National Review articles from December 2004

National Review archives from December 2004

Arguing gay marriage.(letters to the editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 13, 2004... For better or worse, social conservatives have provided a coherent rationale for limiting marriage to the union of one man and one woman. This limitation, we are told, is designed to maintain traditional family arrangements and create an ideal...

Breakdown.(letters to the editor)(Letter to the Editor)
December 13, 2004... During the 1960s, as a classroom teacher in the Los Angeles unified school district, I saw firsthand how the student-rights movement eroded the authority of public-school faculty and set the stage for the chaos taking place on too many campuses...

Rasmussen poll: President Bush earns job-approval rating of 54 percent.(for the record)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Rasmussen poll: President Bush earns job-approval rating of 54 percent.... Bush on Iraqi elections: "As those elections draw near, the desperation of the killers will grow, and the violence could escalate. The success of democracy in Iraq...

Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) on running again: "It is so premature to be thinking about something so far down the road.(for the record)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) on running again: "It is so premature to be thinking about something so far down the road. What I've said is I'm not opening any doors, I'm not shutting any doors.... If there's a next time, we'll do a better...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R., Calif.), on CNN: "I am very conservative when it comes to fiscal policies.(for the record)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R., Calif.), on CNN: "I am very conservative when it comes to fiscal policies.... The exception is if you have an idea, infrastructure or, for instance, transportation or our ports or something like that, or...

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D., N.Y.) on running for president, on Fox News: "I'm not thinking about that.(for the record)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Sen. Hillary Clinton (D., N.Y.) on running for president, on Fox News: "I'm not thinking about that. I'm thinking about running for reelection" in 2006.... Hillary on whether she'll serve full six-year term as senator, on CNN: "I haven't...

Zogby poll: 65 percent rank Ronald Reagan "great" or "near great" president, compared with 41 percent for George W. Bush, 44 percent for Bill Clinton, 33 percent for George H. W. Bush, and 32 percent for Jimmy Carter.(for the record)
December 13, 2004... * Zogby poll: 65 percent rank Ronald Reagan "great" or "near great" president, compared with 41 percent for George W. Bush, 44 percent for Bill Clinton, 33 percent for George H. W. Bush, and 32 percent for Jimmy Carter.... Clinton's...

Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein stole more than $21 billion from U.N.'s Oil for Food program, according to Senate report.(for the record)
December 13, 2004... * Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein stole more than $21 billion from U.N.'s Oil for Food program, according to Senate report.... French consider naming streets in several cities after Yasser Arafat.... Chile legalizes divorce.... Britain...

David Letterman: "you know who may run for the Democrats in 2008? Hillary Clinton.(for the record)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * David Letterman: "You know who may run for the Democrats in 2008? Hillary Clinton. Her husband is so excited that he is already interviewing White House interns."

Some left-wingers vowed to go to Canada following Bush's reelection.(The Week)
December 13, 2004... * Some left-wingers vowed to go to Canada following Bush's reelection. We're waiting...

Condoleezza Rice is a solid foreign-policy thinker who ought to make a fine secretary of state.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Condoleezza Rice is a solid foreign-policy thinker who ought to make a fine secretary of state. She is an admirable combination of what might be called realism and idealism (though the terms are too crude): The Reagan experience, as she said...

Bill Clinton opened his presidential library, which features scandalously self-regarding exhibits, including one whitewashing the Monica affair.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Bill Clinton opened his presidential library, which features scandalously self-regarding exhibits, including one whitewashing the Monica affair. Should we be surprised? Democrats are feeling nostalgic for Bubba's political magic, as well they...

The custom of seniority put Arlen Specter in line to be chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * The custom of seniority put Arlen Specter in line to be chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But after Specter suggested that Bush would be well advised not to nominate judges opposed to Roe v. Wade, conservatives objected--and Specter...

Republicans changed the rules in the House, permitting indicted lawmakers to serve as their leaders.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Republicans changed the rules in the House, permitting indicted lawmakers to serve as their leaders. The move was designed to protect majority leader Tom DeLay, who is being pursued by Democratic prosecutor Ronnie Earle. The Democrat has a...

The plight of immigrants from Mexico.
December 13, 2004... A Immigrants from Mexico do far worse when they migrate to the United States than do immigrants from other countries. Those difficulties are more a reflection of U.S. immigration policy than they are of underlying cultural differences. The...

