Tony Mecia
Stories by Tony Mecia
GOP Keeps Mulvaney's Seat in South Carolina, But Just Barely
Ralph Norman beat his Democratic challenger by 4 percentage points in a district Trump won by 20.
10:35 PM, Jun 20, 2017
In the race to fill the seat vacated by President Trump’s budget director, Republican real estate developer Ralph Norman on Tuesday beat his Democratic opponent in South Carolina’s 5th congressional district. Like the results of other special elections this year, the result was tighter than anticipated. In a district President Trump won by 20 points in November, Norman won by fewer than 4 points over Democrat Archie Parnell with 99 percent of precincts reporting. That big swing toward Democr Read more
Will Regulators Scrutinize Amazon's Purchase of Whole Foods?
Both companies have a small market share in the grocery industry, but the deal enhances Amazon's dominance of online shopping.
10:18 AM, Jun 19, 2017
The company that is the 12th biggest in the U.S., larger than all the big banks, is staunchly anti-union. It's putting mom-and-pop retailers out of business and driving even big chains into bankruptcy. It collects reams of data on its customers, resisted collecting state sales taxes for years, and has been accused of anti-competitive behavior. Ordinarily, that resume would suffice to sound alarm bells among the anti-corporate crowd. Yet so far, politicians have largely avoided objections to Read more
One Seat That Should Be Safe
Pugnacious politics in the Palmetto State.
Jun 19, 2017
Rock Hill, S.C. Inside his company's conference room, where the walls are lined with photos of sites his real-estate business has developed, Ralph Norman is talking about how he arrived at this point. He's favored to win a seat in Congress later this month. But it has been a long path for the 63-year-old Rock Hill native—and a tougher one than you might expect for a well-connected conservative businessman in one of the country's most solidly Republican states. Politics in South Carolina has Read more
Rolling Back the Obama Rules
Why a Michigan farmer thinks D.C. is 'running like a well-oiled machine.'
Jun 12, 2017
When Laura Campbell heard about new water regulations emanating from President Barack Obama's Environmental Protection Agency a few years back, she started calling up maps on her computer. The EPA was proposing to give itself the authority to regulate any water feature within 1,500 feet of a stream, and Campbell, who manages the agricultural ecology department for the Michigan Farm Bureau, wanted to see how far that authority would reach. Michigan—set amongst the Great Lakes—has lots of water, Read more
Can Trump Compromise on the Paris Climate Accords?
There's a way to keep allies happy and frustrate the left without damaging the U.S. economy.
9:00 AM, May 30, 2017
President Donald Trump's upcoming decision on whether to keep the United States engaged in the Paris climate accord sounds like an important moment. It's being cast as a yea or nay decision: Stay in and show global leadership on an issue world leaders find important. Or get out and do what's best for the U.S. economy. But there might be a third way: Stay in, do nothing to harm the U.S. economy, and hope that trends and new technologies continue to drive down U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. And Read more
Uh-oh. The Markets Have Noticed Trump's Problems.
Major stock indexes had their biggest one-day drops since September 2016.
5:12 PM, May 17, 2017
Well, this should attract people's attention: Stocks plunged big-time on Wednesday, as Washington political drama reached a fever pitch and investors worried that politicians won't deliver on tax reform and a health care overhaul. Major stock indexes fell around 2 percent, their biggest one-day drops since September 2016. Stocks are still up for the year and have been riding high since the election on hopes that Republicans can follow through on their promises. Despite relentless media cover Read more
The Entrepreneurial Spirit Is Alive, Well, and Youthful.
From the May 8, 2017, issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
8:00 AM, May 04, 2017
By most measures, Will Manidis is like many other American high school students. He plays lacrosse for Westtown, his Quaker boarding school outside Philadelphia. He's captain of Westtown's robotics team, which has deepened his interest in math and computer science. Last fall, in the heat of the election, he helped organize debate nights. Such activities are great material for college applications. When he enrolled at Westtown, Manidis figured he'd wind up at Harvard or Princeton, maybe go on t Read more
Agriculture Department to Scale Back Stringent School-Lunch Requirements
Obama-era rules ended up encouraging food waste and left kids hungry.
10:32 AM, May 01, 2017
The Agriculture Department is scaling back some of the Obama administration's most aggressive nutrition rules for school lunches, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Monday at a Virginia elementary school. THE WEEKLY STANDARD reported last month that schools have had a hard time meeting the Obama-era regulations, which took effect in 2012. The rules impose stringent federal restrictions on sodium and mandate whole grains and additional fruits and vegetables. Not only does this create lot Read more
Trump Needs a Booming Economy to Succeed. He Doesn't Have One.
A growth rate of 0.7 percent is too sluggish to help his agenda.
11:09 AM, Apr 28, 2017
What is the most important number in the Trump presidency? Is it 52, the number of Republican senators, who are needed to advance his legislative agenda? Or maybe 140, the character limit on Twitter? One of the critical figures was released Friday morning by the Commerce Department: the rate of economic growth. The economy grew at a sluggish 0.7 percent in the first three months of the year, the first such report under the Trump administration. That's the weakest growth rate in about three Read more
Teen Tech Times
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive, well, and youthful.
May 08, 2017
By most measures, Will Manidis is like many other American high school students. He plays lacrosse for Westtown, his Quaker boarding school outside Philadelphia. He's captain of Westtown's robotics team, which has deepened his interest in math and computer science. Last fall, in the heat of the election, he helped organize debate nights. Such activities are great material for college applications. When he enrolled at Westtown, Manidis figured he'd wind up at Harvard or Princeton, maybe go on t Read more
How Hotel Chains and Government Work Together to Thwart Airbnb
This hotel lobby is not guest-friendly.
