Blogs for 2005 - Road to the Middle Class

HERE´S AN IN depth interview with two Iranian activists working for “regime change” in Iran. There´s a lot of interesting material, including talk of a turn back to Zoroastrianism, the monotheistic religion that obtained in Persia before the conquest by unfold

Steyn: Gloater-in-chief Hails 7,000 Year March to Democracy in Egypt

by Christopher Chantrill

LIKE, WHAT kept you guys so long? Mark Steyn is pulling out old columns and shamelessly gloating that he told you so. And that goes for British Tories that went all snooty last year. Mubarak puts an opposition leader in jail? Condi cancels her visit. Ooooh, Ms Matrix with the spike heels is jabbing them in the you-know-where. Apparently Egypt´s annual check from Uncle Sam is a month late. Could unfold

A Liberal Faces Up to The Wal-Mart Phenomenon. Almost

by Christopher Chantrill

WHAT DO WE liberals do about Wal-Mart, worries liberal Robert Reich? Let´s admit it, we liberals all buy books from Amazon, even if we say we like the community bookstore round the corner. So how can we get low prices while helping the little guy? Cartels and regulation: that´s his highly advanced and sophisticated answer. Come on, Reich. You liberals can do better than that. I thought that conservatives were supposed to be the standpatters. The bottom line is unfold

Iraq War All But Won

by Christopher Chantrill

A LITTLE BIT of gloating is starting to surface among the US brass in Iraq, as the remaining “insurgents” seem to be increasingly ineffective. “It will be some months before the news media recognize it, and a few months more before they acknowledge it, but the war in Iraq is all but won,” writes columnist Jack Kelly. The proof of this is that Senator Clinton has joined the coalition of the willing. Welcome aboard, Senator. The bigger issue is how the unfold

Steyn Creates Threatening Learning Environment for Euros

by Christopher Chantrill

IT´S LUCKY that pundit Mark Steyn doesn´t teach in a university. He´d be up before the faculty senate for creating a threatening environment for his Euro students. He tells us that the admininstration is divided between those who think that: “a) Europe is a smugly irritating but irrelevant backwater; or b) Europe is a smugly irritating but irrelevant backwater where the whole powder keg´s about to go up.” Then he chuckles over EU constitution drafter unfold

School Vouchers. In Arizona

by Christopher Chantrill

WE WON´T SEE school vouchers here in the Soviet of Washington for a millennium or so, but it´s good to see that Arizonians are getting an honest debate about it. Vouchers raise student performance by 5 to 10 percentage points. And they raise parental unfold

Bush's East Asia Game

by Christopher Chantrill

ON SUNDAY´S Meet the Press, Senator Hillary Clinton accused the Bush Administration of dropping the ball on North Korea. But this observer detects a deep game in progress: playing the Japan card against China. Card by card, step by step, it will go on until the Chinese put the brakes on North Korea. This week´s card is an announcement that “Japan agrees in principle to defend Taiwan from mainland Chinese invasion.” It was announced by the foreign ministers and unfold

"Quite a Racket"

by Christopher Chantrill

THE ATTENTION Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) heads to Britain and becomes embedded in the welfare state. You can get grants and disability allowances if your child is diagnosed with ADHD. Now there´s a concept! “It´s quite a racket,” according to a postmaster dispensing weekly benefits to the parents of ADHD unfold

That Mark Steyn. He's Such a Card!

by Christopher Chantrill

NO GIGGLING, writes schoolmarm Mark Steyn. That´s the word in the briefing books as President Bush wings to Europe. Just make nice to the quaint Europeans. And that goes for all the “Administration´s hardline Zionist Christian fundamentalist neocon unilateralist warmongers” as well. Well. Never mind briefing books. How about one briefing book? Ok. How about talking points? How about 3x5 flash unfold

Take Me Back!

by Christopher Chantrill

TIME reports that the Iraqi rebels are negotiating with the US about ending the insurgency (now why would they want to do that?. I´d say that the US position should be the same as Salome´s: Bring me the head of Zarqawi! Then we´ll talk about unfold

Brit Hopes for Blogger Revolution in UK

by Christopher Chantrill

FORMER CONSERVATIVE Party leader Iain Duncan Smith in Britain hopes that the blogger revolution will soon ignite conservative politics in Britain the way it does in the US. He retells the Rathergate and Easongate stories and imagines how bloggers could humble Britain´s own mainstream unfold

