Memorial Day's parades and picnics and remembrances of those who gave their lives for our nation have come and gone. It's unofficially summer, a time to unwind and read and ponder the big questions. So herewith my annual contribution of summer reading for your vacation tote bag.
Former United States Senator from New York
Almost a decade ago the chattering class claimed the answer to American's health care crisis was a government-controlled managed competition monopoly. Today, socialized medicine has again become an issue.
The language of the Second Amendment is straightforward: "The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Seems clear enough, doesn't it? Yet for half a century the consensus of the political establishment has been that the right to bear arms must not be construed as an individual right, lest people obtain guns to protect themselves and take actions beyond the control of government.
The truth is, Social Security has many inequities and quirks that need to be corrected so that the program can better redistribute money to those who need it most. But these changes – while sorely needed – should be made in a larger context that takes into account the program's broader problems.
Unprecedented numbers of individuals have moved from welfare to employment since enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), making it the most successful welfare reform ever.
World leaders are making critical decisions based upon predictions of General Circulation Models or Global Climate Models (GCMs) that humans are causing global climate change or global warming.
NCPA's Women in the Economy project has compiled in-depth research about women's need for flexible work environments, concluding that governments and labor unions will not prompt necessary workplace reforms.
The Bush administration may turn out to be what Bill Clinton promised: "the most ethical administration in the history of the Republic." Or at least people seem to think so, judging by the results of the May 1 USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll. A full 84% of Americans believe President Bush is showing good moral leadership, and 77% think he is both honest and trustworthy and a strong and decisive leader.
Harry Stein Author of "How I Accidentally Joined the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy"
Ten years ago last week, the first charter school opened its doors in Minnesota. Over the past decade, a single school with just 20 students has blossomed into a full-fledged movement of more than 2,400 schools and more than half a million students. And the numbers continue to grow.
Most Americans have never celebrated May Day, the working-class holiday, but the superiority of our free-market system has not always been self-evident. For most of the last century, from 1917 through 1981, socialism was in ascendancy, dominating the thinking of intellectuals and the governments of the world. Its failure became undeniably clear only in the final two decades of the 20th century.