The vice-chairman of General Motors, Bob Lutz, recently told a group of journalists that global warming is “a crock of shit.” Needless to say, the blogosphere is up in arms. Why so much outrage? Lutz followed his statement by discussing plans for hybrid cars, a regret
To say “Corporate America” today is almost to say a dirty word. Corporations are viewed as organizations that systematically abuse consumers, fleece taxpayers, exploit employees, deceive investors, disrupt communities and poison the environment. CEOs and board members are portrayed as faceless men huddled in dark
The state of California has lost more than 90 emergency rooms since 1990—and with them, the ability to treat hundreds of thousands of patients. In New York City, eight hospitals have shut down since 2003 after facing a financial crisis. And in Atlanta, Grady Memorial
It is widely acknowledged that capitalist countries are the most successful at creating wealth and raising their citizens' overall standard of living. People who live in such countries enjoy access to bigger homes, better-trained doctors, more advanced technology, and higher paying jobs. By contrast, those
The issue of income inequality reveals one of the ugliest aspects of today's culture. The ugliness stems not from the existence of income inequality--but from the motives of those who denounce it. Income inequality used to be a rabble-rousing issue of the left. Now it is
It is startling that, after decades of false predictions about impending global doom, environmentalism is gaining strength and popularity in today's culture-particularly the issue of global warming. Politicians shower us with graphs illustrating alleged correlations between rising carbon dioxide levels, higher temperatures, and rising sea
Illegal immigrants are pouring into the United States. Pro-immigration rallies and anti-immigration rallies alternated with equal fervor this spring, while the number of illegals living in the country continued to grow towards 10 million. Pending legislation threatens to make illegal immigration a felony and to
According to Objectivism, the principle of property rights is a cornerstone of a free society. The right to property is the recognition that human life requires material goods, and that an individual has ownership over the goods he produces. The principle of property, once accepted ubiquitously
In launching Google.cn on January 25th, the beloved search engine caved in to the Chinese government's demand that it block politically "sensitive" content from searches. Now, if a Chinese web surfer wants to learn, for instance, about the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square, he will
The life of the mind has a friend in modern culture: the coffee house. Sprinkled throughout college towns, dotted at the feet of financial-district high-rises, tucked away in the fashionable corners of middle-America hometowns, cafes wait to welcome the intellectual. Coffee has become more than