12:02 PM, Apr 17, 2017
Sometimes you hear that thriving businesses are capitalist enterprises that relish competing and winning. And then you read about the heavy-handed efforts of taxi companies to use government to punish innovative competitors such as Uber and Lyft. Or you learn how brick-and-mortar restaurants are working to drive off upstart food trucks with new government regulations. The gales of creative destruction from nimble competitors can be swift and unforgiving, and government often acts as a will Read more
Simply Unpalatable
The main problem with school lunches.
Apr 17, 2017
Oh, what Bridget O’Brien Wood could do if the government allowed her just a little more salt. She could serve potato salad that isn't bland. She could experiment with curry sauces. And O'Brien Wood, food service director with Buffalo Public Schools, could finally tell parents that the French fries at lunch taste like the ones their kids gobble up at restaurants. As it is, O'Brien Wood finds herself in a pickle: She has to serve foods that Buffalo's schoolchildren will eat, but in a way that co Read more
ACLU Will Denounce 'Unmasking'--If You Ask
But don't look for a press release on the danger of weakening privacy rights.
4:23 PM, Apr 04, 2017
The ACLU, the nation's preeminent civil liberties organization, isn't loudly denouncing the Obama administration's apparent "unmasking" of Trump associates in intelligence intercepts. But if you ask, the ACLU will tell you that it believes existing privacy rules are insufficient to guard against potential abuses. Asked on Tuesday by THE WEEKLY STANDARD about its response to allegations in recent news reports that former National Security Adviser Susan Rice asked for the identity of Trump a Read more
Feel-Good Investing
Businesses might want to focus on profits? Perish the thought.
Apr 10, 2017
Picture in your mind, for a moment, the Monopoly man. You know, the guy in the Parker Brothers board game who has a top hat and white handlebar mustache. He makes his money in real estate and railroads. Think how he probably invested that money. Now, imagine that Monopoly man has a grandson, a twentysomething hipster. How would you guess he invests the inherited fortune? Would he be content with maximizing profits like his grandfather? Or would he strive to “make a difference" by channeling hi Read more
Wake Forest Faculty Members Want School Initiative to Reject Koch Funding
5:45 AM, Mar 21, 2017
Faculty at Wake Forest University are revolting against a multidisciplinary campus institute because of suspicions it is secretly designed to expose students to conservative and libertarian views. Their proof? The Charles Koch Foundation is providing some of the institute's funding. In a vote last week, the faculty senate of the private North Carolina liberal arts school demanded that the university sever its relationship with the foundation, including renouncing its funding. A faculty commi Read more
Trump Gets an Early Victory with Jobs Report
Separating the wheat from the politics.
9:57 AM, Mar 10, 2017
The stock market is through the roof. Consumer confidence is at a 15-year high. And this morning, in the first full monthly jobs report from the Labor Department, comes news that the country added 235,000 jobs in February. That pace is about the same as it was the month before and about double the average monthly gain of the Obama years. Is this what animal spirits look like? And how much credit goes to President Trump? Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., told Bloomberg News ear Read more
Manufacturing Optimism
Can factory jobs be made in America again?
Mar 06, 2017
Gastonia, N.C. For nearly 20 years, Michael Philbeck drove forklifts and fixed machines at a factory here that makes materials for car tires. Over the years, as dozens of other plants west of Charlotte closed, his hung on. A few years ago, though, Philbeck started looking for ways to boost his pay. With a wife and five kids, the $20 an hour from the Firestone Fibers & Textiles plant wasn't going far. The Army veteran returned to school, to the local community college. But he didn't train f Read more
Cash for Doctors
Revisited.
Mar 25, 2013
With Obama-care poised to kick in to high gear next year, Dr. Brian Forrest routinely hears skeptics ask if the new laws and regulations will stifle his innovative primary care practice outside Raleigh, N.C. The Weekly Standard has been checking in with Forrest since our May 24, 2010, cover story, “Cash for Doctors,” detailed how physicians were developing novel approaches to avoid the coming avalanche of new regulations and insurance mandates. Forrest’s practice, Access Healthcare, charges p Read more
Cash for Doctors Revisited
An idea whose time has come?
Apr 04, 2011
Raleigh The last time The Weekly Standard caught up with Dr. Brian Forrest, Obamacare had just passed and the North Carolina doctor was confident that his approach to health care would prove popular (“Cash for Doctors,” May 24, 2010). His practice, Access Healthcare outside Raleigh, doesn’t accept insurance. Instead, Forrest takes payment from patients on the spot, and he lists prices in his waiting room in an effort to be transparent, “like a Jiffy Lube.” At the time, he said he figured his Read more
Crisis, What Crisis?
A sojourn in Greece.
11:00 PM, Jun 15, 2010
Nafplio, Greece It’s afternoon and the Greeks are having one of their lately quite regular national strikes. From behind the register at his parents’ souvenir shop, Vassili Thomas is assigning blame for the country’s economic problems. Don’t get him started on the international banks, which he says are charging Greece unfairly high interest rates. The media get him riled, too: After the series of strikes and riots, the international press, he says, is falsely portraying his country as vi Read more
Cash for Doctors
And other ways to escape the diktats of Obamacare.
May 24, 2010
On a wall inside Dr. Brian Forrest’s medical office in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, is something you won’t find in most doctors’ offices, a price list: Office visit $49 Wrist splint $41 Pap-smear $51. Those are the prices patients pay for the services, and they pay on the spot. Forrest doesn’t take insurance. If he did, the prices would be far higher and not nearly as transparent. He says listing prices up front is about trying to do business in a straightforward way, Read more