POLITICS

Some pundits ask whether America is ready for Obama. The much more important question is whether Obama is ready for America and even more important is whether black people can afford Obama. Let’s look at it in the context of a historical tidbit. In 1947, Jackie...

In researching what a potential “free Tibet” would look like absent Chinese rule, I found the following quote which is attributed to Tenzin Gyatso, aka the 14th Dalai Lama and the head of Tibet’s government in exile: Of all the modern economic...

There’s not a lot of money in Zanesville, Ohio. I spent four years there during college in the 1960s, down the road a few miles at Muskingum College. Zanesville was poor then; now it’s worse. The biggest employer in the region, Longaberger, a basket maker,...

All of us should give some serious thought to some of the ideas contained in an article circulating the blogsphere titled “Why a Peaceful Majority is Irrelevant.” So often our political leaders, “experts” and talking heads tell us that Islam is...

Every few days we hear that another leading financial institution has written down billions more on subprime investments gone bad. Nearly every major financial institution, it turns out, had a hand in loans to low-credit borrowers–borrowers whose ability to pay...

David Brooks is the columnist who passes for a pro-capitalist on the New York Times. A column by Mr. Brooks on February 15th is so utterly wrong, in so many different directions that I’d like to–but can’t–believe it was written while he was...

One of the many mandates of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 calls for oil companies to increase the amount of ethanol mixed with gasoline. President Bush said, during his 2006 State of the Union address, “America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from...

Since the subprime meltdown began, the Bush administration has pledged to act to prevent foreclosures–but without interfering in the market or bailing anyone out. How is this possible? The administration’s answer: by “facilitating” what it...

A fortnight ago, I wrote about Mississippi Legislature House Bill 282 that would have imposed fines or revoked licenses of food establishments that served obese people. Fortunately, the measure died in committee. State Rep. Ted Mayhall, one of the bill’s...

If we look to benefits only, we’ll do darn near anything because there’s always a benefit. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that there were 43,443 highway fatalities in 2005. If we had a maximum speed law of 15 mph, the death...

There’s automatic cheering at her political rallies when Hillary Clinton tells the faithful that she’ll deliver “universal health care.” Her plan will “rein in costs” while simultaneously “improving quality,” she says,...

My February 2002 column, “They’re Coming After You,” warned that Americans who enthusiastically supported the anti-tobacco zealots’ attack on smokers were, like decent Germans did during the 1920s and ’30s, building the Trojan Horse that...

It’s not easy being me. I’m disturbed by statements that many Americans accept or don’t question that are ludicrous, if not crazy. The terms “change,” “agents of change” and “change agents” are being bandied by...

I watched the video of the January 29th meeting of the Berkeley City Council where resolutions were passed telling the Marines that they are “unwanted and uninvited guests” with in city limits and applauding those who work to disrupt the Marines from their...