Michael Jackson and the Race Card: “Don’t Leave Home Without It”
The Race Card — “Don’t Leave Home Without It.” Michael Jackson, according to the Santa Barbara district attorney, allegedly molested a 12-year-old boy. But not long after the search of Michael Jackson’s estate, and the issuance of an arrest warrant, Jackson defenders whipped out the race card quicker than you could say “Billie Jean.” Using […]
Government Created Scarcity: California’s “Affordable” Housing Problem
One of the staples of liberal hand-wringing is a need for “affordable housing.” Last year, the standard liberal solution — more government spending — was proposed in a televised speech at the National Press Club in Washington, in a report billed as a “new vision.” This year, supply and demand made front-page news in the […]
Medicare Expansion Backlash
Republicans think they are so clever, having rammed through a massive expansion of the welfare state by giving drug benefits to the elderly. They co-opted the AARP — long considered to be in the pocket of the Democrats — and left the Democrats with no real domestic issue to run on. Hence, Republicans believe they […]
“Preserving Farmland” and the High Cost of Busybodies
A reader wrote recently about his father, who has been a farmer, but is now ready to retire. His father figured on selling his land to get some money for his golden retirement years. But he found that he cannot get anywhere near the land’s market value because busybodies have passed laws that destroy most […]
Organ Donations, Egalitarian Envy, and the High Cost of Busybodies
It was gratifying news when fans around the country volunteered to donate their kidneys to basketball star Alonzo Mourning, who would otherwise have to cut short his career because of life-threatening medical problems with his own kidneys. However, the head of the New York Organ Donor Network said that it was a shame “that it […]
On Republicans and Democrats
Readers sometimes ask why I occasionally write columns advising Democrats on how they could gain some political advantage by adopting certain policies. After all, as a Republican, don’t I want my party to win? Why am I helping the enemy? The answer is that I’m a Republican only because, historically, it has more closely represented […]
America’s Failing War Effort (Part 12 of 12): Conclusion
Recent criticism of the Bush administration has focused on the limitations of American intelligence in failing to predict September 11th, and the shortcomings current plans for homeland defense. In truth, however, these problems are only superficial. If anything, the role of U.S. intelligence in preventing further terrorist attacks on American soil has been one of […]
America’s Failing War Effort (Part 11 of 12): International Law and Diplomacy
We have so far discussed the aims of the war and the weapons used to fight it. Aside from pointing to the proper moral principles that ought to guide the selection of either, we have not said much about the formal process by which foreign policy decisions are to be made. Questions of proper legal […]
Terrorists vs. America: What America Stands For and Why the Terrorists Hate Us
Like many Americans, I’ve been trying to find occasional respite from the horrors of September 11. And like many Americans, I found it through the video rental store. My wife and I watched a delightful Australian movie called “The Dish.” Having seen part of it months ago on an airplane, I thought it would be […]
America’s Failing War Effort (Part 10 of 12): Military Deployment and Readiness
It is presumptuous and impossible for civilian laymen to evaluate the intricacies of military policy. These are details best left to experts in military science. But civilians are in a position to evaluate the overall strategies of military policy, insofar as they reflect the strategies of a nation’s foreign policy. For this category, the Bush […]
The Case for ‘Iraqification’
Stay the course — but change the course. That was the meaning of the sudden, sharp, and understated change in Washington’s Iraq policy earlier this month. After the American civilian administrator of Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III, made a hurried visit to the White House, President George W. Bush said he wants “the Iraqis to […]
America’s Failing War Effort (Part 9 of 12): Israel and the Palestinians
In the preceding sections, we have evaluated the Bush administration’s approach toward America’s enemies, and the supporters of its enemies. In these categories, we have found that while the United States has taken some extremely limited steps to defend itself, it has failed to do so against its most dangerous enemies. In some cases, it […]
