http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?fid4ct=82 Thu, 28 Sep 2006 16:39:50 EST Fri, 01 Sep 2006 02:14:46 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss RapidFeeds v0.1 -- http://www.rapidfeeds.com http://users.cableaz.com/~dhofmann/images/williams3.jpg http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles.html 144 202 Selected Syndicated Columns by Walter Williams Articles of the Week So many Americans graduate high school and college having learned what to think as opposed to acquiring the tools of critical, independent thinking. Likewise, they have learned little about our nation's history. As such, they fall prey to the rhetoric of political charlatans and quacks. Let's look at a couple of examples... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=107172 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=107172 Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:48:29 EST The public has become increasingly aware that the science behind manmade global warming is a fraud. But maybe Americans like bogus science in pursuit of certain public policy objectives. Let's look at it... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=91675 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=91675 Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:59:47 EST Many of our nation's colleges and universities have become cesspools of indoctrination, intolerance, academic dishonesty and the new racism. In a March 1991 speech, Yale President Benno Schmidt warned, "The most serious problems of freedom of expression in our society today exist on our campuses. . . . The assumption seems to be that the purpose of education is to induce correct opinion rather than to search for wisdom and to liberate the mind." (continued) http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=91674 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=91674 Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:59:13 EST Most climatologists agree that the earth's temperature has increased about a degree over the last century. The debate is how much of it is due to mankind's activity. Britain's Channel 4 television has just produced "The Great Global Warming Swindle," a documentary that devastates most of the claims made by the environmentalist movement. The scientists interviewed include top climatologists from MIT and other prestigious universities around the world. The documentary hasn't aired in the U.S., but it's available on the Internet. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XttV2C6B8pU)... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=78445 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=78445 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:12:47 EST James W. McGlothlin, chairman and CEO of The United Company of Bristol, Va., and a former member of The College of William & Mary's Board of Visitors and a longtime donor, withheld his pledge of $12 million to the college. He made his decision because of the actions taken by Gene Nichol, the college president, who ordered the removal of the cross from Wren Chapel... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=78442 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=78442 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:10:44 EST "The most fundamental principle of economics is the law of demand, which postulates that the higher the cost of a behavior, the less people will do of it, while the lower the cost, the more people will do of it. The law of demand applies to any behavior, and I'm going to apply it to anti-smoking behavior..." http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=65420 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=65420 Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:00:00 EST The [Virginia] General Assembly's statement of regret for slavery means absolutely nothing to me. If anything, it's nothing less than a cheap insult and capitulation of white delegates to black hustlers... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=60336 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=60336 Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:00:00 EST Would you want the kind of car that you own to be decided through a democratic process, or would you prefer purchasing any car you please? I'm sure that if anyone suggested that [choices like this] be subject to a democratic process, you'd deem it tyranny... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=52277 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=52277 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:00:00 EST There are some ideas and feelings that sound plausible but given just a wee bit of thought can be shown to border on lunacy. Let's examine a few... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=46340 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=46340 Thu, 22 Feb 2007 10:18:35 EST Problems with our health care system are leading some to fall prey to proposals calling for a nationalized single-payer health care system like Canada's or Britain's. There are a few things that we might take into consideration before falling for these proposals... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=41905 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=41905 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:46:18 EST If you're looking for a map of world poverty, check out the "2007 Index of Economic Freedom" jointly published by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. You might think that's a strangely titled source for a poverty map... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=40281 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=40281 Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:53:11 EST Can the government force one to sell his property? James Madison said yes, so long as it was for a public use and the owner was paid a fair market value. Thomas Jefferson was opposed to a person being forced to sell his property for a public use, arguing that the essence of private property is the right to exclude anyone, including government, from the property. But Madison's view prevailed, hence the Fifth Amendment provision... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=37316 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=37316 Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:33:25 EST Political commentator Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) warned that "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed -- and hence clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." The Weather Channel has taken up that task with its series "It Could Happen Tomorrow." http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=34831 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=34831 Wed, 24 Jan 2007 13:13:51 EST Here's a smell test. Pretend you're a man from Mars knowing absolutely nothing about Earth and you're looking for a nice place to land. You find out that there's one country, say, country A, where earthlings from other countries voluntarily invest and entrust trillions of dollars of their hard earnings. There are other countries where they're not nearly as willing to make the same investment. Which one of those countries would you deem the most prosperous and with the greatest growth prospects? http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=33173 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=33173 Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:40:34 EST In the wake of New York City's ban on restaurant use of trans fat, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the ban is "not going to take away anybody's ability to go out and have the kind of food they want, in the quantities they want. . . . We are just trying to make food safer." That, my friends, is tyrannical double-talk. Let's look at it... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=31220 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=31220 Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:55:09 EST The kind of rules we should have are the kind that we'd make if our worst enemy were in charge... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=29395 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=29395 Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:24:40 EST The term "draft" is a euphemism for what is actually "confiscation of labor services." The Defense Department can get all the military personnel it wants on an all-volunteer basis; it could simply raise wages... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=28633 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=28633 Tue, 02 Jan 2007 13:41:54 EST Charges of racial, religious and ethnic profiling swirl in the wake of US Airways' removal of six imams. According to police reports, the men made anti-American statements, were praying and chanting "Allah," refused the pilot's requests to disembark for additional screening and asked for seat-belt extensions for no obvious reason. Three of the men had no checked baggage and only one-way tickets... