www.downingworld.com

archives: January-March, 2005

Friday, April 15, 2005

TAX DAY!
Oh boy! Tax day! Time to file our tax returns and find out how much money the government is going to give us!

Income tax withholding is one of the greatest scams a government has ever perpetrated upon its people. Thanks to withholding, you can actually hear people say things like, "I didn't pay any taxes this year; I'm getting money back!"

Yes, your own money. That the government took from you. Even though you didn't owe it to them. If a store overcharges you, and you have to go back to get a refund -- just to get back the money that you never owed them in the first place -- are you happy about it?

As a self-employed person, I have to write out tax checks to the government several times a year. If everyone had to to that, I think we'd have another revolution. Things would have to change. We'd have a smaller government. People would realize how much money the government takes from them, and they'd demand a better accounting of how it's being used.

As it is, most people really have no idea how much of their hard-earned money they hand over to the government every year. People may know their annual gross salary. They may know the amount on their paycheck. But what they don't know is what that paycheck would have been if taxes hadn't been taken out. Thus, they also don't know how much was taken out.

Let's change the system. No tax withholding. Everyone gets every dollar that they earn. Then let us all write checks to the state and federal government, in the place of the money that was previously withheld.

Then watch it hit the fan. And watch the ranks of conservative voters grow.

Adam Smith Mania
I am stunned. I didn't think I'd live to see this. The editorial board of a major daily newspaper has invoked the name of Adam Smith and the "invisible hand" of the market -- and has done so in a positive light!

In an unsigned, "institutional" editorial (that means this is the official position of the paper, not just one of its writers), the St. Paul Pioneer Press today criticizes a state law that sets an artificial floor UNDER gas prices. The paper argues that we should let the market forces work. Here's a great excerpt:

"...that's not the way free markets work. Prices are set according to supply and demand, with Adam Smith's 'invisible hand' a much better arbiter than any state legislator."

Yes! A daily newspaper finally gets it! The socialists across the river at the Minneapolis Star Tribune must have fainted when they saw this.

Who's Adam Smith?
If you don't know, shame on you. OK, you're forgiven, but you must learn. Back in 1776, two watershed events of permanent consequence happened. One, of course, was the birth of not only a new nation, but a new concept in nationhood. The other was the publication of Adam Smith's "An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations." (Often referred to simply as "The Wealth of Nations.")

Over 200 years ago, Adam Smith -- part economist, part philosopher -- nailed it. He explained the free market forces that -- if we stay out of their way -- result in the growth of wealth. And not just wealth for some, but for all nations and all people.

As stated by the Adam Smith Institute: "This remarkable book was published in 1776, at a time when the power of free trade and competition as stimulants to innovation and progress was scarcely understood. Governments granted monopolies and gave subsidies to protect their own merchants, farmers and manufacturers against 'unfair' competition. The guilds operated stern local cartels: artisans of one town were prevented from travelling to another to find work. Local and national laws forbade the use of new, labour-saving machinery.

"And, not surprisingly to us today, poverty was accepted as the common, natural, and inevitable lot of most people.

"Adam Smith railed against this restrictive, regulated, 'mercantilist' system, and showed convincingly how the principles of free trade, competition, and choice would spur economic development, reduce poverty, and precipitate the social and moral improvement of humankind. To illustrate his concepts, he scoured the world for examples that remain just as vivid today: from the diamond mines of Golconda to the price of Chinese silver in Peru; from the fisheries of Holland to the plight of Irish prostitutes in London. And so persuasive were his arguments that they not only provided the world with a new understanding of the wealth-creating process; they laid the intellectual foundation for the great era of free trade and economic expansion that dominated the Nineteenth Century."

Yes, free market capitalism can be messy, and yes, Smith may have missed on some of the details, but the truth remains. And we'd do well in 2005 to follow Smith's advice.

In an amazing coincidence, just last Wednesday, on my one-and-only trip to London, I happened to walk by and notice the home of the Adam Smith Institute. (I had not heard of it until then.) Here's a photo of the rather inconspicuous sign by the door. It's amazing that I noticed it, but notice it I did. Maybe all the clear thinking going on inside created an environment where my brain was able to notice such a detail.

You're in luck, the Adam Smith Institute offers up the FULL TEXT(!) of "The Wealth of Nations" online. And that's really saying something, because it is a fat book (mine is in two volumes). But never fear, there's also an online chapter index, to help you browse the book.

Energy Taxes vs. Standards
More from economist Ed Lotterman today relating to gas and other energy prices, and how to encourage conservation. Lotterman argues that taxes on energy use -- and the accompanying invisible hand of the market -- will better result in smart energy use than will government-imposed energy-efficiency standards on products.

Give the People What They Want
There were some letters-to-the-editor in my paper today, which addressed the topic of gas prices. Complaining of the way that rising gas prices adversely affect our economy, one Kerry Johnson of Apple Valley wrote:

"What are President Bush and the U.S. auto industry doing about this? GM has produced very few high-mileage hybrid cars. Honda and Toyota have been leading the way, with long waits for their hybrid cars. Where is the American ingenuity we have always had in time of crisis?

"It will be interesting to see what the pain threshold of the American people will be before real action is taken. In the meantime, don't count on the president or the auto industry to do anything soon."

He's got it all wrong. It's not that GM has refused to make the hybrid cars that the American public wants. GM hasn't made hybrid cars because the American consumer hasn't wanted them. For thirty years, since the first OPEC oil embargo, we've heard big talk about switching to gas-sipping vehicles, but evidently we've never reached th "pain threshold," because the American consumer has continued to show a preference for gas-guzzlers.

And that's at least partly because the government HAS done something, acting to try to satisfy our demand that gas prices stay low. If the U.S. had instead adjusted to higher oil prices, as discussed in my previous post, we likely would now be driving more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The letter writer demands two conflicting results: that the government hold gas prices down, and that people drive more fuel-efficient vehicles. But those two demands conflict. It's like building more lanes on the freeway, but simultaneously building up the public transit system. If you want people to use that public transit, you have to let the roads get congested. And if you want people to choose more fuel-efficient vehicles, you have to let the price of fuel go up.

To summarize, if you want GM to make hybrids or other fuel-efficient vehicles, you have to start at the beginning of the chain. Let gas prices go up with the market. Then, more people will want to buy fuel-efficient cars. Then, GM will want to make more fuel-efficient cars. That's how market forces work. And market forces work well, if they're given the chance.

One more thing: despite the high cost of "petrol" in England, I didn't notice any hybrid cars.

Monday, April 11, 2005

And You Think Gasoline Is Expensive Here?
One thing I noted right away in England was the price of gasoline, or "petrol." On March 30, the day I left the U.S., the gas price in St. Paul had spiked to $2.25 a gallon. That's the highest price I'd ever seen. I'm told that shortly after I left, the price jumped again, to $2.35

Meanwhile, in England, petrol was going for 80-85 pence per liter. Sounds cheap to you? Let's do some math. Turn the liters into gallons. Then convert the Pounds into Dollars. That's about $6.50 per gallon!

And we're complaining?

Well, it's a timely topic, because Ed Lotterman had a good commentary on petroleum prices in his Sunday column. Lotterman says we'd be better off if we recognized that petroleum costs money, and adjust to that fact, instead of assuming that oil should be cheap and expecting the government to do something to keep the price down.

I agree.

Saturday, April 9, 2005

I'm Back!
Now it can be told. I've been to England to see the Queen. She says "Hi!" (That always cracks 'em up over there.) As a matter of fact, I did visit Windsor Castle my first day there, and the Queen was in residence.

Today, Prince Charles finally got married. But consider this:

Revenge of the Papacy

1532: Henry VIII, King of England, breaks with the Roman Catholic church, which won't grant him a divorce.

2005: Pope John Paul II dies, forcing Prince Charles of England to postpone his marriage to a divorcee.

As they say, revenge is a dish best served cold. But nearly 500 years?

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Dinner's in the Freezer!
I'm embarking on a special mission that will keep me from adding new content for about a week and a half. But don't worry, I'm not going to let you starve. I've left you some food for thought, along with some desserts. Just click on the link for each day, and you can pace yourself while I'm away. Or, if you're a glutton, just read 'em all at once. Just don't forget to come back again! My adventure should provide plenty of ideas for future posts.

March 30 Use Up Theirs First

March 31 Kids Need the Thrill of Risk-Taking

April 1 Stars Unite Behind New Auto

April 2 Not Discrimination

April 3 What Dog Are You?

April 4 We Think We've Got It So Rough

April 5 Bust-Up (Laughing)

April 6 Who's On First? Video Rental Version

April 7 And the Bride Wore an European -American Dress!

April 8 Should Murder Be Legal?

That oughta about do it!

Is That a Threat? Watch Your Back, Mark Yost
St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist Mark Yost raised some hackles today, merely by pointing out the obvious: a unarmed security guard is of little use against a kid hellbent on shooting up his school and killing people.

Sure, maybe Yost got a little carried away, suggesting that not only the guards should be armed, but some teachers should be packing, too. But I thought he was just exaggerating to make his point. Here's my favorite paragraph from Yost:

The question we should be asking is: Why have school shooters been so successful at murdering our children? The simple answer is that often times no one else in school has a gun. This literally makes our kids sitting ducks.

