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Walz, Omar and the billion-dollar scandal

Minnesota is now facing one of the largest documented government service fraud scandals in United States history. Under Gov. Tim Walz’s evidently unwatchful eye, federal prosecutors have estimated that approximately $1 billion in taxpayer funds have been siphoned from multiple state- and federally funded social service programs over the last five years. As of this writing, 87 individuals have been charged in connection with the scheme, with 61 convictions already secured and more charges continuing to be filed against these fraudsters. The bulk of the fraud scheme centers around two ...

What do we do about China?

The United States is confronting an existential threat — but not the kind defined by ships on the horizon or missiles in the air. The danger instead stems from a waning sense of national purpose and a growing doubt about America’s global role. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the emerging geopolitical alignment linking China, Russia and Iran. This threat does not imply that China is preparing a direct attack on the United States. Rather, it reflects what will happen as America retreats from the world stage. Russia will expand its influence throughout Eastern Europe. China will ...

Melting pot boiling over?

In one sense, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are the foundation of the country’s government. The Declaration laid out the principles we aspire toward. The Constitution established the three branches of government. It contains many brilliant mechanisms to check the government’s power. The Bill of Rights offers another layer of protection. But mere words -- even some of the most brilliant and influential words ever written -- didn’t create America’s greatness. Americans did. Imagine you could magically impose America’s system of government in Somalia, ...

How Trump can help Argentina’s comeback

President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei have a special relationship. Each is engaged in a crusade to make his respective country’s economy great again. Trump was all in on helping Milei win his elections earlier this year, and he has also offered the Argentines a $20 billion “lifeline” as they adjust to the bumpy path to needed free-market reforms. The stakes are gigantic because the whole world is watching Milei’s embrace of free-market “shock capitalism,” which so far is working. He has restored sound money (by linking to the dollar) and taken a ...

Not the best choice

If you were looking for a great choice for a terrible Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth was always your man. It was entirely unsurprising that President Donald Trump picked him. No rational person could want Hegseth anywhere near America’s chain of command, and it’s unclear that any rational person ever has. For starters, there was highly credible evidence, including from his former Fox News colleagues, that the out-of-central-casting bro drank excessively, to the point of open intoxication. There was the 2017 accusation that he had sexually assaulted a woman, and the $50,000 ...

Boss Trump?

Perhaps a fedora or a bowler hat should replace President Donald Trump’s omnipresent MAGA cap. In recent months, he seems more like an old big city boss than the head of the world’s premier power. Trump continues to dole out pardons, first to a convicted drug dealer who was once president of Honduras and Henry Cuellar, a former Democratic Congressman from Texas, as per usual, justifying the actions with a snappy explanation. Take your pick of which former New York mayor Trump resembles. He favors Jimmy Walker, who mixed his actions with both panache and style. His public ...