Boozy Britain
One of the many delights of living in Oxford was the experience of stepping around the splattered sidewalk vomit known among the locals as “pavement pizzas.” The crazy pub closing…
Blog
Sensible Advice About Dope
There are problems posed by partial liberation of any market (e.g., freeing interest rates while keeping government deposit guarantees got us the Savings and Loan crisis). There are similar problems…
Disturbing Trend, Revealing Language
I’m not what most people would describe as “pro-life” or “anti-abortion,” but I do acknowledge the moral problems posed by abortion. (I cannot, for example, see how there could be…
Some Intelligent Discussion of Iraq from the Establishment
Zbigniew Brzezinski has an intelligent analysis in today’s Washington Post (requires simple registration) of the options in Iraq that neatly undercuts President Bush’s binary choice of “victory or defeat” and…
La Grande Nation: En Faillite
Bienvenue Ã?Â??Ã?Â?Ã? la Franceland! BBC Correspondent Allan Little has an excellent report on affairs in France, “France’s ‘pursuit of harmony’.” I’m a big fan of virtually everything French — language,…
The Bill of Rights: Casualty of the “War on Terror”
Jonathan Rauch rings the warning bell about civil liberties and the rule of law in his latest column in the National Journal, “Bush’s Battle Endangers The War.” After a brief…
The Bill of Rights: Casualty of the “War on Terror”
Jonathan Rauch rings the warning bell about civil liberties and the rule of law in his latest column in the National Journal, “Bush’s Battle Endangers The War.” After a brief…
An Effective Campaigner for the Legal Rights of People Who Agreed With Him to Speak and Organize
Frank Wilkinson has died. He was, according to the obituary writer at the New York Times, a campaigner for “free speech” and for “antipoverty” efforts. Um, right. It’s not until…
Mayan Glyphs
My eye was caught by the announcement of the discovery of the earliest known Mayan glyphs in San Bartolo, Guatemala. The story of the Mayan glyphic writing system is told…
Budget Cuts, Anyone?
Every time I hear pundits or politicians going on about “budget cuts,” I getÃ?Â?Ã?¢Ã?¢?Ã?¬Ã?Â?Ã?¦well, really annoyed. Because I know that almost none of the “cuts” are cuts at all. The…