The Arsenic Wars
“Can I please have some more arsenic in my water, Mommy? More salmonella in my cheeseburger, please.” So begins a Democratic National Committee commercial attacking George W. Bush’s policy on arsenic levels in water. In the commercial, a cute little girl fills a glass of water from the sink, and asks for not only more […]
The “Patient Bill of Rights” is Political Window Dressing
As a health care provider, here is my proposal for a patient bill of rights: 1. The right to enter voluntary, contractual relationships with doctors — without paternalistic interference on the part of federal and state governments. For example: laws mandating that health insurance pay for everything under the sun, thereby driving up the costs […]
Patient’s Bill of Rights Will Turn Patients into Prisoners
It may sound healthy, this debate we’re hearing in Washington over a “Patients’ Bill of Rights.” But it’s like listening to prisoners clamor for better food and more yard time. No matter what the outcome, they’re still prisoners. What they should be angling for is early parole. That’s why it was disappointing to hear President […]
Virginia State University Tyranny
If we had to single out one American institution that stands at the forefront of modern-day racial discrimination, deception and contempt for fundamental principles of liberty, it would be America’s universities. Under the euphemisms of affirmative action, multiculturalism or diversity, race is used as admission criterion and then administrators swear it isn’t. They often restrict […]
Asian American Pity Party
Here are some of the racial epithets I’ve been called in my lifetime: Chink. Gook. Jap. Nigger. Slant eyes. Dog-eater. Those are just the printable ones. I’m an American of Filipino descent, but have been mistaken for everything from native Hawaiian to Caribbean. I’ve been blamed for the Vietnam War, attacked for stealing jobs and […]
Libertarianism: In the Pursuit of No Government
Q: What about the Libertarians? They seek the same role for government as people such as yourself. You cannot complain that there is not a party that is fiscally conservative and socially liberal when the Libertarians are present. A: Yes I can. Because the Libertarians are the classic example of how you cannot primarily pursue […]
Look Who’s Supporting School Choice Now!
No wonder the California Teachers Association was howling. Ray Haynes actually wanted them to practice what they preach. Haynes, a Republican state senator from California, recently introduced legislation in Sacramento that would have required public school teachers to send their children to public schools. Teachers cried out in opposition from the Redwood forests of northern […]
Shooting Down Missile Critics
American know-how can surmount virtually any obstacle. Yet we’re to believe that missile defense is impossible? Baloney. To hear some critics tell it, America’s planned missile-defense system is based on the B-movie fantasies of former actor President Reagan. It’ll never work, they chortle. But anyone who keeps up with the latest tech news knows better. […]
Dealing with the China-Taiwan Puzzle
As the guarantor of regional security in Asia, the United States should be paying closer attention to the military buildup and strident anti-Taiwan rhetoric of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Other nations may be able to dismiss these threats as just another round of saber rattling, but if the troubled situation in the Taiwan […]
Great Job! You’re Fired
Companies are usually rewarded when they do a good job. They make more money. They gain more customers. They even win awards from their peers. But apparently that’s not the case when a company’s business is improving big-city education. In too many cities across the country, education companies that improve test scores and boost student […]
Bull Fighting: Are We in a Bull or Bear Market?
I’ve made some good money in the strong recovery that began April 4, and you probably have, too. And all along I’ve been saying it’s nothing but a great big wonderful bear market rally. I must say, I’ve caught myself this week hoping the market would go down just so I can have the satisfaction […]
Pat Robertson Supports Forced Abortions in China, But Opposes Voluntary Abortions in America
In a CNN interview on April 16, 2001, [Pat] Robertson, the founder of the Christian Coalition and head of the Christian Broadcasting Network, was asked how he reconciles his support for close ties with China with Beijing’s ruthless one-child policy, which has forced unwanted abortions on tens of millions of women. “I don’t agree with […]
Downey Supporters Only Half Right
Award-winning actor Robert Downey Jr. has been arrested again. Before Tuesday’s arrest on drug charges, he already faced the possibility of nearly five years in prison for charges stemming from his arrest last November in Palm Springs. Now state officials have announced plans to send him to a live-in drug treatment center for at least […]
Bush’s Environmental Guacamole
Christie Todd Whitman has committed some of the Bush administration’s biggest gaffes to date — most infamously, her ill-fated crusade to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions at all costs to thwart alleged global warming. Bush Republicans are right to thwack Whitman for espousing a radical agenda that defies basic principles of limited government and economic […]
The Duty to Die
Our betters have been telling us how to live our lives for so long that it is only the next logical step for them to tell us when to die. We have grown so used to meekly accepting their edicts, even on what words we can and cannot use — “swamp” has virtually disappeared from […]
Alan Greenspan’s Solution to Market Volatility: The Gold Standard
I wrote yesterday that Alan Greenspan’s repeated rate cuts weren’t helping the economy, and that further cuts might not help either. We could find ourselves in the position of Japan, with rates at zero and an economy still spinning its wheels in a deflationary spiral. Deflations — characterized by falling commodity and asset prices, and […]
Pauline Kanchanalak: Poster Girl for the Futility of the McCain-Feingold Bill
Remember Pauline Kanchanalak? Probably not. But if there were ever a poster girl for the futility of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, Ms. Kanchanalak is it. Despite funneling nearly $700,000 in illegal foreign contributions to Democrats, Ms. Kanchanalak received a sentence last week that was lighter than a soap bubble. U.S. District Judge Paul […]
Republicans to Planet Earth: Drop Dead
” … Here, the environment is not an issue — it’s an ethic. It’s protecting creation.” In criticizing President Bush’s environmental policy, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., made that pronouncement. Echoing a similar theme, a former official with the Wilderness Society of California said, “Many, many people feel almost religious about the environment. It really does […]
