Victor C. Bolles
October 31, 2025
An article in the most recent issue of the Atlantic Magazine casts doubt on the validity of an originalist interpretation of the US Constitution citing the hopelessly archaic and undemocratic beliefs of many of the Founders. But the progressive reforms recommended by the author would only facilitate the concentration of power in the Executive Branch that President Trump is currently attempting. In this commentary we look at how only an originalist interpretation of the constitution can prevent this concentration of power.
Quote from the commentary:
The legal basis for many of the key elements of his MAGA Movement have yet to be determined. Everything is being dumped onto the Court. Let us hope that (the author) is wrong and that our originalist justices are able to decipher how our Founders would have supported the checks and balances that have preserved our republic for 250 years.
Victor C. Bolles
October 27, 2025
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is running for mayor of New York City on what he calls an affordability agenda. He apparently does not realize that it is capitalism that makes things affordable. Socialism just makes things scarce. In this commentary we look at why Mr. Mamdani’s affordability agenda is doomed to failure (and some other matters).
Quote from Joseph Schumpeter:
“Queen Elizabeth owned silk stockings. The capitalist achievement does not typically consist in providing more silk stockings for queens but in bringing them within reach of factory girls.”
Victor C. Bolles
October 17, 2025
The situation in the Middle East is changing quickly. The euphoria of a ceasefire and exchange of hostages has deteriorated into the reality of public executions on the streets of Gaza. But the war against Israel is only one front of the larger war against the West. In this commentary we look at the threats to the peaceful Middle East we hoped would follow this ceasefire.
Quote from the commentary:
The next phase of the cease fire is critical – disarming Hamas to eliminate the weapons they currently have. This will not be easy. The public execution of opponents by Hamas is proof that have not relinquished the use of deadly force and terror to achieve their goals. Already President Trump is saying that terrorist violence in Gaza must stop or he will, “go in and kill them.”
Victor C. Bolles
October 3, 2025
Remember the old saying, “it is always darkest before the dawn?” This maxim is intended as a message of hope. No matter how bad things are there is always the hope of a better future, and we are currently living in pretty dark times. But this future dawn doesn’t just happen. We have to make it happen. In this commentary we look at some things we can do to help bring on the dawn.
Quote from the commentary:
“President Trump is in the process of deconstructing the America that our ancestors built, which has lasted 250 years. Government departments and agencies are being wiped out. Power is being concentrated in the White House while the president attempts to ignore or circumvent the checks on concentrated power that our Founders created.”
Victor C. Bolles
September 25, 2025
As a politician Donald Trump has always been controversial and many of his campaign promises were outlandish and impracticable. In his first term his close advisors and cabinet members were able to dissuade him from following through on some of the more outrageous ideas. In his second term he has been unchecked by his cabinet and advisors so his ideas have been immediately implemented no matter how harebrained or impulsive. But is this onslaught of outlandish ideas the product of a “stable genius” as he claims or of an unstable genius as we fear? In this commentary we ask some questions about the president’s mental health.
Quote from the commentary:
Mr. Trump loves this power. An idea pops into his head (often in the middle of the night) which he then promptly posts on Truth Social. Et voila. It’s now government policy. He is the most powerful person on the planet and he wants everyone to know it.
Victor C. Bolles
September 18, 2025
The horizontal nature of American society (as described by Gordon S. Wood in his book The Radicalism of the American Revolution) is a key factor in what makes our country exceptional. But over time that exceptional social structure, which empowers millions of citizens, has been eroded as more and more power becomes concentrated in Washington. In this commentary we look at how our current divisiveness, that recently claimed Charlie Kirk as a casualty, is a struggle between the right and the left to control all that power.
Quote from the commentary
The divisiveness plaguing our country are the riptides and eddies of the struggle to control all that power as extremes on both the left and the right battle for supremacy. Checks and balances created by the Framers are being attacked. Power is being concentrated in the executive branch abetted by a compliant bureaucracy as an inept Congress cedes its enumerated constitutional powers.
Victor C. Bolles
August 27, 2025
Realizing that having no message other than resistance to President Trump will not gain them enough seats to wrest either the House or the Senate from the Republicans, Democrats are seeking a new message to attract voters. One idea gaining popularity is the Abundance Movement that is based on the book Abundance written by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. In this commentary we look at the pros and cons of some of the authors’ ideas.
