Free Republic

Those of you on the West Coast might want to make sure you catch the season opener. The second segment deals with the effects of gun control. Very funny.

On another board, someone alleged that the CIA trained Bin Laden. I know this has been debunked. Can someone point me to an article that takes this myth apart?

I need some help on statistics on crime and gun crime in Great Britain. Specifically, I'm looking for the annual number of homicides and homicides committed with a gun since at least 1997 to the present. And any other annual data on gun use in crimes would be appreciated.

Today's economic problems have nothing to do with current monetary policy. Deflation is history. Gold and commodity prices are rising, the dollar has weakened and the yield curve is much steeper. Moreover, the economy is growing. Third quarter real GDP growth will be near 4.5%, new home sales hit an all-time record high in August and durable goods new orders are on a clear upward trajectory. Except. Rest of article.

New orders for durable goods slipped just 0.6% in August, following a revised 8.6% surge in July (originally 8.7%). Non-defense new orders gained 0.6%, and have increased 9.6% at an annual rate in the last six months. Despite the slight dip in August, new orders are up 12.8% at an annualized rate in the last three months, indicating that the manufacturing sector remains healthy. New orders excluding transportation slipped 0.9% last month, after gaining 3.1% in July. Transportation equipment new orders gained 0.2% in August, adding to the 22.3% surge in July. New orders for industrial machinery declined 2.5%, after...

This summer, virtually all of the orthopedic surgeons at Southern Nevada's only trauma center walked off the job to protest soaring malpractice insurance costs. The center reopened ten days later after doctors were added to the county's payroll, shielding them from high awards. Horrified legislators promised, and partially delivered, a tort reform law that limited jury awards to sub-stratospheric levels, offering an opening for insurance companies to lower their rates. While Nevada's crisis is highly dramatic, it's hardly an isolated case. President Bush recently denounced frivolous lawsuits and high jury awards, and called for tort reform -- an indication of...

Each day brings more bad news for U.S. capitalism -- another top executive under investigation or yet another accounting scandal. But some of America's top business leaders have decided to take action to prevent such scandals from happening again, to repair the reputations of big corporations and to restore confidence in the stock market and the economy. And while there's a remarkable consensus about what needs to be done, their proposals aren't without controversy. Two of America's oldest and most respected business groups -- the Business Roundtable and the Conference Board -- have put forth voluntary reforms companies should adopt...

Clearly the markets are trading as if the world is coming apart at the seams. We do not agree. In the early 1980s, Reagan's policies were slowly being put into place, yet a nasty recession continued to create fear and trepidation. Eventually, these fears were calmed and the U.S. led a global resurgence of economic growth. Excerpt. Rest of article.

In a surprise to the consensus, the Consumer Price Index gained 0.3% in August. Excluding food and energy, the "core" CPI also increased 0.3%. On a year-over-year basis, the overall CPI is up 1.7%, while the Òcore" CPI has risen 2.4%. Energy prices climbed 0.6% last month, following a 0.4% gain in July. Gasoline prices increased 0.5%. Food and beverage prices slid by 0.1% and tobacco prices surged 2.4%. Medical prices are up 0.2% in August, and have gained 4.7% from year-ago levels. New vehicle prices fell 0.1% in August, and have fallen seven of the last eight months, while...

Exhibiting a great deal of that much-debated "gravitas," President Bush told the U.N. last week that, either they get to work stopping Saddam Hussein or the U.S. will go it alone. It is clear that the President views this next phase of the War Against Terror as essential to the safety of the world. And because of his leadership, somewhere between 65 and 80 percent of the American people support him. Over the weekend, Secretary of State Colin Powell reiterated the President's words from last week and said that we need answers from the U.N. in, "a matter of weeks,...

If you're looking for good news about the economy, look no further than the venture capital market. Venture investing is off from its heights in the go-go years of the late 1990s. But it's still chugging along at a healthy pace. Investors have become a bit more discriminating. But there's still money out there for entrepreneurs with good ideas. And that's good news for the long-term health of the economy. These new and small firms will provide the products and ideas that will fuel future growth. Among them will likely be "the next big thing." Excerpt. Rest of article.

