July/August 2001 -- California's attempt to reform its electricity industry will no doubt become a textbook case of market regulation gone awry. For it is the state's recent reconstruction of its utility market, in an attempt to create some form of "regulated competition" (as one prominent energy expert calls it), that has resulted in a highly volatile system unable to ration electricity effectively when the market is somehow shocked. That is what happened last year when a variety of factors—a drought, the price of natural gas, and unseasonably warm weather—caused a decrease in the amount of electricity produced and a spike in wholesale energy prices. When wholesale prices rose, retail prices could not follow, because of how the state had structured its electricity market.
June 2001 -- First came the Camp David Accords. Then the Dayton Accords. Now another set of accords is needed to bring two rivals together. I speak of Republicans and Libertarians. The importance of peace was recently pointed out by John J. Miller of National Review. In a column he wrote for Investor's Business Daily (May 9, 2001), Miller analyzed the elections of 1998 and 2000 and came to this conclusion: Had Republicans and Libertarians joined forces during the last two years, the GOP would have had a 52-48 majority in the Senate and also two more seats in the House. Two weeks later Miller's analysis took on even greater significance. If the GOP had had a clear majority in the Senate, Jim Jeffords would probably not have defected, for he would not have been able to shift power to the Democrats and reap the rewards of doing so.
This story in the Houston Chronicle, “Law Makes It Easier to Blow Whistle on Corporate Crime,” written by Philip Hilder, the lawyer for Enron “whistleblower” Sherron Watkins, explains (though not in so many words) how the new “whistleblower” provisions of Dodd-Frank will turn corporate employees into spies and bounty hunters. One effect, he notes, is that employees will no longer report employee misbehavior to higher-ups but will immediately try to criminalize misbehavior in order to secure some big bucks. “The law's impact could be significant as companies may lose the opportunity to self-correct before a government investigation is launched. It is foreseeable that such an investigation could trigger shareholder or derivative lawsuits against the company. It is equally foreseeable that employees in Watkins' situation will now bypass company protocol and proceed to grab for the golden ring.”
September 2001 -- At sundown on September 26, millions of Jewish people begin their religious tradition of fasting on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. The fast continues on the 27th and culminates in a large break-the-fast after the sun has set. It is one of the holiest, and most celebrated, holidays of the year for modern Jews. The fast is commanded by a passage in the Torah that is often translated as "Ye shall afflict the soul" (Leviticus 23: 23-32). There are other restrictions imposed by Jewish tradition, such as no sexual relations, no work, and no adornments with one's dress. The traditional idea is that on Yom Kippur one must subject himself to self-punishment and self-denial to seek forgiveness and make himself pitiable in front of God.
David Gress's subtitle seems to indicate that he has but one set of opponents—those who are hostile to "the idea of the West." In fact
Part of the Hoover Institution's "essence" series on great twentieth-century economists, The Essence of Hayek is designed for the student of
Apparently the World Wide Web isn't as worldwide as it could be. The Internet—the centerpiece of the "new economy" technology that was
When Ayn Rand created a heroic American dynasty for her novel Atlas Shrugged , she based the family's fortune not on oil, or autos, or
A century and a half ago, the legal scholar Sir Henry Maine observed that the evolution of human society was a movement from a society of...
One firm belief that I bring to the Business Rights Center is: Philosophy matters. Without a theoretical defense of the fundamentals...
September 2001 -- On June 28, New York became the first state to pass a ban on using a handheld cell-phone while driving. Governor George Pataki, who had earlier issued an executive order banning state employees from using state-issued handheld cell phones while driving, quickly signed the bill into law. As of December 1, a motorist caught using a cell-phone while driving in New York State will be fined $100. Governor Pataki justified the law by characterizing drivers' use of cell-phones as "an enormous threat to public safety." On the talk-radio circuit, listeners and hosts joined in the chorus by complaining about swerving drivers and near-miss accidents. Some forty other states and many more local communities are considering bans on using cell phones while driving. And on Capitol Hill, the U.S. Congress held hearings on the issue. Only Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond has had the courage to buck this trend and veto his legislature's attempt to ban the use of cell phones while driving.
Islamic banking is also referred to as sharia-compliant banking because banks follow certain restrictions associated with sharia law. For example, lenders cannot charge interest and investors cannot invest in industries like gambling or pornography. In 2005, International Trade Specialist Scott Smith reported that Islamic banking controlled $270 billion in assets in over 25 countries.
The practice of “libel tourism” has developed because libel laws differ among countries. The United States, generally considered to offer the greatest freedom of speech, requires that the plaintiff prove the falsity of the statements against him, as well as malice or negligence on the part of the defendant. In the U.K., however, the burden of proof lies on the defendant to prove the truth of his statements, and a reasonable belief in their truth is not a valid defense.