That's a great point. If you want to shoot lots of people, what better place than somewhere where you know you're the only one with a gun? That's what's so ridiculous about the those "guns banned on these premises" signs that proliferated after Minnesota made it easier to get handgun carry permits. If you're a bad guy -- who doesn't care what the sign says -- what better place to rob and kill people than some establishment which makes law-abiding people leave their guns outside?

As I said, Yost raised some hackles. In a case of extraordinarily good (and bad) timing, I attended a St. Paul School Board meeting today. One of the board members was quite upset with Yost, and was heard to exclaim, "He's the one that should be shot!"

Well, I don't think it was meant literally. But who knows? No one thought Jeff Weise was being literal about his intentions to shoot up his school, either. People say things they don't really mean all the time. Probably even Mark Yost.

In fact, I'd bet that even way, way back when I was a teenager, kids who were having a bad day used to say things like they'd like to blow up the school. Maybe I even said such a thing myself. But of course, it wasn't meant literally.

So how do we tell? How do we tell when someone really means it? How do we find a middle ground between ignoring kids who say they're planning a shooting spree, and expelling kids who merely point a finger at someone and say "bang"?

(I say this is also bad timing, because just when I have a juicy bit like this to report, I'm about to take a break from writing to undertake a special project. Don't worry, I'm going to leave some goodies for you.)

Liberal "Theocracy" Doubletalk
As I was pointing out yesterday, there are living among us those who think religious people should have to sit on the sidelines during public policy debates, UNLESS the religious people favor liberal policies.

Shortly after writing that post, I picked up a copy of the Metro Lutheran, a monthly paper published in the Twin Cities. A front page story carries the headline, "Mainline leaders call U.S. budget proposal unjust." (Liberals always seem to think we should heed the wishes of "mainline" churches; in contrast to the way they generally think we should refer to the wishes of minorities.)

Remember all those letters to the editor complaining about how President Bush wants to impose a "theocracy?" Well, get a load of this. Here's the Metro Lutheran story:

Leaders of five mainline denominations with a combined membership of over 20 million have called President George W. Bush's proposed 2006 budget "unjust."

Speaking together at a Washington, D.C., press conference on March 8, the elected leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Church invoked Luke's Gospel story of a poor man named Lazarus. The New Testament story tells of him lying at the gate of a rich man who ignores his needs. When both die, the former goes to heaven, the latter to hell.

Said the leaders' joint statement, "The 2006 Federal Budget that President Bush has sent to Capitol Hill is unjust. It has much for the rich man and little for Lazarus."

The statement was signed by Bishop Mark Hanson (ELCA), Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick (Presbyterian), President John H. Thomas (UCC), General Secretary James Winkler (UMC) and Bishop Frank Griswold (Episcopal).

In a separate statement, ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson said, "We believe that the Administration's proposed federal budget priorities stand in contradiction to biblical tradition. If enacted, it will be truly devastating for people living in poverty -- in this country and around the world."

Each of the other four leaders also spoke.

OK, tell me again: Who wants to create a "theocracy"? Who is it that wants to base the government on their religious beliefs? Who wants to look to the Bible, not the Constitution, to run the country?

It's the liberals. I've just shown you. In their own words.

They're Out There: First Amendment in Jeopardy
There are some very confused people out there. In a letter to the editor in my Sunday St. Paul Pioneer Press, one Mark Hanlon of Eagan tries to explain his views regarding the First Amendment and establishment of religion. He concludes with:

"Continued efforts to change the Constitution (state and federal) to exclude gays and lesbians from the right to equal access to the law (guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment) do, in my view, violate the First Amendment because the impulse behind doing so is specifically religious."

Ay-yi-yi! This is dangerous ground, folks! (And forget that he mentioned gays and lesbians; it doesn't matter what specific topic we're talking about here.)

Mr. Hanlon suggests that if he judges your opinion in a public policy matter to be linked to your religious beliefs, then you should have no standing to take part in the debate.

How far is that from saying that people with religious beliefs -- or people with certain religious beliefs -- MAY NOT VOTE? Maybe only people who belong to the state church should be allowed to vote?

Isn't that EXACTLY what the First Amendment was created to prevent? Yes, it is. And this great thinker wants to use the First Amendment to bring about exactly what the First Amendment was created to prevent! He would disenfranchise you based on your religion. Based on his "interpretation" of the First Amendment, only atheists have a place at the table in our democracy.

If this doesn't demonstrate the bastardization of "freedom of religion" into "freedom FROM religion," I don't know what does.

I wonder just how consistent Mr. Hanlon would be with this great idea of his? Would he throw out the civil rights legislation of the 1960s? If he'll study up a little, he'll find there were churches pushing for an end to segregation in the South, and the passage of civil rights laws. A leader of the movement was even a Christian minister. Maybe Hanlon has heard of him. He's quite famous. He even has his own federal holiday.

Would Mr. Hanlon say it's unconstitutional for government to help the poor? There are plenty of religious groups who lobby for increased government aid to the poor and homeless. According to Mr. Hanlon's logic, that would mean helping the poor is unconstitutional.

Maybe you're saying, "But Dave, there are also other, non-religious reasons to help the poor and to treat all races fairly You can't disregard a good idea just because some religious beliefs support it, too." That's right. Just like there are non-religious reasons to oppose abortion or same-sex marriages, too. But when it comes to those issues, people who think like Mr. Hanlon tell us that any link to religious belief disqualifies those who disagree with them.

[Related post: Everyone Loves Jesus (For Political Purposes)]

Lotterman on Health Insurance
Some interesting thoughts about health insurance in Ed Lotterman's most recent column. Lotterman asks, if we put more responsibility for their own care into the hands of patients, "Can we trust people to know when to go to the doctor?" It's a classic example of the struggle between the desire to give people freedom to look out for themselves, and the urge to take care of them. (Related post: Meet the New Medical Insurance Plan; Same As the Old Medical Insurance Plan )

One school of thought says that if we give people more responsibility for paying for their own health care, they'll become more responsible consumers, and spend less in the long run. The competing school of thought says that if people pay out of pocket, they'll avoid preventive care that would pay off in lower costs in the long run.

Like the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention costs less than a pound of cure. But strangely, it seems that the emphasis on fully-covered preventive care has coincided with run-away health care costs.

And to some people, the notion that spending more for health care now will save money in the long run is as strange as other people find the idea that cutting tax rates now will increase total tax revenues in the future.

One problem I have with the "ounce of prevention" school of thought is this: When someone else will pay for the "pound of cure," anyway, where's the incentive to take the "ounce of prevention," even if it doesn't cost you anything out of pocket?

An analogy: A new car comes with free oil changes. But it also comes with a lifetime warranty on the engine -- regardless of whether you bother to get the oil changed.

Where's the incentive to change the oil? Just let it go until the engine blows up. Someone else will pay to fix it then.

You can clearly see, in that analogy, that the owner of the car needs to bear some responsibility, if costs are going to be controlled. I think it's the same with paying for health care. If the consumer doesn't bear some responsibility, we'll never get costs under control.

You Know You're Getting Old --"Friends with Benefits"
There are lots of signs that a guy is getting old. There's the first time you realize a beer would really taste good, but you don't want the alcohol. There's when you see a pretty young thing and her mother, and it's the mother your eyes are drawn to. There's shaking your head because the popular teenagers are wearing fashions that used to get someone labeled as the biggest geek in school. There's hearing a promo for "Saturday Night Live," and realizing that you've never heard of the guest host. Or the musical guest.

But perhaps the surest sign that you're crossing into the realm of the old and crotchety is when you start talking about the proverbial "What's wrong with kids these days."

Or is it?

Read this, which appeared in Harlan Cohen's syndicated advice column:

Dear Harlan:

I've got a neighbor with whom I'm "friends with benefits." My roommate knows nothing about this situation, and I do not want to tell her because she has been trying to enjoy our neighbor's "benefits." She'd be very angry if she found out. Lately, my neighbor has been hitting on my roommate and making some not-so-subtle suggestions that they should be involved in some hanky-panky of their own. It grosses me out and angers me to think that he wants to have those types of relations with both of us. He does not understand why this bothers me. I do not want a serious love relationship with him, because he is a MAJOR player and I do not want to get hurt. I would like to continue the "friends with benefits" thing, but only if he stays away from my roommate. He can be with other people, just not someone so close to home. Should I end it, or tell my roommate and let him face her wrath?

(signed) Scamming Friend

I've been hearing about this concept of "friends with benefits" for several years now. I'm not sure how long it's been around, but it's developed since I was in college, almost 20 years ago. Back then, people had "one night stands" -- no more admirable, of course, but less complicated -- after which they felt some shame or embarrassment, and that was the end to it.

But this "friends with benefits" concept looks like an attempt to turn the "one night stand" into an open-ended run.

I must say, the "friends with benefits" concept is a triumph of marketing. Friends are good, right? And "plus benefits" -- that's got to be even better! This product would have been a tough sell with a more accurate name, say, "Girlfriend (or wife) with No Commitment."

