Of the five countries described below, can you identify the one(s) excluded from the US-led coalition in the war on terrorism? Country A is free and democratic, a steadfast ally of the United States. Its citizens know what it means to be victimized by terrorism, and...
POLITICS
The basic and crucial political issue of our age is: capitalism versus socialism, or freedom versus statism. For decades, this issue has been silenced, suppressed, evaded, and hidden under the foggy, undefined rubber-terms of “conservatism” and “liberalism” which had lost their original meaning and could be stretched to mean all things to all men. – AYN RAND
Heisting Cipro: Charles Schumer vs. American Innovation
Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) rightly chastised House leaders last month (Oct. 19, 2001) for panicking in the face of anthrax attacks. But Schumer's own behavior has been a shameful spectacle of political panty-bunching. Count him among the many Chicken Littles...
Of Halloween Spoilsports and Spiders
This will be my 16-month-old daughter's first Halloween on foot. Last year, she was a baby bunny who toured the neighborhood in Daddy's arms. This year, she'll be a kitten -- clambering up porch steps, clutching her goody bag, and marveling at all the treats within...
Social Security “Trust Fund”
According to the unanimous preliminary report of the special commission appointed to look into Social Security, the amount of money coming into the system will be insufficient to pay out what was promised by 2016. By 2030, the choice will be to reduce Social Security...
“Ignorance” Pays in a Mixed Economy
While people might be motivated by non-economic factors, from a strictly economic point of view it simply doesn't pay individual voters to learn about and take action against the myriad assaults emanating from the political area. That's what my colleagues at George...
Privacy for Government, But Not For Private Citizens
It began three years ago in an ugly encounter between a motorist and the police. It ended earlier this summer in a dreadful opinion by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. And as the noted civil-liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate observes in a characteristically...
Who Does the “Reparations for Slavery” Charade Really Benefit?
Blacks have already been the first victims of the campaign to get reparations for slavery. The longer this futile campaign goes on, the more additional blacks will be victimized. How have blacks been victimized thus far? Some have been asked to supply identifying...
The Ultimate (Surprise) Broadband Killer Application
The other day, a colleague of mind was bemoaning the lack of killer internet applications to drive the demand for bandwidth. He noted that the only killer internet application was e-mail, and that it was a low bandwidth application. Well, I have a different...
The UN’s International Kangaroo Court
America's court system -- the most fair, free and transparent in all the world -- isn't perfect. But that doesn't mean its power should be usurped by jurists 8,000 miles away who are not elected, selected or directed by anyone responsible to American voters. Yet...
Social Security’s No Accounts
Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, the saying goes. It's exactly what we're getting from opponents of Social Security reform, who have staged sign-wielding protests in more than 40 cities to convince Americans that the premier New Deal program is healthier than...
Emasculation of American Intelligence Services
Aren't you a bit perplexed at how rapidly our FBI and CIA identified, arrested or detained so many people involved in the terrorist attack? The answer's easy. The FBI and CIA had a lot of information about terrorists and their organizations before the attack, but they...
The War Against Boys
The motto used to be: "Boys will be boys." Today, the motto seems to be: "Boys will be medicated." Of nearly 20 million prescriptions written last year for drugs to treat "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder," most were for children and most of those children...
A Slackening Nation of Work-Avoidance Wimps
The first newspaper job I ever had was a very brief summer stint as a press inserter. You stand in front of a mammoth piece of machinery along with a dozen or so other workers. Grab a pair of earplugs and haul a 25-pound stack of advertising supplements over to your...
Keep the The Star-Spangled Banner as the National Anthem
Heard the one about the Georgetown lawyer held captive by a British naval commander while his fleet bombarded an American fort? Being an attorney he liked words, and after witnessing a barrage lasting longer than a day, he felt inspired to write a poem on the back of...
Helping Argentina Recover, Without IMF “Help”
Argentine officials visited Washington last month to discuss the country's efforts to address its economic crisis with the International Monetary Fund. They recently received a temporary reprieve when the IMF agreed to speed up a $1.2 billion payment of its existing...
