The basic and crucial political issue of our age is: capitalism versus socialism, or freedom versus statism. For decades, this issue has been silenced, suppressed, evaded, and hidden under the foggy, undefined rubber-terms of “conservatism” and “liberalism” which had lost their original meaning and could be stretched to mean all things to all men. – AYN RAND
Random thoughts on the passing scene: Usually I like four-star hotels better than five-star hotels. The four-star hotels tend to be comfortable and attractive places with amenities, but without the pretentiousness and fussiness of five-star hotels. It is amazing how...
What’s all the fuss? An energy company based in Hong Kong called CNOOC, Ltd. — small by international standards — a few weeks ago bid $18.5 billion in cash to buy another small energy company, Unocal, based in California. The bid was nearly $2...
It’s a heck of an offer. In an 11th hour bid to buy Unocal, China’s state-run CNOOC Ltd. offered $19.6 billion, cash, for America’s ninth largest oil company. That’s a lot of yuan in anybody’s book. For CNOOC, it’s downright...
Nature and man have combined to make Africa the most tragic of the continents — and the men who did this have been both black and white. The great French historian Fernand Braudel said, “In understanding Black Africa, geography is more important than...
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan’s recent article in The Washington Post was a pathetic attempt to claim credit for political and economic developments in Iraq. It was an extraordinary re-writing of history that would have made officials in Orwell’s...
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is pressuring the rich nations of the world to give more foreign aid to Africa — to the tune of $25 billion a year by 2010. The U.S. already gave $3.2 billion last year. In the wake of this pressure, we might ask ourselves...
The official declarations coming out of the G8 meetings in Scotland, as well as the raucous demonstrations surrounding those meetings, talk about saving Africa. But, looking back over the decades and generations, Africa has been “saved” so many times that...
The London bombings surprised most people. Not Sir Ian Blair, London’s most senior police commander. Only five months ago, he declared that an attack on London was inevitable. Unfortunately, such a warning made sense. London historically has been a hotbed of...
Why did stocks finish the day higher after Thursday’s tragic terrorist bombings in London? There are several very simple reasons. To begin with, the market wasn’t surprised. Ever since September 11, 2001, markets have been braced for terrorist attacks....
For all their rhetoric about Israel’s “vicious” and “brutal” occupation, Palestinian Arabs — including their leaders — sometimes let down their guard and acknowledge how they prefer Israel to the Palestinian Authority. Here...
Israel’s interior minister recently declared that after their release from long jail sentences, four Palestinian Arabs convicted of helping with suicide bombings in 2002, killing 35, will be expelled from Israel. They would, the Associated Press reported,...
China National Offshore Oil Corporation presumably chose the codename “Operation Bao Chuan” for its Unocal offer to conjure up national pride in its bid to buy America’s ninth largest oil company. For bao chuan were the huge treasure ships that...
In this era, when indignation has replaced thought for many people, it should not be surprising that the very title of my book “Black Rednecks and White Liberals” should have provoked angry reactions and bitter denunciations, even from people who never...
The attack on London demonstrates, once again, that terrorists are not afraid. In order to understand why, you have to suspend all diplomacy and political correctness for a moment. Fanatical religious terrorists are people who are not afraid of dying because they...
The country had gone from safe haven to enemy camp.
In addition to the havoc wrought by the judiciary in our times, there is the havoc wrought on the judiciary itself by others. Some have blamed the murders of a judge not long ago, and the murder of another judge’s family, on critics of judicial activism. But, in...
When it comes to judicial nominees, especially nominees to the Supreme Court, you might think that the only thing that matters — the thing that trumps all other considerations — is whether the nominee is for or against legalized abortions. Many people are...
William Beach has just written a report for the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation titled “The 2005 Index of Dependency.” Between 1962 and today, American dependence on government has more than doubled and shows little sign of abatement. The growth...
In the tradition of modern celebrities, Bob Geldof has decided to lecture the world on the virtues of altruism and sacrifice. That lecture is Live 8. The website states that there are, “10 concerts, 100 artists, a million spectators, 2 billion viewers, and 1...
Our era might be described in the famous phrase used to describe the era of the French Revolution — “the best of times and the worst of times.” It is the best of times in terms of life expectancy and a level of economic prosperity exceeding anything...
“Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers.” “Conservatives saw what happened to...
One of the ironies of our time is that economists have been discovering the importance of law, as such — as distinguished from the specific merits of particular laws — while judges seem increasingly to be losing sight of the rule of law. “I can...
My reaction to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement was almost as positive as my reaction in 1981 was negative when the Reagan administration announced that they were going to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court. It wouldn’t matter if all nine...
The U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled that it’s perfectly legitimate for a local government to seize private property, pay a below-market price and hand it over to another private citizen or company that claims it can do more with the property — i.e.,...
Recent shocking Supreme Court decisions may at least wake up those people who have been saying glibly that the Senate has been spending too much time fighting over judicial nominees, instead of getting back to the “real” issues. What is more real than the...
Last week’s U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 ruling in Kelo v. New London helps explain the socialist attack on President Bush’s nominees to the federal bench. First, let’s look at the case. The city government of New London, Conn., has run upon hard times,...
You may own your own home and expect to live there the rest of your life. But keep your bags packed, because the Supreme Court of the United States has decreed that local politicians can take your property away and turn it over to someone else, just by using the magic...
American Indians should refuse to be regarded as a race of helpless victims entitled to a collective apology from their fellow citizens.
Three-quarters of a century! It is hard to believe that I am that old but arithmetic is uncompromising. This means that I have lived through nearly one-third of the entire history of the United States. The changes in my life — and still more so in the life of...
On Thursday afternoon crude oil futures hit $60 a barrel, and investors hit the panic button. Apparently $59 was fine. $60, for some reason, was a big problem. There’s nothing fundamental about $60 a barrel. There’s no reason to think that the economy will...
The cost of health care will continue to rise for a number of good reasons. We are living longer, and the retirement of the baby boom generation will increase demand on health care. Cutting-edge technology and new drugs will improve the quality and length of...
When you see a commercial for a new car, a new movie, or a new brand of breakfast cereal it’s because the manufacturers of those products want to incur as much advertising expense as possible so they can pass the cost along to you. Then you can’t afford to...
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