity Shlaes - Author of The Forgotten Man. Her thoughts on the current recession and the looming crisis that could occur when several states begin to become insolvent may prove enlightening and the parallels with the Great Depression.
Stanley Kurtz & Dinesh D'Souza (together) - authors of Radical-In-Chief and The Roots of Obama's Rage respectively. A dissection of Barack Obama and any prognostications they may have on how he is likely to behave in the next two years.
A Debate About Ayn Rand - Her importance in the current political battle between socialism and free market capitalism, her faults, her perception and how much that she warned about that has transpired...possibly with Anne C. Heller (author of Ayn Rand & The World She Made), Jason Lee Steorts managing editor of National Review, Jonah Goldberg, Peter Wehner of National Review, Thomas Sowell and any other notable commentators.
Edited on December 22, 2010 at 7:19amOct '10
Re: Return of the Assignment Desk
Victor Davis Hanson: How, in the past, have nations responded to internal crises? What separates the ones that succeed from the ones that fail?
John Yoo / Paul Rahe: What are the foundations of rights? Can the rights asserted in the Declaration of Independence survive absent the notion of a "Creator"?
Paul Rahe: Are there any parallels between the lead-up to our impending financial crisis and the lead-up to the Civil War? Do we see parallels, for instance, in the behavior of political parties, or in the coming-to-a-head of old and irreconcilable tensions?