Free Republic

Random thoughts on the passing scene: If you took all the fraud out of politics, there might not be a lot left. The reason so many people misunderstand so many issues is not that these issues are so complex, but that people do not want a factual or analytical explanation that leaves them emotionally unsatisfied. They want villains to hate and heroes to cheer-- and they don't want explanations that do not give them that. Has anyone noticed Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain's facial resemblance to Babe Ruth? If he can be anywhere near as good a pitcher as Ruth was,...

Random thoughts on the passing scene: Government bailouts are like potato chips: You can't stop with just one. Anyone who is honest with himself and with others knows that there is not a snow ball's chance in hell to have an honest dialogue about race. I wonder what radical feminists make of the fact that it was men who created the rule of "women and children first" when it came to rescuing people from life-threatening emergencies. Barack Obama's motto "Change you can believe in" has acquired a new meaning-- changing his positions is the only thing you can believe in....

Seeing the Pope driven around in a bullet-proof vehicle reminds me of how much times have changed over the years. I can remember when President Franklin D. Roosevelt rode through Harlem in an open car. A reader's response to my column about the mandated change from incandescent light bulbs to CFL bulbs: "It would be far better to exchange the corrupt hacks in Congress for some winos from the Bowery. Such a transition should open a new bright era for America." Even if you think our presidential choices this election year are between disgust and disaster, anyone who has ever...

Random thoughts on the passing scene: Most of the problems of this country are not nearly as bad as the "solutions" -- especially the solutions that politicians come up with during election years. Some people actually think that televising Congress gives us information. What it really does is give politicians millions of dollars worth of free advertising, while they play charades on camera to fool the rest of us. Alfred E. Neuman of Mad magazine said: "What, me worry?" During election years, Democrats running for office say: "What, me liberal?" Senator John McCain could never convince me to vote for...

December 4, 2007 Random thoughts on the passing scene: Since electricity is generated mostly by burning coal, has anyone calculated how much pollution is created by electric cars, even though none of that pollution comes out of their tailpipes? You may scoff at the Tooth Fairy if you like. But the Tooth Fairy's approach has gotten more politicians elected than any economist's analysis. Is there anyone so willing to suffer as to watch all the political "debates" of both parties? Now that Congress has violated the First Amendment by restricting free speech with "campaign finance reform" laws, in the name...

July 10, 2007 Random thoughts on the passing scene: A sense of logic underlies a sense of humor. The same professor who wrote the first treatise on symbolic logic also wrote "Alice in Wonderland." "A good catchword can obscure analysis for fifty years," said Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. If so, then we may be hearing about "diversity," "social justice" and "a living wage" for many years to come. Bill Clinton's attack on President Bush's commuting of Scooter Libby's prison sentence qualifies Clinton for the Guinness Book of World Records in chutzpa. Whenever I hear terrorists referred to in the media...

May 1, 2007 Random thoughts on the passing scene: Sometimes it seems as if everybody is trying to rip off his own little piece of America, until we are all torn apart. A reader writes: "Liberals hold us individually responsible for nothing but collectively responsible for everything." The last time I saw a Republican express outrage was 1991, when Clarence Thomas told the Senators what he thought of the smear tactics used against him. Before that, it was Ronald Reagan saying, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Before that, it was probably Teddy Roosevelt. Too many people in positions of...

-According to The Hill newspaper, right now California Congressman Duncan Hunter has more Congressional endorsements in his bid for the Presidency than former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Of course, maybe that actually helps The Mayor, since Congress isn't so popular these days. -Congratulations to Hoover Institution Fellow and FR friend Williamson "Bill" Evers who was tapped by W. to be Assistant Secretary of Education for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development. Perhaps while there he can advise that "federalizing" education through programs like No Child Left Behind is a bad thing. -In his Silicon Valley appearance yesterday, GOP Presidential hopeful...

Random thoughts on the passing scene: They say that man cannot control the weather. But every time I buy photographic equipment, it rains. Who says that there is no difference between the political parties? When Democrats are criticized, they counter-attack. When Republicans are criticized, they whine that they are innocent. We all enter the world knowing nothing but, by the time we are teenagers, we know it all. Sometimes it is decades later before we know enough to realize how little we know. Nothing is called "second-hand" any more, except "second-hand smoke." Why is it not called "pre-owned" smoke? Civil...

Random Thoughts By Thomas Sowell November 30, 2005 Random thoughts on the passing scene: Bumper sticker in Berkeley: "Animals are little people in fur coats." My tastes must be behind the times. When I see women in "before" and "after" advertisements, I often think they looked better before. What enables ex-President Jimmy Carter to be taken seriously is that millions of people are too young to remember what a disaster the Carter administration was. He lost his bid for re-election in a landslide for a reason. Who would have dreamed that "Merry Christmas" would become a controversial phrase? But increasingly...

MSU is liberal and they tend to get into trouble from time to time. They will spend public money for far left wing causes. I think most colleges are like that.