And "friends with benefits" sounds so much better than what we used to call these people. For instance, the letter writer used to be known as a tramp, a slut, a skank, a whore -- you know, judgmental, old-fashioned terms like that.

And I'm not going to let the guy off easy, either. He's a cad, a heel, a jerk, a user, a potential two-term president of the United States. This guy is doing what some guys have always done -- if they could find willing partners (victims).

So, the difference is, while young men may have wanted to play the game this way for a long time, young women used to refuse. They demanded something more. What happened?

Is this the fruit of feminism? Empowering young women to be just as disgusting as young men?

We can see that the letter writer is confused. She says she doesn't want a serious relationship, yet she doesn't want to share the guy. She calls the guy "a MAJOR player," recognizing that HIS promiscuousness warrants a label, yet I wonder if she ever looks in the mirror and sees a "slut"? I think she's hoped all along that she could "change him."

You know what this girl needs? She needs to have some boundaries established for her.

They say kids need and want boundaries. Kids need and want parents to set limits and say no. Why do we think that changes when a person turns 18?

What this woman really needs is a society that tells her this "relationship" is not acceptable. A society that tells her she should drop the guy, and never get into such a situation ever again. A society that tells her the guy is doing something wrong, AND SO IS SHE. Better yet, she needed a society that told her all of this before she got into this situation. She needed a society that told her she needed to get into the guy's heart BEFORE she got into his bed.

I'm guessing she knew this situation was a loser from the start. All she needed was someone to back up her own conscience.

But because our society has "advanced" beyond the need to render judgments, we've allowed this young women to get herself into this situation.

We've failed her. Just as we'll continue to fail countless others -- our own children, even -- if we don't wise up.

(OK, OK, you're probably wondering how Harlan responded. Not as well as I wish he had. He told her to get out of this situation, but he didn't admonish her and tell her to never let it happen again.)

Here's Harlan's response:

Dear Scamming Friend:

He doesn't understand that you're bothered, because he has probably never listened to you. And he doesn't have any reason to; you're just another girl to have sex with.

Tell your roommate what's happening - not because he'll face her wrath (you might face some of it, too), but because he's treating you like a piece of meat and using you. Then, tell this guy that you are finished. He's no great prize. One last thing: There is a very real risk that your player could have left you some sexual souvenirs from the field. Herpes, HPV (human papillomavirus, the virus that causes genital warts), chlamydia, HIV and others can all spread without the person spreading it ever even knowing. Get checked.

Indians with Guns
While the nation is obsessed with what an Indian with a gun did at Red Lake High School, we may be overlooking the passing of another Indian famous for what he did with a gun.

(Please Note: Jeff Weise was a disturbed kid who just happened to be Indian, just as the Columbine shooters were disturbed kids who just happened to be white. There is no causal relationship.)

WWII veteran Ernest Childers died March 17 at the age of 87. Childers, a Creek Indian born in Oklahoma, received the Medal of Honor -- the highest military award for valor -- for his actions in Italy in 1943.

As a soldier, Childers was brave, tough, and crafty. He led a mission to rescue his men, and persevered despite a broken ankle. Relying on his wits, he tricked German machine gunners by throwing rocks at them, and captured another German soldier even after running out of ammunition.

Here's an excerpt from the obituary I read in the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

"I crawled back and told my men to lay down a base of fire over me," he told an interviewer. "You see, I had to crawl because of my broken ankle.... I couldn't tell that as I was crawling, I was crawling up a slope of a hill. I came up behind one of the German machine gun nests that had us pinned down."

As the Germans were turning their machine guns toward Childers, he shot them dead.

From his position, he saw a second nest and pitched in rocks to frighten the men manning it. "I assume they thought it was a hand grenade, because nobody throws rocks," he said.

When the Germans leapt out, he shot the first. Another U.S. soldier killed the second man.

According to his Medal of Honor citation, Childers single-handedly captured an enemy mortar observer at a house farther up the hill. He later wrote a fuller description of what happened:

"The German must have been watching the action, because when he came out toward me, I was on my knees training my 30-caliber carbine on him. I was yelling to one of my men, 'Take him prisoner!' My sergeant yelled back, 'Shoot the bastard!' I yelled, 'I can't. I'm out of ammunition.' "

"My body," he added, "was wet with sweat since the German was fully armed, and I was holding an empty rifle on him. That German was the only surviving German in the entire action of that day."

It's a great story. Read the full obituary. (You'll have to scroll down to it.)

And here's a web page about Childers.

That web page links to another interesting obituary.

Did you know FIVE Americans of Indian heritage were awarded the Medal of Honor for service during the past century? Three in WWII, and two in Korea. Read about them, too.

Friday, March 25, 2005

My Privileged Upbringing
Did you know I had a privileged upbringing? I was privileged to have two (married) parents, who showed me that education and hard work are important. My family didn't have a lot of money, but I didn't even realize it at the time. We had what we needed. It was only when I went off to college that I found out some people "needed" a lot more than we did.

I mention this to build upon yesterday's comments. While our "War on Poverty" and "Great Society" programs have thrown money at people, they haven't succeeded, because family is more important than money. And unfortunately, it looks like our well-intentioned government programs have only facilitated the deterioration in families.

Likewise with schools. We keep hearing that schools need more money, more money, more money. What they really need is kids who come to school without being screwed up by dysfunctional families. But rather than demand more from ourselves, we'd rather blame someone else -- the school isn't doing enough to raise my kid!

Expecting the schools to repair the damage of a screwed-up society is a waste of time and money. The schools can't do it. We have to stop the rot before the kids get to school. But, wait We can't be judgmental! We can't impose our values on someone else!

There's a simple formula for success in this country: Finish school; get a job; get married; then, and only then, have children. Following this plan almost guarantees that you -- and your children -- can succeed.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Reservations and Projects
I'm writing from Minnesota, but I don't have any special insights for you into the Red Lake school shooting. The Red Lake reservation being in the news, however, reminds me of one of my observations regarding how the U.S. has dealt with people whose race is "different."

The U.S. has been remarkably consistent in dealing with non-whites. We solved the "Indian problem" by shunting the natives off onto reservations, effectively saying, "Don't say we never gave you nothin'. Now, we never want to see you again."

So, the original Americans languished on reservations, living in poverty, with no good job prospects, suffering from rampant substance abuse, and trapped in a circle of failure.

When the Great White Father saw how well that turned out, he expanded the program. He built high-rise urban "reservations" for the black folks, and told them, "Don't say we never gave you nothin'. Now, we never want to see you again."

So, the black Americans languished in "the projects," living in poverty, with no good job prospects, suffering from rampant substance abuse, and trapped in a circle of failure.

Any volunteers to be next? How about it? Jews? Asians? Anyone?

What I'm saying is, we haven't been doing folks any favors.

As a middle-class white guy, I'm really reaching beyond my own experience and expertise here, but what the heck. Like they say, on the Internet, no one knows you're a dog. So I'll give it a try.

In many ways, it looks to me like black Americans were better off decades ago, before we implemented all these helpful social programs.

Sure, SOME blacks have risen to heights not possible before, and we've gone a long way toward eliminating official and de facto discrimination. I don't want to throw out the baby with the bath water. But when I look at, for example, the history of the black community here in St. Paul, Minnesota, I see a lot of progress that is anything but.

For instance, it looks to me like decades ago, while blacks undeniably had less money than whites, often had less desirable jobs than whites, and lived in less posh parts of town than whites, the simple fact was that black people and white people didn't live so differently (It was a difference of degree, if you will.). It was pretty much the norm for people with any color skin to have a home, a family, a job. People with any color skin owned businesses, though they might be in different parts of town. Children with any color skin had fathers to raise them, and the fathers were married to the mothers.

So what went wrong? Why -- after all the money spent, all the urban renewal conducted, all the legislation passed, and all the social programs created -- do MOST black children find themselves born to single mothers, who often are also too young, unemployed, and dependent on the government? Why is it that so many young blacks can find no prospects for gainful employment? Why are so many young black men in prison? Why? Why? Why?

Critics of the war in Iraq say it's a failure, and we should stop spending good money after bad. What about the four-decade long "war on poverty?" Are we getting a good return on that investment?

It sure doesn't look like it to me.

I say, let's figure out what will ACTUALLY HELP minorities, and do that. Enough politically correct speeches and pandering to voting blocs. Let's spend my tax money to HELP PEOPLE, not to enslave them on the government plantation.

But what do I know? For a (conservative) black American's interesting perspective on black culture, read Cobb at http://www.mdcbowen.org/cobb/archives/003631.html

Inhumane
I haven't written anything about Terri Schiavo. Others are doing plenty of that. But I'd just like to share with you an observation from my recent personal experience.

In January, we had our 16-year-old cat, Bruno, put to sleep. The X-rays indicated he likely was full of cancer. He had stopped eating, and he was seriously dehydrated and starving.

The vet said we had to do something; it would be inhumane to let him die like that.

No Border, No Nation
When did it become a controversial idea that a nation should know and control who is crossing over its borders?

The very definition of a nation is that it has borders. Since the very beginning, nations have protected themselves by identifying those who are and those who aren't that nation's citizens. Those who aren't, are automatically suspect. It behooves a nation to identify those who aren't, and to know what the outsiders are up to.

