Middle East beat: Dangerous Moment for Israel
In the aftermath of Iran’s missile attack, “the West’s admonishments of Israel certainly cannot be put down to simple wavering on Joe Biden’s part,” rages Daniel Ben-Ami at Spiked. The Biden administration’s $10 billion sanctions waiver “remains in place” both after “Iran’s assault on Israel” and “a drone attack by an Iranian-backed group [that] recently killed three American soldiers and injured 30 others in Jordan.” Biden’s “soft stance on Iran” follows “a political realignment among Democrats dating back to the Obama” years, a “tilt away from Israel and towards Iran” that’s all about “domestic politics.” The combo of the “wrath of its genocidal enemies” (from Hamas to Iran) and its “increasing isolation from the West” marks “a dangerous moment” for Israel.
From the right: FCC’s Net-Neutrality Power Grab
“There’s a simple reason” the Federal Communications Commission “shouldn’t regulate the internet: It has no legitimate legal authority to do so,” argue The Washington Times’ editors. Yet the FCC’s about to vote “on ‘net neutrality’ rules designed to give the feds even more leverage than they already do over online platforms.” “If Congress wants to” expand FCC’s authority, “elected lawmakers can pass a statute saying so, with a public record of the votes allowing accountability for the end result. This is how our government is supposed to work.” “When the FCC invents rules out of thin air, companies with cozy White House relationships such as Facebook and Google have enormous influence on the outcome.”
Economist: The Missing Issue — Growth
A “central economic topic” is missing this campaign season: “growth,” laments Glenn Hubbard at The Wall Street Journal. The “higher incomes” it fosters “can boost support for public goods such as national defense and education.” Alas, the Congressional Budget Office pegs annual growth at only 1.8% over the next decade. Traditional ways to promote growth (lower taxes, streamlined regulations, expanding markets) “have flagged,” opening a “lane” for “protectionism and industrial policy, from Democrats and Republicans alike.” This “hyperattention to those buffeted by change” hampers “policy effectiveness” and “invites rent-seeking behavior” and “costly regulatory micromanagement.” Pro-growth policies “that account for disruption’s effects” must “return to the economic agenda.”
Culture critic: USA’s Vaulting Ambition O’erleaps Itself
Shakespeare Theatre Company’s star-studded new production of “Macbeth,” with Ralph Fiennes in the title role, is “about two things very much on Americans’ minds,” writes Modern Age’s Daniel McCarthy: “regime change at home and whose children will inherit the kingdom.” “What’s most significant about this ‘Macbeth,’” soon “set to be shown” in New York City cinemas and beyond, is its “transparency,” offering a prism to better view our own politics. Lady Macbeth (Indira Varma) fans the flames of her husband’s ambition to become king of Scotland, though three pesky witches have prophesied he will succeed — yet have no heirs. “Power is a poor reward absent posterity” — an augur of the 2024 election? While this “Macbeth” happily “does not contain immediate political prescriptions,” its “lessons” on power and politics are “far more important” to American viewers.
Conservative: NPR’s Chosen Bias
“There’s something refreshingly honest about the way that NPR responded to the revelations and accusations of 25-year veteran Uri Berliner,” snarks National Review’s Jim Geraghty. And “you’ve seen this” cycle before: “Some big mainstream-media institution botches a story or a series of stories. In the wake of the embarrassment, some within the ranks realize that their audience is almost entirely left-of-center, and that the potential right-of-center audience doesn’t trust them.” Yet “then very little changes.” At “NPR, there is no rubbing of the chin, furrowed brows, or begrudging concession . . . they must do better. Nope, NPR’s management thinks they’re doing a terrific job, and they don’t see any reason to change.” “NPR didn’t get this way accidentally; this is what it wants to be.”
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
