“The Patriot Act” vs. Freedom

by | Sep 19, 2003 | POLITICS

Ask a journalist about the Patriot Act, and the response may strike you as overly suspicious or even paranoid. But those who have submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to a federal agency know better.Consider FOIA requestor Robert Todd, who recently asked the...

The Jobs Glass Is More Than Half Full

by | Sep 19, 2003 | POLITICS

You can’t open the financial pages without hearing about our “jobless recovery.” There’s no end to the hand-wringing about how gross domestic product, corporate profits and consumer spending are all moving up smartly — yet the economy...

Roasting Walter Williams

by | Sep 19, 2003 | Psychology & Living

At George Mason University, they are giving a “roast” — that peculiarly American combination of praise and ridicule — to Walter Williams, professor of economics and columnist extraordinaire. Although I cannot be there, let me participate vicariously with a few observations about Walter.

Paul Krugman Concedes–Sort Of

by | Sep 19, 2003 | POLITICS

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is an angry man. If he were a cartoon character, he would probably look like Donald Duck during one of his famous tirades, with steam pouring out of his ears every time he hears someone say “tax cuts” or “George...

The Level Playing Field Act

by | Sep 18, 2003 | POLITICS

Recent advocacy of free trade in this column has caused considerable reader apoplexy and anxiety, not to mention accusations of unconcern with worker plight. Readers have protested loss of good paying jobs to low-wage countries such as India, China and other Asian...

California’s Real Problem

by | Sep 18, 2003 | POLITICS

Maybe it is just local pride on my part, but I think California is the purest example of liberal fundamentalism. New York and Massachusetts have their claims on that title, but California is not called the Left Coast for nothing. Some recent examples: After an...