However, some in this country think that idea is outdated. They think it's "mean-spirited" or "racist" to protect our own borders against unauthorized intruders.

But if a nation fails to control its borders, how long before it fails to be a nation?

I'm not saying we shouldn't allow any immigration. There are two separate issues here. The first is that a nation control its own borders, so it knows whenever anyone enters the country. Once that is done, a nation then can address the issue of how much immigration to allow. But our current policy seems to be, well, anarchy. Anyone who can, is allowed to cross the border. Then we even talk about how, since they're here already, we might as well let them stay. Oh, and while we're at it, let's get them signed up for government benefit programs. Get them good and entrenched.

Here's a story, by Tom Hundley of the Chicago Tribune, that should be a lesson to the United States and the rest of the world. The Dutch have long had a very liberal immigration program. Now they're having regrets. Their welcoming policy toward immigrants has brought them a Trojan Horse of Muslim immigration. While the diverse, tolerant, and open-minded Dutch were supporting these newcomers with government handouts, the newcomers were busy recreating the Middle East in the Netherlands. Now, the chickens have come home to roost.

Saying Men/Women Different OK, As Long As Women Are "Superior"
Am I the only one who can see this link? As I wrote last Friday, while the faculty at Harvard were busy calling for the resignation of Harvard president Lawrence Summers -- who had the audacity to wonder whether there might be differences between men and women -- the science journal "Nature" was publishing a report that said men and women were even more different than we had previously imagined.

Geneticists studying the X chromosome came to the conclusion that men and women are so different from one another, that we should talk of two human genomes, rather than one. In addition, they said that men are actually closer to chimpanzees, genetically speaking, than we are to women.

But I have yet to hear anyone link this to Summers.

Today, I finally see someone taking notice of this genetic study. But it's New York Times columnist and faithful liberal Maureen Dowd, who seized upon the findings of the study not to say that, yes, men and women are different, and we should cut Lawrence Summers some slack, but rather, to point out how women are SUPERIOR (yes, that word is used) to men! Dowd says these genetic differences explain men's shortcomings.

How condescending! Can you imagine the uproar if a man wrote an equivalent column about how genetics explains what he sees as women's shortcomings?

And to think that Summers got in trouble just for wondering if there might be differences!

Braham Bombers Win Back-to-Back Titles
They did it! My hometown high school -- the Braham Bombers -- won their second consecutive class AA (second largest of four) basketball title over the weekend. The team finished the season 33-0, and with an ongoing 58-game winning streak. It's the sort of thing that, as a high schooler myself, I could dream about, but I could never really expect to happen.

But now that it has happened, I have to say that it isn't everything I imagined. And the reason is clear. It's because the tournament has been so watered down.

The high school league went to four separate classes, with the idea that more kids would get the chance to participate in the state tournament. The trouble is, more kids get the "state tournament experience," but the "experience" is less than it used to be.

As an alumnus and a fan who now lives in the "big city," here's my personal disappointment: My hometown won the state championship, but nobody knows it! Used to be, the whole state knew who was the basketball champ. Now, there are so many classes, people can't keep track of it. A championship doesn't mean what it used to.

Plus, the media -- and the high school league itself -- act as though the biggest-school class is the "real" state tournament; the smaller-school classes are minor leagues, or opening acts.

Wasn't always the case. People still talk about 1960, when tiny school Edgerton won it all in the single class tournament. But no more.

One thing non-small town people may not understand is how much a successful high school team means to the identity of a small town. Even it you or your kids didn't attend the school, it's still your team. That's how everyone knows who you are -- that your town even exists! So to win a state title and feel like it gets lost in the clutter of multiple classes, it's a disappointment.

Apparently it's not the same in the Twin Cities metro area. People don't have the same attachment to town and school. Coincidentally, at Braham's championship game win I was seated next to a graduate of Richfield High School -- a first-ring suburb. Richfield was playing for the AAA title that evening. I asked if he'd be back for that game. No, he said, high school wasn't such a great experience. He didn't care what Richfield was doing now.

In contrast, Braham's team attracted a huge crowd to the tournament. People who live in Braham. People who grew up there and now live in the city (like me). I even saw some former teachers from my day, who had quit teaching and moved away from Braham, but came to see the Bombers play.

Now, all eyes turn toward next season. Twelve more wins to a state record!

But what I'd really like is a chance for Braham to play biggest-school class champ Hopkins, to determine the real state champ. Win or lose, I'd love to see that.

Baseball Players: Latest Example of Overgrown Kids
Today I saw yet another example of how children are helping me to see adult behavior for what it is. I'm going to have to make a list of these and put them on their own page.

This morning, I was trying to get my two children and some others from the neighborhood safely walked to school. Some of them took off in the wrong direction -- away from school -- to try to see what some firetrucks were up to. I told one of them to get to school, and his predictable, childish response was to argue, point to some of the kids who were out of my reach and say, "Why don't they have to?"

They did have to. But I had to start with someone. And that someone was the person closest to me.

Just because someone else is doing something wrong doesn't mean it's OK for you to do it, too. Isn't that a lesson we teach children?

So it hit me like a performance-enhanced fastball when I picked up the sports section later and read about the baseball players who appeared before Congress on Thursday. The story said baseball players are complaining that they are being singled out, when other team sports -- such as football -- and even professional wrestling are also steroid enhanced.

Sorry, gentlemen, I'm not buying it. Didn't you learn as children that just because everyone's doing it, that doesn't make it right?

Minnesota Culture is Anti-Bus
I wrote yesterday about the trouble in trying to make the bus system succeed in the Twin Cities. One challenge facing the bus here is a culture that looks down its nose at public transportation. Overwhelmingly, public transit here is seen as something for poor people, or for people who "have to" take the bus.

(The one advantage of light-rail is that it's sexier. It's sold as being high-tech and trendy. Some people who would never use the bus are excited to ride the train. Still, $1 billion is a lot to spend just to overcome transportation bigotry.)

In some cities, using public transportation is seen as a normal, good thing to do, even for people who don't "have to" do it. But not here. The cultural difference is well-illustrated with a quote in a news story about plans to cut bus routes in the Twin Cities.

"'I'm from New York, and that's why I don't drive,' said Debra Sullivan of Minneapolis. She rides two buses from her home to reach the hub in Roseville, where she then takes the Route 225 circulator the rest of the way to work.

"'This is a good transit system,' she said, 'but if they make more cuts, people may not want to move here.'"

Debra, maybe it's possible that some people wouldn't want to move here because the bus system isn't good enough. You'd know that better than I. But the typical Twin Cities resident, given his or her attitude toward bus riding and bus riders, would respond: "Good. We don't want those people moving here, anyway."

Study: Men and Women Are VERY Different
While the great minds of Harvard are busy tarring and feathering Harvard president Lawrence Summers, because he merely asked whether it was possible that differences between men and women might help explain why more men than women study and work in the sciences, a study published this week in the journal Nature says that men and women are EVEN MORE DIFFERENT THAN WE'D EVEN IMAGINED. I read about this in a Los Angeles Times story, which was reprinted in my local daily, the St. Paul Pioneer Press -- but buried on page 8!

Genetic research found large differences not just between men and women, but large differences from one woman to another. Read these excerpts from the news report:

"Females can differ from each other almost as much as they do from males in the behavior of many genes at the heart of sexual identity, researchers said."

"The analysis also found that the obsessively debated differences between men and women were, at least on the genetic level, even greater than previously thought."

"All told, men and women may differ by as much as 2% of their entire genetic inheritance, greater than the hereditary gap between humankind and its closest relative - the chimpanzee."

"'In essence,' [Duke University genetics expert Huntingon] Willard said, 'there is not one human genome, but two - male and female.'"

Maybe we aren't from two different planets, but according to this, we're almost two different species!

The study also bears out something else that we've known all along: Women are complicated.

"Though there is dramatic variation in the activation of genes on the X chromosomes that women inherit, there is none among those in men, the researchers reported.

"Researchers have yet to understand the effect of so many different patterns of gene activation among women or determine what controls them, but all the evidence suggests that they are not random.

"'What had looked like a simple yes or no has turned into a thousand shades of gray,' said molecular biologist David Page, an expert on sex evolution at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass."

St. Paddy's Confusion: I'll Stick with Being an American
St. Patrick's Day has gotten complicated for me. I used to think that with a surname that's not only English, but closely linked to the English government ("10 Downing Street" being the English equivalent of "The White House"), maybe I shouldn't even leave the house on March 17.

But then, a relative pointed out that the family came from Cornwall. And the Cornish aren't really English, they are Celts, like the Irish. And, historically, the Cornish hate the English, too!

I think I'll just stick with being an American.

Adults Need to Be the Adults
We hear a lot of complaints about the behavior of young people. What we forget is that we have the power to do something about it. We adults have to exercise that power. The kids need someone to remind them when they cross the line. Sometimes, it's as simple as that.

