1.30.00
The St. Louis Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV!
Superbowl.com:
http://www.superbowl.com
1.29.00
Reason can't be bought in
Border's anymore, but Mediaweek has a story about the
leading libertarian magazine.
"The Voice of Reason":
http://www.mediaweek.com/buzz/columnists/archive/seipp20000127-162931.asp
Matthew Sharpe recalls his summer hawking frozen seafood.
"Getting Busy with the Meat Man":
http://www.word.com/features00/gettingbusy/
1.28.00
In the 4th Century A.D. Emperor Diocletian ordered all Romans "to remain on their jobs, to not
change their places of abode." He did this to protect Rome's tax revenue. Charles Adams thinks
the U.S. is on the same path.
"The Dark Side of the Tax State":
http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=372&FS=The+Dark+Side+of+the+Tax+State
Denim, polyester, now bubblewrap.
Bubblebodywear.com: [via memepool]
http://www.bubblebodywear.com/
Tom Marshall wants a "fat tax." How about $6 for a Big Mac?
Exploring a Fiscal Food Policy: the Case of Diet and Ischaemic Heart Disease:
[via junkscience.com]
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/320/7230/301
1.27.00
Blacks served voluntarily on the Confederate side during the Civil War. Walter Williams thinks
it's a dishonor to attack the Confederate flag flying over the South Carolina capitol.
"Black Confederates":
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_williams/20000126_xcwwi_black_conf.shtml
After placing third in Iowa, Alan Keyes gets some major media attention.
http://www.latimes.com/print/20000126/t000008187.html
The Green Bay Packers want to expand Lambeau Field (holy ground for most Packers fans). They want to add 8,000 more seats and a shopping area. It will cost $294 million with part of that to come from a sales tax on Brown County residents. I'm torn. I love the Packers and Lambeau Field, but I know the arguments against taxpayers money going to sports stadiums. One things for sure, if Brown County residents approve the sales tax, I won't be paying anything for the improved stadium.
Lambeau Field Expansion Plan:
http://stadium.packers.com/
1.25.00
John Hulsman of the Heritage Foundation thinks the United Kingdom should hook up with the United
States and join NAFTA.
The World Turned Rightside up: A New Trading Agenda for the Age of Globalization:
http://www.heritage.org/library/lecture/hl653.html
Peter Collier blasts the American race industry for its obsession with the stupid remarks of pitcher John Rocker.
"Mark Fuhrman in cleats?":
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/22/rocker/print.html
Want to be a liberal democrat? Here are the requirements.
Prerequisites to Being a
Modern Liberal Democrat: [via
What's on it for Me?]
http://members.aol.com/mikewas999/liberal.html
Because of the WTO riots last month, the Seattle community of Capitol Hill are thinking about seceding.
"Capitol Hill Threat: Secede from City":
http://www.seattletimes.com/news/local/html98/hill_20000122.html
The Gates Foundation now has almost $22 billion to give away. Some of that should be spent on organizations that defend Gates' and Microsoft's right to innovate and achieve.
"At Nearly $22 Billion, Gates Foundation now World's Biggest":
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/001426.htm
Iowans held their caucuses yesterday. G.W. won with Steve Forbes in second and Alan Keyes a surprising third. On the democrat side, Gore thrashed Bradley. But Iowa isn't very important. Chip Griffin writes, "No man has been elected president after winning the Iowa caucuses." New Hampshire is the event. Bush and John McCain are in a real battle there.
"So What?":
http://www.nationalreview.com/vibe/wire012500a.html
1.24.00
I missed the thrashing the Tennessee Titans gave Jacksonville, but I caught most of the
Rams/Bucs game. I knew the Bucs defense was good, but I didn't think they could hold back
Kurt Warner and the gang. Nevertheless, the Rams were the better team, and I will pick them
to win next Sunday.
Help.com is great! I had a problem downloading email with Outlook Express. So I put my question out on Help.com. Tonight, I got an answer, and it WORKED! If you have any problems with computers, go to Help.com.
Gertrude Himmelfarb writes about the importance of heros and individual efforts in the 21th Century.
"Heroes and Antiheroes Survive the Millennium's Dawn":
http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i20/20a06401.htm
With the AOL-Time Warner merger, economist Stan Leibowitz, says the Microsoft antitrust case is now obsolete.
"Hey, Remember Microsoft?":
http://www.independent.org/tii/news/000120Liebowitz.html
1.23.00
Another Sunday, and I'll be at work missing playoff football.
I might be able to catch the second half of the last game late in the afternoon. My picks: Rams
and Jaguars. Those may be safe picks, but you'll still hear me bragging if I'm right.
London's Institute for Economic Affairs published a defense of the fur trade.
