Thomas Sowell from Creators Syndicate

William F. Buckley (1925-2008) for 03/05/2008

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Writing in 1954, Lionel Trilling said that most conservatives do not "express themselves in ideas but only in action or in irritable mental gestures which seek to resemble ideas."

One of the perks of being a liberal is disdaining people who are not liberals. However, as of 1954, Trilling's dismissive attitude toward conservatives' intellectual landscape was painfully close to t ...

Updated: Wed Mar 05, 2008

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The Costs of Crime for 03/11/2008

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

For more than two centuries, the political left has been preoccupied with the fate of criminals, often while ignoring or downplaying the fate of the victims of those criminals.

So it is hardly surprising that a recent New York Times editorial has returned to a familiar theme among those on the left, on both sides of the Atlantic, with its lament that "incarceration rates have contin ...

Updated: Tue Mar 11, 2008

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"Non-Judgmental" Nonsense for 03/12/2008

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

What was he thinking of? That was the first question that came to mind when the story of New York governor Eliot Spitzer's involvement with a prostitution ring was reported in the media.

It was also the first question that came to mind when star quarterback Michael Vick ruined his career and lost his freedom over his involvement in illegal dog fighting. It is a question that arises when ...

Updated: Wed Mar 12, 2008

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Race and Politics for 03/18/2008

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

There is something both poignant and galling about the candidacy of Barack Obama.

Any American, regardless of party or race, has to find it heartening that the country has reached the point where a black candidate for President of the United States sweeps so many primaries in states where the overwhelming majority of the population is white.

We have all seen the crowds enthralled ...

Updated: Tue Mar 18, 2008

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Obama's Speech for 03/19/2008

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Did Senator Barack Obama's speech in Philadelphia convince people that he is still a viable candidate to be President of the United States, despite the adverse reactions to statements by his pastor, Jeremiah Wright?

The polls and the primaries will answer that question.

The great unasked question for Senator Obama is the question that was asked about President Nixon during the Wat ...

Updated: Wed Mar 19, 2008

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The Audacity of Rhetoric for 03/25/2008

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

It is painful to watch defenders of Barack Obama tying themselves into knots trying to evade the obvious.

Some are saying that Senator Obama cannot be held responsible for what his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, said. In their version of events, Barack Obama just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time — and a bunch of mean-spirited people are trying to make something out of ...

Updated: Tue Mar 25, 2008

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Bipartisan Primary Blues for 03/25/2008

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Leaders of the Democratic Party and much of the media are wringing their hands over what to do about Democratic voters in Florida and Michigan, in order not to leave them out of the process of picking a nominee, and perhaps alienating them as for as the general election in November is concerned.

Like so many things that politicians do that end up in a tangled mess, the current rules and ...

Updated: Tue Mar 25, 2008

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Irony in Wall Street for 04/01/2008

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

There was a real irony in the recent intervention by the Federal Reserve System to provide the money that enabled the firm of JPMorgan Chase to buy Bear Stearns before it went bankrupt. The point was to try to prevent a domino effect of panic in the financial markets that could lead to a downturn in the economy.

The irony is that it was almost exactly a hundred years ago — 1907, to ...

Updated: Tue Apr 01, 2008

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Random Thoughts for 04/08/2008

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Random thoughts on the passing scene:

Most of the problems of this country are not nearly as bad as the "solutions" — especially the solutions that politicians come up with during election years.

Some people actually think that televising Congress gives us information. What it really does is give politicians millions of dollars worth of free advertising, while they ...

Updated: Tue Apr 08, 2008

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Republicans and Blacks for 04/10/2008

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

If Senator John McCain needed to prove that he is a real Republican, he did it when he continued an old Republican tradition of utterly inept attempts to appeal to black voters.

Senator McCain was booed at a recent memorial on the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. In typical Republican fashion, he tried to apologize but the audience was not buying it and let h ...

Updated: Thu Apr 10, 2008

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Political Crusaders for 04/15/2008

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The latest political crusade is the crusade to replace ordinary light bulbs with the new CFL light bulb that is supposed to save electricity, reducing the need for fossil fuels and helping the fight against global warming.

Since crusaders seldom stop to weigh the cost of what they are advocating, it is especially important that the rest of us do so before we get swept along by rhetoric a ...

Updated: Tue Apr 15, 2008

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A Living Lie for 04/15/2008

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

An e-mail from a reader said that, while Hillary Clinton tells lies, Barack Obama is himself a lie. That is becoming painfully apparent with each new revelation of how drastically his carefully crafted image this election year contrasts with what he has actually been saying and doing for many years.

Senator Obama's election year image is that of a man who can bring the country together, ...

Updated: Tue Apr 15, 2008

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The Economics of College for 04/22/2008

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A front-page headline in the New York Times captures much of the economic confusion of our time: "Fewer Options Open to Pay for Costs of College."

The whole article is about the increased costs of college, the difficulties parents have in paying those costs, and the difficulties that both students and parents have in trying to borrow the money needed when their current incomes ...

Updated: Tue Apr 22, 2008

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The Economics of College: Part III for 04/22/2008

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Why does college cost so much?

There are two basic reasons. The first is that people will pay what the colleges charge. The second is that there is little incentive for colleges to reduce the tuition they charge.

Those who want the government to provide subsidies to help meet the high cost of college seem not to consider whether government subsidies might have contributed to the h ...

Updated: Tue Apr 22, 2008

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The Economics of College: Part II for 04/22/2008

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Those who argue that the taxpayers should be forced to subsidize people who go to colleges and universities seldom bother to think beyond the notion that education is a Good Thing.

Some education is not only a good thing but a great thing. But, like most good things, there are limits to how much of it is good — and how good compared to other uses of the resources required.

I ...

Updated: Tue Apr 22, 2008

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An Old Newness for 04/29/2008

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Many years ago, a great hitter named Paul Waner was nearing the end of his long career. He entered a ballgame with 2,999 hits — one hit away from the landmark total of 3,000, which so many hitters want to reach, but which relatively few actually do reach.

Waner hit a ball that the fielder did not handle cleanly but the official scorer called it a hit, making it Waner's 3,000th. Pau ...

Updated: Tue Apr 29, 2008

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Random Events for 05/06/2008

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Sometimes unrelated events nevertheless tell a coherent story.

One newspaper story that caught my eye recently was about two high-powered schools in South Korea where Korean girls study 15 hours a day, preparing themselves for tests to get into elite colleges in the United States. Harvard, Yale and Princeton already have 34 students from those schools.

When a copy of the 50th anni ...

Updated: Tue May 06, 2008

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Too "Complex"? for 05/13/2008

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Some people think that the reason the public misunderstands so many issues is that these issues are too "complex" for most voters. But is that really so?

With all the commotion in the media and in politics about the high price of gasoline, is there really some terribly complex explanation?

Is there anything complex about the fact that with two countries— India and ...

Updated: Tue May 13, 2008

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Too "Complex"?: Part II for 05/13/2008

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Let's face it. Supply and demand will never replace "need" and "greed" in political discussions of economic issues.

Talking about the "need" for more affordable housing or more affordable medical care is what will get politicians more votes this election year.

Voters don't want to hear about impersonal things like supply and demand. They want to hear ...

Updated: Tue May 13, 2008

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Too "Complex"?: Part III for 05/13/2008

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In one of those typical San Francisco decisions that makes San Francisco a poster child for the liberal left, the city's Board of Supervisors is moving to block a paint store from renting a vacant building once used by a video rental shop.

That paint store is part of a chain, and chain stores are not liked by a vocal segment of the local population. Chain stores are already banned from s ...

Updated: Tue May 13, 2008

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