I went to the state basketball tournament today. After watching my hometown win a tough battle, the wife and kids and I stuck around to watch the next game. We found ourselves surrounded by fans from one of the schools playing in the second game. As the game began, I heard foul language coming from the teenage boys seated behind us. They worked their way through the alphabet and increased their volume, and soon I'd had enough. So I turned around and told them, in an authoritative manner:

"Boys, your language reflects on your entire town and your school. Please watch what you say."

They responded with sheepish looks and heads nodding in agreement. That was the end of the problem. I heard no more profanity for the rest of the game.

I felt very powerful. I didn't realize it was that easy. I was glad to see that teenagers will still straighten up their act when told to by an adult. Even an adult they don't know.

And in this case, it was important that I TOLD THEM to stop; I didn't ask them. I didn't say, "Your language might bother some people, OK? So if you don't mind, could you watch it a little, OK?" No, I let them know, in no uncertain terms, that their behavior was unacceptable.

(It probably didn't hurt, either, that for all they knew, I was from their town, and I might know their parents. That's one of the differences between a small town and the Big City. Here in the Big City, kids assume they are protected by their anonymity.)

I wonder if we could bring about other needed changes, just by letting people know their behavior is unacceptable? I think we could. Call me old-fashioned (really, please do, I don't consider it an insult), but I think the best thing we could do to fight the plagues confronting our children -- divorce, out-of-wedlock births, single-parent (or serial-father) households, poor parenting -- is to simply say, "This is not acceptable." But we don't want to be "judgmental" anymore. No, we have to be accepting of different "lifestyles." Well, B.S., there's bad, and there's good. And we shouldn't hesitate to point out the difference.

(Read my essay on the Power of Stigma.)

Bus. Stop. We're Going the Wrong Way
I think I'll just put up a permanent link on Thursdays and Sundays, saying, "Read Ed Lotterman."

Today, my favorite economics columnist gives us his take on the economics of bus systems. Here in the Twin Cities, our local bus agency is about to implement yet another round of service cuts and fare increases. They have to do this to cut costs, because ridership is down and the agency is losing too much money.

The trouble is, cutting routes and raising fares is certain to result in further ridership declines. And guess what that will mean? Yep, you got it. Another round of service cuts and fare increases in the future.

My brother Dan the farmer once gave me his prediction on this. He said that eventually, the bus system will be reduced to one bus, with one customer, an eccentric millionaire who will pay whatever it costs to ride the bus.

(Wouldn't it be ironic if that wealthy rider was billionaire banker and Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad, who is often vilified for destroying the Twin Cities beloved streetcar system?)

Farmer Dan also suggested that, if the bus -- and people using the bus -- serves a public good, we shouldn't charge a fare at all. Make it free, he said, like the library or the park. That would encourage more people to use it. That's what we want, right?

Dan makes a lot of sense, and he lives a long way from a bus line. Now, how about a system of free tractors...?

Bill Cosby, Leonard Pitts Jr., and Me
Leonard Pitts, Jr. is one of my favorite newspaper columnists. He writes for the Miami Herald, but I see his columns occasionally in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. I don't know how many of you are familiar with his work, but he should be no secret. He won the 2004 Pulitzer for commentary.

Like another one of my favorite columnists, economist Edward Lotterman, what I like about Pitts is that he tells it like it is. He doesn't approach each column from the perspective of defending an established political position. He really thinks about a subject, and then he shares his findings.

That's important, because Pitts is black, and he frequently writes on topics related to race. But unlike most black writers I read in the paper, he isn't afraid to tell black people to look in the mirror instead of pointing a finger. At the same time, he isn't afraid to tell white people that they bear responsibility for black people's problems, too.

As a white guy, I feel that I can trust Pitts to give me the straight dope. I like that his thoughts about racial matters often validate my own. Yet, other times, he challenges me to examine myself, and he teaches me something in the process. When he says I should look in the mirror instead of pointing a finger, I take it to heart, because I know he's given it some thought. I can't dismiss it, the way I dismiss the rants of less thoughtful writers.

Recently, Pitts wrote a column about Bill Cosby and his current "legal problem." Pitts related it all to hypocrisy, racism, and the need for blacks to take charge of their own uplift. I really liked what Pitts had to say. Here's an excerpt:

"I will put the obligatory disclaimer here. Racism exists. Racism oppresses. But after you acknowledge that, after you commit yourself to sounding the alarm and resisting it wherever it is found, what do you do next? Must black progress await the day racism no longer exists and oppresses? If so, it will wait a very long time.

"Cosby's achievement was to get black folks talking 'publicly' about our role in our own uplift, to encourage us to see ourselves not as passive victims of what white people do to us, but rather, as men and women capable of taking our fate in our own hands. The debate he sparked was difficult, healthy and 'needed.'"

Right on. That's the way I, a white guy, see it. But if the message is going to get out and take hold, it's going to have to come from a black guy. Like Pitts.

Despite the handicap of my skin color, I'd like to add my two cents. Here's what I'd say to black people, if they wanted the advice of a white guy who grew up on a farm in Minnesota and knows not what it's like to be black in America.

I'd say: The problems facing black America in 2005 come from two directions. One is racism. That can't be denied. The other is social dysfunction within the black community, and within black families. That can't be denied, either.

These two problems feed upon one another. Racism keeps black people down, pushing them toward self-destructive practices.At the same time, these self-destructive practices add fuel to racist thought. It's a vicious circle.

So, what can you do about it?

You can't change someone else. You can only change yourself. So pick yourself up. Improve yourself. Show those racists they are wrong. With each step in the right direction you can make for yourself, you'll be starving the fires of racism. As the power of racism is lessened, you'll find it easier to take bigger steps for yourself. With bigger steps, racism will be dealt bigger blows.

Instead of the vicious circle of racism and failure, we'll have an uplifting circle of success.

Simple? Yes. Easy? Not necessarily.

But I think it's the answer.

(You can find more Leonard Pitts, Jr. columns on the Miami Herald website, You may have to register. I did, because I'm going to start reading all of his columns, not just the ones reprinted in my paper.)

Revolving Door: Liberal Politicians, Local Government and Non-Profits
We hear a lot about the "revolving door" of Washington insiders. People go back and forth between government, and getting paid to lobby government. We hear complaints about politicians and their sweet deals in big business -- like Vice President Dick Cheney and Halliburton.

There's something similar going on here in St. Paul, Minnesota, only it involves (liberal) polticians, local government, and the non-profit sector. I'm not alleging any sort of grand conspiracy, but there's an interesting pattern that can't be denied.

Yesterday there was a special election to replace Ramsey Country commissioner Susan Haigh, who resigned after 10 years on the board. Haigh left her $60,000 a year, part-time commissioner gig to become head of the Twin Cities chapter of Habitat for Humanity. (Prior to election to the county board, Haigh worked as an attorney for the Met Council [a creature of regional government], a staff attorney in the Dakota County Attorney's office, and chief deputy in the Ramsey County Attorney's office.)

Winner of the special election was Toni Carter. Carter is a St. Paul public school teacher. In addition, she is a member of the St. Paul school board. She will have to resign that post, as school board members are not allowed to also hold another elected office. Before her current teaching job, Carter managed the Arts-Us program at Concordia University, operated her own marketing and communications firm, and worked 15 years for IBM.

Losing to Carter was Anne Harris, executive director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota. Harris previously was director of the Dorothy Day Center (which serves the homeless) in downtown St. Paul, was executive director of the St. Paul-Ramsey County Children's initiative, and as a lobbyist and consultant for Catholic Charities. Harris is also a former aide to Haigh while she was on the county board.

Maybe you're not impressed with my point. After all, Harris didn't win. Carter has private sector experience.

Yet, I'm struck with the idea that the three people involved here are making careers out of spending other people's money -- whether in government, the schools, or non-profits. It's a pattern we see all too often. I'd like our leaders to know more about the real world -- not just government and non-profits. Yes, we need government. Yes, non-profits are valuable.

But neither can exist without funding from the "real world" -- for-profit, free-market commerce. I want government leaders to know that money isn't just something given to you; you have to earn it. Or, if someone does give it to you, they had to earn it first.

Now, I'd just like to know how much this is costing the taxpayers for special elections. If people want an office badly enough to campaign for it, is it too much to ask that they serve out their terms before looking for greener pastures?

Minimum Wage Is Supposed to be Minimal
In an editorial backing an increase in the minimum wage, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes:

"People who go to work every day should be able to live on what they earn. No family can subsist on $5.15 an hour."

There's a really big assumption being made there -- that the minimum wage should be able to support a family. But who says that's the intent? Should we really set the minimum wage high enough to support a family of four? If we do, any teenager with a minimum wage job is going to be living pretty high on the hog.

How about this: Before you become responsible for supporting a family, get a job that pays more than minimum wage. Minimum wage is a starting point. Education, experience, hard work -- all of these are ways to "graduate" to higher paying jobs.

If we want the minimum wage to be able to support a family, what we're saying is we don't want people to have an incentive to stay in school, to better themselves through hard work, to earn promotions and higher pay rates. No, we're saying, Go ahead, drop out of school and get a job flipping burgers. You weren't planning on having more than two kids anyway, right? Don't worry, you'll be fine.

Hardly the recipe for a growing economy that raises everyone's standard of living.