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=26169 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=26169 Wed, 20 Dec 2006 13:45:24 EST If enacted, the Fair Tax would eliminate: the federal individual income tax, alternative minimum tax, corporate and business taxes, capital gains tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and estate and gift taxes. These taxes would be replaced by a 23 percent sales tax on all goods and services sold at the retail level. The Fair Tax would be revenue-neutral in the sense that it would replace the revenue from current federal taxes; thus, it would change the way government is funded... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=25609 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=25609 Mon, 18 Dec 2006 13:56:59 EST Nobel Laureate and Professor Milton Friedman, at age 94, succumbed to heart failure on Nov. 16. While the man is gone, those of us who hold personal liberty as society's highest end will always remember his steadfast support of the principles of personal liberty... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=24653 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=24653 Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:31:01 EST We love government because it enables us to accomplish things that if done privately would lead to arrest and imprisonment... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=24652 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=24652 Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:26:17 EST Some Americans look to European countries such as France, Germany and its Scandinavian neighbors and suggest that we adopt some of their economic policies. I agree, we should look at Europe for the lessons they can teach us... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=24650 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=24650 Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:16:17 EST "Blacks and Hispanics, especially blacks, are the most politically loyal people in the nation. It's often preached and taken as gospel that the only way black people can progress is through racial politics and government programs, but how true is that? Let's look at it..." http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=16937 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=16937 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 14:11:44 EST "Professors James Gwartney (Florida State University), Richard Stroup (Montana State University) and Dwight Lee (Georgia University), three longtime colleagues of mine, have recently published 'Common Sense Economics.' It's a small book, less than 200 pages, that addresses a serious economist dereliction of duty: making our subject understandable to the ordinary person..." http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=14100 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=14100 Wed, 08 Nov 2006 12:54:25 EST What would you think if you heard a Microsoft director tell his fellow board members that the company should have more diversity and manufacture kitchenware, children's clothing and shoes? http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=12227 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=12227 Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:32:24 EST "There are only a handful of products that Americans import that cannot be produced at home and therefore create jobs for Americans. Let's look at a few of them..." http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=10492 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=10492 Thu, 26 Oct 2006 13:10:13 EST "Like many, [Pat] Buchanan worries about our foreign trade deficit, pointing out that it's reaching an annual rate of $816 billion, and that means "dependency on foreigners." Actually, the foreign dependency is a two-way street. I'll explain it, starting with the alleged trade deficit I run with my grocer..." http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=8562 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=8562 Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:08:47 EST Democrats plan to trumpet the income and wealth gap for political gain in this year's elections. According to The Wall Street Journal article "Democrats' Risky Strategy," Democratic candidates blame Republicans for economic inequality. This strategy might sell because, in addition to envy, many people erroneously use income inequality as a measure of fairness. Income is a result. As such, results cannot establish whether there is fairness or justice... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=7226 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=7226 Thu, 12 Oct 2006 13:45:50 EST "My previous columns have attempted to reduce confusion by suggesting operational definitions of discrimination and prejudice. Discrimination was defined as the act of choice, and prejudice was the act of decision-making on the basis of incomplete information. Good analytical thinking requires that we don't confuse one phenomenon with another. The final behavioral phenomenon related to discussions of race is racial preference..." http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6612 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=6612 Mon, 09 Oct 2006 17:18:32 EST Imagine an employer plans to hire 20 strong people to manually unload a ship. Fifty people show up for the job, and they all appear equal, except by sex. The employer has zero information about any other attribute, and he would like to hire the physically strongest people in the group. How might he select employees? http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=5038 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=5038 Thu, 28 Sep 2006 13:38:54 EST "A fortnight ago, my column made a stab at applying dispassionate analysis to come up with an operational definition for discrimination. Basically, discrimination is the act of choice, and choice is a necessary fact of life. Now let's turn to prejudice, keeping in mind that for sound thinking, one should avoid confusing one phenomenon with another..." http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=4832 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=4832 Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:18:57 EST Let's examine just a few statements by the framers to see just how much faith and allegiance today's Americans give to the U.S. Constitution... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=3282 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=3282 Wed, 13 Sep 2006 14:03:57 EST "There's so much confusion and emotionalism about discrimination that I thought I'd take a stab at a dispassionate analysis..." http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=2529 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=2529 Wed, 06 Sep 2006 14:56:49 EST Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Kelo v. New London decision, ruled that the private property of one American could be taken and given to another American as long as it served a public purpose... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=2029 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=2029 Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:27:53 EST Does the United States have the power to eliminate terrorists and the states that support them? In terms of capacity, as opposed to will, the answer is a clear yes... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=1434 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=1434 Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:36:23 EST While academic leftists, and I'd include their media allies, are not communists, they are anti-anti-communists. In other words, they have contempt for right-wingers, conservatives or libertarians who are anti-communists... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=909 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=909 Wed, 16 Aug 2006 16:52:09 EST There are decent people, without a selfish hidden agenda, who support increases in minimum wages as a means to help low-skilled workers, and there are other decent people, with the identical goal, who strongly oppose increases in the minimum wage. So the question is: How can people who share the same goals, helping low-skilled workers, come up with polar opposite means that produce polar opposite results? http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=172 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=172 Wed, 09 Aug 2006 13:52:08 EST Colleges and universities will start their fall semester soon. You might be interested in what parents' and taxpayers' money is going for at far too many "institutions of higher learning"... http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=171 http://www.rapidfeeds.com/?iid4ct=171 Wed, 02 Aug 2006 13:48:27 EST