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William F. Buckley |
February 29, 2008
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ALL OF MY EXPERIENCES WITH WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY,
JR. WERE POSITIVE
In 1960, at the age of 19, I had recently, as a sophomore,
been elected President of the Harvard Student Council.
Bill Buckley invited me, by virtue of my achievement, to be
one of the principal speakers at the Fifth Anniversary Dinner of
National Review magazine held at the Waldorf Astoria in
New York City.
When I came under attack from Harvard liberals because of my
role in 1960 as a founder of Young Americans for Freedom and my
outspoken opposition to all forms of socialism, Communism, and
liberalism, Buckley wrote two columns in my defense which were
prominently placed in National Review magazine.
On a subsequent occasion, when I was doing all I could to aid
anti-Soviet Angolan Freedom Fighter Jonas Savimbi while the U.S.
State Department was doing all it could to limit Savimbi’s
ability to defend against the Marxist-Leninist military
onslaught, I asked Bill Buckley to write a column explaining the
issue and pressing the Reagan administration to overrule its
Left-wing Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Chester Crocker. Buckley accommodated me by letting me write the
column, which was dispatched under his by-line.
On every occasion I dealt with Buckley, the result was
positive, even though he and I had numerous policy differences,
involving such issues as CIA control of the U.S. National
Student Association and his support for the surrender of the
U.S. Canal and Zone in Panama.
I am grateful to have enjoyed Bill Buckley’s friendship. May
he rest in peace.
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President Bush's Top 10 |
February 22, 2008
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GWB’S STATE OF THE UNION: MORE OF THE SAME
Human Events (2/4/08) does a good job of delineating
the Top 10 Big-Government Requests in President Bush’s State of
the Union:
1. Keynesian Economic "Growth" Package
"This is a good agreement that will keep our economy
growing and our people working. And this Congress must pass
it as soon as possible."
2. Global Regulations on Greenhouse Gases
"Let us complete an international agreement that has the
potential to slow, stop and eventually reverse the growth of
greenhouse gases."
3. More Global AIDS Funding
"I call on you to double our initial commitment to
fighting HIV/AIDS by approving an additional $30 billion
over the next five years."
4. No Child Left Behind
"It is succeeding. And we owe it to America’s children,
their parents and their teachers to strengthen this good
law."
5. More Ethanol and Hybrid Subsidies
"Let us continue investing in advanced battery technology
and renewable fuels to power the cars and trucks of the
future."
6. Global "Green" Subsidies
"Let us create a new international clean technology fund,
which will help developing nations like India and China make
greater use of clean energy sources."
7. Double Taxpayer-Funded R&D
"I ask Congress to double federal support for critical
basic research in the physical sciences and ensure America
remains the most dynamic nation on Earth."
8. More Foreign Aid
"The Millennium Challenge Account…and I ask you to fully
fund this important initiative."
9. Even More Foreign Aid
"I ask Congress to support an innovative proposal to
provide food assistance by purchasing crops directly from
farmers in the developing world, so we can build up local
agriculture and help break the cycle of famine."
10. Coal Subsidies
"Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal
power while capturing carbon emissions."
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The "Mayor of Hollywood" |
February 21, 2008
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JOHNNY GRANT WAS A TERRIFIC MAYOR EVEN THOUGH
HE NEVER WON AN ELECTION
In 1992, when I was the U.S. Taxpayers Party nominee for
President of the United States, on a campaign stop in Hollywood,
I was warmly greeted and hosted by Johnny Grant, the Honorary
Mayor of Hollywood who died recently at the age of 84.
WHO WOULD BE A MCCAIN TICKET-MATE?
Now that John McCain seems to be on track to win the
Republican Presidential nomination (although the convention is
months away and much can happen between now and then),
speculation has begun regarding potential Vice Presidential
running mates.
Here is a brief summary of some of the names being mentioned:
- Mike Huckabee – Huckabee is strong in the South,
where McCain is weak. Many of the states which McCain won on
Super Tuesday will almost certainly go with the Democrats in
November, including California and New York. This
strengthens Huckabee’s hand in the decision process.
- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison – McCain may
want to have a female running mate. In the case of Kay
Bailey Hutchison, he would have a partner from a swing state
with a considerable number of electoral votes – Texas.
- Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana (age 48) moved
in McCain’s direction on the immigration issue. He has been
defending Rush Limbaugh against encroachments by the FCC,
and he is still regarded as a conservative by most
Republicans who know him. Given the fact that McCain, at age
72, would be the oldest person ever to begin a first term as
President, having a relatively young Vice Presidential
ticket mate, is something McCain will surely consider.
- Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee
would add strength to McCain in the South.
- Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
would add credibility to McCain in the South, although his
involvement in health care issues would be a potential
weakness, as well as a strength.
- U.S. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas sided with
McCain on the immigration issue and is very popular with
pro-life Christians.
- Florida Governor Charlie Crist gave his strong
endorsement to McCain at a crucial moment just before the
Florida primary.
- Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina is a
strong conservative, widely respected by all familiar with
him. The fact that he is a governor is another argument in
his favor.
