Demographic Change and the Stability of the U.S. Social Security System
If a primary purpose of a political system is to recognize potential causes of widespread human misery in advance and take steps to ameliorate their impact, American-style democracy is clearly operating in a dysfunctional manner with regard to its Social Security system. Is there any reason to believe that this dysfunctionality is an aberration whose root causes lie in something other than the predictable behavior of people operating within the framework of democratic institutions?

Culture Wars
Trying to inculcate a sense of decency in American culture by removing Howard Stern from the airwaves is like trying to cure a case of leprosy by removing a mirror from the home of someone suffering from it.

Civil Liberties/War on Terror
An editorial in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tells a sad truth about the USA's "war on terror" as it pertains to detainees in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere: "Detention without trial and without access to independent counsel are defining characteristics of totalitarian regimes. Enough is enough. Put these prisoners on trial with proper charges and a proper civilian defense, or let them go home."

Mass Psychological Projection
According to an Associated Press article today ("Vaccine Boycott Grows in Northern Nigeria" by Glenn McKenzie), "Two more states in Nigeria's Islamic north joined a boycott Tuesday of a massive polio immunization campaign, demanding government proof the vaccines don't spread AIDS or sterility as Islamic leaders contend. "

Free Trade/Protectionism
Alan Greenspan is a national treasure. Here is a link to the text of his February 20, 2004 remarks on "The critical role of education in the nation's economy", delivered to the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

Gay Marriage
Few op-ed pieces linger in the mind seven months after a first reading. Michael Kinsley's "Abolish Marriage" is a rare exception.

Roots of Global Anti-Americanism

According to yesterday's Washington Post, the Virginia Senate has passed a bill which 1) raises the tax on cigarettes sold within that state from 2.5 cents per pack to 35 cents per pack over two years, and 2) "give[s] a tax credit worth up to $6 million a year to companies that manufacture cigarettes in Virginia for export to foreign countries or U.S. territories." Perhaps each exported carton should include a coupon for freedom fries.