The House ethics committee, meanwhile, has given us an opportunity to revisit a previous round of attacks on DeLay.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * The House ethics committee, meanwhile, has given us an opportunity to revisit a previous round of attacks on DeLay. Democratic congressman Chris Bell of Texas scored a publicity coup a month before the election, when a complaint he filed led...

The House is losing one of its principal champions of limited government and free markets in Pat Toomey.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * The House is losing one of its principal champions of limited government and free markets in Pat Toomey. But supporters of those causes should not lose him. As President Bush assembles his tax-reform commission, he could hardly find a better...

If Karl Rove was the architect of the president's victory, Ken Mehlman was the general contractor who put all the nuts and bolts in place to deliver a historic number of Republicans to the polls.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * If Karl Rove was the architect of the president's victory, Ken Mehlman was the general contractor who put all the nuts and bolts in place to deliver a historic number of Republicans to the polls. Mehlman will now replace Ed Gillespie, the...

To their credit, House Republicans balked at approving the consolidation of intelligence agencies even after the 9/11 commission recommended it and the White House and Senate backed it.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * To their credit, House Republicans balked at approving the consolidation of intelligence agencies even after the 9/11 commission recommended it and the White House and Senate backed it. The House Armed Services Committee shares the concerns...

Who, besides Kofi Annan, can doubt that Fallujah was a terrorist safe haven?(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Who, besides Kofi Annan, can doubt that Fallujah was a terrorist safe haven? In the last month, U.S. forces have found some 600 Improvised Explosive Devices--i.e., road-side bombs--there, compared with roughly 225 around the rest of the...

As the world knows by now, a Marine in Fallujah was captured on tape apparently shooting a wounded insurgent.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * As the world knows by now, a Marine in Fallujah was captured on tape apparently shooting a wounded insurgent. Naturally, the tape has unleashed a furor and the incident is being investigated. Was this an unfortunate act of war, or a war...

The French Connection.(Poem)
December 13, 2004... THE FRENCH CONNECTION One doesn't need Miss Marple to Finger Chirac, who drops a clue Like circus elephants; so when He shelters Yasser like a hen, Then flies the bod to Cairo, it's Apparent what seemed iffy,...

Iran has agreed to stop uranium enrichment temporarily while negotiating with Britain, France, and Germany over what it will get for a long-term deal.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Iran has agreed to stop uranium enrichment temporarily while negotiating with Britain, France, and Germany over what it will get for a long-term deal. The agreement allowed the mullahs to dodge a U.N. Security Council referral, which the...

A newer deal.
December 13, 2004... THE black standup comic Chris Rock has a standard routine about the injustice of Social Security. This, he rages, is just another white man's scheme to hold back the black man by taxing him his whole life and then withholding the benefits until...

Not all the troubling news out of Iran concerns Tehran's nuclear ambitions.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Not all the troubling news out of Iran concerns Tehran's nuclear ambitions. On November 16, an Iranian news service reported that a 14-year-old boy died after receiving 85 lashes, a sentence imposed on him by the judge of a local court. His...

Four thousand French troops are caught up in a civil war in the Ivory Coast, once part of France's colonial empire.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Four thousand French troops are caught up in a civil war in the Ivory Coast, once part of France's colonial empire. Whatever else they might be doing, they have stirred up a hornet's nest. The mobs are out, and French and other expatriates...

NR's recent post-election cruise was a smash success, and a happy omen that our 2005 British Isles voyage--July 10-21, starring WFB, Bob Bork, Larry Kudlow, Peggy Noonan, Paul Johnson, Rich Lowry, Kate O'Beirne, David Pryce-Jones, Jay Nordlinger, et al., joyfully celebrating NR's 50th anniversary--will be the same.(The Week)
December 13, 2004... * NR's recent post-election cruise was a smash success, and a happy omen that our 2005 British Isles voyage--July 10-21, starring WFB, Bob Bork, Larry Kudlow, Peggy Noonan, Paul Johnson, Rich Lowry, Kate O'Beirne, David Pryce-Jones, Jay...

The relentless, vindictive war being waged by the ACLU against the Boy Scouts of America took a turn recently when the Defense Department agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit they have been defending for five years.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * The relentless, vindictive war being waged by the ACLU against the Boy Scouts of America took a turn recently when the Defense Department agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit they have been defending for five years. Under the terms of the...