Fur and Freedom:
http://www.iea.org.uk/env/fur.htm
Governor "Nature Boy"? Pro wrestler Ric Flair is walking in the footsteps of Minnesota's Jesse Ventura and will run for governor in North Carolina.
"Pro Wrestler Ric Flair Says He Will Run for NC Governor":
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200001\POL20000118d.html
1.22.00
In remembrance of the 27th aniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's
Roe v. Wade decision
that took this nation down the road to abortion on demand, TAM will be black today.
"Glory to the newborn."
Legal Kill--King's X
Roe v. Wade--27 Years of Life Denied
http://www.roevwade.org/
George W. Bush doesn't like the Roe decision. "Roe v. Wade was a reach -- overstepped the constitutional bounds as far as I'm concerned." Bush has also said that, if elected, he would appoint Supreme Court justices who strictly interpret the constitution. While not directly saying it, Bush admits he would appoint justices that could overturn Roe.
"Bush: Roe v. Wade Abortion Rule Unconstitutional":
http://news.excite.com/news/r/000120/17/campaign-bush
1.21.00
Neoflux.com has some good blurbs on property rights and
porn.
Lance Knobel is running a neat weblog covering the World Economic Forum. The WEF is a big international confab where business and government leaders yap about all things political and economic.
Davos Newbies:
http://www.davosnewbies.com/
metajohn has endorsed Alan Keyes for President. Will this be a trend? Will candidates come to webloggers looking for endorsements? If I were running for office and knew many potential voters were on the Net, I would do a little guerilla campaigning and ask for some endorsements. I like metajohn's choice, but I'll stick with "Flat Tax" Steve Forbes (I've given him $10), but I really wish he would run for the open NJ Senate seat.
I thank What's on it for Me? for linking to me.
1.19.00
Newsweek has a lightly edited transcript of an interview with George W. Bush. In it, GW
restates his committment to tax cuts and school choice for kids in failing public schools. He
also talks about Teddy Roosevelt and the cynical press.
"The Front-Runner Speaks":
http://newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/na/a35619-2000jan16.htm
Is computer code the constitution of cyberspace? How does this code affect liberty? Richard Epstein and Lawrence Lessig discuss these questions at Slate's Book Club.
The Book Club:
http://slate.msn.com/code/BookClub/BookClub.asp?Show=1/17/00&idMessage=4391&idBio=139
Yearning for a good Ayn Rand quote?
Ayn Rand Says...:
http://www.hypermall.com/cgi-bin/rand-quotes.pl
Regardless of what Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman has said about safety for at-home workers, she has not said OSHA doesn't have regulatory authority over home offices. The Heritage Foundation's D. Mark Wilson writes:
The Department of Labor's retreat does not end the debate about the extent of OSHA's reach into homes. Despite withdrawing the compliance interpretation letter, Secretary Herman has refused to answer questions regarding an employer's liability for safety and health violations at home work sites and did not offer any assurances that such a policy would not be reissued in the future. This cloud of uncertainty places nearly 15 million employees who work at home, as well as their employers, in legal limbo and is likely to curtail the expansion of telecommuting opportunities for millions of parents struggling to meet the demands of family and work.
"OSHA's Retreat Does Not End the Threat to Working at Home":
http://www.heritage.org/library/execmemo/em641.html
1.18.00
In the not too distant future all those people you see yapping into their cell phones will
also be checking their email and sports scores. That's because smart phones and personal
digital assistants (PDAs) sales will explode according to Datacomm Research Company.
"New Datacomm Research Report:
Smart Phone, PDA Shipments Will Soar to 350 Million Units by 2003":
http://www.datacommresearch.com/wwpr.html
Dissent Magazine's current issue has a symposium looking back at the 10 years since the fall of the Soviet Union. I love reading how socialists are still clinging to the futile hope of a socialist world.
Dissent Magazine:
http://www.dissentmagazine.org/
NY Times editors comment on the White House drug czar altering scripts of prime-time programs:
Whatever its impact on particular shows, exchanging content for dollars is a bad idea, as ABC-TV has acknowledged by ending the arrangement with the White House this season. In allowing government to shape or even to be consulted on content in return for financial rewards, the networks are crossing a dangerous line they should not cross. On the far side of that line lies the possibility of censorship and state-sponsored propaganda.
"Television's Risky Relationship":
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/18tue1.html
1.17.00
It was a pretty quiet weekend, but I found a couple interesting stories.
Has Whitney Houston ever waited to inhale? Last week, she was caught at a Hawaiian airport with 15 grams of marijuana. Airport security confiscated the weed, but Whitney boarded the plane before the police arrived. The case is now in the hands of the local prosecutor. I wonder if Whitney has a good brownie recipe?
