Archive | March, 2002

It was Ronald Reagan who said that “economists are people who see something work in practice and wonder if it would work in theory.” I think this is a wonderful quote. And what is working in practice — or has been working for the last two decades — has been the U.S. economy. We have […]

“Battered woman syndrome” — the politically correct legal rationalization for letting cold-blooded female killers off the hook — is now an issue in the California governor’s race. Are both Democrats and Republicans really so desperate to close the gender gap that they’ll pander to the morally bankrupt voting bloc of women who blindly support women […]

How to make better decisions — big and small? Here are some tips. 1. Assume certainty is possible. You’re certain the sky is blue. You’re certain where you’re standing or sitting right now is where you’re standing or sitting. You can therefore be certain of many other things too, including more complex things. 2. Don’t […]

The spirits are up at the White House these days: everybody’s busy congratulating themselves for a war well fought and deservedly won. That we deserve to win the War on Terror is beyond respectable dispute (although, evidently, not beyond dispute altogether). But did we win the war? Actually, did we go to war? Unilateral carpet […]

In The New York Times of October 11th , right next to the article on the latest Nobel Prize winners in economics, is another titled Expansive Role for Greenspan Brings Out Critics of Fed’s Chief. The article recounts how Alan Greenspan has been called upon (and has eagerly consented) to provide an opinion and a […]

The economic and foreign policies of governments — for good or ill — exert a dramatic influence on investors’ portfolios. If that isn’t obvious by now, given the policies of the past two years, it will never be so. In economic policy we’ve seen Fed rate hikes (1999-2000), 1 punitive trust-busting, 2 tax cuts stretched […]

A reader writes in: I respectfully disagree with your “shooting-from-the-hip” and “un-objective-like” quick analysis of the Yates killings (see Daily Dose column 2/28/02–”Why the Insanity Defense is Insane” ). I haven’t had time to fully analyze the issue, but my initial impression is that Yates needs medical attention rather than being jailed for murder in […]

My readers know that customer service (or customer no-service) is a running theme throughout my articles. I am constantly aghast at the number of companies who don’t understand that their real business is to provide customer service. You may gain a few customers with your products, but you keep them, and grow your business through […]

One of the conditions associated with neurosis is a weakened sense of personal identity. Nations, too, sometimes suffer from not knowing the values they live for and defend. Our rallying cry is “freedom,” but what exactly does that mean? If we turn back to the Fifties, we notice our fear of communism was based more […]

The unacknowledged principle behind the recently passed House of Representatives “campaign finance reform” bill: Established media giants (CBS, ABC, New York Times) have a constitutional right to be free of restrictions on what they air or publish. (This of course is correct). Non-established, or less established, media people/organizations/individuals have no such constitutional right to promote […]

To: 9/11 victims and their families From: Daniel Pipes Subject: Compensation You have been engaged in an unfortunate spat with the U.S. government over the money you deserve for your losses on 9/11, prompting anger all around. Here’s a solution: Forget Washington and focus on Riyadh. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia bears a heavy responsibility […]