Scott Peterson was convicted for murdering his wife Laci--and for second-degree murder in the case of their unborn son, Conner.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Scott Peterson was convicted for murdering his wife Laci--and for second-degree murder in the case of their unborn son, Conner. The fact that Peterson was convicted of a lesser charge in Conner's case appears to reflect the jury's uncertainty...

What happens if a homeless person abandons or misplaces his accumulated j--... sorry, we mean his personal property, those articles typically pushed around in a stolen supermarket cart?(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * What happens if a homeless person abandons or misplaces his accumulated j--... sorry, we mean his personal property, those articles typically pushed around in a stolen supermarket cart? (Those carts, by the way, cost supermarkets around $100...

In a stirring example of the American genius for hustling up business where no business formerly existed, a South Florida psychologist named Douglas Schooler has been treating John Kerry voters distraught over their candidate's loss on November 2.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * In a stirring example of the American genius for hustling up business where no business formerly existed, a South Florida psychologist named Douglas Schooler has been treating John Kerry voters distraught over their candidate's loss on...

Shoppers at Target will no longer hear bells ringing for donations; the Salvation Army Santas have been silenced.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * Shoppers at Target will no longer hear bells ringing for donations; the Salvation Army Santas have been silenced. Target, along with other big-box stores such as Best Buy, has decided that it can avoid preferential treatment for particular...

It may come as a surprise to readers of National Review to learn that we once shared a floor of our office building with Vibe, a magazine dedicated to the doings of such avant-garde popular musicians as Jadakiss, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Twista, OutKast, Jay-Z, and Ja Rule.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * It may come as a surprise to readers of NATIONAL REVIEW to learn that we once shared a floor of our office building with Vibe, a magazine dedicated to the doings of such avant-garde popular musicians as Jadakiss, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Ol'...

After more than 30 years, William Safire is relinquishing his spot on the New York Times op-ed page.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * After more than 30 years, William Safire is relinquishing his spot on the New York Times op-ed page. His commentaries brought a much-needed rationality to the deceptively gray pages of the Times, where off-the-wall radicalism typically poses...

President Bush has conferred the National Humanities Medal on some excitingly deserving recipients, including Hilton Kramer.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * President Bush has conferred the National Humanities Medal on some excitingly deserving recipients, including Hilton Kramer. Mr. Kramer may be the finest art critic in the United States, and he is one of its best journalists. A child of...

The same goes for his other selections, among them Gertrude Himmelfarb, Harvey C. Mansfield, and Shelby Steele.(The Week)
December 13, 2004... * The same goes for his other selections, among them Gertrude Himmelfarb, Harvey C. Mansfield, and Shelby Steele. The first is one of our more insightful historians, and one of our keener social critics. The second, for years, has been one of...

The man Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee called a "miserable, carping, retromingent vigilante" died on November 16, aged 82.(The Week)(Reed Irvine)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... * The man Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee called a "miserable, carping, retromingent vigilante" died on November 16, aged 82. Reed Irvine, founder of Accuracy in Media, thought this graceless comment such a compliment to his work exposing...

Two important American poets died recently, a major loss to our poetry.(The Week)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 13, 2004... * Two important American poets died recently, a major loss to our poetry. They were alike in important ways, radically dissimilar in others. Viewed historically, they learned from but also quietly rebelled against the aesthetic extremes of the...

Ichthyophages beware!(The Week)
December 13, 2004... * Ichthyophages beware! PETA--that is, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals--has launched a Fish Empathy Project in the hope of discouraging us from mistreating our finned friends by such practices as catching and eating them. Sometime...

Den of thieves.(The U.N.)
December 13, 2004... U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan should either resign, if he is honorable, or be removed, if he is not. The mild-mannered Annan may not himself be corrupt. But he has presided over no less than the largest corruption scandal in the history of...

A horrible life.(The Middle East)
December 13, 2004... YASSER ARAFAT was responsible for years of murder and bloodshed, for civil war, for the hijacking of aircraft and other acts of terror, for gun-running, for embezzlement and blackmail and bribery. His racist fantasies have polluted far and...