If you haven't done so previously, read Edward Lotterman's take on the minimum wage. Ed's my favorite St. Paul Pioneer Press economics columnist (ha, ha). I like his columns because he says it like it is; he doesn't approach everything from the perspective of defending a certain political ideology. He has identified himself as a Democrat, but on economics, he seems like a classical liberal to me.

Those Who for the Bell, Toil
In another story dealing with wages, Taco Bell has agreed to spend an additional $100,000 a year on tomatoes, so that the farm workers who plant and harvest the tomatoes (not the farm owner; the hired workers) can be paid a little more money.

The $100,000 will go to about 1,000 farm workers. What? That's only $100 per person. Spread over the course of a year, that's a measly 5 cents an hour! But these folks must not work full time, because the story says they earn only about $7,500 a year. Even at minimum wage, they'd be making more than $10,000 if they worked full time.

So here's the $100,000 question: Why doesn't Taco Bell just hire these farm workers to work at Taco Bell? The workers would make more money that way. Second question: Why don't the farm workers tell the farm owner, "Adios, I'm off to work at (anywhere else)"?

Buyer, and Worker Beware
I really think that workers and consumers have to take responsibility for looking out for themselves. We don't need the government to "protect" us from everything, if we just use our free will and common sense to look out for ourselves more. (Read Edward Lotterman's column on mercantilism -- the petty regulation of commerce.)

Many of today's successful stores obviously aren't basing their formula on what I want, but they succeed nonetheless. I'm hardly a typical consumer. But that's just my point. If more people were like me -- refusing to accept what we're offered, holding out for what we want -- we'd be better served.

I'll give you an example. Recently, I had occasion to rent a movie. I seldom do that, because I know a secret -- the library loans them out for free! But after my son and I had seen the first two "Lord of the Rings" movies -- courtesy of my library card -- we were eager to see the finale, and the library didn't have it.

So we stopped at a highly-regarded, locally-owned video rental store, which was on the way to another errand we had to do. They had the movie, but I didn't get it. Rental was $4.50 (less if I paid for a membership), which I thought was high. Then I found out that there was a $3 fee to set up an account for first time customers. What? Don't they want to encourage new customers? If I ran the store, I'd offer "first rental free" to new customers.

But this was the straw that broke the camel's back: The clerk told me that first-time customers must pay with check, credit card or debit card. Evidently, they want a financial trail, so they can try to charge me again if I don't return the movie. I know, they have their security concerns. And they can run their business as they see fit. But I also have choices.

So I told the clerk, "I just came in to rent a movie. I don't want to take out a mortgage." And I left.

Next, we tried a nationally-known chain, which just happened to have a store right next to our other errand. A movie rental was $4, but first I had to fill out an application. The form asked for a credit card number. I thought, Do I want to give these people my credit card number for their computer, when I may never rent a movie here again? And once again, I walked out without the movie.

Finally, we went where we should have gone in the first place, a store where I had rented a few times before, but probably not for over a year. We found the movie near the door, gave the clerk our phone number so she could find us in the computer, paid $3 cash money, and we were on our way.

Is there any doubt where I'll go first next time?

My point is, consumers -- and employees -- have choices. For example, if you don't like expiration dates on gift cards, don't buy gift cards with expiration dates. We don't need legislators to protect us from expiring gift cards.

Don't be a sheep. You don't have to buy what they're selling. If you refuse to buy, they'll get the message. If they don't, someone else -- who does get it -- will take their place. That's how the free market works.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Gambling on Replacing One Vice with Another

Here in Minnesota, lawmakers at various levels are working furiously to ban smoking in all bars and restaurants. Advocates often focus on this as a workplace safety issue, saying employees of bars and restaurants should be able to breathe clean air while they work.

Meanwhile, some enterprising state legislators have now introduced a bill that would allow slot machines to be placed in bars. So, while we are worried about protecting bar employees from one hazard -- smoke -- which they knew about when they took the job, we are also considering subjecting them to another danger -- gambling addiction -- which they had no reasonable expectation of when they started working in the business.

Democracy -- it ain't always pretty.

Logic Should Be Part of a Liberal Education
Finally! My letter to the editor was published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press today. I've been waiting for publication of the letter to use as a springboard to further comment here on my Website. The editorial I was responding to ran 10 days ago. Newspapers really need to move faster if they want to compete with -- or forge a symbiotic relationship with -- the Blogosphere. You know, this might be a good example of how newspapers could incorporate the Blogosphere. How about if instead of me writing a conventional letter to the editor, and having it end there, they could have instead used my thoughts in brief, but directed readers to my blog for more? Hmmm...

Now, on to the topic at hand:

Writing in opposition to a bill intended to protect college students from the left-wing politics of their professors, the Pioneer Press opined: "We presume that both [sponsoring] legislators graduated from college. If this 'indoctrination' were really effective, surely the left-wing mind machine would have sucked both into progressive collegial groupthink long ago. And kept them there."

("We presume"? There's no "presume" in journalism. A few minutes on the Web was all it took for me to confirm that both legislators have degrees. Bachmann, in fact, has a law degree.)

Here's my response:

The Pioneer Press editorial board says we don't need a law to protect college students from the left-wing views of their professors. I agree. Such legislation risks creating more problems than it solves.

Nonetheless, I do agree with state Sen. Michele Bachmann and Rep. Ray Vandeveer that the halls of academia are rife with left-wingers. However, I think we can serve our young people better by simply acknowledging that fact and by telling students that their professors are merely humans with their own individual opinions and biases (and it's OK to disagree with them).

Professors aren't all-knowing. Neither do they have a monopoly on the truth. They can be wrong.

I have to ask, however, whether the Pioneer Press intends to maintain logical consistency. The paper points to Republicans and college graduates Bachmann and Vandeveer as proof that left-wing indoctrination is not a problem. I wonder, would the paper cite the existence of a couple of successful women or people of color as proof that there are no glass ceiling and no racial barriers?

In hindsight, I wish that instead of referring to the generic "couple of successful women or people of color" I had simply said "Oprah."

Nevertheless, I think I made my point. If you're going to dismiss the complaints of conservatives so lightly, then do the same with other interest groups with a grievance.

That would be consistent. That would be logical. Unfortunately, human beings being what they are -- even human beings who write for major daily newspapers -- consistency and logic can be hard to find.

Maybe what we need is an academic bill of rights that demands a right to learn how to think logically and critically.

Because there is a real shortage of logical consistency on this issue. Liberals, who complain that people are poorly served if a police force isn't racially diverse, or that students aren't properly educated if a teaching staff isn't racially diverse, have no sympathy for conservatives making a similar sort of complaint.

Meanwhile, conservatives, many of whom pooh-pooh complaints about the 10 Commandments on public property, or the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, want to use the force of law to protect themselves from views other than their own.

It's knee-jerk, line-up on pre-determined sides, don't even think about the issue. If the "other side" suggested it, it must be wrong.

I tried to give it some thought. Yes, I agree, most professors are liberals. Yes, I agree, that can make for some uncomfortable situations for conservative students. I think it's good we acknowledge the fact that the halls of academia are a liberal environment. But it doesn't necessarily follow that a law is required. That conservative college students might hear liberal thoughts that conflict with their own opinions is a fact I can live with. Isn't college all about ideas -- including new and different ones? (Well, unless you're Lawrence Summers, offending feminists, or Jada Pinkett Smith, offending gays. At Harvard, evidently, liberals feel they should be shielded from "offensive" opinions.)

The Pioneer Press ran my letter today in a bloc of letters on the subject. (That's one reason it took so long to be published; they're going with themes on the letters page these day. It's a good idea, but it sacrifices timeliness.) If you read the rest of the letters, you'll see an appalling shortage of reasoned thought. Instead, some letter writers rely on name-calling and cliches. (And I still haven't figured out what Republicans "taking the homes of the elderly" has to do with anything.)

And Then There's Laura
And then there's Pioneer Press columnist Laura Billings. Billings took on Bachmann's bill in a column, and almost persuaded me -- almost persuaded me to DISAGREE with her!

Yes, Laura and I both oppose the bill, but not for the same reasons.

Billings showed an almost total lack of logic in her column. To start with, she simply denies that liberals dominate college campuses. Sorry, but it's true. Just like white males dominate the boards of Fortune 500 companies. Facts are facts, even if they don't advance your political agenda, Laura.

Then, as evidence that there is no liberal bias from professors, she offers this:

"Since 1999, membership in the College Republican National Committee has tripled. The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, which has tracked the attitudes of college freshmen since the mid-1960s, has noted a rising conservative sentiment among students, reflected in significant drops in campus support for legal abortion, gun laws and the idea that wealthy people should pay a larger share of taxes."

Laura, that doesn't prove that professors aren't overwhelmingly liberal. No, what it indicates is just how wide the gap between liberal professors and the student body really is. And if membership in the College Republicans is rising, that may in fact indicate a growing backlash against left-wing indoctrination.

But the most ridiculous part of her column is the very idea that Laura Billings considers herself qualified to decide whether or not conservatives have a beef. If a group of women, or a particular ethnic or racial group, says they are being "offended" or suffer from a "hostile environment," sympathetic old Laura will usually be the first in line to call for more sensitivity, tolerance and diversity. But let the conservatives complain and...well, they have nothing to complain about. End of story.

