The Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future that begins in Philadelphia this Sunday promises to provide prestigious encouragement for broad citizen volunteering, a worthy purpose, we can all agree. But here’s a caveat that should, and possibly will not, be heard: Don’t let the government continue to invade–define, finance, direct–voluntary associations. We already are well down that path and it leads Read More ›
A Series of Eyes How do we see? In the 19th century the anatomy of the eye was known in great detail, and its sophisticated features astounded everyone who was familiar with them. Scientists of the time correctly observed that if a person were so unfortunate as to be missing one of the eye’s many integrated features, such as the Read More ›
“May Cause Abdominal Cramping and Loose Stools.” That’s only part of the delightful warning label the Food and Drug Administration insists that Procter & Gamble place prominently on potato chip and tortilla chip products prepared with its new fat-substitute, Olean. The FDA did not accede to the Center for Science in the Public Interest this winter when the Naderite group Read More ›
We have all grown up with that picture of President Harry Truman on the day after his surprise 1948 re-election gleefully displaying the early edition of the Chicago Tribune and its headline, “Dewey Wins.” The Gallup organization that year stopped polling a week before the election, imagining that Dewey would maintain his six point lead. In fact, Dewey lost by Read More ›
Question : What do Anthony Lowe, the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney of King County, Washington who is running for State Insurance Commissioner, Teresa Doggett, the international banker running for Congress from Austin, Texas and Danny Covington of Vicksburg, Mississippi, another Congressional hopeful, have in common? Answer: they all are conservative black Republicans who are likely to seek support from BAMPAC–“Black America’s Read More ›
With another presidential election fast approaching, secularists are once again fanning the flames of fear against politically conservative Christians. “I can’t remember a time when the danger to civil liberties and fundamental constitutional rights was more extreme or more pervasive than it is today,” writes Ira Glasser, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Glasser goes on to accuse Read More ›
Before you get angry with America Online for the recent poor Internet connections, or the local phone company for busy lines, pause to consider that the main culprits for these annoying conditions may not reside in the concerned industries, but in government. The kind of bureaucratic mentality that created long lines at gas stations in the early `70s as a Read More ›
Here is a curious–yet somehow typical–story of Seattle’s civic spirit. Seven years ago, the area’s volunteer and professional arts enthusiasts staged a global, attention-grabbing cultural festival alongside the Goodwill Games of 1990. For several months before, during and after the athletic events, a series of highest quality arts performances and museum shows from many nations dazzled and enchanted audiences. If Read More ›
By the end of June, and perhaps as early as next Monday, the US Supreme Court is expected to issue its opinion on New York and Washington state laws that ban assisted suicide. While not as sweeping in its importance as Roe v. Wade in 1973, the imminent ruling could affect American culture profoundly. Meanwhile, the subject of assisted suicide Read More ›
This time the national passenger rail system, Amtrak, really is heading for a train wreck. So badly in debt is the public corporation that the General Accounting Office (GAO) and a host of other observers see it as functionally bankrupt. Congress and the Clinton Administration have been warned repeatedly of the need to plan ahead for the kind of privatization Read More ›