Politicians are talking of "price gouging" and oil. They say Americans are being charged too much for oil (as evidenced by the price for a gallon of gas hitting $2 in parts of the country). What exactly is "price gouging?" No objective definition is ever given. From...
POLITICS
Fidel Batista! Fidel Castro Out-Thugs Fulgencio Batista
Over at the Museo de la Revolucion, Fidel Castro's case against the dictator he overthrew 44 years ago is vividly on display. Fulgencio Batista was evil incarnate, the museum earnestly instructs visitors in room after room of the once-magnificent building, formerly a...
Why Do France and Germany support Saddam?
According to French President Jacques Chirac, the United States is little more than a bully on the world stage, determined to intimidate all who fail to see the need to disarm Saddam Hussein. But we have nothing on Chirac, who can bully with the best of them when...
Why I Hope the UN Votes NO On War
The best thing that could happen would be for the U.N. to reject the American/British resolution for declaring war on Iraq -- provided that the U.S. follows through with war and successfully destroys Saddam Hussein and everyone associated with his regime. The U.N. is...
Terrorist Professors in the United States
"It was quiet in [Cooper Hall] 464 Thursday night," noted the student newspaper, "where [Sameeh] Hammoudeh's 6 p.m. Arabic IV class was scheduled to meet. Two students who hadn't heard of his arrest came to class, and a substitute was assigned to teach in Hammoudeh's...
Researching Stocks: The Shaw Group (Updated)
A friend whose judgment you trust tells you about an interesting stock. Or you read a newspaper article about an intriguing business, or run across one at work or at the mall. Or your dentist tells you that there's this company that makes a terrific new drill. What do...
States: Don’t Look to Washington to Bailout Your Budget Mismanagement
State capitols are abuzz with nervous activity. In 31 states, legislatures are working to close a combined budget gap of $17.5 billion. What created these crises? Overspending by politicians. Even after two years of what many call "the worst fiscal crisis since World...
Why The Bush Tax Plan Will Work
If you hoped that Alan Greenspan's congressional testimony last month would help cut through the thick fog of competing opinion on President Bush's tax-cut plan, you were probably bitterly disappointed. Greenspan proved once again, in my opinion, that he's the world's...
Justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal–Execute Him
Writing from death row, ex-Black Panther minister of information Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted murderer of 25-year-old Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, states that America's impending war in Iraq is simply a case of white capitalists killing for oil: "The...
Iran, Not So Far Away
President Bush issued an executive order declaring a national emergency with respect to Iran --- exactly two years ago on Thursday, [March 13]. Bush declared: "The actions and policies of the [theocratic] Government of Iran ... threaten the national security, foreign...
The Voice of the People in Philadelphia
The Penn's Landing redevelopment issue in Philadelphia raises an interesting and concrete example of the relationship between government and public property development and improvement. We would all like to see something beautiful and valuable happen on the waterfront...
Bush on Israel: Heartburn for All
Consistency and predictability are core strengths of George W. Bush as a politician. Be the issue domestic (taxes, education) or foreign (terrorism, Iraq), once he settles on a policy he sticks with it. There is no ambiguity, no guessing what his real position might...
FTC Outlaws Freedom in the Ice Cream Market
When antitrust cases are about complex technical subjects like Microsoft and the market for PC operating systems, or Hughes/Echostar and the market for satellite TV broadcasting, it's easy just to throw up your hands and assume that the government's experts must be...
The Arab Summit: Even Arabs Don’t Like Arabs
The shouting match that broke out at the March 1 "Arab Summit" in Sharm El-Sheikh, an Egyptian Red Sea resort, was instructive on a number of levels. What it mostly confirmed was that even Arabs don't like (or trust) Arabs. Behind all the wrangling are some stark...
Mr. President, Will Your Words Have Weight?
President Bush said in his press conference this week that "the fundamental question facing the Security Council is will its words mean anything; when the Security Council speaks, will the words have merit and weight?" That question, frankly, does not interest the me....
Innocents in War
If President Bush makes the solemn decision to go to war with Iraq, he must not shackle our nation--as he did in Afghanistan--with his own personal religious or altruistic notions. As President, he has no right to worry about civilian causalities in enemy territory....
Beyond Iraq: Growth Beyond the Risk of War
We may be facing an unusual moment in the history of market valuations in which both risk and expected returns are on the rise at the same time -- and unfortunately, at the moment risk is winning. Clearly, fears of the domestic consequences of possible war with Iraq...
Polls, Palestinians and the Path to Peace
Why are Palestinians so angry at Israel? There are two possible reasons. Political: They accept the existence of a Jewish state but are angry with this or that Israeli policy. Rejectionist: They abominate the very existence of Israel and want to destroy it. Which is...
Putting a Terrorist’s Capture in Context
While one might have concluded that the weekend arrest of Sept. 11 attack coordinator Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was a fundamental blow to America's enemies, such a conclusion would be a grievous mistake. Attorney General John Ashcroft, citing the capture, boldly...
“Diversity” For Thee, Not Me
My favorite salesman in my favorite camera store in Palo Alto, California, happened to mention that he lives in the town of Tracy. That is about an hour and a half drive to work in rush hour traffic. Why was this man spending three hours a day on the highway? Because...
The Bull Case
Whether you look at it as a fundamental investor, a value investor or a technical investor, the market is getting ready to take a turn for the better. Let's start with fundamentals. All the evidence shows that the economy is gradually improving -- there's not a hint...
Iraq: Waiting Game is a Fool’s Game
I have to strongly disagree with Mickey Kaus and Daniel Drezner -- both have recently argued that it would be to President Bush's realpolitikal advantage to delay the war against Iraq, and start it closer to the 2004 election. Kaus in Slate (2/28/2003) says "...the...
Humble Pie: A Truly Sinful Dessert
While channel surfing the other day I saw a man telling his daughter to be proud of herself. The next channel had a preacher telling his congregation that pride is a "sin." This little coincidence perfectly illustrates our culture's schizophrenia regarding pride. On...
An Open Letter On Revolution in Iran
The Internet is a powerful tool for international understanding. This writer, through a chain of various links, found the web log of an anonymous Iranian girl. She had quoted the parts of President Bush's State of the Union speech on Iran. "Different threats require...
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