Apply the Bush Doctrine to Saudi Arabia

Recent intelligence reports indicate that our desultory efforts abroad so far–and our fortress “homeland defense” mentality–will fail to prevent further horrendous attacks on the US. We’re losing because Bush has defaulted on the...

Can’t Pin Fiscal Woes on W.

Facts often are the first casualty of any political battle, and never more so than during an election year. But sometimes the debate shifts from routine exaggeration and distortion and becomes flagrantly misleading. As with Al Gore’s recent fusillade, including...

Hollywood Actors: False American Idols

The singer. The actor. The empty vessel. Many pundits believe celebrities are frivolously easy targets unworthy of our scorn. They must realize, however, that a single voice of a celebrity reaches more common Americans than a busload of think tank intellectuals. The...

Investing: One to Grow On

Now in his 12th year, Will Danoff is running Fidelity Contrafund, and, as usual, he is running it brilliantly. In 1996, I conducted one of those exercises to which idle minds are often prone, attempting to find the best core mutual fund – that is, a fund that...

Guns for Rapists, But Not For Potential Victims

A picture on the front of The Boston Globe’s metro section last month showed a group of women waiting to apply for firearm identification cards at the District 14 police station in Brighton. They were in a line, the accompanying story noted, that stretched the...

Open Source Socialism

At a recent Stanford University lecture, open source proselytizer Bruce Perens encouraged students to get involved in the open source political movement. A few folks were enthused, but many seemed confused by how a method of software production and distribution can...