The Templeton Curve and Social Security

by Christopher Chantrill

WANT TO KNOW the difference between President Bush´s vision for Social Security and the Democrat´s vision? The Templeton Curve tells the difference. Bush leads to surplus; Democrats lead to deficit. The big question is: why do Democrats fight the privatization of Social Security. If we removed it from the Federal budget it might release resources for new programs. Wouldn´t that be unfold

Peggy's Seal of Approval for Blogs

by Christopher Chantrill

SHE´S THE den mother of America´s conservatives, and she´s just written the definitive word on blogs. My, oh my, Peggy Noonan observes. Isn´t the invective flowing a little freely over at the MSM? “Those MSMers have gone wild, I tell you! The tendentious language, the low insults. It´s the Wild Wild West out there. We may have to consider legislation.” Get used to unfold

Capitalism Ended Slavery

by Christopher Chantrill

SO YOU THINK that capitalism was founded on slavery do you? Here are some arguments for you to think about.

Capitalism rejects slavery because it does not pay.

And what if you are wrong? Suppose that lefty ideas about capitalism and oppression are wrong and promote slavery (viz. Soviet Union, Mao´s China, Castro´s Cuba). What unfold

Dems Want Government Control of Nation's Elderly

by Christopher Chantrill

THEY DON´T put it quite like that, of course. “We´re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good,” says Hillary Clinton. “Putting people in charge of their own assets breaks down the solidarity that comes from doing something together,” says Noam Chomsky. So that is why Democrats oppose the privatization of Social Security, is it? The noble public interest, social solidarity, and all that? Not exactly, according to Pete du unfold

Steyn: Just Shrug, It's a UN Atrocity

by Christopher Chantrill

SUPPOSE IT was the 3rd Infantry Division abusing little children in Falluja instead of UN soldiers raping underage girls in the Congo, writes Mark Steyn. Then we´d see some outrage from the world´s professional journalists. The trouble with the UN, he muses, is that the world´s democracies are corrupted by propinquity with the world´s thugocracies, and that can´t be unfold

New Labour Sharpens Knife For Sacred Cow

by Christopher Chantrill

IF YOU ARE a Brit leftie, you must believe that “selection” or streaming in the government school system is evil. Now the Blair government is starting to think of returning to some sort of streaming and selection in the government schools. Of course, the whole process will be properly controlled by government experts and elaborate procedures and safeguards. And it must all be done without unfold

A Tale about a Tax: Social Security

by Christopher Chantrill

SOONER OR LATER, someone had to write an article that told the story of Social Security in 800 words in simple, clear English that anyone can understand. Here it is: “A Eighth of a Paycheck” by Jeff unfold

Want Single Payer Health? Read This

by Christopher Chantrill

A BRITON compares the US health system with the British NHS. The US system is a hodge-podge, and the British one organized into a single, managed, free-at-the-point-of-delivery government system. But the results are much better in the US. A woman with breast cancer? Chance of dying is 46 percent in Britain, but only 25 percent in the US. And so unfold

Democrats: Get With The Program

by Christopher Chantrill

THAT´S TOM Friedman from The New York Times saying that, not me. It´s good to see the noble Tom finally grasping the essence of the Bush strategy. If you get democracy off the ground in Iraq, then you can do it anywhere. After 9/11, the Bush administration decided that the way to drain the Mid-East swamp was by neutralizing the dictators that funded and protected them. Iraq was the obvious second choice after Afghanistan, because the real target, Iran, is unfold

Ward Churchill: The Hamlet Moment

by Christopher Chantrill

TO FIRE OR not to fire Ward Churchill, the academic fraud held lovingly to the breast of the University of Colorado. Academic Bill of Rights activist David Horowitz says no. He argues that the problem is not that leftie whack jobs like Churchill get academic tenure, but that ordinary conservatives can´t. (Imagine if a right-wing nut job ever got close to academic tenure! Oh the wailings! Oh the chilling effect! Oh the hate speech!) Ann Coulter just picks unfold

