Project 21: New Visions

The next time the liberals control the White House, there is little doubt that changes at the FCC will bring about a new "Fairness Doctrine" that mandates that privately-owned, ratings-based talk radio have an equal political balance. In short, liberal hosts and shows will be imposed on talk radio no matter how unpopular they have proved to be in the past under free market conditions. If, on the other hand, as long as conservatives hold onto the executive branch, there is ample justification for seeking a similar policy of fairness when it comes to government-run schools. Similar arguments apply, but ...
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In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution that "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow." Senators must agree on an apology before a president can make it official. Is an apology necessary?  Is it appropriate?  Is it appreciated? "As a young black male, it really irritates me," wrote a 20-year-old poster to the New America Media website named "Christopher."  He considered the resolution disrespectful because those who suffered under slavery and so many who lived through ...
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Our nation's future lies in science and technology. Already in high demand, engineers and scientists will be needed even more in years to come.  It creates an opportunity and a challenge for America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There is a clear and present need.  Microsoft founder Bill Gates warned Congress last March that American companies "face a severe shortfall of scientists and engineers with expertise to develop the next generation of breakthroughs." Among black students, there is a distinct technological training deficit.  According to the report Science and Engineering Indicators 2008 from the federal National Science Board, the ...
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In June, Senator John Warner (R-VA) pushed "cap-and-trade" legislation he claimed would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Analyses found it would more likely drive up energy prices, drive down the gross domestic product and put untold numbers of people out of work for a dubiously-small reduction in global temperature. Warner's terribly unpopular bill failed to muster even enough support for a full Senate vote. It seems Senator Warner has yet to realize the folly of his regulatory ways.  Now, he's interested in re-imposing a national maximum speed limit to conserve gasoline and reduce emissions.  But slowing the speed of American progress ...
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Liberals normally claim to defend small independent businesses over "big box" retailers.  It seemed odd, then, when the liberal enclave of Oakland, California evicted two such underdogs to benefit a department store. By doing so, it exposed governments' growing disrespect for property rights. On July 1, 2005, movers on the Oakland city payroll began boxing up the contents of Revelli Tire and Autohouse.  City officials had plans to turn the properties into apartments and condominiums.  Owners John Revelli and Tony Fung didn't want to move, and believed the city's offers to buy them out were far too low.  In retaliation, ...
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"A wolf wrapped in monk's robes.  A devil with a human face and a beast's heart." That's how Tibetan Communist Party Secretary General Zhang Qingli recently described the Dalai Lama, Tibet's traditional political and spiritual leader. It almost makes me laugh.  How can someone really believe this?  As I am very familiar with the work of the Dalai Lama through his books, articles, interviews and speeches - and his Nobel Peace Prize - it seemed natural for me to find humor in this Chinese puppet leader's assessment of someone almost universally recognized for being peaceful. The more I read, however, ...
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"Let them eat cake." It's a phrase attributed to Marie Antoinette, the excess-addicted wife of French King Louis XVI, after being told the poor didn't have enough bread to eat.  While some scholars think someone else said it, there is no disputing that it highlights a disconnect found between the elite and the poor. Marie was a victim of the guillotine in 1793 at the height of the French Revolution, and yet her lesson still seems unlearned today. Congressional liberals, in addressing high energy prices, are essentially pointing Americans to the nearest bakery - but asking them to walk there ...
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Imagine not having a bank account.  Imagine all your money is hidden in a sock drawer. Imagine arriving home one day to find the door ajar.  You've been robbed!  You run to the sock drawer, but your savings are gone. An estimated 22 million U.S. households - 22 percent of minority households, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey - did not have bank accounts in 2001.  Some people claimed they didn't like high bank fees and some didn't trust banks. Still more people cannot open an account because they lack proper identification.  The USA PATRIOT Act, passed after the ...
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Al Sharpton is making headlines again, but it's not for one of his crusades. Instead, Sharpton, his National Action Network (NAN), and several major corporations that have donated to NAN have been subpoenaed in recent months by federal investigators. While Sharpton's attorneys reported Tuesday that the criminal probe over millions allegedly owed in taxes by Sharpton and NAN has been dropped in lieu of civil action by the IRS, federal authorities remain tight-lipped over the status of any investigations. Critics have long accused Sharpton of obtaining corporate contributions by threatening racial boycotts. Sharpton denies this, saying "That's the old shakedown ...
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Remember when Jesse Jackson challenged XM Satellite Radio for its racist advertising?  Probably not, since it never happened.  Why he didn't is the question. In 2006 and 2007, XM ran television commercials that were blatantly racist, at least under a definition set by Jackson five years earlier.  In the commercials, cartoon characters' musical tastes were personified by the radio waves featured in the XM logo.  For example, they formed a Beethoven-like mane for a classical music aficionado and the long, bushy moustache of a country-western fan.  At the end, as the music of rapper Snoop Dogg plays, a character smiles ...