"Report: Airport Guards Find Marijuana in Bag of Whitney Houston":
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGIVSV3QJ3C.html
Jesse Jackson has gone too far in defending the thugs who were expelled from a Decatur, IL high school last year after a fight at a football game. Jesse's invoking Martin Luther King, Jr., saying MLK would be defending the Decatur 6. He also called the expulsions the biggest civil rights issue in America today. Jackson's biggest problem is too many black students are getting expelled in Decatur. He said 82% of expelled students are black while blacks make up 46% of public school students. I guess Jackson would support a hard quota for expulsions. For every 4 blacks expelled, 6 non-blacks should be booted. Of course, this is ridiculous! This isn't a question of group rights. Individuals get expelled, not groups. Blacks (or whites) don't act in stupid ways that deserve expulsion, individual blacks (or whites) do.
"Jackson Holds Weekend Rally for Expelled Students":
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGIGXUZSJ3C.html
1.16.00
I've set up a page with the latest news and commentary I find dealing with the Elian
Gonzalez case. I'll try to keep my commentary there too, but it will creep back over
here again.
ElianWatch:
https://www.angelfire.com/wi/shackbar/elianwatch.html
1.15.00
I've added metajohn and
memepool.com to the TAM family of weblogs. Congrats!
I've been getting groovy at the Beta Lounge. Go Sammy K, Oliver, and David Mejia.
Since I've been so obsessed with the story of Elian Gonzalez, I'm going to have to set up a separate page with the latest news and commentary I find. Maybe, I can do it tomorrow night.
100,000 Cuban mothers marched yesterday demanding Elian be returned to Cuba. Reuters' Andrew Cawthorne wrote, "Both Elian's grandmothers, hundreds of pregnant women, thousands of children, and Castro's sister-in-law, took part in the government-organized march along Havana's picturesque seafront Malecon boulevard." Cawthorne also mentioned how involved the Cuban government is in the protests. "Friday's march was again meticulously organized by the authorities, with buses bringing the women in from homes and workplaces, and march organizers lining them up along the Malecon in carefully choreographed blocks." This isn't some spontaneous uprising by the Cuban people. Sure, there's definitely a lot of sincere nationalism, but it's being stoked by the awesome propaganda machine of Fidel Castro.
"Cuba Mothers March on U.S. Mission in Elian Protest":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000114/ts/cuba_protest_5.html
A slick, but tiny website has been set up for people to support Elian staying in the U.S.:
http://www.libertyforelian.org/thanks2.html
Gramna is Cuba's official propaganda, oops, I mean, news agency. Their website claims
Elian has been "kidnapped" and is a "hostage of hatred."
http://www.granma.cu/sitioelian/indexing.html
Only economics geeks like me will appreciate this, but the Ludwig von Mises Institute has just finished putting Mises' magnum opus, Human Action on the Web. For those of you unfamiliar with Mises, he was a firm defender of laissez faire capitalism. Human Action was the book where he systematically analyzed economic behavior starting with the simple fact that people act.
Human Action online:
http://www.mises.org/humanaction.asp
1.14.00
Juan Miguel Gonzalez was interviewed on ABC's "Nightline." The Associated Press has
some excerpts
Excerpts From Gonzalez Interview:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000113/aponline214641_000.htm
Bruce Shapiro, writing for Salon.com thinks Cuban-Americans who don't want Elian Gonzalez returned to Cuba need some psychological treatment (like John Rocker?). Why else would he write that they're suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder?
One of the characteristics of post-traumatic stress disorder, psychologists tell us, is the persistent, disguised reenactment of an awful, life-changing event.
Cuban-Americans caught up in the Gonzalez case see it as a mirror of their own painful histories and the history of the country from which they are exiled. They seem determined to replay those histories by imposing them on Elian's young life.
Shapiro goes on to attack Rep. Dan Burton (R-ID) for having the audacity to supoena Elian so Elian's relatives in Miami could make their case in court as to why Elian shouldn't be returned to the communist dictatorship 90 miles from U.S. shores. Shapiro thinks Elian would be forced to attack his own father on the stand before Burton's congressional committee. The odd thing is, earlier in his piece, Shapiro admits Burton's supoena is only a delaying tactic to keep Elian in the U.S.
But the most poisonous part of Shapiro's article is the following claim:
And while Cuba remains a lousy place to be an adult dissident, it is a better place than many to be a 6-year-old: a country with 98 percent literacy, universal day care, universal health care and free education through graduate school.
For Shapiro, lack of basic human rights (free speech, religion), and the lack of any real economic opportunity (Cuba ranked 157 out of 161 countries in economic freedom according to the Heritage Foundation) aren't that important for a 6-year-old. If Elian is sent back to Cuba, he will have a father who is or isn't under tremendous pressure from Fidel Castro to tow the political line and only questions of what-if from his several month taste of freedom. He'll have "free education" and no opportunities to apply it too. The real political child abuse would be to send Elian back into the communist den.
