At this Bradley Lecture, Walter Russell Mead will discuss why the core institutions, ideas and expectations that shaped American life for the 60 years after the New Deal don’t work anymore.

Rick Santorum won big victories in three small contests in the Republican presidential race last Tuesday. In doing so he reshaped the oft-reshaped nomination battle once again. But he has not installed himself as the favorite, and neither he nor Mitt Romney has established himself as the candidate who can do best in the general election.

The European Union is planning to tax all airlines that travel to and from the 27 EU nations based on the amount of carbon emissions they produce.  The tax, to be collected beginning in 2013 for prior year emissions, will be calculated based on the length of each flight. The farther the airlines travel, the heftier the tax.

The best way to attract investment to the United States is not to penalize domestic firms that invest abroad, but to remove penalties on firms, domestic or foreign, that invest here. Numerous governments around the world have reached similar conclusions about their own economies and have reduced corporate income tax rates to attract investment to their shores.

In Massachusetts, where Republicans have long felt like outcasts, the atmosphere in the last few days has been nothing short of electrifying.

Although this year's initial version of comprehensive health reform was too much, too fast, and not put together in a way that was sustainable, it must wait for reconsideration until next year.

During two closed sessions before the luncheon, committee members discussed the latest in financial regulation issues. At a luncheon briefing following these sessions, SFRC members gave several statements and answered questions.