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Food prices have skyrocketed internationally.  In my own Nigeria, rice has epitomized the crisis after doubling in price since last year. Riots happening around the world over food supplies are prompting panicked governments to find solutions to stem the crisis.  Whether they will bring about an abundance of food is debatable. Nigeria, for example, is considering increasing rice imports and disbursing loans to domestic rice processors.  While this might provide brief improvement, it will not prevent future shortages or ensure food abundance. Promotion and management of food imports in Nigeria in the past has bred abuse - so much so ...
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There's a conservative joke poking fun at liberal media that predicts coverage of an impending apocalypse would have the headline "World to End: Poor and Minorities Hardest Hit." Despite his tenure as a Republican congressman, it seems J.C. Watts never heard that joke.  Then again, maybe he did and just didn't understand why it's funny. Watts recently announced his intention to start the Black News Television Channel - a news network targeted at blacks.  An agreement has already been made with Comcast to broadcast the channel in cities such as Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and Washington (but not New York ...
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Black America is still not free.  Despite the abolition of slavery and passage of civil rights laws, something still holds people back - themselves. That's the view of psychologist Dr. James Davidson, Jr., who says a major problem facing black America is an attitude of self-defeat.  He explains his views in his new book Sweet Release: The Last Step to Black Freedom (Prometheus Books). Raised in a poor community himself, Davidson paints a bleak portrait of the world he escaped: "Legions of teenagers, pregnant or orchestrating their lives towards pregnancy, stroll shamelessly through our streets.  Single-parent homes dominate our neighborhoods ...
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As a product of a poverty-stricken single-parent home, I know first-hand about the negative baggage that growing up poor and fatherless can breed. Numerous studies note that children born and raised in fatherless, single-parent homes are much more likely to live in poverty, experience depression, have trouble in school and get in trouble with the law than are children raised in married, two-parent households. Unfortunately, strong marriages and intact families increasingly seem the exception to the rule these days.  With high divorce rates and almost 40 percent of all American children (about 70 percent of black children) born out of ...
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Despite our society's significant strides in accepting blacks and other minorities, supporters of race and gender preferences continue to try to perpetuate 1950s attitudes by creatively developing new concerns.  Their goal: to expand preferential treatment policies. In California, private, public and corporate charitable foundations are now being targeted for allegedly not doing enough for minority-run groups.  "The Foundation Diversity and Transparency Act" (AB 624), which passed in the California Assembly and is awaiting a vote in the State Senate, would require charitable foundations with assets of $250 million or more to report the race, sex and sexual preferences of its ...
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Since before we were a nation, blacks have contributed mightily to the development of what is now the United States.  From mining to the space program, black Americans today serve integral roles in our society, leading in fields such as education, politics, religion and sports. One cannot pick up a newspaper, turn on the radio or television or surf the Internet without seeing the contributions of our community. But blacks are excluded from arguably the most important medium in use today in this nation and around the world - U.S. currency.  Our money is a key medium of exchange, unit ...
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Black churches are facing a threat to their very existence. A few years ago, there were unsubstantiated fears of a campaign of physical destruction by arsonists.  There is also the danger every election year of liberal politicians using black pulpits as soapboxes in violation of tax law. This time, however, the problem comes from within and is more dangerous. "Black liberation theology" threatens to hijack the character and damage the brand of thousands of respected black churches in the U.S.  The Christian messages of love, unity, faith and hope are in danger of being replaced with racial hatred, political rhetoric ...
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Despite sensational rhetoric, very few people actually want to pollute.  It's not good business, and we all want clean air and water. When we get sucked into eco-panic, however, cooler heads seldom prevail - sometimes costing jobs and even lives. Consider the eco-panic over alleged global warming.  One legislative solution is to phase out traditional light bulbs because they use too much power and supposedly contribute to global warming. Their replacement, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), contain a small but toxic amount of mercury that makes cleanup of a broken one more than just a sweep.  We're told that, when ...
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I wonder if any of the 60 Detroit pastors supporting embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick are reminding him of this Biblical principle?  As the drama unfolds in Detroit, it makes me wonder about public integrity.  Are our leaders so drunk with power that honesty, character and respect for their offices and the people they represent now secondary nuisances? From Marion Barry to Eliot Spitzer and Richard Nixon to Mark Foley, character and integrity - or the lack thereof - know no party affiliation or skin color. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, "King Kwame" or the "Hip-Hop Mayor" to some, is yet another ...
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Would a proud father call his daughter the b-word or a "ho"?  Would a loving husband call his wife a sloppy, dirty slut to show his affection? Not likely. Why?  Because people who respect themselves and honestly respect others don't show affection and respect with such loathsome and baneful language.  Sadly, there is a growing cacophony of black voices who think calling one another by the n-word, for instance, is acceptable for showing affection, respect and endearment for one another. Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy - the man who literally wrote the book on the word - notes that etymologists ...
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