"Political Child Abuse":
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/13/gonzales/print.html
Global warming scientists released a report explaining the temperature increase discrepancies of different levels of the atmosphere. Land-based temperature recorders report some global temperature increase, but satellite data report no increase in the upper atmosphere. George Taylor, Oregon State Climatologist writes for Junkscience.com:
My current bottom line: while human activities doubtless influence climate (on a local, regional, and even a global scale), the human-induced climate change from expected increases in greenhouse gases will be a rather small fraction of the natural variations. I don't foresee global warming causing big problems. I believe that even if we controlled every molecule of human emissions we would still see substantial climate change, just as we always have.
Have you ever heard or read about Mr. Taylor in a major media outlet? No? Neither have I.
Comments on "Reconciling Observations of Global Temperature Change":
http://www.junkscience.com
In a special report for Salon.com, Daniel Forbes discovered that the War on Drugs has deputized prime-time TV shows. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) got the TV networks to include anti-drug plots in various shows in exchange for financial incentives. It may be illegal under the payola laws, and it definitely smells like Soviet-style propaganda.
"Prime-time Propaganda":
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/13/drugs/print.html
"Propaganda for Dollars":
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/14/payola/print.html
1.13.00
I've been looking at my web stats the past few days. No body's reading, and I mean
NOBODY! Oh, well, they're missing some good stuff.
Attorney General Janet Reno said yesterday that the feds won't deport Elian Gonzalez Friday as originally planned. A future jurisdiction battle in federal court is the reason for the delay.
Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) blasted Reno's decision to uphold the INS order that would send Elian back to Cuba. McCain said Elian's mother "literally gave her life" so Elian could be free in the U.S. He also added the precedent this would set, "Only criminals up until this time have been returned to Cuba."
"Reno Says Cuban Boy to Go; Miami Kin to Fight":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000112/ts/cuba_boy_101.html
"McCain Jabs Reno on Cuban Boy, Defends Tax Plan":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000112/pl/politics_mccain_37.html
The St. Louis Rams' running back, Marshall Faulk was named the AP Offensive Player of the Year. Faulk did have a great year. He became only the second running back in NFL history to have over 1000 yards rushing and 1000 yards receiving (Roger Craig was the other). But just last week, Rams quarterback Kurt Warner was named NFL MVP. If Warner was the most valuable player in football this past season, and he played offense, then why wasn't he also named the Offensive Player of the Year? It's because goofy sports writers who vote for these awards think they have to spread the wealth around. The end results look just silly. This "speading the wealth" is also why Mark McGuire lost to Sammy Sosa for MVP honors in 1998 (when he it 70 home runs) and to Chipper Jones in 1999.
"Faulk Overwhelming Choice for AP Offensive Player of Year":
http://football.yahoo.com/nfl/news/ap/20000113/ap-nfloffensiveplayer.html
1.12.00
The culture of death has spread its claws even further. Girls in France can
now get the "morning after" pill at their school without a parent's or doctor's
consent. One French girl thought it was a great idea, "It is better to be able to get the
morning after pill than have a child that is not wanted and to have to get an abortion."
One problem with that: taking the morning after pill is abortion, it's just chemically
induced.
"French Schools Offer Morning-After Pill":
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_599000/599311.stm
In the past few Republican debates, Steve Forbes has been blasting G. W. Bush for breaking a pledge not to propose a raise in Texas' sales tax. While it's true Bush did break the pledge, the sales tax plan was later scrapped and Bush has signed two of the biggest tax cuts in Texas' history. Forbes is trying to get some momentum going into the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and he's trying to make Bush look like a tax weeny. Supply-siders like Larry Kudlow don't like Forbes' attacks, especially since Bush has offered a very large tax cut proposal.
"Fellow Supply Siders Blast Forbes":
http://www.nationalreview.com/kudlow/kudlow.html
1.11.00
The big, no, HUGE news yesterday was the announced merger of AOL and Time Warner. The deal is
valued at around $160 billion dollars. With this merger, Hollywood has officially merged with
Silicon Valley. AOL has 20 million subscribers who use the service as their gateway to the
Internet. In the past year, AOL bought Moviefone (movie listings online and by telephone) and
Spinner.com (MP3 software and content) to broaden its consumer offerings. Time Warner has content,
lots of content. TW has film studios, record companies, magazines, book publishers, and cable
networks. But I think TW's fat cable pipes is what's really making AOL CEO Steve Case's mouth
water. AOL has been attacking AT&T on open access to AT&T's cable network. With the merger,
AOL will now have broadband access to 20% of the U.S. cable TV market. TW's fat cable pipes
along with AOL's previous plans for DSL and satellite Net access make consumer broadband a
not so futuristic reality.
