A few op-eds I’ve enjoyed of late
I’ve been somewhat absent from the blogosphere of late, but here are three links, all from the WSJ, I’ve found particularly insightful and worthwhile reads of late.
(I should also give a shout-out to the Journal’s Blackberry application, which provides all their news completely free, and comes particularly in handy when lacking laptop internet access.)
A terrific Peggy Noonan piece Whose Side Are We On? You Have to Ask? deals eloquently with the U.S.’s response to the startling events in Iran, and gives Obama credit where it’s due for its handling of the situation to date.
More on Iran, a Journal staff op-ed Obama and the Rogue States tells us of Obama’s early education on the nature and behavior of rogue states. His early attempts at diplomacy have resulted in increased aggression by the two principal targets of that diplomacy: North Korea and Iran. Foreign policy realism, it seems, should still have a place in the world.
Finally, the op-ed Too Big to Fail, or Succeed, highlight the dangerous economic pratfalls likely to accompany the new bailout culture:
In other words, the administration’s plan would create what are essentially government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in every sector of the financial economy — insurers, securities firms, finance companies, bank holding companies, and hedge funds — where these specially regulated firms are to be designated. The result will be devastating for competition. Larger firms will squeeze out smaller ones and aggressive small companies will have less opportunity to overcome the government-backed winners.