How is liberal Laura Billings qualified to decide what offends conservatives? As a White male, I'm not allowed to decide what offends women, gays, Blacks or Indians... or even what offends liberals. I'm supposed to take THEIR word for it.

Why should Laura Billings get to decide what offends me?

Meet the New Medical Insurance Plan; Same As the Old Medical Insurance Plan
Here's a story about a "new" concept in medical insurance. It's referred to here are "Do it yourself insurance." (Perish the thought! Someone taking care of himself?) You pay your own expenses up to a certain limit, but you also buy insurance that will kick in if expenses really get out of hand. Strange, looks to me an awfully lot like the way people paid their medical bills 25 years ago, before we got the funny idea that we could conjure up a system where everyone got unlimited medical care, but no one ever had to pay for anything.

Now, the pendulum may be swinging back the other way, as we look for ways to contain escalating medical costs. Ironically, critics of the new-old system are quoted saying that it will discourage people from seeking preventive and minor care, which will increase costs in the long run when people need major care down the line (you know, an ounce of prevention...).

Funny thing is, the escalation in health care costs that everyone is so concerned about has coincided with an emphasis in preventive care. Reminds me of the way we are told that we have to fund ("make investments in") ever-growing social programs now, so that we don't have to pay more for crime and prisons down the line. You'd think after 40 years of the Great Society we'd have no problems left. No such luck. We just keep getting asked for more money for more social programs.

(Read my thoughts on how things go 'round in circles.)

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Just A Big Kid
As I've noted before, the trials of parenthood have also given me new insights into adult behavior. I had a couple of cases here in the last two days where I tried to impress upon my son that the really serious problem wasn't what he had initially done, but what he had done afterward -- not telling the truth, or trying to sneak off when I was talking to him.

It occurs to me that the real problem with Vikings football coach Mike Tice is similar. Maybe we don't really care if he scalped his Super Bowl tickets. That's not such a big surprise.

What's really maddening about Mike Tice's behavior is that he lied. He knew the rules. He promised not to scalp the tickets when the league sold them to him. Yet he went ahead and did it, anyway. Then, when confronted with his crime, he lied again, denying his actions.

Of course, he's in "good" company. The names Nixon and Clinton spring to mind.

And His Vote Counts Just As Much As Mine?
"When we consider inflation, Social Security is a bargain, because the premiums we pay in withholding have increased only about six times from 2 percent to 12.4 percent in about 65 years. In the same time, new car prices and new home prices have increased more than 33 times or more. Minimum wages have increased more than 24 times."

From a letter to the editor, in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 12, 2005.

What an idiot! (It's not unkind if it's true.) Why does the newspaper even print something this wrong, wrong, wrong?!

If the Social Security withholding RATE has increased by a factor of six, it's more accurate to say that Social Security withholding has increased at SIX TIMES the rate of inflation. Since withholding is a PERCENTAGE of wages, while the percentage stays the same, the actual dollar amount of withholding will increase as wages increase (in sync with inflation).

This guy must also be one of those boobs who says, "Of course we need to raise taxes. Everything costs more because of inflation, and the population is going up, so more people need government services."

Must I point out that, as wages go up with inflation, actual tax dollars collected (at a static percentage rate) also go up? And must I point out that as the population goes up, so does the number of people paying taxes?

There's no need to increase the RATE in order to maintain the status quo.

What would this guy have us do, at some time in the future, when prices are at a level 50 times what they were when Social Security began? Would he think 100 percent Social Security withholding on wages would then be "the same" as the 2 percent when the program started?

Consumer Products In, Garbage Out
Not so long ago, the sky was falling over what to do with our garbage. The landfills are filling! The landfills are filling!

Where would we put all of our garbage?

Now, there's a new problem. It seems we're selling "too much" of our waste paper to other countries!

In particular, China, which has few forests left, is hungry for American waste paper, to be made into new paper products. They're paying us for our garbage. They even pay to haul it halfway around the globe. What's wrong with that?

Put another way: We send them our garbage, they send us TVs. If you ask me, that's one heckuva deal!

Friday, March 11, 2005

That's the Ticket
As you've heard by now, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice is at the center of a ticket scalping controversy. Why does someone who makes that kind of money ($750,000, plus endorsements, TV show, etc.) risk his good name and trouble with the IRS for a few grand more?

Another thing I find astonishing: that a player or coach making a ton of money, presumably a guy with a busy schedule, then uses his available free time to appear in some TV commercial, or, worse yet, to hang out at some auto dealership, signing autographs.

How much money is enough for these guys? Evidently, they always want more.

With regard to scalping NFL tickets, I think it's another way that the overpaid, immature athletes and coaches are showing disrespect for the fans. A Super Bowl ticket is hard enough to come by for Joe Q. Footballfan. Now, Joe Q. finds out that players and coaches are snapping up many of the tickets to resell to scalpers, with no intention of going to the game. That makes it even more difficult for Joe Q. to get a ticket, unless he pays a scalper big bucks.

Some people think there's nothing wrong with ticket scalping. They say, let the market decide who ends up with the ticket. Let the person who values it the most get it. Reward a person who is resourceful enough to get his hands on a ticket, and who provides the service of getting it to a person who really, really ($$$) wants it.

There's some logic to that. But if that's the way to distribute tickets, then let's do it that way from the start. Let the guy who really, really wants the ticket -- instead of spending $2,000 to get a Super Bowl ticket from a scalper -- bid $2,000 to buy the ticket directly from the NFL.

That's right, let event promoters sell tickets to the highest bidders. Many times at a farm auction, things will be sold as "high bidder gets choice." For example, there might be a pile of various tools. The high bidder bids $10. The auctioneer asks, "How many do you want?" The high bidder then can take all the tools, at $10 each, or take as many as he thinks are worth $10. After the high bidder has had his pick, the auctioneer will re-bid the pile, or ask "Who'll give me $9?" The price will go down until everything is sold.

The NFL or a concert promoter might try something similar. The NFL could say, "We've got 60,000 Super Bowl tickets here, what'll you give us for them?" The top bidder then could either take all 60,000, or only as many as he wanted to use, or thought he could sell at a profit.

The top bidder likely wouldn't want them all, because anyone who wanted them all would have to get them at a low enough price to make reselling them profitable. The top bidder would likely be someone who wanted only a few, and needed to make darn sure he got them.

Interestingly, the bid prices wouldn't necessarily only go down as the tickets were snapped up. As fewer and fewer tickets remained up for bid, some prospective bidders, who had been waiting on the sidelines until the price dropped, might be forced, in desperation, to bid higher and higher to ensure that they didn't get shut out.

I saw something similar happen at a farm auction. There were about a dozen piles of firewood for sale. I was interested in the wood, but not for myself. I wanted to resell it. So I measured each pile, and wrote down how much I was willing to pay for it, based on what I could sell it for. I bought some piles, and passed on others. (Each pile was sold individually, as they were different sizes.)

There was one guy who was interested, but never bid. I overheard that his wife had told him he either had to buy some firewood, or go out and cut some himself. He kept sitting out the bidding, probably waiting for a bargain. Finally, there was one lot left. He had no choice but to bid. I didn't. By my measure, that ended up as the most expensive wood of the day!

I hope his wife was understanding.

Thursday, March 10, 2005

What's Best "For the Children"?
A good column today from Kathleen Parker, who asks Why can't we admit that it's good for a child to have both a mother and a father? The problem seems to be that stating that fact offends same-sex couples and single parents. Parker does a great job on the issue.

Parker suggests that it should be about what's best for kids, not about the feelings and political agendas of adults. I agree.

Kids have to come first. But I think it was in the 1970s that we started forgetting that. We started worrying about adults "finding" themselves. Now, the same people who want us to do everything "for the children" also tell us that "kids do best when mom is happy."

If that means mom works 60 hours a week, then leaves the kids home with a baby sitter while she goes to the gym, it's all for the best. Mom's gotta be happy.

And how about dad? Sure, he brought these kids into the world, but now he'd rather be spending his time with his new, younger girlfriend. Goodbye, mom and kids. It'll be best for you if dad is happy.

B.S.

When you have children, you're committed. Finish the job. It's not about you; it's about them. The most important thing you'll ever do in life is raise your kids successfully. That's more important than making partner, toning your abs, or forgetting about your receding hairline by boffing your secretary. Once you start with kids, you've got to follow through.

Suppose you're an airline pilot, guiding a plane across the ocean. But you're unhappy. You've decided you'd rather be a lion tamer. So you tell the passengers, "I'm not happy piloting this plane. And that's not good for you, either. So I'm going to jump out now. You'll be better off if I'm happy."

That's ridiculous. A pilot is committed to finishing the trip.

A parent should be, too.

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Let the Wealthy Tax Themselves?
We're beginning a new chapter in traffic management here in the Twin Cities, with a new system that will allow drivers to pay for access to what was previously a carpool-only lane. This development is befuddling a lot of people, because they can't figure out the politics of it.