Barring any unforeseen obstacles like the deal being rejected by regulators or stockholders (not likely), or even a counter-offer by another company (A rumor that AT&T might try a hostile takeover of AOL is floating around the Net) AOL Time Warner (another clumsy corporate merger name) will have both content and the infrastructure to deliver it on.
This deal is coming from a company that 5 years ago only serious computer enthusiasts heard of. As soon as three years ago, AOL was on the ropes with their switch to flat-rate, all-you-can-eat Net service. Busy signal after busy signal signaled (no pun intended) the end of AOL to some. Others thought Microsoft bundling Net service with Windows (via Microsoft Network) would spell AOL's doom. Both were wrong. Steve Case, AOL president Bob Pittman, and the rest of AOL fixed the dial-in problems, built up AOL's infrastructure, and used savy marketing to put AOL at the top of all Net companies. Now AOL has 20 million subscribers paying $21.95 a month. That's $4.8 billion subscription revenues per year. Then there's the millions AOL is getting by letting other companies market their products to AOL customers. Now, AOL will have the vast creative resources of Time Warner to pump over the Net.
So, if you didn't think you would see the merger of television, radio, film, video, print, and the Internet, the AOL-Time Warner deal should set you straight. The merger is not coming, it's here now!
AOL-Time Warner press release:
http://www.corp.aol.com/cgi/announce-pr.html?
"AOL Buys Time Warner for $162B":
http://news.excite.com/news/ap/000110/18/biz-time-warner-aol
News.com's AOL-TW coverage:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-1519082-0.html?tag=st.ne.1002.tgif?st.ne.fd.gif.b
On the Elian Gonzalez front: Miami-Dade County Judge Rosa Rodriguez yesterday gave interim custody of Elian to his Miami relatives until a March 6 hearing. The ruling pushes back Elian's return to Cuba past the 2.10 date Rep. Dan Burton set for Elian to appear before a congressional committee in Washington, D.C. Judge Rodriguez said, "This court is not powerless to act when confronted with a petition, as the one pending before this court, alleging that the minor child may be subject to serious and unnecessary emotional harm in returning the child to the custodial parent." Being sent back to communist Cuba would definitely cause Elian "serious and unnecessary emotional harm." But it may not stop the INS from sending Elian back to Cuba and instigating a constitutional crisis.
"Florida Judge Says Elian Should Stay in U.S. for Now":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000110/ts/cuba_boy_84.html
I think some of Elian's supporters are getting a little carried away. A Cuban exile magazine has dubbed him "A Cuban Moses."
"Mania over Elian Rising":
http://www.herald.com/content/today/news/dade/digdocs/040458.htm
Thomas Sowell finds hypocracy in liberals wanting to reunite Elian with his father because of "parental rights":
Many of those who are arguing most vehemently for sending the boy back, in the name of parental rights, have no track record of concern for parental rights in the United States. Here are the social engineers--the people who want boys given condoms against their parents' wishes and girls given abortions behind their parents' backs--telling us that parental rights are sacred, even when exercised under the duress of a Communist tyranny. Give me a break!
"Big Government for Fidel":
http://www.frontpagemag.com/archives/guest_column/sowell/sowell01-11-00.htm
1.10.00
The London Telegraph is reporting that the Chinese government is selling
executed prisoners' organs to wealthy Asians.
"China 'Sells Livers' After New Year Executions":
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000114832908976&rtmo=02Xi0rRq&atmo=ggggg3JK&pg=/et/00/1/10/worg10.html
Deborah Shapley reviews High Tech High Touch and The Control Revolution, two books that add a bit of realist light on our so-called techno-utopia.
"Megadoubts":
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-01/09/060l-010900-idx.html
Robert Levy, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute takes those anti-Microsoft conservatives (Robert Bork, Sen. Orrin Hatch) to task for supporting the recent antitrust attacks on Microsoft.
"Anti-Microsoft Conservatives: They Just Don't Get it":
http://www.enterstageright.com/0100microsoft.htm
On the Elian Gonzalez front: Elian watched a parade in Miami yesterday. Also yesterday, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) was on ABC's "This Week." He said that if the courts rule that Elian must be returned to communist Cuba (the only totalitarian nation in the Western Hemisphere), then "we should live with that." Try saying that to the Cuban exiles in Florida. But CNN is reporting that the INS may thumb its nose at Burton's supoena and send Elian back to Cuba. An annonymous INS official told CNN, "It appears the subpoena will have no impact on the ability of INS to carry out its decision."
Since we're a nation of polls, and the only opinion that matters is that of the majority, the American people have decided that Elian Gonzalez should go back to communist Cuba. According to a CNN poll, 56% of respondents want Elian to go back to Cuba and suffer under Fidel Castro's communist dictatorship.