August 27, 2010 -- "How do you know there is going to be an economic recovery?" Greta Van Susteren asked GOP dummy, Dana Perino. "There always is; these things go in cycles," squeaked the Heidi Klum of the commentariat. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook A tax cut for high-income earners is tantamount to a return of stolen goods. Dana, who was once a spokesperson to a man who was barely able to speak, always smiles with pride when her boss' "modest" government expansion is hearkened to nostalgically on Fox News. You remember the broad sweep of the Bush limited-government program: Medicare Part D, "No Child Left Behind," and the fiscal fiascos that are the wars in Middle East and South-central Asia. Likewise, Dana seems to think that the economy is much like the menstrual cycle. But even that event grinds to a halt when the hormones run out.
September 2001 -- The current debate over federal funding of embryonic stem cell research raises two basic questions: "Is it morally and
A man from my neck of the woods was mauled by a bear. A politician, to be more accurate. John Chelminiak, who is alive but disfigured for...
Why did federal regulators not intervene sooner? A tragedy could have been averted. That was the first demand made following the accidental
November 2001 -- In the normal course of events, the world is content to ignore the capers that take place in our ivory-tower institutions. But in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, the public has suddenly cast a sharp eye on obscure academic figures whose reactions demonstrate either an appalling callousness, an extreme removal from reality, or both. One figure in the latter category is Karlheinz Stockhausen, a German composer considered a modern master among contemporary academic composers—and ignored by the rest of the world. The Frankfurter Allgemeinische Zeitung's English edition carries the following account of Stockhausen's comments, by reporter Julia Spinola:
October 2001 -- Since 1999, Belgium has had a law allowing anyone, from anywhere in the world, to sue any other person, for crimes against humanity, regardless of where or against whom the crimes were allegedly committed. Last year, a group calling itself Lawyers without Borders Congo brought charges against President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. The two sitting presidents were charged with abuses in their ongoing and brutal proxy war in the Congo.
Help promote our Atlas Shrugged movie event by pasting this countdown widget into your blog or website. (Copy code at bottom of widget.) Event Registration Online for Atlas Shrugged: The Making of a Movie COPY AND PASTE THIS CODE into your blog or website: <div style="width:195px; text-align:center;" ><iframe src=" http://www.eventbrite.com/countdown-widget?eid=927866273 " frameborder="0" height="410" width="220" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" ></iframe><div style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial; font-size:10px; padding:5px 0 5px; margin:2px; width:195px; text-align:center;" ><a style="color:#ddd; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank" href=" http://www.eventbrite.com/features?ref=ecount " >Event Registration Online</a><span style="color:#ddd;" > for </span><a style="color:#ddd; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank" href=" http://atlas-shrugged-movie.eventbrite.com?ref=ecount " >Atlas Shrugged: The Making of a Movie</a></div></div>
July/August 2001 -- California's attempt to reform its electricity industry will no doubt become a textbook case of market regulation gone awry. For it is the state's recent reconstruction of its utility market, in an attempt to create some form of "regulated competition" (as one prominent energy expert calls it), that has resulted in a highly volatile system unable to ration electricity effectively when the market is somehow shocked. That is what happened last year when a variety of factors—a drought, the price of natural gas, and unseasonably warm weather—caused a decrease in the amount of electricity produced and a spike in wholesale energy prices. When wholesale prices rose, retail prices could not follow, because of how the state had structured its electricity market.
June 2001 -- First came the Camp David Accords. Then the Dayton Accords. Now another set of accords is needed to bring two rivals together. I speak of Republicans and Libertarians. The importance of peace was recently pointed out by John J. Miller of National Review. In a column he wrote for Investor's Business Daily (May 9, 2001), Miller analyzed the elections of 1998 and 2000 and came to this conclusion: Had Republicans and Libertarians joined forces during the last two years, the GOP would have had a 52-48 majority in the Senate and also two more seats in the House. Two weeks later Miller's analysis took on even greater significance. If the GOP had had a clear majority in the Senate, Jim Jeffords would probably not have defected, for he would not have been able to shift power to the Democrats and reap the rewards of doing so.
This story in the Houston Chronicle, “Law Makes It Easier to Blow Whistle on Corporate Crime,” written by Philip Hilder, the lawyer for Enron “whistleblower” Sherron Watkins, explains (though not in so many words) how the new “whistleblower” provisions of Dodd-Frank will turn corporate employees into spies and bounty hunters. One effect, he notes, is that employees will no longer report employee misbehavior to higher-ups but will immediately try to criminalize misbehavior in order to secure some big bucks. “The law's impact could be significant as companies may lose the opportunity to self-correct before a government investigation is launched. It is foreseeable that such an investigation could trigger shareholder or derivative lawsuits against the company. It is equally foreseeable that employees in Watkins' situation will now bypass company protocol and proceed to grab for the golden ring.”
September 2001 -- At sundown on September 26, millions of Jewish people begin their religious tradition of fasting on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. The fast continues on the 27th and culminates in a large break-the-fast after the sun has set. It is one of the holiest, and most celebrated, holidays of the year for modern Jews. The fast is commanded by a passage in the Torah that is often translated as "Ye shall afflict the soul" (Leviticus 23: 23-32). There are other restrictions imposed by Jewish tradition, such as no sexual relations, no work, and no adornments with one's dress. The traditional idea is that on Yom Kippur one must subject himself to self-punishment and self-denial to seek forgiveness and make himself pitiable in front of God.
