The Baines Report
In his time since leaving Langley, John Brennan has continued to be a fixture in the news. He has not gone gently into the night, trading barbs with President Trump and finding himself on the receiving end of more than a few Twitter tirades. Brennan has cast the President as dishonest and unfit for office, […]
Thursday evening, the LBJ School welcomed former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John R. Bolton for a spirited and comprehensive speech on global policy in Bass Lecture Hall. Ambassador Bolton, who served in senior positions in both Bush Administrations as well as the Reagan Administration, offered a vigorous critique of the Obama Administration’s foreign […]
As efforts to reinvigorate the American economy continue, one of the administration’s highest priorities should be collaborating with Congress on current proposals – including the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Act – aimed at restoring a fair and balanced trade relationship with China. Doing so will protect existing jobs, create new ones and help secure a […]
Two recent events – one in the public sector, one in the private sector – have helped to engage millions of Americans in a debate on privacy rights and information security: the debate over SOPA & Facebook employer hacking. These actions have led to robust debates, not just about what we as individuals can reasonably […]
Israel and Palestine. It’s an issue that many people refuse to touch with a 10-foot pole, dismissing it as a hopeless black hole of debate. Over the past 20 years, it seems the only thing the peace talks and diplomatic back-and-forth can achieve is the continuation of more peace talks … and this is […]
Two weeks ago, when President Obama announced his plan to ensure that millionaires pay at least the same tax rate as middle-income Americans, tax cut advocates came out in force. Some fiscal conservatives rumbled against the United States’ overly progressive taxation system, arguing that many countries, like Denmark, have flatter tax rates than the […]
Anwar al-Awlaki knew that America targeted him as a leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. In early February The New York Times reported that President Obama authorized al-Awlaki’s targeted killing. If he missed that article, the Hellfire Missiles that hit his car on May 5, 2011 in an unsuccessful attempt to take him […]
If the president wants to win reelection, he needs to pass his jobs and debt bills. And by that I mean they need to fail. Since his election in 2008, the Republican Party has routinely come out against nearly everything the president has championed through Congress. Even when the president proposes policy ideas that […]
This article was co-written by Marcus Denton, a second year master's candidate at the LBJ School for Public Affairs, studying social and economic policy. President Obama generates controversy with nearly every one of his decisions. But if he gives in on the most important environmental decision in years, we’re all going to feel the […]