Notes & asides.(Column)
December 13, 2004... * Dear Mr. Buckley: A question has bothered me for years. Recently, to find an answer, I consulted Britannica(1945) under the headings "time" and "calendar" and came up short. The question: In the designations B.C. and A.D., why is the first in...

Kofi's hour is up: incompetence upon insult upon outrage.(Kofi Annan)(Cover Story)
December 13, 2004... THIS has been a wretched year for Kofi Annan. The U.N. secretary general has looked a forlorn figure on the world stage: Hugely overshadowed as a global leader by George W. Bush and Tony Blair, he has appeared weak and clueless in confronting...

A conservative departs: about Colin Powell.(The Administration)
December 13, 2004... COLIN POWELL left office with the jeers of his liberal friends and admirers ringing in his ears. In an unusually vicious New York Times editorial titled "Good Soldier Powell," the retiring secretary of state was told that he would be remembered...

Absolutely: both Iraqis and Palestinians have a chance to escape the curse of absolutism.(The Middle East)
December 13, 2004... IN January 2005, elections are to be held in Iraq and the Palestinian Authority. There are hopes that both elections will mark a break with an unbearable tyrannical past, and throw up new leaders who will have enough legitimacy to modernize and...

A dent that counts: how do Republicans win black and Hispanic votes? Well, first you have to ask ...(Campaign 2004)
December 13, 2004... WHILE Ken Mehlman and Karl Rove raided suburbs and exurbs for unregistered Republicans, a small group of non-party irregulars laid siege to the Democratic citadel: the minority precincts Al Gore carried by huge majorities in 2000. This...

You deserve a factual look at ... "one land for two peoples": is it a solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict or a recipe for disaster?
December 13, 2004... For decades, the declared thrust of the Palestinians has been their desire of having their own state - in Judea/Samaria (the "West Bank") and in the Gaza Strip. Now, a new idea has taken hold and is propagated in national media: a binational...

The good news about pain treatment: the Drug Enforcement Administration recently posted new guidelines on the DEA website to stop the unjustified harassment and prosecution of pain doctors.(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT PAIN TREATMENT: The Drug Enforcement Administration recently posted new guidelines on the DEA website to stop the unjustified harassment and prosecution of pain doctors. THE BAD NEWS ABOUT PAIN TREATMENT: Two...

Remember Algeria: a lesson from midcentury.(The Middle East II)
December 13, 2004... ON the night of All Saints, 1954, a young honeymooning couple of French schoolteachers, dedicated to their work among underprivileged children, were dragged off a bus in the Aures Mountains of Algeria and shot dead. Their murder by the newly...

The perils of tax reform: frankly, tiny and timid is better than big and bold.(Public Policy)
December 13, 2004... WHEN President Bush said that he would appoint a commission to report on tax reform in the spring, conservative hopes for a fundamental overhaul rose. Could this finally be the moment for a flat tax or a national sales tax? The answer appears...

Three years and counting: the U.S. has not suffered a major attack since September 2001. Why?(At War)
December 13, 2004... THE September 11 attacks still reverberate profoundly. Of that, there is no better indication than George W. Bush's decisive reelection. For all the trendy talk about "values voters," the campaign was run principally on national-security...

Our crisis of foundations: what Tom Wolfe's novel, among other things, brings to mind.(Essay)(Critical Essay)
December 13, 2004... MY colleague Jonah Goldberg, speaking at a recent panel discussion in which we were both participating, remarked that modern democracy is sorely in need of a metaphysic. That put me in mind of one of Aldous Huxley's aphorisms. In his 1937 essay...

So, you want to win the culture wars? It would help to engage in a little culture.(Essay II)
December 13, 2004... I'VE never attended a major film festival, but it's a safe bet that none of them--not Venice or Cannes, not Sundance or Toronto--begins its Saturday-night screening with the Pledge of Allegiance. Or opens nearly every film with a...

The long view.(Column)
December 13, 2004... From the Guestbook of the Clinton Presidential Library... Marnie Williams, Ft. Smith, Ark.: Wonderful, wonderful exhibits! Thank you so much for all of the hard work that everyone obviously put into this magnificent library! The Hall...

