Stop “Making a Difference”

Among the many mindless mantras of our time, “making a difference” and “giving back” irritate me like chalk screeching across a blackboard. I would be scared to death to “make a difference” in the way pilots fly airliners or brain...

Academic Cesspools II

In last month’s column “Academic Cesspools,” I wrote about “Indoctrinate U,” a recently released documentary exposing egregious university indoctrination of young people at prestigious and not-so-prestigious universities...

Running with Robbers

One of the most perplexing things about the current fight over Oregon land use laws is how many wealthy Oregonians publicly support restricting development rights. Many of them are landowners. So it would seem they are advocating against their own interests and the...

Are the Poor Getting Poorer?

People who want more government income redistribution programs often sell their agenda with the lament, “The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer,” but how about some evidence and you decide? I think the rich are getting richer, and so...

Political “Solutions”

It is remarkable how many political “solutions” today are dealing with problems created by previous political “solutions.” Three examples that come to mind immediately are the housing market crisis, the wildfires in southern California, and the...

“Driving While Black”

Twice within the past few years, I have been pulled over by the police for driving at night without my headlights on. My car is supposed to turn on the headlights automatically when the light outside is below a certain level, but sometimes I accidentally brush against...

Is Washington With Us?

Ever since President Bush’s you’re-either-with-us-or-with-the-terrorists speech in 2001, his administration has been regarded as shaping its defense policy according to black-and-white moral judgments. If you haven’t already been convinced that that...