"Exiles Should Accept Court Ruling on Boy -Burton":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000109/ts/cuba_boy_77.html
Boy's Proposed Return to Cuba Could Go Ahead -- Despite Subpoena":
http://cnn.com/2000/US/01/09/cuba.boy.03/index.html
"Elian Gonzalez Protests Suspended":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000109/ts/cuban_boy_31.html
Enter Stage Right is conducting its own poll on Elian's fate.
1.09.00
Rosie O'Donnell and Hillary Clinton should quit bashing NYC Mayor Rudolph
"Rudy" Giuliani on the homeless plight. In a
Salon.com article,
Jonathan Foreman writes:
And even with the mayor's strange genius for attracting negative publicity, the more New Yorkers learn about his genuinely humane and effective homeless policy, the more damaging it will be for Clinton if she makes it an issue in her New York Senate campaign.
With the help of the nonprofit organizations that now run 90 percent of New York's shelters, many homeless are getting their lives together and joining the mainstream. And when New Yorkers discover that the homeless haven't been chased out of town by the New York Police Department or packed into penitentiaries (though far too many mentally ill people do end up at Rikers Island, rather than in the asylums and halfway houses where they belong) but are instead rejoining the community of those who live according to the social compact, it will only help Giuliani's political prospects.
Yet it's the very programs that have most helped the homeless -- drug testing, work requirements and other programs that help acculturate them into the mainstream -- that make the Coalition for the Homeless and its allies wax hysterical. If you believe their most recent sallies, you'd think that requiring work from able-bodied, mentally healthy people in the city's shelters was the ultimate unspeakable act of a monstrously uncaring city government.
Foreman goes on to write about one shelter in Harlem, Ready, Willing and Able. "Some 62 percent of those who entered RWA between 1994 and 1996 graduated from the program and still held jobs three years later, according to a study commissioned by the Doe Fund [RWA's sponsoring organization]." Take that! Rosie and Hillary.
"Rudy's Right and Rosie's Wrong":
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/04/giuliani/print.html
This site's just wrong. Like oil and water or Bob Dole and Jack Kemp on the same ticket, some things don't mix. Battlestar Galactica and the GOP is one such combo.
Battlestar Republica: [courtesy of
memepool.com]
http://www.msu.edu/user/stacey/
The force will be with you come Easter. That's when George Lucas will release Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace on home video.
"'Phantom Menace' Takes Over the World":
http://www.hollywood.com/news/topstories/01-06-00/today/phantom.html
1.08.00
Economist Paul Krugman is more famous for his biting attacks on intellectual
opponents than he is for his academic economics work. (He won the Clark
Medal in 1991.) Now Krugman is writing two articles a week for the NY
Times. The Times sister paper, the Boston Globe has a
profile on Krugman.
"The Economist who Roars":
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/357/living/The_economist_who_roarsP.shtml
Essayist Umberto Eco thinks the bean is the best invention of the millennium. Eco writes:
So when, in the 10th century, the cultivation of legumes began to spread, it had a profound effect on Europe. Working people were able to eat more protein; as a result, they became more robust, lived longer, created more children and repopulated a continent. We believe that the inventions and the discoveries that have changed our lives depend on complex machines. But the fact is, we are still here - I mean we Europeans, but also those descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers and the Spanish conquistadors - because of beans. Without beans, the European population would not have doubled within a few centuries, today we would not number in the hundreds of millions and some of us, including even readers of this article, would not exist. Some philosophers say that this would be better, but I am not sure everyone agrees.
"It was the Bean that Set the Pulses Racing":
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/features/1999/1231/fea2.htm
Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind) deserves high praise for issuing a subpoena to Elian Gonzalez to testify before Congress next month. This move is in response to an INS ruling that would send Elian back to communist Cuba. Also yesterday, Elian's relatives in Miami filed a petition to appoint a guardian for Elian. It appears the goal of these moves is to stall Elian's return until Congress can pass a bill granting Elian U.S. citizenship. All this is happening while Miami prepares for more protests against Elian's return to Cuba.
"Elian Gonzalez Subpoenaed by U.S. House Committee":
http://www.miamiherald.com/content/archive/news/rafters99/docs/054655.htm
Joanne Jacobs is right on the money when she says fast food chains will become the next Big Tobacco:
FIRST they came for the cigarettes. Now they're after your chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. And they won't be satisfied till you're eating broccoli -- hold the hollandaise -- and trudging on the treadmill to nowhere.
The health crusaders who've sued and taxed Big Tobacco to the wall are aiming at another big, fat target: Big Fat.
"They'll Tax your Cheeseburger and Lecture you to Boot":
http://www.sjmercury.com/premium/opinion/columns/jacobs06.htm
The FCC is now in the business of telling religious broadcasters what's "general educational" programming and what is not. If the FCC doesn't like approve of the broadcasters programming, they'll yank their licences.