I am opposed to overt, armed intervention ("invasion") of Iraq. Unfortunately, we've painted ourselves into a corner not by events or facts, but with rhetoric, and created a situation where we probably have to do it. But I'm not happy about it. Here's a few reasons why (and why not). First, conquering Iraq will not be trivial, but it will be as "easy" as things get when it comes to this sort of thing. We will have kill ratios in the 500:1 or higher range if they actually face us in battle, which they won't. I would be very surprised...

Given that the offices of Griffin, Kubik, Stephens & Thompson, Inc. are in the Sears Tower -- a high profile target -- it is impossible for us to forget the changes that have taken place since terrorists murdered thousands one year ago. Every morning when we come to work, we must pass through metal detectors and send our bags through x-ray machines. And as the anniversary date approaches, the intensity of security is palpably increasing. But from an economic point of view, this increase in security is just the outward appearance of an altered landscape. Underneath, insurance costs have skyrocketed,...

Spouting patriotic rhetoric and enjoying the support of fellow Republicans, George W. Bush has masqueraded as a conservative while actually advancing a liberal agenda. When Bill Clinton boasted that "the era of big government is over," there were probably more belly laughs than nods. After all, Clinton was widely recognized as a big-spending liberal. He was seen by many as a dangerous demagogue with an insatiable appetite for power, an appetite that might have consumed our liberties if not for public and congressional resistance. But with the election of supposed conservative George W. Bush, the public vigilance that helped keep...

For good or ill, the WSSD did achieve something. After days of wrangling, negotiators reached agreement on improving sanitation around the world, protecting fisheries, promoting so-called renewable sources of energy, defending biodiversity and improving access to clean drinking water, among other lofty goals. But most of the language was left vague, with a few firm targets, such as promises to somehow halve the number of people without toilets by 2015 and to establish protections for fisheries by 2012. That vagueness is probably a good thing. Commenting on the agreement's endorsement of renewable energy without setting any timetables, James K. Glassman...

The Chicago report suggests that the August ISM Index, due to be released next Tuesday, will confirm that the weakness in July manufacturing data was just a typical pause in an otherwise recovering manufacturing sector. Consistent strength in both the Chicago PMI and the national ISM reports in the past seven months suggest that the trend is definitively up, signaling that further Fed rate cuts are unwarranted and the next move in the Federal funds rate should be up. Excerpt. Rest of article.

For the first time in eight years, the president has "fast track" authority to negotiate trade deals with other nations. This means that any treaties President Bush signs must be voted on by Congress without any chance for amendment. That's good news for American manufacturing and for the workers it employs. America's trading partners have been reluctant to negotiate deals if Congress could demand changes after they are signed. President Bush says he plans to complete trade deals with Singapore, Morocco, Chile and the Central American nations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. That will open up...

Recent signs of weaker growth, from purchasing managers to the leading indicators, are clearly of concern. However, productivity remains strong, real interest rates remain near zero, initial unemployment claims remain on a downtrend, housing is setting a record pace, and for the first time in almost two years, business investment in equipment and software turned positive this spring. More importantly, past data suggest that "fits and starts" are normal. The ISM index bounced up and down like a yo-yo throughout the 1990s, yet we experienced the longest sustained recovery in U.S. history. Why should this time be any different? Excerpt....

"Sustainable development" sounds like a good thing - one of those noncontroversial ideas over which we need not squabble. Few of us are for things that can't be sustained. So what is there to argue about? Quite a bit, actually, as representatives from around the world gather in Johannesburg to address poverty, environmental concerns and economic growth at the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on Sustainable Development. In perusing the fine print published by the organizers of the conference, economists and concerned people from across the globe are alarmed by what is concealed behind a seemingly harmless bit of jargon. Excerpt....

The percentage of health care providers actually refusing to participate in government programs is still relatively small. The American Academy of Family Physicians puts the share of family doctors who refuse to take new Medicare patients at roughly 17 percent, meaning that the majority of doctors still participate. Still, that 17 percent is a significant number when you consider that federal law requires physicians opting out of the program to give up seeing Medicare patients at all for two years before they're allowed to contract with them privately. Excerpt. Rest of article.