State of Fear, the new offering from novelist and master of disaster Michael Crichton, is more silly than scary. What is scary is when some media and policymakers take a work of science fiction and confuse it with science. That's what's happening with State of Fear, in which Crichton builds a fantasy world where global warming is not a real threat, but global warming scientists are. -- NRDC website Crichton's novel, alas, is unilluminating as a critique and unsatisfying as a thriller. -- David Roberts, Grist Magazine  It sure is getting hot out there.  As we head into June and it's [...]

As summer approaches and gas prices hit new highs, many are beginning to take a fresh look at the issue of energy.  To be sure, this subject has always aroused contentious debate. It seems trying to get a consensus on which direction to take our nation remains as illusive as a Chicago Cubs World Series victory. But with some analysts projecting the national gas price average could zoom to near $3 per gallon by July 4th, the time to end the squabbling couldn't be more pressing. At the heart of our energy troubles is America's dependence on imported oil.  Indeed, nearly [...]

If someone told you that an American contingent recently left from Washington, D.C. and flew to Europe for a series of late-February meetings with various opinion leaders and other prominent individuals, you would probably say, "Sure, I knew that.  Who didn't hear about President Bush and Secretary Rice visiting with French, German, and other European leaders to try to mend fences and establish closer ties?"    Well it's true that such high-level meetings did take place.  And from most accounts, they were quite productive.  But Bush-Chirac and Bush-Schroeder weren't the only Euro-American discussions taking place during that time.  Because as it turns out, (and we can assure [...]

"America has need of idealism and courage, because we have essential work at home--the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty."- President George W. Bush (Second Inaugural Address) As George W. Bush begins his second term as President, there are many challenging tasks confronting his Administration.  From complications arising from the War in Iraq and the ongoing War on Terror to the newfound effort at overhauling Social Security, there is clearly much on the table to occupy his attention.  Regrettably, however, there appears to be at [...]

Like others who have had the chance to rub shoulders with him at various property rights conferences, we thought we knew Ronnie Merritt.  We knew that he was a rancher, a man who loved his country, and a staunch defender of the principles of freedom.  But it wasn't until we had the privilege of spending a few memorable days with him and his wife Beverly on their magnificent land in Lincoln County, New Mexico, that we really got to know who Ronnie Merritt is, and get a peek into the heart of this, and surely many other pillars of the  property [...]

Without a doubt, President Bush has received more than his fair share of criticism from those in the environmental community. Organizations such as the Sierra Club have initiated a petition drive to "battle the Bush Administration's environmental assault," the League of Conservation Voters has for the first time ever placed both the President and Vice President at the top of its infamous "dirty dozen" list, and leading Green spokesmen such as Robert Kennedy, Jr. are saying "George W. Bush will go down in history as America's worst environmental president." Such attacks against political figures are nothing new. Indeed, the recent hounding [...]

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."                    - Genesis 1:28 (NKJV) When it comes to mankind's relationship to nature, the idea of "dominion," as expressed in the opening chapter of the Book of Genesis, is for some people one of the most objectionable concepts imaginable.  For them, human dominion can never mean anything more than a license to wantonly pollute and pillage the earth.  That [...]

During a speech at the Animal Rights 2001 Convention, Bruce Friedrich said, "If we really believe that animals have the same right to be free from pain and suffering at our hands, then, of course we're going to be, as a movement, blowing things up and smashing windows." Blowing things up? That's pretty strong language for the Vegan Campaign Coordinator of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, otherwise known as PETA. Many Americans believe PETA is a mainstream animal welfare group promoting humane treatment of animals and providing local animal shelters for stray or abused cats and dogs. But the [...]

When the 2004 baseball season opened earlier this month, many of those at America’s favorite major league ball parks were greeted with frigid temperatures.  The Reds and Cubs were seen warming up in wintery conditions at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.  Fans in Pittsburgh were seen bundled up in the 20 degree wind-chill by those who watched the game on ESPN.   Baltimore experienced its team’s coldest opening game in nearly two decades.    Interestingly, while all this was going on here in the good ol’ U.S.A., on the other side of the Big Pond the European nations were hard [...]

When you hear the term “environmental justice,” what do you think of?  A pride of lions reclaiming its prized carcass from a pack of hyenas that tried to steal it away? Reckless polluters being forced to pay for the cleanup of their toxic escapades?  Or maybe even the buzzword being advanced to demonize those seeking to construct industrial facilities in certain depressed neighborhoods?   Well whatever comes to mind when you hear that particular term, get it out of your head.  Because there’s a new and far more accurate meaning for “environmental justice” that’s now emerging.  And since it deals with [...]