For instance, some knee-jerk and cry out: "Elitist! This only benefits those wealthy enough to pay extra." Yet, on the other hand, that means only the "wealthy" will be paying this voluntary highway tax, the same critics believe in "tax the rich," and if the system works, everyone will benefit. By getting more cars into the paid lane, we reduce congestion on the other lanes. Those who drive in the regular lanes, and aren't paying any extra, should reap a benefit, courtesy of "the rich."

This seems like a good idea to me. And it's not just about "the wealthy." The cost isn't exorbitant; it will vary from 25 cents to $8 per trip, depending on time of day and congestion. Let people decide for themselves how much the convenience is worth to them.

For those populists worried about the "inequity" of this system, I'd compare it to private golf courses. Some people voluntarily spend their money to use private golf courses. They could use the public courses, like a regular Joe, but they spend money for the benefits of using a private course. By doing so, they leave the public courses alone, making more room there for you and me.

My favorite newspaper economist, Edward Lotterman, offers an economist's-eye view on congestion pricing.

Jesus Saves; Why Don't We?
In another recent column, Lotterman addresses the question of Why don't Americans save more? and debunks the notion that it's because we're taxed too much. I agree. (Not necessarily that we're not taxed too much, but that taxes aren't the reason we don't save.) Similarly, I don't buy the notion that families have to have two incomes because of high taxes. The two issues are linked.

The reasons we don't save more are cultural. Specifically, we want things, and we want them now. That's also why many families think they "need" two incomes. We like stuff. We want a high standard of living.

We love credit. We run up credit card balances, Governments borrow more money. Governments rely on gambling money. We want, we want, we want.... but we don't want to pay for it.

And our culture lets us get away with it. That's the messages we get. In so many situations, there are no consequences to not saving or not doing the right thing. Some examples:

When I was in college, I saw how a student who worked or saved "too much" was punished by having other student aid taken away. Lesson: Don't make the effort yourself; let the government do it.

I've seen it in farm programs. Over the years, many farmers voluntarily adopted practices to promote soil conservation. Some didn't, choosing to go for the short-term profit. After awhile, government programs offered money to these laggards if they would adopt the conservation practices. Lesson: You'll be rewarded for doing the wrong thing.

If someone goes into a nursing home, his savings can be consumed quickly, but then the government pays. But if someone has no savings, the government will just pay from the get-go. Lesson: Why save for yourself? Better to spend it at the casino while you're still healthy.

And then there's Social Security. This program has helped ingrain the message that it's the government's job to take care of you in your old age. Lesson: Don't worry about saving for your retirement, social security will take care of you.

Why don't we save? Why should we?

Happy Birthday to my friend Greg!

If There Are No Rules, How Do You Know If You're Any Good at It?
Thanks to a tip from blogger Craig Westover, I recently learned about the John Adams Society. The JAS is, I gather, a debating society of sorts. I'm now on their e-mail list, and I recently was notified of their upcoming March 16 meeting, the subject of which will be:

Resolved: Today's art is trash

From the JAS e-mail:

In galleries across the Western world there has been an increasing problem with the janitorial staff. They mistake the art for trash and throw it out. In 2001, a cleaner at a London's Eyestorm Gallery cleared away an installation by artist Damien Hirst, having mistaken it for a pile of rubbish. (The collection of beer bottles, coffee cups and overflowing ashtrays was said to represent the chaos of an artist's studio.) And in the 1980s the work of Joseph Beuys, which featured a very dirty bath, was scrubbed clean by a gallery worker in Germany.

The janitors are to be forgiven. Like the little boy in Anderson's the Emperor's New Clothes, only they see (or are willing to admit) today's art for what it is: sometimes literally, but almost always figuratively, garbage. From "The Gates" in Central Park to the atonal discord called modern orchestral "music'' (not to mention popular music), we must admit we live in a wasteland.

On the other hand, complaints about "today's art'' are timeless. Monet, Renoir, and Degas were barred from the Salon in Paris for violating the artistic norms of the time. Puccini's La Boheme was savaged for its focus on the ordinary. As a prophet has honor save in his own town, an artist is appreciated save in his own time. Wait fifty years and today's trash becomes tomorrow's treasure.

Tempting, but I won't be able to attend. I'll be rushing from swimming lessons to the Pinewood Derby that evening. (I've got a long list of things I'm gonna do when the kids become more independent.) But I thought I'd share some of my thoughts here.

Some would say, "If I can do it, it's not art." There's a lot of truth to that, although sometimes the real "art" of the piece is the inspiration behind it. Nonetheless, I wasn't impressed with the much publicized "gates" in New York recently. That seemed more like a handyman project than a piece of art.

A common thread you'll notice in many "modern" art forms is a total lack of rules. We've told ourselves that we want to be free to express ourselves, we don't want to be limited by some old rules. We don't want any restrictions. We don't judge ourselves on the art of the past.

But could it be we're just too lazy to practice and learn and develop actual talent?

Consider, if you will, various art forms. We now have abstract paintings that don't look like anything. Does that take more skill and training, or less skill and training, than painting a recognizable picture? We have modern, free-form dancing. Does that take less practice, or more practice, than dancing that follows specific steps? We have modern free-form poetry, with no rhyme and no meter. Does that take more work and creativity, or less work and creativity, than poetry that rhymes and has rhythm? We have rap music, which doesn't even require singing. Is that harder, or easier, than singing a song with actual notes and melody?

My point is, in all of these, our "modern" art form seems suspiciously like just taking the easy way out. Kind of like when I try to teach my kid how to properly hold a baseball bat, and he says, "No, it works better for me when I hold it like this." Sorry, but that's wrong. If you want to learn to do it properly, you'll have to learn to do it according to the established rules.

And that's the problem with all of these "modern" art forms. With no rules, no standards, anyone can do it! I shake my butt anyway I want to, and I'm a dancer. I splash some paint haphazardly on canvas, and I'm a painter. I string together some random words, and I'm a poet. I bark some words, and I'm a musician.

Is that all it takes to be an "artist"?

Next thing you know, any old blowhard will post his opinions on a website and call himself a journalist.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

Black Culture: She Said It, Not Me!
She's Black, Female, and Conservative -- the mainstream media's worst nightmare. LaShawn Barber offers a very interesting take on what it means to be a Black conservative.

She also points to contemporary Black culture, rather than discrimination, as the primary source of the problems plaguing American Blacks today.

I can't find anything to disagree with, and I'm really glad to hear her say what she did, because as a White guy, I can't say it. But I agree. Cultural pathologies within contemporary Black culture are the source of problems that continue to entrap each new generation.

Please note, I'm saying "contemporary Black culture." I do not suggest that Black people are racially incapable of a healthy culture. Far from it. But too many of today's Black Americans are the product of an unhealthy culture that dooms them to failure.

So again, just like when I wrote about the schools being expected to solve social problems, the answer lies in fixing the problems at the source -- with what the liberals dismiss as "judgmental" and "old-fashioned" conservative family values.

Yes, contemporary Black culture has been shaped in part by past discrimination -- as well as by the high-minded and well-intentioned, but often counter-productive, "Great Society" programs of the 1960s. But we have to get past that, and address the present situation if we are going to solve the present problems. What matters to an infant coming home from the hospital to a lawless and God-forsaken public housing project, with his 15-year-old soon-to-be drop-out mother, no father to be found, and no prospect for a safe, happy childhood, is not that eight generations ago his ancestor was a slave. Or even that three generations ago his ancestor had to sit in the back of the bus.

No, what matters to that infant is that litany of problems he faces in 2005.

Remember: She said it!

Monday, March 7, 2005

Good Money After Bad?
I see a theme developing in recent news stories.

It seems not enough people want to go to the Minnesota Zoo. So the Zoo says it needs more money from the state, in order to build new exhibits, to attract more visitors, to earn more money.

The Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth also suffers from low attendance. So the aquarium wants more public money, to build new exhibits, to attract more visitors, to earn more money.

Then there's the new light-rail line in Minneapolis. We've already been warned that this is just the first link in a bigger light-rail system. After all, we have to keep adding new attractions to a railroad, too.

It all starts the same way: some well-meaning soul really wants these things; they think they'll be good for us. Culture. Quality of life. World-class city. All that stuff.

But..the attendance never lives up to the projections. The project bleeds money. We hear, "Of course it's struggling. We have to keep adding to it to make people interested. What we've done so far was just a start."

Then we're stuck. We either cut our losses (highly unlikely, based on past experience), or we keep throwing more money at it. It starts to seem like we're throwing good money after bad.

Yes, there's room for public works and facilities, but we have to be realistic. Too many pipe dreams have been sold to the taxpayers. If we are going to spend the taxpayers' money to build the taxpayers something, let's give them something they'll use. Apparently, there isn't enough interest in aquariums and zoos to justify what it costs.

In comparison, sports stadiums might better serve the public.

Are Zoos Dinosaurs?
Maybe zoos just aren't practical anymore. With the modern zoo concept, it's an expensive proposition. Modern zoos take a lot of land, a lot of high-priced animal care, and extensive man-made "habitats." How are you going to pay for that? You can't do it with admission fees.

Once upon a time, zoos were compact exhibitions of exotic animals. People bought tickets, and the zoo owner made money. With little concern for keeping the animals in "natural" environments, costs were low.

But now that we've made zoos about animals, in