David Gress's subtitle seems to indicate that he has but one set of opponents—those who are hostile to "the idea of the West." In fact
Part of the Hoover Institution's "essence" series on great twentieth-century economists, The Essence of Hayek is designed for the student of
Apparently the World Wide Web isn't as worldwide as it could be. The Internet—the centerpiece of the "new economy" technology that was
When Ayn Rand created a heroic American dynasty for her novel Atlas Shrugged , she based the family's fortune not on oil, or autos, or
A century and a half ago, the legal scholar Sir Henry Maine observed that the evolution of human society was a movement from a society of...
One firm belief that I bring to the Business Rights Center is: Philosophy matters. Without a theoretical defense of the fundamentals...
September 2001 -- On June 28, New York became the first state to pass a ban on using a handheld cell-phone while driving. Governor George Pataki, who had earlier issued an executive order banning state employees from using state-issued handheld cell phones while driving, quickly signed the bill into law. As of December 1, a motorist caught using a cell-phone while driving in New York State will be fined $100. Governor Pataki justified the law by characterizing drivers' use of cell-phones as "an enormous threat to public safety." On the talk-radio circuit, listeners and hosts joined in the chorus by complaining about swerving drivers and near-miss accidents. Some forty other states and many more local communities are considering bans on using cell phones while driving. And on Capitol Hill, the U.S. Congress held hearings on the issue. Only Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond has had the courage to buck this trend and veto his legislature's attempt to ban the use of cell phones while driving.
Islamic banking is also referred to as sharia-compliant banking because banks follow certain restrictions associated with sharia law. For example, lenders cannot charge interest and investors cannot invest in industries like gambling or pornography. In 2005, International Trade Specialist Scott Smith reported that Islamic banking controlled $270 billion in assets in over 25 countries.
The practice of “libel tourism” has developed because libel laws differ among countries. The United States, generally considered to offer the greatest freedom of speech, requires that the plaintiff prove the falsity of the statements against him, as well as malice or negligence on the part of the defendant. In the U.K., however, the burden of proof lies on the defendant to prove the truth of his statements, and a reasonable belief in their truth is not a valid defense.
August 27, 2010 -- "How do you know there is going to be an economic recovery?" Greta Van Susteren asked GOP dummy, Dana Perino. "There always is; these things go in cycles," squeaked the Heidi Klum of the commentariat. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook A tax cut for high-income earners is tantamount to a return of stolen goods. Dana, who was once a spokesperson to a man who was barely able to speak, always smiles with pride when her boss' "modest" government expansion is hearkened to nostalgically on Fox News. You remember the broad sweep of the Bush limited-government program: Medicare Part D, "No Child Left Behind," and the fiscal fiascos that are the wars in Middle East and South-central Asia. Likewise, Dana seems to think that the economy is much like the menstrual cycle. But even that event grinds to a halt when the hormones run out.
September 2001 -- The current debate over federal funding of embryonic stem cell research raises two basic questions: "Is it morally and
A man from my neck of the woods was mauled by a bear. A politician, to be more accurate. John Chelminiak, who is alive but disfigured for...
Why did federal regulators not intervene sooner? A tragedy could have been averted. That was the first demand made following the accidental
November 2001 -- In the normal course of events, the world is content to ignore the capers that take place in our ivory-tower institutions. But in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, the public has suddenly cast a sharp eye on obscure academic figures whose reactions demonstrate either an appalling callousness, an extreme removal from reality, or both. One figure in the latter category is Karlheinz Stockhausen, a German composer considered a modern master among contemporary academic composers—and ignored by the rest of the world. The Frankfurter Allgemeinische Zeitung's English edition carries the following account of Stockhausen's comments, by reporter Julia Spinola:
October 2001 -- Since 1999, Belgium has had a law allowing anyone, from anywhere in the world, to sue any other person, for crimes against humanity, regardless of where or against whom the crimes were allegedly committed. Last year, a group calling itself Lawyers without Borders Congo brought charges against President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. The two sitting presidents were charged with abuses in their ongoing and brutal proxy war in the Congo.
Help promote our Atlas Shrugged movie event by pasting this countdown widget into your blog or website. (Copy code at bottom of widget.) Event Registration Online for Atlas Shrugged: The Making of a Movie COPY AND PASTE THIS CODE into your blog or website: <div style="width:195px; text-align:center;" ><iframe src=" http://www.eventbrite.com/countdown-widget?eid=927866273 " frameborder="0" height="410" width="220" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" ></iframe><div style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial; font-size:10px; padding:5px 0 5px; margin:2px; width:195px; text-align:center;" ><a style="color:#ddd; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank" href=" http://www.eventbrite.com/features?ref=ecount " >Event Registration Online</a><span style="color:#ddd;" > for </span><a style="color:#ddd; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank" href=" http://atlas-shrugged-movie.eventbrite.com?ref=ecount " >Atlas Shrugged: The Making of a Movie</a></div></div>