David Boaz

In a story on people without health insurance, NPR interviewed a spokesman for a "consumer advocacy group" who warned that we shouldn't get rid of the estate tax (so we can spend more tax dollars on health care). Yeah, that's what consumers think -- except for the 68 percent of ...

From Walter Scott's "Personality Parade" in Parade Magazine (to be posted here soon): Q: How much time do former President Carter and wife Rosalyn devote to their Habitat for Humanity projects A: Since 1984, they have spent one week each year on Habitat projects, helping to construct 2,733 new homes.

For a hint of what Washington bureaucrats think of the rest of the America, take a look at this letter to the Wall Street Journal: You say the average federal civil worker makes more than the average private sector worker. That's true, but this isn't even an apples and oranges comparison ...

James Lovelock, the author of the "theory known as Gaia, which holds that Earth acts like a living organism, a self-regulating system balanced to allow life to flourish," has a new message for us: Never mind, it's too late, Gaia can't handle industrialization. Earth will be at least 10 degrees ...

Today the U.S. government hands over control of the Iraqi army to the Iraqis and takes control of American political debate. Incredibly, the McCain-Feingold ban on independent broadcast advertising that mentions candidates by name, beginning 60 days before the election, is apparently not mentioned in any major media. The blackout period for ...

Next Monday, September 18, HBO will broadcast a new documentary, "Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater." The film was made by Barry Goldwater's granddaughter, CC Goldwater. The Los Angeles Times calls it "an unabashedly admiring � though not wide-eyed � attempt to reclaim her grandfather's legacy, and to reconcile the man ...

Next Monday, September 18, HBO will broadcast a new documentary, "Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater." The film was made by Barry Goldwater's granddaughter, CC Goldwater. The Los Angeles Times calls it "an unabashedly admiring — though not wide-eyed — attempt to reclaim her grandfather's legacy, and to reconcile the man she adored — the avid gadgeteer, ham-radio operator, aviator, and truly talented photographer of American Indians — with the controversial political figure, often heralded as the father of the American conservative movement." There are three kinds of people these days who like to call themselves "Goldwater Republicans": * libertarians, who tend to ignore the social conservatism of the senator's 1964 presidential campaign, focusing on his rugged-individualist opposition to the federal leviathan and his later opposition to the religious right; * liberals, who would perhaps have been Rockefeller Republicans in 1964, when they denounced Goldwater as literally insane; and * limited-government conservatives, who still believe in the ideals of Goldwater's book The Conscience of a Conservative and regret the big-government conservatism that now dominates the Republican party. My guess is that "Goldwater on Goldwater" is going to appeal more to the first two groups than to the actual Goldwaterites. It interviews people from across the political spectrum, but George Will appears to be the only Goldwaterite interviewed, while it also features Hillary Rodham Clinton, Teddy Kennedy, Ben Bradlee, Walter Cronkite, Al Franken, and James Carville. Interviews with the daughter who had an abortion and the gay grandson also indicate a strong emphasis on the later Goldwater. Either way, spending 90 minutes with Barry Goldwater has got to be a welcome respite from the world of George W. Bush.

Today the U.S. government hands over control of the Iraqi army to the Iraqis and takes control of American political debate. Incredibly, the McCain-Feingold ban on independent broadcast advertising that mentions candidates by name, beginning 60 days before the election, is apparently not mentioned in any major media. The blackout period for free speech has been noted in newspapers by such civil libertarians as Ryan Sager, Jacob Sullum, and the D.C. Examiner. But no news stories warning people to stop talking about candidates. No editorials from major papers deploring this restriction on political speech before an election. Nor even any editorials hailing the new restrictions, which might be more likely since most major papers endorsed the McCain-Feingold legislation. What would McCain, Feingold, and the New York Times say if the U.S.-backed government in Iraq banned any criticism of itself for the next 60 days? Would they say "one giant step toward democracy"? I doubt it. Anyway, if you want to criticize a member of Congress, or just ask your neighbors to call him about an issue, you're free to do that -- starting November 8.

James Lovelock, the author of the "theory known as Gaia, which holds that Earth acts like a living organism, a self-regulating system balanced to allow life to flourish," has a new message for us: Never mind, it's too late, Gaia can't handle industrialization. Earth will be at least 10 degrees hotter in a decade or two. It's irreversible. "We are poached," the Washington Post reports. So we might as well enjoy ourselves. Burn those fossil fuels. Build those McMansions. Eat those cheeseburgers. We're doomed anyway. Or you could recall an earlier doomsayer, Professor Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University, who wrote in 1968, "The battle to feed humanity is over. In the 1970s, the world will undergo famines. Hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now." He was slightly off. But he kept his job at the prestigious university, he made a bundle on his bestseller, and he still writes for publications like Scientific American. He's even quoted praising Lovelock in the Post article. As for Lovelock, he's the subject of a huge, lavish, sales-boosting two-page profile in the Washington Post. Not to mention respectful reviews in major papers on both sides of the Atlantic. He's speaking Friday at the respected Carnegie Institution of Washington. Why are people like Lovelock and Ehrlich treated seriously? Crossposted from Comment is free.

Doomsayers are given too much credence by scientific institutions and the press.