In the tradition of modern celebrities, Bob Geldof has decided to lecture the world on the virtues of altruism and sacrifice. That lecture is Live 8. The website states that there are, "10 concerts, 100 artists, a million spectators, 2 billion viewers, and 1...
POLITICS
Judicial Havoc
Our era might be described in the famous phrase used to describe the era of the French Revolution -- "the best of times and the worst of times." It is the best of times in terms of life expectancy and a level of economic prosperity exceeding anything our grandparents...
Diplomacy with Terrorists? Therapy for the Belligerent
"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." "Conservatives saw what happened to us on 9/11 and...
Foreign Law is Not Law
One of the ironies of our time is that economists have been discovering the importance of law, as such -- as distinguished from the specific merits of particular laws -- while judges seem increasingly to be losing sight of the rule of law. "I can hardly imagine any...
Supreme Quotas?
My reaction to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement was almost as positive as my reaction in 1981 was negative when the Reagan administration announced that they were going to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court. It wouldn't matter if all nine Justices of the...
Another Nail in the Coffin for Property Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled that it's perfectly legitimate for a local government to seize private property, pay a below-market price and hand it over to another private citizen or company that claims it can do more with the property -- i.e., better develop...
“Mainstream” Judges
Recent shocking Supreme Court decisions may at least wake up those people who have been saying glibly that the Senate has been spending too much time fighting over judicial nominees, instead of getting back to the "real" issues. What is more real than the Supreme...
Government Confiscates Property
Last week's U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 ruling in Kelo v. New London helps explain the socialist attack on President Bush's nominees to the federal bench. First, let's look at the case. The city government of New London, Conn., has run upon hard times, with residents...
Property Rites
You may own your own home and expect to live there the rest of your life. But keep your bags packed, because the Supreme Court of the United States has decreed that local politicians can take your property away and turn it over to someone else, just by using the magic...
No Apology to Indians
American Indians should refuse to be regarded as a race of helpless victims entitled to a collective apology from their fellow citizens.
75 Years Old
Three-quarters of a century! It is hard to believe that I am that old but arithmetic is uncompromising. This means that I have lived through nearly one-third of the entire history of the United States. The changes in my life -- and still more so in the life of the...
Refining Your Oil Strategy
On Thursday afternoon crude oil futures hit $60 a barrel, and investors hit the panic button. Apparently $59 was fine. $60, for some reason, was a big problem. There's nothing fundamental about $60 a barrel. There's no reason to think that the economy will do just...
Healthcare Nightmare: Controlling the Cost of Cost Control
The cost of health care will continue to rise for a number of good reasons. We are living longer, and the retirement of the baby boom generation will increase demand on health care. Cutting-edge technology and new drugs will improve the quality and length of life--but...
Prescription Drug Advertising is Good for All of Us
When you see a commercial for a new car, a new movie, or a new brand of breakfast cereal it's because the manufacturers of those products want to incur as much advertising expense as possible so they can pass the cost along to you. Then you can't afford to buy their...
“Public” Use vs. Property Rights
In another heavy blow to property rights, the Supreme Court has ruled against the homeowners in the New London, Connecticut, eminent domain case, and further entrenched the legal principle that government can seize an individual's property for "public use" whenever it...
Summer Reading
Summer vacations are used for many things. Some parents use the long summer vacation from schools and colleges to get their children to read books that are different from the steady diet of a liberal-left view of the world that they get during the school year. These...
We Are All Budweisers
Back in the days of the Hapsburg Empire, there was a town in Bohemia called Budweis. The people in that town were called Budweisers and the town had a brewery which produced beer with the same name -- but different from the American Budweiser. Like many communities in...
Why Canadians Purchase Private Health Insurance
America's socialists advocate that we adopt a universal healthcare system like our northern neighbor Canada. Before we buy into complete socialization of our healthcare system, we might check out the Canadian Supreme Court's June 9th ruling in Chaoulli v. Quebec...
Stocks vs. Bonds: Stocks Win
Here are two investments I'd like you to consider. The first is a Treasury bond maturing in 10 years. The second is the Standard & Poor's 500. Think you already know everything there is to know about them? Think again. Let's start with the bond. As of Thursday's...
The Sky Isn’t Falling
A generation of investors has been converted to the gospel of equities: Stocks may rise or fall over the short term, but over many decades a diversified portfolio will be the ticket to retirement heaven. The chief prophet of this belief has been Wharton professor...
Hedges Are About to Roll
Hedge funds are the new "dumb money." At least that's what so many of my institutional clients are telling me. And they should know, considering they're hedge funds themselves. Don't get me wrong. My clients are the larger hedge funds that have been around for years,...
The World Trade Center Memorial — A Platform for America’s Enemies?
From The Wall Street Journal: The Great Ground Zero Heist; Will the 9/11 "memorial" have more about Abu Ghraib than New York's heroic firemen? by Debra Burlingame: The World Trade Center Memorial Cultural Complex will be an imposing edifice wedged in the place where...
Click It or Ticket: The Immorality of Mandated Seatbelt Usage
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an office within the U.S. Department of Transportation, just finished its annual campaign to get us to wear our seatbelts under a program called "Click It or Ticket." States receive federal subsidies to...
Congress Should Repeal the Byrd Amendment.
Have you heard? There's a war on.No, not the war against terror. Everyone's heard of that. But we're also in the midst of a trade war -- and chances are it's affecting your wallet.Last month, Canada slapped a 15 percent tariff on several American exports, including...
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