POLITICS

Two recent articles ought to give pause to current political and journalistic ignorance, perhaps demagoguery, about our international trade deficit. In a December Wall Street Journal article titled “Embrace the Deficit,” Bear Stearns’ chief economist...

Entrepreneurs, risk-takers, men and women of creative ability, of talent, of inventiveness, of productive achievement–for what you do, you are good! Yes, good–as in “moral,” “ethical,” “virtuous.” Throughout history,...

In the wake of New York City’s ban on restaurant use of trans fat, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the ban is “not going to take away anybody’s ability to go out and have the kind of food they want, in the quantities they want. . . . We are just trying...

Not that many complimentary things are said about politicians. When a problem arises, people say, “Government ought to do something.” They seem to have forgotten that it’s the politicians who are running the government. Many think things can be...

Back in September 2006, Gus Van Horn blogged about a first grade teacher who got her students to start a school-wide petition to protest the demotion of Pluto to “dwarf planet” status on the grounds of “sticking up for the little guy,” (or more...

On March 1, 1973, eight Palestinian Black September killers stormed the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Khartoum during a send-off party for American Charges d’Affairs George C. Moore. They took Moore, U.S. Ambassador Cleo A. Noel, Jr., Belgian Charges d’Affairs...

Delivered at a Town Hall Meeting on the Clinton Health Plan Red Lion Hotel, Costa Mesa CA December 11, 1993 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen: Most people who oppose socialized medicine do so on the grounds that it is moral and well-intentioned, but impractical;...

Does morality depend upon religion? Most people believe it does, which is a major reason behind the appeal of the religious right. People believe that without faith in a supernatural authority, we can have no moral values–no moral absolutes, no black-and-white...

In recent years, the United Nations has often gone out of its way to avoid getting involved in the world’s trouble spots. It ignored genocide in Darfur. Pulled out of Iraq in 2003. Done nothing to stem Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Can an organization this...

Charges of racial, religious and ethnic profiling swirl in the wake of US Airways’ removal of six imams. According to police reports, the men made anti-American statements, were praying and chanting “Allah,” refused the pilot’s requests to...

Last week, MSNBC ran its documentary “For God & Country: A Marine Sniper’s Story” which tells the story of Matt Orth, a 22-year-old war veteran of both Afghanistan and Iraq. The footage consisted mostly of interviews with Orth as he chronicled...

Six men are sitting together and talking in the boarding area, waiting to enter the plane you will be taking to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family. You notice the men, because ever since 9/11 you take note of other passengers. Three of the men start to pray...

Last year, talk-show host Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder co-authored “The FairTax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS.” It turned out to be a No. 1 New York Times Best Seller. In 2005, the Fair Tax bill was introduced in both the...

The Alexander Litvinenko murder by radiation in London is mysterious — and important. Has Russia entirely left the Western orbit, reverting to its old Soviet era, Stalinist practices? Is Vladimir Putin, approaching the end of his two terms in office and thinking...

Islamists and others of Middle Eastern descent have often attempted to portray themselves as victims of aggression and persecution, while obscuring the fact that it is often they who initiate the use of force. They then make demands which would result in compromising...