Those who claim that the use of atomic bombs in Japan was not necessary often point to Japan’s weakened military condition, and the possibility that the war could have been ended without Japan’s unconditional surrender. Such an attitude fails utterly to...
POLITICS
United States and Canada: A Tale of Two Medicares
In 1997, George Zeliotis, a Quebec citizen, learned that he needed hip-replacement surgery. But his troubles were just beginning. As is standard in Canada for non-emergency surgery, Zeliotis was put on a waiting list behind everyone else in Quebec who needed the same...
What “Oil Crisis”, Part 2
Soaring oil prices have revived the old bogeyman that the world is running out of oil. Economics is a great field for nostalgia buffs because the same old fallacies keep coming back, like golden oldies in music. Back in 1960, a best-selling book titled “The...
Israel’s Deadly Appeasement Process Continues
The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza is being portrayed as a wise (albeit unpleasant) move by Ariel Sharon. By addressing a longtime grievance of the Palestinians and their supporters–the presence of Israeli security forces and Jewish residents on the Gaza...
Security or Hysteria?
Driving through downtown Washington, D.C., a few weeks ago, I asked myself: What’s happened to the character of the American people? There were barricaded landmarks, armed guards and people waiting to be searched. Several weeks ago, I visited downtown...
What “Oil Crisis”?
With oil prices passing the record-breaking $60 a barrel level and heading even higher, the word “crisis” is now being used and all sorts of political “solutions” are being proposed. Is there really a crisis? One of the dictionary definitions...
U.S. Must Stop Iran from Developing Nuclear Weapons
Gerhard Schroder’s suggestion to “take the military option off the table” in dealing with Iran’s advancing nuclear program should be dismissed. No amount of “negotiations” and “incentives” will persuade the Iranian...
What Do Islamist Terrorists Want?
What do Islamist terrorists want? The answer should be obvious, but it is not. A generation ago, terrorists did make clear their wishes. Upon hijacking three airliners in September 1970, for example, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine demanded, with...
Civil Rights Today
When I think of the behavior of today’s civil rights organizations, I often think of the March of Dimes. In 1938, President Roosevelt helped found the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis to fight polio, an epidemic that crippled thousands of Americans....
California’s Socialized Medicine Rising
This month, in a 73-page position paper, California ‘s insurance commissioner, John Garamendi, proposed a government takeover of medicine. That the bureaucrat who would be governor prescribed more government intervention is not surprising. But, because the...
Bright Children: Stepchildren of the American Education System
Bright children and their parents have lost a much-needed friend with the recent death of Professor Julian Stanley of Johns Hopkins University. For decades he not only researched and ran programs for intellectually gifted students, he became their leading advocate in...
Socialized Medicine: A Symbol of Canadian National Identity?
What if your doctor told you that you had to wait a year to replace your painful, arthritic hip? If you’re an American with health insurance you wouldn’t stand for such a delay; you’d switch doctors or hospitals and get the operation done quickly....
The “Animal Rights” Movement’s Cruelty to Humans
The “animal rights” movement has pulled off a deadly deception: promote a vicious, anti-human policy, while feigning benevolent, compassionate motives. The deception takes the form of opposing life-saving medical research–in the name of opposing...
Why Iran Sneers
The “Washington Post” recently reported: “Iran resumes processing yellowcake uranium in Isfahan, rejecting a European deal and ignoring warnings of possible U.N. sanctions.” (8/9/05, front page) What makes the Iranian government unique is that...
Corporate Welfare at It’s Worst: Advanced Technology Program
Members of Congress will soon return home for August recess. While there, many will express outrage over the 33 percent increase in government spending since 2001, and the $400 billion budget deficit. They will offer vague pledges to rein in government. Taxpayers have...
It Takes an Individual
Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is challenging Senator Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) long-held liberal bromide that “it takes a village” to raise a child with the long-held conservative bromide that “it takes a family” to raise a child. Both...
The Axis of IP Evil
The U.S. commerce secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, last month took a ritual stroll through a Beijing market that teemed with pirated versions of “Star Wars” and “Seinfeld,” along with bogus North Face windbreakers, Calloway golf clubs and Samsonite...
No Place for American Heroes — in the Media
Back in June, this column pointed out that it is impossible to fight a war without heroism — but that you would never know that from the mainstream media. Nothing heroic done by American troops in Iraq is likely to make headlines in the New York Times or be...
The Morality of Dropping the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Every August, there are some Americans who insist on wringing their hands over the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, so it was perhaps inevitable that such people would have an orgy of wallowing in guilt on the 60th anniversary of that tragic...
Shoving Government Health Care Down Your Throat
One of the few bright spots in paying for health care today has been the introduction of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), in conjunction with low-premium, high-deductible insurance policies. In what is perhaps the most popular medical insurance reform in history, more...
Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
Alan Greenspan had his “conundrum,” and I’ve got mine. Greenspan’s conundrum: why are long-term interest rates staying so low for so long? Mine is why stock-market volatility is so low despite a global economic background that, on the face of...
Kant vs. Darwin: Creationism (“Intelligent Design”) vs. Evolution is Philosophical Debate
Evolution versus creationism, or Darwinism versus Intelligent Design, is not a scientific debate (that debate has long been settled) — it is a philosophical one.
Dealing with Terrorism
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, admitted that the problem of Iran’s growing nuclear weapons capability has to be “dealt with.” She didn’t say exactly how or when, but later on in the...
Transparency: Bad News for Big Labor?
If AFL-CIO chief John Sweeney considers the defection of the Teamsters and Service Employees International Union a “grievous insult,” he’d better hold on. Even bigger news may be coming, thanks to revised federal rules requiring unions to be far more...
No Apologies for Hiroshima and Nagasaki
America was not the aggressor in World War II, but the victim of a brutal attack.
Property Rights are a Fundamental Human Right
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 ruling in Kelo v. New London, statements have been made about property rights that are demonstrative of the paucity of understanding among some within the legal profession. Carolyn Lochhead’s July 1st San...
Lessons From the Poker Table
Last month in Las Vegas, 5,619 contestants were vying for the 36th annual World Series of Poker’s No-Limit Texas Hold-‘Em Championship. The total prize pool was $52,818,610 — by far the richest purse in the history of sports. Just think about...
“Diplomacy” Aids North Korea’s Nuclear Weapon’s Program
North Korea threatens us, we respond with negotiations, gifts and concessions, and it reemerges with even greater belligerence.
Random Thoughts August 2005
Random thoughts on the passing scene: Sometimes I have so much to do that I don’t do anything. As a result of “evolving standards” and “nuanced” judicial decisions, we no longer have clear-cut rights. We have a ticket to a crapshoot in a...
“Public Servant” Pickpockets, Pennsylvania Style
“ Harrisburg is one of the sleaziest state capitals in the country,” said Jake Tapper, Washington correspondent for Salon, and that was before he saw the sleaze that oozed from under the closed doors of the state Legislature at 2 a.m. one recent night...
The Need for an Active Supreme Court Justice
As the battle over John Roberts’ Supreme Court confirmation begins, the one widely agreed upon measure of qualification is that he not be a “judicial activist.” While conservatives have long railed against “activist” judges...
The Foreign Policy of Guilt
In the aftermath of the bombings in London, Prime Minister Tony Blair has asked the British people to remain calm and maintain their daily routines; the terrorists win, he says, if one gives in to fear. This, you may remember, was also George W. Bush’s response...
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