Quote from the commentary:
“Given that the authors of Abundance admit that economic growth, building infrastructure and producing energy are essential to the abundant future they envision one would think that the general public and even some Republicans would be supportive of the Abundance Agenda ……. But a lot of the Abundance Agenda is little more than wishful thinking.”
Victor C. Bolles
August 11, 2025
Democrats across the country are outraged that Texas Governor Abbott wants to redraw the Congressional district map in order to favor Republicans a concept called gerrymandering (although many Democratic states are more gerrymandered than Texas). Both Republicans and Democrats gerrymander even though they also denounce the process. In this commentary we discuss how to get rid of gerrymandering if politicians are sincere about eliminating this blight on our democracy.
Quote from the commentary:
So, spare me the drama and faux outrage. Gerrymandering appears to be an unfortunate side effect of democracy but it should be fairly easy to get rid of gerrymandering. With the vast computing power of artificial intelligence, it would be simple for AI to configure compact contiguous districts without regard to the strength of political parties in certain areas. But. There is always a “but” isn’t there?
Is the death of Democracy
Victor C. Bolles
August 6, 2025
The viability and credibility of America’s public institutions are threatened by executive overreach, Congressional underperformance, a Federal Reserve tasked beyond its capabilities, political parties controlled by extremists and a Supreme Court in disrepute. Most of these institutions suffer from mission creep but the Supreme Court is being pilloried for trying to maintain constitutional order. In this commentary we investigate attacks on the Court that are actually attacks on the Constitution.
Quote from the Commentary:
“Democrats claim that the US constitution should be a living document. That the Court’s interpretation of the US Constitution should reflect the current culture and modern ways of thinking. One that evolves, changes over time, and adapts to new circumstances, without being formally amended. But a living document is a politicized document reflecting the views and opinions of the party in power. But the Democrats are not alone. Donald Trump also wants to change how the Constitution is interpreted.”
Victor C. Bolles
July 30, 2025
The dueling ideologies of the left and right are, in reality, the expression of two aspects of our human nature, an independent individual within a larger society where the needs of the group are in conflict with the needs of the individual. How can we create a good society if our conflicts are buried deep in our human nature? In this commentary, we look at ways to make progress in building a good society.
Quote from the commentary:
But while individualism has transformed our world, humans remain hybrids, Homo duplex. Most Americans are partly individualistic and partly communalistic. But each of these visions of society have their problems. Individualistic societies lead to inequality while communalistic societies are oppressive.
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Victor C. Bolles
July 14, 2025
Rumors are flying around Washington about the imminent (and perhaps untimely) departure of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell along with speculation about possible replacements for this critical role. In this commentary we look at some of the implications of this change in leadership at this institution forced to take on outsized responsibilities for the US (and world) economy.
Quote from the commentary:
(T)he American economy is chugging along (the envy of the world as the Economist magazine puts it) with economic growth over two percent, low unemployment and the stock market at record highs. Adding stimulus in the form of lower interest rates to an already humming economy will only lead to one thing – inflation.
Victor C. Bolles
July 2, 2025
The difference between capitalism and socialism is easy to explain, capitalism creates wealth and socialism distributes wealth. The important thing to keep in mind is the difference between creators and distributors. In this commentary we will look at some of those differences.
Quote from the commentary:
Remember, the Berlin Wall separating capitalist West Germany from communist East Germany (of which I have a piece in my study) wasn’t designed to keep opportunity seeking immigrants out, as is the case here in the US, it was built to keep depressed and discouraged East Germans in.
Victor C. Bolles
June 25, 2025
As president Trump flies off to join other world leaders at the NATO meeting in the Netherlands, it is a good time to analyze the nature of that alliance and the necessity of other alliances as well. In this commentary we will address the question of whether we need allies or not and, if we do needs allies, how do we rebuild our network of alliances that President Trump is in the process of destroying?
Quote from the commentary:
“That rules-based order had worked pretty darn well for many decades culminating with the collapse of the Soviet Union and a belief that the universal acceptance of the “Washington Consensus” would mean the “end of history.” But at the peak of the success of Western Civilization it all began to fall apart.”