- Tim Pawlenty
, who has served as governor of
Minnesota, was an early McCain backer and would also be
considered.- Governor Haley Barbour
of Mississippi is very
popular with all wings of the Republican Party and would add
strength to McCain in the South.- Former California Congressman Chris Cox,
currently
Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, would
provide a level of economic understanding and sophistication
which McCain personally lacks.
I am sure there are others on McCain’s short list, but those
are the names which come to mind at this time.
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Bush & McGovern |
February 7, 2008
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GEORGE W. BUSH AND GEORGE MCGOVERN -- ONLY THE
LAST NAME IS CHANGED
Do you remember George McGovern? I do.
As a candidate for President in 1972, he urged that every
American citizen be given $1,000.
George W. Bush is the new McGovern. He wants to give less
money to those who paid more taxes and more money to those who
have paid less in taxes.
In addition to being unconstitutional, the Bush stimulus
scheme is outrageously stupid.
Here follows a list of those members of the U.S. House of
Representatives who, for various reasons, opposed the stimulus
package:
Brian Baird (D-WA), Marion Berry (D-AR), F. Allen Boyd
(D-FL), Paul Broun (R-GA), Michael Burgess (R-TX), John Campbell
(R-CA), Howard Coble (R-NC), Jim Cooper (D-TN), Barbara Cubin
(R-At Large-WY), Tom Davis (R-VA), Nathan Deal (R-GA), Jeff
Flake (R-AZ), Randy Forbes (R-VA), Phil Gingrey (R-GA), Louie
Gohmert (R-TX), Virgil Goode (R-VA), Duncan Hunter (R-CA),
Timothy Johnson (R-IL), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Jack Kingston
(R-GA), John Linder (R-GA), Ron Paul (R-TX), Collin Peterson
(D-MN), Ted Poe (R-TX), Tom Price (R-GA), Dana Rohrabacher
(R-CA), Ed Royce (R-CA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), F. James
Sensenbrenner (R-WI), John Shadegg (R-AZ), Adam Smith (D-WA),
Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Gene Taylor (D-MS), Lynn Westmoreland
(R-GA), and Robert Wexler (D-FL).
|
Walter Williams on the Housing Crisis |
February 6, 2008
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COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT IS A BIG REASON FOR
THE HOUSING CRISIS
In an important January 23 article on WorldNetDaily.com, Dr.
Walter Williams makes these comments:
"A subprime lender is one who makes loans to borrowers who do
not qualify for loans from mainstream lenders. It's a market
that has evolved to permit borrowers with poor credit history
and an unstable financial situation the opportunity to get home
mortgages. The catch is they pay a higher and typically an
adjustable rate mortgage. Encouraged by the housing bubble, easy
credit, along with the expectation that housing prices would
continue to appreciate, many subprime borrowers took out
mortgages they could not afford in the long run, particularly if
interest rates rose and housing prices depreciated.
"As with most economic problems, we find the hand of
government. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, whose
provisions were strengthened during the
Clinton
administration, is a federal law that mandates lenders to offer
credit throughout their entire market and discourages them from
restricting their credit services to high-income markets, a
practice known as redlining. In other words, the Community
Reinvestment Act encourages banks and thrifts to make loans to
riskier customers.
"According to an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
Nov. 4, 2007, titled "Black Atlantans often snared by subprime
loans," by Carrie Teegardin, a national study of credit scores,
not just mortgage loan applicants, found that 52 percent of
blacks have credit scores that would classify them as subprime
borrowers compared with 16 percent of whites.
plan to deal with
the subprime crisis is to freeze interest rates on adjustable
rate mortgages. Freezing interest rates would stop people's
mortgage payments from increasing."
In particular, Dr. Walter Williams calls the subprime bailout
a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
"That is a gross violation of basic contract rights and would
appear to be a Fifth Amendment violation. If a contractual
agreement is willingly entered into and agreed upon by a
borrower and lender, it is binding and if broken by one party or
the other, harsh penalties should ensue.
"Now here comes government, under the Bush plan, to declare
millions of contracts null and void. The long-run effect of the
Bush plan is to make lending institutions even more selective in
choosing borrowers. Then there's the question: If government can
invalidate the terms of one kind of contractual agreement where
the borrowers can't pay, what's to say that it won't invalidate
other contractual agreements where the borrowers encounter
hardship, and what will that do to financial markets?
"The Bush bailout, as well as Federal Reserve Bank cuts in
interest rates, is a wealth transfer from creditworthy people
and taxpayers to those who made ill-advised credit decisions,
and that includes banks as well as borrowers. According to
Temple University professor of economics William Dunkelberg, 96
percent of all mortgages are being paid on time. Thirty percent
of American homeowners have no mortgage. Delinquency rates were
higher in the 1980s than they are today. Only 2 to 3 percent of
all mortgages are in foreclosure. The government bailout helps a
few people at a huge cost to the rest of the economy."
(Walter E. Williams, Ph.D., is the John M. Olin Distinguished
Professor of Economics at George Mason University in Fairfax,
Va.)
