“Trade Imbalances”: The Seen and Unseen
Walter Williams (2001.07.21 )
I buy more from my grocer than he buys from me. I buy more from my auto dealer than he buys from me. The trade imbalance doesn’t stop there. My grocer and auto dealer both buy more from their wholesaler than the wholesaler buys from them. These are examples of trade deficits. What should President […]
Straw Men vs. Capital Punishment
Jeff Jacoby (2001.07.20 )
Two days after Timothy McVeigh’s execution, The New York Times published eight letters to the editor discussing the event and expressing an opinion on the death penalty. Six of the eight were against executing murderers, one was in favor, and one was in favor in a case of mass atrocity like McVeigh’s. Four days earlier, […]
Once Upon a Rhyme
Michelle Malkin (2001.07.19 )
Limp Bizkit lyrics. Beeper numbers. TV jingles. Carson Daly’s vital statistics. Such is the stuff that clutters the minds of American boys and girls. It wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time, students had their heads crammed full with poetry by great old writers — the “Dead White Men” so reviled by today’s multiculturalists. […]
McVeigh and the Death Penalty
Thomas Sowell (2001.07.18 )
The execution of Timothy McVeigh has again raised the issue of capital punishment. Much of the case against capital punishment does not rise above the level of opaque pronouncements that it is “barbaric,” by which those who say this presumably mean that it makes them unhappy to think of killing another human being. It should. […]
Moral Compromise: Why There is No Peace in Palestine
Jeff Jacoby (2001.07.17 )
The Palestinians, you may have noticed, have changed their tune. When the current orgy of violence against Israelis began last fall, the explanation out of Gaza City — faithfully echoed by most of the Western media — was that it was all Ariel Sharon’s fault. His visit to the Temple Mount on September 28, it […]
The Legacy of Slavery Hustle
Walter Williams (2001.07.16 )
Today, there are increasing numbers of black professionals and scholars advocating reparations for slavery. New York Times staff writer Tamar Lewin, in her June 3 article “Calls for Slavery Reparations Getting Louder,” says that a team of black lawyers have announced that they plan to sue the federal government and companies that have profited from […]
Gary Davis’ Political Masterpiece in California
Thomas Sowell (2001.07.15 )
Some people were surprised when California’s Governor Gray Davis hired two Democratic Party operatives at $30,000 a month to serve as spinmeisters during the current electricity crisis. But all indications are that they are well worth their money. Think about it: Here is a state that has already had rolling blackouts and is facing more […]
In Search of…an Energy Crisis
Jeff Jacoby (2001.07.15 )
I had this column all figured out. “Good news,” I was going to begin. “Gasoline prices are up. And why is that good news? Because it means more gasoline is on the way — and more gas means cheaper gas.” I intended to explain that prices were high because supplies of fuel were tight. But […]
EPA Games
Michelle Malkin (2001.07.14 )
What doesn’t Carol Browner want us to know about her zealously activist reign at the Environmental Protection Agency? Six months ago, on her last day in office, Bill Clinton’s former eco-chief oversaw the destruction of her computer files — in clear violation of a judge’s order requiring the agency to preserve its records. According to […]
Inept Teacher Training
Walter Williams (2001.07.14 )
American education will never be improved until we address a problem seen as too delicate to discuss. That problem is teacher philosophy and incompetency. If we were serious about efforts to improve public education, we’d shut down schools of education. Why? Schools of education, either graduate or undergraduate, represent the academic slums of any university. […]
The Mail Monopoly
Thomas Sowell (2001.07.13 )
The U.S. Postal Service has raised its rates twice this year and is already talking about raising rates again next year. It has also made noises about eliminating Saturday mail deliveries. But the big problem with the Postal Service is not any of these particular policies. The big problem is that it is a monopoly […]
How CNN Creates The News
Michelle Malkin (2001.07.13 )
How many families do you know that live in a “compound”? My dictionary defines a compound as “an enclosed area used for confining prisoners of war.” But in the liberal media handbook, “compound” means any dwelling where God and guns are present. It’s a loaded word used to conjure up images of white separatists and […]
Why Was Elian Gonzalez Less Worthy Than Giselle Cordova?
Scott Holleran (2001.07.12 )
Fidel Castro’s recent collapse was caught on television, where the 74-year-old dictator’s security guards could be heard exclaiming: “Aguantalo, rapido!” The phrase, which means “Hold him up, quickly!” captures the essence of the dictator’s numbered days — a 42-year-old communist regime reduced to a frantic scramble. Castro, like communism, is fading with the grace of […]
In Defense of Ballot Initiatives
Jeff Jacoby (2001.07.12 )
In the two-year political cycle that culminated on Election Day 2000, some 350 initiative petitions were submitted to election officials in the 24 states that permit laws to be passed at the ballot box. Of those 350, only 76 made it onto the ballot. And of those 76, only 36 were adopted. Of all the […]