Tops Dems Hate SoSoc Reform Yet Love Stocks and Bonds

by Christopher Chantrill

TOP DEMOCRATS like Senator Harry Reid are busy talking about the dangers of personal accounts for Social Security, yet lots of them own big chunks of stock. What gives here? Do Democrats really believe that investment in index funds and bonds is risky? Or do they just prefer to keep Americans barefoot and pregnant down on the liberal plantation, paying that 15 percent of their wages in FICA tax year in, year out, and staying dependent on government for unfold

Remember the Raccoon Lodge

by Christopher Chantrill

BACK IN THE Fifties, lots of Americans belonged to self-governing membership organizations like Ralph Kramden´s Raccoon Lodge. But now the dominant organizational model is the memberless liberal activist group: no members, just send money. Isn´t that the problem with the Democrats as they elect Howard Dean as head of the Democratic National Committee? That´s what David Brooks unfold

Moyer Quote on Watt a Crock

by Christopher Chantrill

THE BLOGGERS at PowerLine blog are onto Bill Moyers. He quoted a quote on Reagan era Secretary of the Interior James Watt published in the environmental magazine Grist, and now it turns out that the quote is, er, inaccurate. James Watt never advocated, as Moyers writes, that “protecting natural resources was unimportant in light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ.” Or that “In public testimony he said, `after the last tree is felled, Christ will come unfold

Girls That Kill Girls

by Christopher Chantrill

FROM AGE 8 to 12 British girl gets raped by brother. At age 12 she complains to her mother and gets chucked out in the street. At age 16 she gets her own apartment from social services. At age 18 she kills her younger lesbian lover in a drunken rage. But then? You need to read it. And then wonder what would have happened if an evil corporation had been responsible for this instead of a sensitive, caring welfare unfold

Steyn: Dems All Exit and No Strategy

by Christopher Chantrill

POST CAPTAIN Mark Steyn returns to top form and rakes the decks of the Axis of Ennui from its Euro forecastle to its Democratic poop. He expresses grave concern over the depth of the graves of Darfur. But here´s the kicker. Did you notice that President Bush did not mention Europe once last week in the State of the Union speech? Couldn´t be bothered, unfold

Spengler: What Iraq Democracy?

by Christopher Chantrill

DEMOCRACY, writes Spengler, is about brave Dutch merchants rising up against their Spanish overlords, or brave Americans sacrificing their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. None of which applies in unfold

Peggy Noonan on SOTU

by Christopher Chantrill

PEGGY TAKES in the sweep of the president´s State of the Union speech, and focuses on the key question in the Social Security debate. Do we,the American people, want a more hands-on retirement plan where we get to make the decisions about our savings or the simplicity of the government plan where we do nothing, paying tax while we work and getting a pension when we retire. The answer of course is both, and the president´s plan gives both. You can do nothing unfold

New Establishment Line on Iraq

by Christopher Chantrill

THE CENTER left gets the call from Thomas Friedman. Better take the Iraq election seriously, and get with the program, is what he writes. Better say we are delighted. Read it to keep yourself aligned with the conventional unfold

An Invitation to Suicide

by Christopher Chantrill

THE ADVANTAGE of liberalism was that it could never quite define itself, writes William Voegeli. “We´re in favor of a lot of things and we´re against mighty few,” Lyndon Johnson assured us. Yet, to develop a new narrative, Democrats must get off their current reflexive support of the mothering welfare state. Tell us where it will all end, hectors Voegeli. Tell us when you´ll be finished nannying us and lecturing us, as if Democrats could ever do that. Don´t unfold

First You Need A Majority

by Christopher Chantrill

PAUL STARR in The American Prospect reads Democrats the Riot Act. You can´t become a governing majority unless you compromise your sacred principles. It would help, of course, to have principles that the majority of the American people could agree unfold

Britland: School Chaos

by Christopher Chantrill

AND YOU THOUGHT American public schools were bad. Read how rowdy the kids are in British schools. The thing to remember is we had 90 percent literacy in the US before Horace Mann and the common school movement in the 1830s. And Britland had pretty well everyone going to school before the government started nationalizing the schools in unfold

Britland: New Labour Reality

by Christopher Chantrill

RMC CHAPPIE David Green exposes Britain´s New Labour Party hypocrisy. Beneath all the sweet talk of modernizing is a crude power play to create more government employees and more recipients of “benefits.” A great deal for the Labour Party, but it makes Britain into a nation of supplicants to the unfold