While Americans celebrate Independence Day, the rest of the world should raise a toast to the Union triumph at the battle Vicksburg, which fell on July 4, 1863. If the Confederacy had won, the world would be a very different place

Certain to be turfed out on his ear come September, the Member for Dobell will leave Parliament with a severance package ordinary Australians can only dream about. If an Abbott government is serious about reducing the deficit, parliamentary payouts would be a good place to start

The Business Council of Australia left John Howard to twist in the wind, conspiciuous by its silence in failing to defend WorkChoices. Now Abbott is getting a taste of the same fair-weather treatment

There has been no shortage of editorialising in regard to the recent spate of political leaders led to the block for a short, sharp shock. Ugly it might be, but better all the same than methods that tie other nation's leadership tussles into intractable knots

The feud over federal hospital funding between Victorian and the Commonwealth  is producing much heat and little light. A much-needed arbitrator could settle the dispute very quickly -- something Tony Abbott should bear in mind as election day draws closer

Nominally, the latest flap about public breastfeeding centres on infants' needs and mothers' "rights".  What of others' rights not to be offended?

Where we need civil discourse, abuse and insult. When seeking entertainment, cruelty and an endemic coarseness. Who is to blame? Why, all of us

No one disputes violence against women is a curse on its victims and all society, but the emphasis on one gender's suffering diminishes the greater evil, violence itself

If he is to be faulted, it is that he is too much of  a gentleman. To some, courtesy and restraint are weakennesses to be exploited, as a former aide observed firsthand.