Gore Vidal, famous historian and author, has a new book out. Its title explains not only everything that is wrong with Gore Vidal, but also everything that is wrong with the field of history today. The title is, Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta. I...
POLITICS
The Rot in America’s Universities: Islands of Repression in a Sea of Freedom
TORONTO – How fares freedom of speech at Canadian universities? It looked pretty grim back in September 2002, when a mini-intifada prevented Benjamin Netanyahu, former prime minister of Israel, from speaking at Concordia. Then last month, Ali Hassan and his...
What “Preemptive War”?
One of the mantras that the protesters against war with Iraq are currently using, sadly with some success, is that such a war would be “preemptive”, rather than retaliatory and in defense of the United States, and therefore unjustified morally. Iraq, a...
Restore the Pledge of Allegiance to its Original Meaning
This week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider its ruling striking down the Pledge of Allegiance. They were right to do so; the court’s decision is consistent with the nation’s founding principles, which are casually discarded by...
“War Jitters” are Pure Uncertainty
It’s almost painfully clich
Capitalism Is the Cure for Africa’s Problems
A specter is haunting Africa-the specter of starvation. At least 2.5 million Zambians currently face famine, as do millions more across southern Africa-in Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The United Nations estimates that more than 14 million Africans face possible...
The Iraq Inspections Charade
The long-simmering Iraq crisis finally appears to be coming to a boil. Hans Blix, the chief U.N. weapons inspector, has ordered Iraq to begin destroying its prohibited Samoud 2 missiles. The Iraqis generously have offered to “study” the matter, although...
Nelson Mandela Shows His True Anti-Freedom (Red) Colors
Former South African President Nelson Mandela claims the United States wants a holocaust and that President Bush covets Iraqi oil. But what does Mandela want, and has he used any evidence to justify his claims? The standard line is that he was in jail for 20+ years...
Random Thoughts for February 2003
Random thoughts on the passing scene: Everything is relative. In most of coastal California, Ted Kennedy would be politically middle of the road — and, in San Francisco, right of center. A lot of what is called “public service” consists of making...
The Fetish of “Relevance”
One of the many fashionable idiocies that cause American schools to produce results inferior to those in other countries is the notion that education must be “relevant” to the students — and especially to minority students with a different...
In Defense of the Cowboy
Those who oppose war with Iraq–from foreign heads of state to homegrown antiwar protesters–employ a common expression of contempt for the American war effort. America, they sneer, is acting like a “cowboy.” A mock interview with Saddam Hussein...
Saddam and Bush: A Dialogue Not Worth Having
President George Bush has been thrown the gambit by Saddam Hussein. In his interview with CBS News anchorman Dan Rather, Saddam proposed that Bush debate him before the world on live television. Establishing a dialogue in the midst of a crisis sounds on its face like...
Twin Disasters: Teacher failure and Student failure in Education
When critics point out the abysmal performances of schools in ghetto neighborhoods, teachers defend themselves by pointing out the disinterested, disruptive, and sometimes dangerous students they have to deal with. But teacher failure and student failure are not...
Death to Dictators!
Recently I found myself arguing with some woman who asked me to sign a “Stop the War” petition while I was in the village area of my hometown. On every corner the anti-war folks were staked out trying to collect signatures. When I told her I couldn’t...
Al Sharpton: The Democrat’s David Duke
If Sharpton were a white skinhead, he would be a political leper, spurned everywhere but the fringe. But far from being spurned, he is shown much deference.
Dictatorship by the Numbers in Venezuela
The leaders of the Venezuelan opposition have demanded immediate new elections to replace would-be dictator Hugo Chavez, arguing that the referendum scheduled for this August will give Chavez time to establish a dictatorship and render elections meaningless. These...
Nothing Wrong With Breaking a Buck: On Delisting Dollar Stocks
One of the consequences of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the recession, the three-year bear market and the impending war with Iraq is that investors have fewer choices. For example, between January 2000 and December 2002, the number of stocks listed on NASDAQ, the...
Let’s Roll–For Real
“Let’s Roll” became a rallying cry in the wake of the worst attack on America. The phrase, uttered by Todd Beamer, one of the passengers aboard flight 93, before he and other passengers charged the cockpit, was the perfect calling for an angry,...
Bravo for Not Sanctioning a Sham
Reader Ben Rathbone pointed me to this letter that he wrote, and I applaud the position taken. Here’s the background: [On February 22, 2003, the] 24-hour Arabic cable news network, Al-Jazeera, will be broadcasting a two hour “open dialogue” from the...
Justice is Blind to Property Rights
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear the case of Three O Realty v. Empire State Development Corporation, an appeal of a New York state court’s decision to allow that state to seize a number of privately owned buildings (via eminent domain)...
Asia Major – but Ignored
What ever happened to Asia? Last time I looked, 3.5 billion people lived there — three times as many as in North America and Europe combined. Asia is the fastest-growing part of the world and already accounts for one-quarter of all global economic output. Yet...
Bush vs. Jesus
President Bush makes no bones about his Christianity– or his seriousness regarding war with Iraq (though Saddam’s head should have long ago been stuffed and mounted in the Oval Office). That, however, disturbs Christians of the more...
Undeclared Wars: French State Still Hasn’t Learned the Lessons of History
It is a painful reminder of human folly, irresponsibility, and exhibitionism that millions of “anti-war” demonstrators have somehow convinced themselves that they have some special aversion to war. No sane human being wants war. There would be cheers...
In Praise of Obesity
Americans are criticized for being the world’s most overweight people. Yet our excessive bodyweight reflects on America’s highest values and achievements. Being obese is detrimental to one’s health, resulting in the risk of stroke, certain cancers...
A Cold Shower
Sometimes a phrase betrays a whole mindset. Someone quoted in the New York Times recently referred to the Bush tax cut as one in which “most of the benefits would be showered on the richest taxpayers.” Keeping money that you yourself earned is called...
A Rush Limbaugh For the Left?
Liberals have been throwing money at problems for so long that it should not be surprising that they are now ready to throw money at the problem they have with the predominance of conservative talk show hosts on radio. For a change, rich liberals will be throwing...
The Million Fool March to Prop Up Dictator Saddam Hussein
Something was missing from last weekend’s vast wave of demonstrations against war in Iraq: Iraqis. Across Europe and the United States, 2 million or more protesters took to the streets to denounce the Bush administration’s plans to disarm Saddam Hussein....
The Anti-Survival Protestors
In their ongoing war against America ‘s foundation, the protestors who rallied last weekend against the United States-led war against Iraq enable our enemies seething to destroy us. Before staging the rally it organized in New York City , United for Peace and...
No Way to Run A Superpower
I don’t feel safer because the United States government has issued a High Alert. I would feel safer if: The United States acted in its own interest and stopped apologizing for it. For example: if Iraq is a threat to us — then attack Iraq. Don’t...
An Axis of Appeasement: Why the “Old Europe” Balks
Leading French politicians made some remarkably defeatist pronouncements last month. Rejecting any U.S. military action against Iraq, President Jacques Chirac said that “War is always the admission of defeat, and is always the worst of solutions. And hence...
The Ghost of Daniel Pearl
Memorial services will be held during the next few days to mark the anniversary of the execution of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who is believed to have been killed on Feb. 21, 2002. Remembering Pearl–seized while researching shoe bomber Richard...
The Immoral Defense of ‘Amateurism’ as the Primary Virtue of College Sports
Consider the following scenario: A junior at a major university is majoring in marketing. She is one of the department’s most successful and intelligent students. All of her professors agree she will rise to the top of her profession someday. Now suppose this...
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