Happy Birthday, Thomas Sowell

He wrote a column on the occasion of his 75th birthday.

It is hard to believe that I am that old but arithmetic is uncompromising. This means that I have lived through nearly one-third of the entire history of the United States.

Something Must Be Done

Even if it doesn't work.

You may be wondering how much money this intercontinental jam session raised for the sick and dying of Africa. Alas, not a farthing. Sir Bob Geldof was very explicit about this point. Live8 was intended to raise consciousness and exert political pressure on the G8 summiteers. No one was allowed to actually raise money for the masses of starving people in Africa. None of the dollars spent on the concert by fans, corporate sponsors, or television networks will reach Africa. Charities couldn't rattle tin cups outside the porta-potties and concession stands. This was solely an effort to prod the West to get behind the slogan, "Make Poverty History."

The quote from Cold Play's Designated Idiot is worth the whole article.

I've had this (and you may quote me) in my mail signature generator database for years:

I give up. How many rock stars does it take to end world hunger?

Still waiting for an answer...

Are You Ready to Rumble?

Shannen Coffin explains, as if there were any doubt, why this summer will be Judicial Armegeddon.

So what is left for the Left? The Court. More than any other time in our history, the gears of liberal social activism no longer turn beneath the dome of the United States Capitol, but have moved a few hundred yards across the street to the United States Supreme Court. Liberal groups like the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the National Abortion Federation, well aware that the electorate is not solidly (if at all) behind their agenda, have turned to the Courts to advance their mission. Every time the people of the country speak through their legislatures on the hot-button issues of the day — abortion, homosexual rights, affirmative action, you name it — the army of lawyers of the Left line up at the courthouse steps to put a stop to the will of the people. Thus, for instance, moments after George W. Bush put presidential pen to congressional paper in signing the federal ban on partial-birth abortion in 2003, three judges, acting on the requests of these three liberal interest s, enjoined the act from ever becoming law. What took hundreds of legislators years to pass, three unelected judges stopped cold in minutes. The Courts — and especially the nine seats on the United States Supreme Court — are as critical to the liberal game plan as they have ever been. Unlike the conservative movement that seeks to limit the now pervasive influence of the Supreme Court in our daily lives, liberal activist groups need the Court. Their success in changing social norms, their access to bank accounts in the Hamptons and Hollywood, their very existence — all depend on their ability to control its makeup.

Can You Pass Third Grade?

Take the test.

I have to go now. The Short Bus is honking outside.

The Face of the Next Generation of Muslims in America

He's an Imam from New York who has met with Bush, Guliani, and Annan. And he no doubt didn't count on MEMRI translating his interview on Egyptian television.

He referred to sermons he had heard in 1995 that stated, "We are going to the White House so that Islam will be victorious, Allah willing, and the White House will become Muslim House."