"Buy the stock - it's a good company." This oft-repeated platitude is one that's very popular on Wall Street, but it's also one that I'm sick of hearing it because it's not necessarily a useful guide for investors. A major study by Michelle Clayman, entitled "In...
POLITICS
Hoisted by Their Own Petard
Given the inevitable liberal attack on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that settles the election contest, it is important to be clear about what the Supreme Court did and who is ultimately responsible for its ruling. There are many pernicious lines of attack, but I...
Back to the Land of the Bromide
While the election crisis was still upon us, I hated it as much as anyone else. As a columnist, I probably hated it more. How do you write about politics when the news reverses direction every two hours? But now that it's all over, I'm getting downright nostalgic...
Time for Common Sense Again
Now that the election is over, can we talk sense? "Campaign finance reform" is a great political issue for an election year, but it makes no sense otherwise. What is a campaign supposed to do -- and how will campaign finance reform affect how well it does it? A...
The Myth of “Emotional Intelligence”
Q: There's a new corporate term in use lately -- "emotional intelligence." People are even being tested for their "emotional intelligence" levels. Is there any value in this? A: The very concept of "emotional intelligence" is preposterous. Your intelligence does not...
The U.S. Child and Family Services Gestapo Targets Parents
This Christmas season, take a moment to say a prayer for the many innocent people sent to prison by injustice. You can safely say, "There, but for the grace of God, go I," because the myriad causes of well-intentioned people have made it possible for anyone, no matter...
Law and Order Tyranny
If you live in Albuquerque, N.M., and you have teen-agers who might be inclined to raid your wine, beer or whiskey cupboard while you are away, rent your housing, don't buy. The city council has recently passed a law [September 2000] that lets the city seize your home...
Brace Yourselves for Floridation
One of my favorite bands, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, recently penned an ode to "Californication." The term refers to the spread of the Golden State's worst attributes: smog, strip malls, drive-bys, and celebrity worship. "It's understood that Hollywood sells...
Dangers Lurk in War on Crime
The war against crime is getting out of hand and needs to be reassessed before the Constitution is torn to shreds. Both lawmakers and law enforcers have forgotten that the ends don't justify the means. In the determination to pursue crime -- drug-related crime -- ever...
Men Are Not From Mars and Women Are Not From Venus
Q: I observe much "male-bashing" in today's America, and I also observe that it has become widely acceptable. (The "Lifetime" channel on cable TV provides one poignant example of this). I don't mean the usual, superficial "well-that's-men-for-you" sort of criticism of...
Confessions of a Venture Capitalist: Inside the High-Stakes World of Start-up Financing
I referred to the magic of Silicon Valley. That magic-an intoxicating mix of money, imagination, and inspiration-had its origin in the semiconductor boom of the 1970s, when dozens of companies seized on possibilities made ripe by Intel's development of the first...
Separating the Wheat From the Chad: Election 2000 Facts versus Myths
Elections are supposed to be decided by voters on election day, not by judges later on. But once state and local courts inject themselves into post-election controversies, without any legal justification, the only institution that can get rid of their interference is...
The U.S. Supreme Court Puts An End To The Florida Vote “Count” Farce
If the Supreme Court of the United States had not stepped in to stop the endless re-re-recounts in Florida, George W. Bush might have won a presidential election more times than Franklin D. Roosevelt -- and all in one year. What has been even worse than all the legal...
No Stinkin’ Badges: The Case Against Judicial Activism
In the old movie classic "The Treasure of Sierra Madre," armed men confront Humphrey Bogart, claiming to be police. "If you're policemen," he asked, "where are your badges?" "We don't need no stinkin' badges!" is the reply. On December 1st, the Supreme Court of the...
Law and Economics
Rather than my usual fall schedule of teaching in the Economics Department at George Mason University, I taught "The Economic Foundations of Legal Studies" at the university's School of Law to first-year law students. Economics is no stranger at George Mason's Law...
The Real Grinches are Environmentalist Luddites Who Stand In the Way of a Free-Market For Electricity
Windmills and candles and warm woolen mittens. Staticky sparks from the fur of small kittens. Campfires and solar panels and thermal paddings. These are a few of the favorite things that radical environmentalists would rather rely on for warmth, light, and electricity...
Is Microsoft a Hypocrite?
I was saddened to see the lead article in last Tuesday's (12/5/00) Wall St. Journal "Microsoft Tries to Lob Monkey Wrench Into AOL-Time Warner Deal." In the story, reporters alleged Microsoft might be cooperating with the Federal Trade Commission to provide evidence...
Crazy Double Standards
The Federal Trade Commission has released its year-long study showing how Hollywood's film industry, the music industry and the video-game industry have been deliberately targeting and marketing all manner of filth and violence to America's children. No less an expert...
Cracking the Value Code: How Successful Businesses Are Creating Wealth in the New Economy
The following is an excerpt from the book Cracking the Value Code: How Successful Businesses Are Creating Wealth in the New Economy by Richard E.S. Boulton, Barry D. Libert and Steve M. Samek:How much does the New Economy weigh? Answer: A lot less than you might...
Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else
Some books are good, some are bad, but very few are real gems. One of these few gems is the recently published book "The Mystery of Capital" by Hernando de Soto. The subtitle tells what it is really about: "Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere...
Tyranny is Creeping Up On Us
Tyranny is creeping up on us. If you don't believe it, consider the most prominent hallmarks of the Nazi and Communist regimes, which sought to supplant democracy in the 20th century. In National Socialist Germany and the Soviet Union, there were no First Amendment...
The Eng@ged Customer: The New Rules of Internet Direct Marketing
The following is an excerpt from the book The Engaged Customer: The New Rules of Internet Direct Marketing:It may sound odd, but the Holy Grail of Internet commerce and marketing is to provide the same kind of service that merchants and storekeepers did about a...
How Leftist’s Ignore Statistics When The Numbers Contradict Their Political Vision
A recent Census Bureau study of incomes in the United States not only reveals some interesting facts about the economic well-being of Americans, it reveals even more about the mindset of our times, especially among the intelligentsia. Amid pages and pages of tightly...
UNICEF Kills the Little Children…
"Breast is best." No, it's not the new slogan for Hooters restaurant. It's the mantra of breast-feeding advocates who promote their cause with a cult-like fervor around the world. Their extremism must be condemned. I have nothing against breast-feeding. After weighing...
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