The Upcoming Magna Carta Octocentennial

We are only two years away from the octocentennial (I looked it up, it's word meaning 800-year anniversary) of the Magna Carta, western democracy's founding document.  Watch this space for more news of this year's commemoration.

Meanwhile, read Daily Telegraph columnist Philip Johnston on that piece of parchment that made England a nation.

A Word of Caution to My DFL Friends

The 88th Minnesota Legislature convened a few minutes ago.  Congratulations to all of the members who were elected or re-elected for this session.

Local media are filled today with warnings for the new DFL (Democrat-Farmer-Labor) majorities, who enjoy one-party rule in St. Paul for the first time in a generation.  (See this, this and this.)

Their task, it is said, is “to prove that a state governed by Democrats can create progress without overreaching.”  Implicit in this warning is that the Democrats know where the line lies between creating progress and overreaching.

Based on my recent adventures in electoral politics, I’m not convinced they do.  Last autumn, our traveling campaign circus moved from public forum to public forum around the Southwest Metro.  The spending and policy promises made by the DFL candidates would pile up at every stop. Surely not everyone can be made happy.

Minnesota's Green Energy Follies, Part 3

In Part 1 of this series, I discuss how Democrat leadership has decided that 2013 will be the Year of Solar in energy policy at the Minnesota State Legislature.  In Part 2, I discuss how the state’s leading environmental groups got together and decided 2013 would be the Year of Solar.  Right on time, the Minneapolis Star Tribune tells us this morning that 2013 will be a “Big Year for Solar.”

The Star Tribune’s story includes a quote from the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association, a member of the umbrella group Solar Works for Minnesota.  The Association’s Policy Director, Lynn Hinkle, tells the paper that his “group is pushing for special, higher rates on solar power sold to utilities.”  The public University of Minnesota is eager to tell us about “Unleashing Minnesota's Solar Power Potential.”  Good to know.

That the stars have aligned just so to promote solar power is not a coincidence.  It is the result of a well-coordinated and well-funded effort that combines the resources of wealthy philanthropists with the willing participation of local nonprofits, left-leaning political organizations, elected officials, media and academic institutions.

California's Ongoing Collapse, 2

Walter Russell Mead adds his take to the story of California's ongoing collapse.  Joel Kotkin adds his thoughts in the Orange County Register.

California's Ongoing Collapse

Over at New Geography, Robert J. Cristiano chronicles the ongoing collapse of California's blue utopia as he moves east to Texas.  Bon Voyage!

Ted Cruz Writes on "Opportunity Conservatism"

Newly-sworn in U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) writes in the Washington Post on the need for Republicans to promote "Opportunity Conservatism."  He's not talking about the Compassionate Conservatism of a decade ago, but something more along the lines of the Aspirational Conservatism that we have advocated in this space.

Senator Cruz is definitely one to watch in coming years.

The Media Watchdog That Didn't Bark

Over at Power Line, Scott Johnson makes the point that local media have been unusually quiet about that hard-hitting Wall Street Journal piece reporting on the nation-leading bureaucratic bloat at our University of Minnesota.

The Journal put out its piece on Saturday (I added my take on Monday) and the Minneapolis Star Tribune today (Thursday) published a commentary from the Washington Post, that was originally published on Monday.  As for original, local reporting on this nationwide scandal:  nada, so far.

With the higher education bubble about to burst, you would think that some local outlet would smell a great story, or even imagine a prize for a great series on the topic.  Instead, we seem to have a curious form of "professional courtesy" at work.

Author Joel Kotkin has an interesting take on the formation of a new coalition of elites.  This coalition has thrived, relatively, during the recent Obama recession.  Kotkin believes that this new group is "made up of the leaders of social and traditional media, the upper bureaucracy and the academy", which he dubs "the New Clerisy."  If you are within the group, it appears, you are immune from criticism.

Minnesota's Green Energy Follies, Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed how Minnesota's energy policy is about to take a sharp turn to the left.  The November election handed the local DFL party (Democrat-Farmer-Labor) complete control of state government for the first time in a generation.  Twenty years of pent-up policy demands await fulfillment.

The incoming Chair of the House Energy Policy Committee (Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park) has announced the first area of interest:  solar polar.

The Column: Week 1

[The first edition of my new weekly column]

Congress has now passed its “cure” for the Fiscal Cliff Follies™, so our attention can now return to more important matters, such as North Korean architecture.  Trust me, they are closely related subjects.

While flying back from Florida this weekend, I got the chance to read this book review in the Wall Street Journal of German architect Philipp Meuser's work,:"Architectural and Cultural Guide: Pyongyang."

The New Weekly Column

As my New Year's Resolution, I am starting a weekly column in this space.  In my first edition, I am tackling subjects ranging from North Korean architecture, Nelson Rockefeller, and the recent Fiscal Cliff Follies.