Michael McKenna
Columns by Michael McKenna
A rebuttal to Venture Global
One of the great things about writing a column is that it occasionally draws blood and the intended target responds with an ill-advised letter to the editor. Published September 27, 2023
Barreling toward another government shutdown: The art of political kabuki
Since the passage of the misguided and disastrous Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974, parts of the federal government have shut down 20 times, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Published September 20, 2023
Al Gore and illegitimacy: No one voted for net-zero emissions by 2035
Al Gore, the former vice president, Nobel laureate and tobacco farmer, the guy who literally made his money by selling out to Arab oil traders, has been making the news lately. Published September 15, 2023
Feds should investigate Venture Global, which is supposed to be sending LNG to Poland — but isn’t
The energy world is characterized by large, capital-intensive facilities that sometimes take decades to finance, permit and build. Published September 13, 2023
Biden fails crisis management in Hawaii; DeSantis shines in Florida
One legitimate measurement of the readiness and capability of a candidate to be president is how he or she responds to a crisis. Published September 9, 2023
Summoning violence: Why using the 14th Amendment against Trump is a really bad idea
Of all of the legal challenges former President Donald Trump faces, perhaps the most formidable is the risk of being struck from the ballot in a number of states because his presence would contravene Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Published September 6, 2023
Gavin Newsom’s shift on energy is a sign he’s running for president
Gavin Newsom, the current governor of California, is running for president -- maybe in 2024, certainly in 2028. Published September 3, 2023
Political parties’ presidential nominating process is greatest risk to our democracy
Democrats have been working on a theme for the last couple of years that former President Donald Trump and his supporters constitute a threat to democracy because, well, because they have the temerity to support Mr. Trump. Published August 30, 2023
Voters need to know who will serve the next president
Here's an idea: instead of wasting time on questions about UFOs and climate change, maybe the moderators of last Wednesday's debate should have asked about important and relevant questions. Published August 26, 2023
GOP presidential contest has come down to Trump vs. DeSantis
The Iowa State Fair has mercifully come and gone, and the first debate among the GOP presidential candidates is upon us. Published August 23, 2023
On the GOP debate stage or not, Trump will dominate the headlines
The current candidates for the Republican presidential nomination seem to think that former President Donald Trump won in 2016 because he won the debates. Published August 18, 2023
Congress led by octogenarians stuck in Cold War mentality
The great Jonathan Martin recently wrote a story that lays bare all the pathologies of the Republican Party and the chasm that exists between its "leaders" and the voters. Published August 16, 2023
Biden outflanks Republicans on China
This past Wednesday, President Biden signed an executive order banning new American investments in advanced semiconductors and quantum computers in China starting in 2024. Published August 13, 2023
College football: Where profits are more important than education
Last week, the Pac-12 conference, which was founded in 1915 and has won more NCAA championships in team sports than any other college sports conference, dissolved in a matter of hours. Published August 9, 2023
National commission on COVID-19 could protect more Americans in the future
We need some sort of national reckoning with respect to COVID-19. If we don't get a firm grip on what went right and what went wrong and why, we are likely to repeat the lethal mistakes that were made. Published August 6, 2023
Decline of Hollywood followed the summer of 1977
In the summer of 1977, nearly everyone in the country was seeing "Star Wars" or "Smokey and the Bandit" in movie theaters. Published August 2, 2023
The limits of politics: What happens in your own home is what matters
As we wander into yet another election that will no doubt eventually become the "most important election of our lifetime," it might be worth thinking about the limits of politics, especially with respect to the presidency. Published July 28, 2023
Why skipping the GOP debate makes sense for Trump
Former President Donald Trump does not seem very excited about the opportunity to participate in the first Republican presidential primary debate. Published July 26, 2023
New York Yankees and Pentagon are both guilty of overpaying for mediocrity
The New York Yankees, one of the premier sports franchises on Earth, are in last place in the American League East division. Published July 21, 2023
GOP must stop yelling about ‘weaponization’ of Biden’s DOJ
As the next indictment against former President Donald Trump creeps closer, it seems like a good time to review a few simple yet often forgotten and perhaps outdated concepts about American justice and governance. Published July 19, 2023