The Battle Over Islam
The Islamic-Christian Summit met, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, for two days in Rome. They sought to issue a joint statement of condemnation of the terrorist attacks. Nineteen Christian and a dozen Muslim delegates -- members of the clergy, scholars and...
On Sept 11: Open Letter to University Students
The events of September 11 have been the primary subject of discussion on college campuses across America. A patriotic fervor has been revived, with flags popping up in virtually every yard and on every car. However, after reading the editorials that appeared in last...
Loose Lips in American Academia and the Press
Some of the intelligentsia are yelling louder than ever that they are being silenced. Professors, journalists and others who have made grossly offensive remarks in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attack are shocked that other Americans are criticizing them...
Forty Centuries of Wage and Price Controls
Even the Department of Energy's study found that price caps -- which, let's not forget, are what got California into this mess in the first place -- won't improve the energy situation. In fact, they'll likely make it worse. The study concluded that a $150 "hard cap"...
The American Taliban is All Green
On September 11th, the Environmental News Service, {http://enn.com} one of the main sources of every bogus environmental claim, shed big crocodile tears about the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. The event evoked a sudden realization by Jerry Kay, ENN's...
The Many Faces of Islam
"The terrorists' directive commands them to kill Christians and Jews, to kill all Americans and make no distinctions among military and civilians, including women and children." So said President Bush in his September 20th address to Congress and the nation. "I also...
Bioterrorism: Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
Here is the surest way for government officials to stoke nationwide fear about bioterrorism in this country: Treat the American public like children. Public-health bureaucrats have grown smugly accustomed to telling us what we should think -- instead of what we should...
Should We Go to Mars? Wrong Question: Property Rights Key Issue in Going to Mars
Is it worth going to Mars? Let each individual decide for himself. The government’s only role should be to protect property rights. Recognition of that role is the breakthrough needed by the heroic pioneers who say, “I should go to Mars.”
King of Sluggers: Barry or The Babe?
This season, Barry Bonds has been a Giant in more than name. While baseball fans and the media have been focussed on his record-breaking home-run feats, far less attention has been paid to his other feats that have been even more spectacular -- and, in fact, unique....
Violinist Isaac Stern’s Inspiration
Life goes on in the post-9-11 world. So, alas, does death. [Last month], world-renowned violinist Isaac Stern left us after 81 blessed years. He died of heart failure. What a huge, roaring heart it was. As we continue to mourn and tremble and rage in the aftermath of...
Academic Freedom on Campus: A Contradiction in Terms?
Memo to certain college newspaper editors: David Horowitz soon will give you another chance to prove your devotion to free speech isn't just lip service. Here's hoping you don't blow it the way you did last time. Yes, Horowitz, a former anti-Vietnam War...
Debunking the Cliches of Pacifism
To the pacifist, attacker and victim are moral equals.
A Return to Communism in Berlin?
In June 1948, President Truman initiated the Berlin Airlift, signaling that the free world would not abandon West Berlin to the Soviets, who had imposed a total land and water blockade. In June 1953, East German workers revolted against their communist oppressors,...
Clearing the AirWaves
Somewhere, Lenny Bruce is laughing. The late comedian, arrested several times in the 1950s for saying words in his act government officials deemed "obscene," probably would be delighted at what can be said on radio and television today -- thanks in large measure to...
No Internet Taxes
Q. Says here a lot of governors are upset about Internet scofflaws not paying the taxes they owe. Who are these bums? A. Well, there's Governor Leavitt of Utah, Governor Engler of Mich-- Q. No, not the governors! I meant who are the bums who aren't paying their taxes?...
Some Patriotic Economic Advice: Save
Over the last couple of weeks I've seen financiers and economists give a lot of misguided advice about what people need to do to help the nation and themselves overcome the terrorist attacks on America. I'm a very patriotic person myself, I don't just wave flags on...
Why Not Explore the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska?
In northeast Alaska, above the Arctic Circle, the snow seems to cover far more than the land. It's so thick and deep and cold and hard that you smell next to nothing and you hear even less. Given that part of the state sees no daylight for two months of every year,...
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