Help!!!!(Comic)(Cartoon)
December 13, 2004... "He's a strange kid--he has a William F. Buckley Pez dispenser." There's obviously been a mistake. I've won the Nobel Peace Prize! You're right. That DOES Sound like a mistake. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Hillary: it begins.(Poem)
December 13, 2004... HILLARY: IT BEGINS Her library launch was inspired: Hill's hubby, triumphant but tired, Bussed Hillary as Hollywood-- I swear, almost half of it--stood (Babs Streisand emoted the most) While Hill ladled Bill with...

The dynamic IMP.(The Woman and the Dynamo: Isabel Paterson and the Idea of America)(Book Review)
December 13, 2004... The Woman and the Dynamo: Isabel Paterson and the Idea of America, by Stephen Cox (Transaction, 418 pp., $39.95) IF you were around in 1943 (which is doubtful: even I, age 17, was only just barely around) you may have noticed that three...

The hearth defended.(Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Wonder Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes)(Book Review)
December 13, 2004... Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Wonder Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes, by Mary Eberstadt (Sentinel, 288 pp., $25.95) IT's one of history's oldest questions: "What's a mother to do?" And, in this provocative new book,...

Absolutism redux.(The Second Bill of Rights: FDR's Unfinished Revolution and Why We Need It More than Ever)(Book Review)
December 13, 2004... The Second Bill of Rights: FDR's Unfinished Revolution and Why We Need It More than Ever, by Cass Sunstein (Basic, 282 pp., $25) YOU owe your life--and everything else--to the sovereign. The rights of subjects are not natural rights, but...

The gruntler.(Wodehouse: A Life)(Book Review)
December 13, 2004... Wodehouse: A Life, by Robert McCrum (Norton, 384 pp., $27.95) TOO Good to Be True Dept.: The two reigning masters of the outrageous simile went to the same English public school. In fact, P. G. Wodehouse ("She looked at me like someone who...

Road Kill.(Poem)
December 13, 2004... ROAD KILL You may have thought things would come right again If only you could sit quite still and wait. --Larkin Driving to the hospital late last night, I turned down a road that ran between dark fields. Up ahead,...

A bin of CDs.(Music)
December 13, 2004... LET's touch briefly on some recent recordings, taking in composers--contemporary composers--violinists, pianists, and singers. We'll conclude with an oddball CD (not that there won't be some oddness in the meantime). First come the...

Fall festival.(The Straggler)
December 13, 2004... OFF to the Fall Festival on an October weekend, each of us with a different motive: Dad--To escape from the election campaign for an afternoon. Mom--To buy pickles. Nellie (11)--In the hope of meeting friends, so they can shriek...

Wargaming Iran.(on the right)(Column)
December 13, 2004... NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 9 IF you can do it, forget Fallujah for just a minute. Think Iran. A productive way to do this is to read James Fallows in the current issue of The Atlantic Monthly. The title of the article is, "Will Iran Be Next?" The...

Your rights, their rights.(on the right)(Column)
December 13, 2004... NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 12 WE hear the clamor in the matter of the Patriot Act and other measures associated with retiring attorney general John Ashcroft. Just rubbing a hand lightly over U.S. history reminds us that these questions arose in...

Whee Time!(on the right)(Column)
December 13, 2004... NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 16 SO it will be Condoleezza Rice. We must deny the temptation to ruffles and flourishes which, heaven knows, one might revel in for a good hour. A woman! An African-American! An academic! Who had a high post at a tough,...

For DOGMA.(Letter to the Editor)
December 27, 2004... I'd like to thank Kate O'Beirne for her article on the impact of the Catholic vote in the recent presidential election ("Catholics For Bush," Nov. 29). As a Roman Catholic, I am proud of the tremendous inroads conservative Catholic voters have...

Targeting target.(Letter to the Editor)
December 27, 2004... I recently purchased a camera--a Christmas gift for my bride of 40-some years--at Target. Then, lo and behold, I read "The Week" section of your December 13 issue and learned that Target, among others, has banned the Salvation Army Santa from...

A rebellion.(Letter to the Editor)
December 27, 2004... In your editorial of November 29 ("Victory") you write, "The election results did not just reflect trends in American opinion; they also reflected a superb job of retail-politicking by the Republicans." I disagree. In my view the election...

Unbuttoned.(Letter to the Editor)
December 27, 2004... About Jay Nordlinger's piece on political buttons and the like ("Button It," Nov. 29): It always irked me to see my history professor with her Kerry-Edwards button as she would teach us about colonial America. The "insurgents" in Iraq are the...