"Churches Curse Broadcast Ruling":
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,33479,00.html?tw=wn20000107
1.07.00
With the recent mission failures at NASA,
Wendy McElroy questions the need for government-funding of science.
State control (i.e. funding) devastates science as surely as it does in any other exploration for truth. Money is never given to "science" but always to particular doctrines, theories, or individuals. The State cannot afford to put every scientist and every doctrine on the dole. Who, then, decides? The many (the people) or the few (the elite)? It is no answer to reply, "those with sufficient scientific knowledge will decide" because this merely raises another question. Which scientists will be selected and who will apply which standard in doing so?--the many or the few?
Think about that the next time Discovery goes up for another mission.
"State Science, State Truth":
http://mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=362&FS=State+Science%2C+State+Truth
A few thousand people in Miami are a little upset that the INS decided to send Elian Gonzalez back to communist Cuba. Yesterday, protesters blocked roads to show their discontent. Many were arrested as a result. This prompted Lourdes Chao-Navarrete to comment, "There are 11 million people in Cuba in a big jail. If Elian is sent back, he will be going to a big jail." And the jailer is none other than the United States government.
"Cuban Exiles Block Miami Roads in Protest Over Boy":
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000106/ts/cuba_boy_34.html
The number of legal abortions in 1997 dropped to their lowest levels since 1978. While it's great to hear that the number of legal abortions are decreasing, 1,184,758 children were legally killed in 1997. This doesn't even count the number of legal abortions that weren't reported or the number of illegal abortions performed. Even with this encouraging news, legal abortion still remains a huge black mark on American society.
"America's Abortion Rates Drop to Near 20-Year Low in 1997":
http://www.cnsnews.org/ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\CUL20000106b.html
1.06.00
Yesterday, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) ruled that 6-year old
Elian Gonzalez should go back to his father in Cuba. Elian came to the United
States last November when he was rescued off Florida's coast. While it has
been standard Clinton administration policy to accept any Cuban refugee that
reaches U.S. soil, Elian's case is more complicated because his mother and
stepfather died during their escape from communist Cuba. Unless a court blocks
the INS ruling, Elian will be reunited with this father as soon as 1.14.
I and other anti-communists are not happy with the INS's decision. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-NC) wants Elian's father "to come to the United States to make his case for custody of the boy." He also intends to "proceed with a personal relief bill to give Elian United States citizenship. That way, when he is old enough to make decisions for himself, he will be able to claim the freedom his mother purchased for him with her life."
George W. Bush and Republican National Committee chairman Jim Nicholson want Elian's father to come to the United States. Nicholson's even offered to pay to bring Elian's entire family to the U.S.
Helms, Bush, Nicholson, and I would agree that the United States is, by far, a better place to grow up than Cuba. The freedoms and opportunities we Americans have are luxuries to those living under the oppressive regime of Fidel Castro.
However, others think it's alright for Elian to go back to Cuba. Representative Jose Serrano (D-NY) feels "a parent has the right to be with his child and to make decisions about his child's interests." Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) also thinks Elian is better off living under communist rule and even offered to escort Elian to his father himself.
Where Serrano and Rangel are wrong is they care more about familial bonds than human liberty. Elian could still be with his father if his father came to live in the U.S. Here, Elian and his father could live together in a country that cherishes liberty and opportunity. Unfortunately, Castro has used this issue to spark Cuban nationalism and anti-American sentiment, so it is unlikely Elian's father would come to the U.S.
Since, that is the situation at hand, the best choice for Elian is to let him remain in the U.S. It's not like he is alone in South Florida. Extended family has been taking care of him since he arrived here two months ago. Elian's mother and stepfather both gave their lives so he could enjoy the freedom and opportunity available in the U.S. If Serrano and Rangel care so much about Elian's best interests and parental rights, they shouldn't forget his mother's dying wish of freedom for her son.
"INS: Cuban Boy To Return Home":
http://www.cnsnews.org/ViewGlobal.asp?Page=\Global\archive\GLO20000105c.html
"Mixed Reaction To INS Decision On Cuban Boy":
http://www.cnsnews.org/ViewGlobal.asp?Page=\Global\archive\GLO20000105g.html
Expect at least two more Blair Witch movies. Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick were the two filmakers that rocked Hollywood with $40,000 "mock-umentary." The film ended up raking in $140 million in domestic box office sales. Blair Witch 2 is expected to be released around Halloween, and the prequel, Blair Witch 3 is scheduled for summer of 2001.
"Blair Witch Serial Deal":
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,33439,00.html?tw=wn20000105
Grammy nominees were announced yesterday. Carlos Santana led all artists with 10 nominations.
42nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominations:
http://www.grammy.com/nominee/
1.04.00
Dennis Olson is a kook, and he needed to spend $20,000 to prove it. He spent
that much in pasta, medical supplies, a generator, and other items in
preparation for a Y2K disaster that never happened. He could have made
over $16,000 if he would have put that cash in a NASDAQ index fund. (83%
return!).
"Meltdown Letdown":
http://www.jsonline.com/news/2000/y2k/jan00/survive02010100.asp
Reason's Virginia Postrel comments on possible federal regulation of drug web sites. She's sees (rightly) that these new outlets for medications are filling a niche:
A significant number of Americans obviously prefer the privacy and convenience of a Web-based medical consultation to the invasiveness and hassle of a physician visit.
While they may go to the doctor for diagnosis and treatment of conventional illnesses, these consumers don't see their sex lives or baldness as requiring physical exams. Regulators also tend to idealize in-person exams, as though every doctor took a careful history and thoroughly examined a patient before prescribing any drug.
"Sometimes the Patient Knows Best":
http://www.reason.com/opeds/vp010300.html
Lee Edwards offers up a review of 1999's worst book, Dutch. I consider it a beatifully written, yet historically worthless tome. The book is more about Morris (both real and fictional) rather than Reagan, the subject he was authorized to write the book about. Edwards concurs:
On balance, Dutch is not an "authorized biography" as advertised but a postmodern, deconstructionist experiment in autobiography. And the experiment is a failure.
"The Quest for Reagan":
http://www.worldandi.com/public/2000/january/reagan.html
Acting Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has a huge advantage leading into March's elections. Hours before he resigned, Boris Yeltsin signed an election law that requires any Presidential candidate "to collect the signatures of 1 million registered voters in less than six weeks to win a place on the ballot." If you're really into Russian politics, get to know Vladimir Putin; he'll be in the Kremlin for a while.
"11th-Hour Act by Yeltsin Aids Putin Candidacy":
http://www.latimes.com/print/20000103/t000000762.html
I found this article at Fool.com of all places making the case that individuals should not be picking individual stocks unless they have the "time, training, and temperament."
"The Arrogance of Stock Picking":
http://www.fool.com/boringport/2000/boringport000103.htm
1.03.00
I received this bit of news from FreeB92, an independent news service in
Yugoslavia:
Nine thousand eight hundred and eighty Albanians killed in Kosovo conflict
KOSOVO, Sunday - During the conflict in Kosovo, 9,880 Albanians were killed, 4,100 disappeared and at least 2,000 were arrested by the Serbian regime 1,800 of whom are still in prison in Serbia, the Kosovo Council for the Protection of Human Rights stated today.
Where are the tens of thousands of bodies? I thought there was such brutal atrocities occuring in Kosovo that NATO had to intervene? That is not to say that 9,800 dead is nothing. It is just further proof that Kosovo was a "crisis" induced by a media eager to fill time on their 24-hour networks and a President eager to build any kind of legacy to repair his self-inflicted damage.
FreeB92
http://www.freeb92.net/
Castro's right on one thing, 1.01.00 was not the first day of the new millennium:
HAVANA -- The millennium never arrived in communist Cuba.
The government of Fidel Castro officially shunned millennium events Friday night and Saturday, arguing that the new century and the new millennium won't start until one minute after midnight of Dec. 31, 2001.
Instead, what began here at the start of 2000 was the "Year of the 40th Anniversary of the Decision of Fatherland or Death."
Vin Suprynowicz actually praises Time for naming Albert Einstein the Man of the Century.
Einstein and his discoveries changed our world unalterably. Which is why the editors of Time magazine are to be congratulated for setting aside the inevitable bickering about whether Lenin or Hitler "changed our world" more than Churchill or Roosevelt, instead announcing their selection as Man of the Century of Albert Einstein -- the kindly, absent-minded professor who wrote to FDR in 1939 to warn that the Nazis might be able to construct an atomic bomb, and therefore urge that America do so first.
"Getting one right":
http://www.enterstageright.com/0100persyear.htm
1.02.00
THE WISCONSIN BADGERS WIN THE 2000 ROSE BOWL!!!
In a tough, hard-fought game, the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Stanford
Cardinals 17-9 to become the first Big Ten school to win back-to-back Rose
Bowls. Heisman Trophy winner, Ron Dayne ran for 200 yards and one touchdown
and was named the game's MVP.
"Ron to Roses: Dayne, Badgers bowl over Stanford":
http://www.jsonline.com/badger/fb/jan00/game10100.asp
"Dayne delivers with 200 yards, TD":
http://espn.go.com/ncf/1999/20000101/recap/ssswwo.html
While the world's infrastructure remained intact when the year changed from 1999 to 2000, a few slot machines in Delaware decided acted up.
"U.S. gamblers at racetracks bitten by Y2K bug":
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/991231/s7.html