POLITICS

America’s Problem with Prejudice

America faces the threat of a widespread, corrosive prejudice. I am not talking about racial prejudice — though racial politics has something to do with it. The prejudice I am talking about is aimed at something much broader, much more important than any racial...

The Next Interest Rate Cut Counts

From one perspective, this week’s rally in the Nasdaq seems incredible. Although pummeled by a barrage of bad earnings and earnings warnings from technology companies last week, the Nasdaq managed to rally for four consecutive days — the first time this...

The Case of Dell: Does a Company Own Its Customers?

What criteria do you use to decide whether or not to invest in a company? P/E ratio? PEG ratio? Price to book ratio? Earnings growth? Revenue growth? Market share? All of these criteria have their appropriate use, but I would like to submit for your consideration...

A Lower Debt Should Not Come Before Lower Taxes

Lowering the debt is a good idea–President Bush would reduce it to $818 billion by 2011–but a lower debt shouldn’t come before lower taxes. Can you feel the beat? It’s the sound of Washington liberals banging the national-debt drum to drown out...

Putin’s Choice Over the Future of Russia

The expulsion of Russian intelligence officers and diplomats by the Bush administration did not kick off a new Cold War, but it is a symptom of deteriorating U.S.-Russian relations. Moscow stands to lose much more than Washington if the relationship goes sour. Senior...

Learning from the Money Masters

Last week I noted in this space that while many Internet companies have crashed and burned, the Internet itself is soaring to new heights. Some 100 million new users worldwide are coming online each year, e-mail traffic continues to explode, and people and companies...

The Bankrupt Reparations Movement

The Bankrupt Reparations Movement

The reparations for slavery movement got an airing on a recent “60 Minutes.” America, argue several “black leaders,” owes reparations to blacks for the enslavement and forced labor of black ancestors. America’s “black plight,”...

The Facts vs. “Campaign Finance Reform” Fictions

The Facts vs. “Campaign Finance Reform” Fictions

To crusaders for “campaign finance reform,” as with many other political crusaders, the facts simply do not matter. What matters is their vision — and winning. Facts can be left to others. Most of the arguments for campaign finance reform cannot...

How Arafat Killed The “Peace Process”

The election of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in February prompted much hysteria in the Arab world — and hand-wringing in Washington — over Sharon’s “commitment” to the “peace process.” Ever wonder why the same standards...

Truth vs. Words on China

It looks as though we’ve won. Officials inside and outside the Bush administration are hailing China’s positive response to our carefully crafted letter of regret as validation of the President’s “quiet diplomacy.” The truth, however, is...

The McCain-Feingold Indian Giving Loophole

deep-pocketed special interest group remains curiously silent amid the furor over campaign finance “reform”: Indian tribes. Why? You might think tribal leaders would be swarming Capitol Hill, joining other business groups and trade associations that are...

Grade Padding at Harvard University

Our colleges are losing touch with reality. The padded grades they’re giving out don’t help our students. Harvey C. Mansfield teaches political philosophy at Harvard University. And if there were a class in “how to get yourself into trouble with your...

Devaluation is Not the Answer

In the past few months, I’ve noticed a disturbing shift in attitude towards currency devaluation. An increasing number of economists and journalists are making comments approving currency devaluation as a way to boost economies and “gain...

Who Cares For A Green Latte at Starbucks?

On March 20th, environmentalist activists besieged Starbucks cafes all over the country. Their goal? To impose on the company, and on us, coffee lovers, their own idea of which ingredients should go into our lattes and cappuccinos. This latest campaign, organized by...

Where’s The Profit In Biotech?

Larry Ellison, founder and chairman of software giant Oracle, says that he’d go into genetic engineering if he were starting out in business today. Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr may have made a fortune investing in computer and Internet companies,...

Tax Cut Triggers…for Bigger Government

The budget surpluses over the next 10 years are expected to reach $5.6 trillion, yet Washington insiders are screaming that President Bush’s modest $1.6 trillion tax cut is too big. But if anything, it’s too small. The Bush tax cut is only about half the...

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts

Random thoughts on the passing scene: Ad for a ski resort: “If swimming is so healthful, why are whales so fat?” Talk about cloning human beings recalls Winston Churchill’s comment about the secrets of the atom, “hitherto mercifully withheld...

The Other Education Crisis

Once a week, 9- and 10-year-old boys at Cleveland Elementary School in Washington, D.C., learn how to be gentlemen. They’re taught to take off their hats when they enter a building. They’re told to open doors for visitors. They learn how to respect each...

Campaign Finance Reform and Other “Feel Good” Laws

Campaign Finance Reform and Other “Feel Good” Laws

It is not often that conservative talk-show host extraordinaire Rush Limbaugh and Harlem’s left-wing Congressman Charles Rangel are in agreement on anything. But they both say that the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, which has just passed the...

The Conservative Left and Tax Cuts

The Conservative Left and Tax Cuts

A Fox News liberal-conservative debate the other night was very revealing. The discussion was about tax cuts. The liberal (Mort Kondracke) said that tax cuts “are all about numbers.” The conservative (Fred Barnes) was quick to retort, “It’s not...

Bush’s Baseball Tax Fetish

What is it with some Republican leaders and baseball? When it comes to America’s national pastime, the party of lower taxes and less government leaves its principles in the dust. The lead GOP pitcher for sports pork is President Bush, who launched a federally...

The NASDAQ Plummet: A Truly Mean Reversion

Statisticians who watch the stock market are accustomed to using the phrase “mean reversion” to describe how returns from investing in equities tend to come back to their long-term averages after they diverge for awhile. The extraordinary period that ended...

The Role of “The Rich”

The Role of “The Rich”

A recent catalogue from the giant second-hand camera dealer KEH listed a Canon camera made for the Japanese navy during World War II. This model is described as one of only 15 such cameras made and as being still in excellent condition. Its price is $40,000. Most of...

PETA Should Rename Itself ‘The Inhumane Society’

I could tell it was a parody. “Dear Warden Lappin,” began the letter to the director of the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., where Timothy McVeigh is being held, “On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), I am writing...

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