USA Today/CNN poll: President Bush earns approval rating of 55 percent.(George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * USA Today/CNN poll: President Bush earns approval rating of 55 percent.... Bush says he opposes postponing Iraqi elections: "It's one of those moments in history where a lot of people will be amazed that a society has been transformed so...

In Louisiana runoffs, Republican Charles Boustany and Democrat Charles Melancon win House seats, giving Republicans 232-202 majority in next Congress.(includes other new on presidential elections)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * In Louisiana runoffs, Republican Charles Boustany and Democrat Charles Melancon win House seats, giving Republicans 232-202 majority in next Congress.... During presidential campaign, John Kerry and supporters outspent Bush and his backers,...

GOP activists launch "Draft Mark Sanford for President" website, but so far Gov. Sanford (R., S.C.) says he has no plans beyond running for reelection in 2006.(includes notes on other politicians)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * GOP activists launch "Draft Mark Sanford for President" website, but so far Gov. Sanford (R., S.C.) says he has no plans beyond running for reelection in 2006.... Rep. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) says he will break term-limits pledge and run for...

Sen. Norm Coleman (R., Minn.) on U.N. secretary general and oil-for-food scam, in Wall Street Journal: "It's time for Kofi Annan to step down.(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * Sen. Norm Coleman (R., Minn.) on U.N. secretary general and oil-for-food scam, in Wall Street Journal: "It's time for Kofi Annan to step down. The massive scope of this debacle demands nothing less. If this widespread corruption had occurred...

In Pacific Research Institute's U.S. Economic Freedom Index, Kansas finishes as most free and New York as least free.(includes note on support of Hispanics for Republican Party)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * In Pacific Research Institute's U.S. Economic Freedom Index, Kansas finishes as most free and New York as least free.... Census Bureau counts more than 34 million immigrants as of last March.... In Arizona, agents make 52 percent of all...

Colombian rebels sought to assassinate Bush during recent visit to Cartagena, according to defense minister Jorge Uribe.(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * Colombian rebels sought to assassinate Bush during recent visit to Cartagena, according to defense minister Jorge Uribe.... Iranian opposition group says Tehran government is developing missiles that put western Europe within range.......

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R., Calif.) on winning the 2004 George Bush Award.(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R., Calif.) on winning the 2004 George Bush Award (named after GWB's dad) for public service: "I guess I take this as a presidential pardon for my bad movies."

The political economy of anti-Americanism.(economic effects of anti-Americanism within European Union)
December 27, 2004... Major foreign policy differences, especially regarding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, have contributed to the deterioration of relationships between the United States and our traditional allies in Western Europe. There can be no doubt that...

Howard Dean is running for DNC chairman.(Democratic National Committee)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * Howard Dean is running for DNC chairman. We hereby endorse him again.

Most of official Washington is now busy hailing--with varying degrees of sincerity--the passage of the intelligence-reform bill.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * Most of official Washington is now busy hailing--with varying degrees of sincerity--the passage of the intelligence-reform bill. The White House badly wanted the bill, mostly for political reasons. It didn't want the camera-hungry former...

In the current issue of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, Heather Mac Donald reports on a little-noticed way in which political correctness and our litigation-ready culture undermine national security.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * In the current issue of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, Heather Mac Donald reports on a little-noticed way in which political correctness and our litigation-ready culture undermine national security. "Department of Transportation...

Conventional macroeconomics, as Alan Reynolds remarked some years ago, leaves you wandering in a maze of paradoxes.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * Conventional macroeconomics, as Alan Reynolds remarked some years ago, leaves you wandering in a maze of paradoxes. Right now we are supposed to be worrying about the growing trade deficit and the falling dollar. We are supposed to worry...

Is there a way to pursue the possible benefits of embryonic stem-cell research without killing human embryos?(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * Is there a way to pursue the possible benefits of embryonic stem-cell research without killing human embryos? Many prolife activists have insisted that adult stem-cell research offers just that potential. Now two new proposals are on the...

The baseball steroid scandal insults the intelligence in several ways.(The Week)(Brief Article)
December 27, 2004... * The baseball steroid scandal insults the intelligence in several ways. Home-run king Barry Bonds's claim that he didn't know he was taking steroids is fantastic. No, Barry, your arms just grew and those fly balls became 73 home runs. Baseball...