The Feds Cook the Books Once Again
Menckens GhostBut only an oddball cares about it.
Menckens Ghost
Current Columns and Articles
University of Arizona Faculty and Staff Arrested
Menckens GhostFBI agents and U.S. Marshals took them away in handcuffs for a scheme to defraud taxpayers of $435 billion.
The Massive Coverup about Black Lives
Menckens GhostTwo videos, one report, and one TV series get around the coverup and tell the rest of the story that today's media, academia and intelligentsia don't want you to know.
The National Rot Reaches Tucson
Menckens GhostThe Old Pueblo has not escaped the rot that has taken hold in American society, politics, government, K-12 schools, media, and academia.
Arrested by the Department of Homeland Conformity
Menckens Ghost"That's it, you're under arrest for racism," says the woman as she reaches for her handcuffs. "You've admitted that you've read Mein Kampf, which is all the evidence that the Social Justice Court will need to convict you."ld be colle
COVID-19 and Media Statistical Malpractice
Menckens GhostThe media herd has always committed an astonishing degree of statistical malpractice, but it has become even more acute in their coverage of COVID-19. Something is clearly amiss with journalism schools. Or is it a problem of reporters being too laz
James Comey, Robert Mueller, Robert Kennedy & Jimmy Hoffa
Menckens GhostBecause the virus has captured the news, the Mueller investigation into the fantasy of Trump colluding with the Russians now seems like ancient history. But the investigation was brought back to mind by a book that I recently read: In Hoffa's Shado
OMG! Great commentary on Sweden's handling of the virus
Menckens GhostHolman Jenkins describes below how Sweden has a high degree of social trust compared to the USA and how that has resulted in different ways of handling the coronavirus. It's also why the social welfare state works better in Sweden with less governme
Goodbye, Frank and Francisco
Menckens GhostFrank and Francisco's used to be my favorite breakfast joint in Tucson, especially on Tuesday's, when the $4.50 special was two eggs, two sausage patties or bacon, a big serving of fried potatoes, and either a muffin, biscuit or toast. It and ot
A Works Progress Administration Wouldn't Work Today
Menckens GhostSidewalks in a neighborhood near the University of Arizona in Tucson are stamped with the letters "WPA," which were the initials for the Works Progress Administration. Similarly, Forest Service facilities, bridges, trails, and flood-control stru
As Bloomberg Goes, so Goes the Nation
Menckens GhostEver since the start of the coronavirus crisis, my wife and I have been turning on Bloomberg News at 5:30 AM Pacific time to watch it during our morning exercise, even though watching it is bad for our indigestion and mental health.
Two Excellent Articles on the Coronavirus/Economic Crisis
Menckens GhostThe first article describes why the richest country on earth can't produce enough face masks...The second is a commentary by famous bond guru James Grant, who explains how the Federal Reserve's low interest rate policy has made the economic crisi
The Rest of the Story about S. Korea and the Coronavirus
Menckens GhostIt no doubt helps that their citizens are more obedient and less individualistic than Americans, due to their "rice" culture of working collectively and their Eastern religions of accepting what fate has dealt them.
Good News, Bad News from the Crisis
Menckens GhostThe world order is changing before our eyes. Some Americans will see it as good news that the USA will probably retreat to domestic issues, some will see it as bad news, and others will despair and have a psychological crisis over the USA losing pow
The Crisis's Impact on Budgets
Menckens GhostAlready strained by unfunded pension obligations, states now face a collapse in tax revenue.
How Many Unemployed Bartenders in Your Town?
Menckens GhostIf you're interested in knowing, you can go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and find out how many people worked in these occupations the last time the data were compiled. From that number, you can make a reasoned guess as to how many are now out
A Different Nation Will Rise from the Coronavirus
Menckens GhostIt doesn't take a genius to realize that America will be a different nation when the coronavirus ends, just as it became a different nation after the Great Depression.
From Diversity to Racial Narcissism and Exclusion
Menckens GhostA recent article in Inc. magazine, of all places, made me howl at the moon in frustration over the compulsion of a growing number of Americans to dwell on their own race and ethnicity, in a form of racial narcissism.
Wacky, Whiney, Warped Women in Arizona Highways
Menckens GhostNo doubt, the percentage of American women who are wacky equals the percentage of American men who are wacky, a percentage that seems to be growing by the day in this age of perpetual grievances, identity politics, virtue-signaling, and causes du jou
World Map of % of Single-Parent Homes - USA the Leader
Menckens GhostThe USA is the world leader in the percent of single-parent homes. Of course, there is a strong causal relationship between a high percent and income inequality, crime, school dropouts and low test scores.
The Most Powerful Commentary of 2020
Menckens GhostIt reveals the gross double standard and hypocrisy of many of those who preach tolerance and sensitivity towards minorities and then are silent about the anti-Semitism of elites and of the likes of Al Sharpton, or worse, give him a public platform.
Plutocrats Laughing at the Plebes
Menckens GhostWhat do bigshot bankers at Goldman Sachs have in common with such celebrities as Leonardo Di Caprio, Paris Hilton, Jamie Foxx, Swiss Beatz, Busta Rhymes, Kate Upton, and Kanye West?
The Butchery of Christians This Christmas Season
Menckens GhostThe following commentary in the WSJ details what Islamic extremists are doing to Christians in Nigeria, where diversity doesn't seem to be working very well.
The Impeachment Theater of the Absurd
Menckens GhostWhether I'm stupid or smart in that assessment, and regardless of your political affiliation, the chances are good that you agree that the impeachment hearings were the theater of the absurd.
Bloodshed in Black Communities
Menckens GhostAs with most problems in the nation, all the experts retreat to their ideological corners to blabber their long-held beliefs instead of coming together to look at facts and solutions.
Why Singapore's Healthcare Spending Is so Low
Menckens GhostLeft unsaid is the possibility that the Singapore population has different genetics than Americans, has a healthier diet, has less obesity and thus less heart disease and diabetes, and has far, far, far fewer hospitalizations and deaths from violence
Wisdom and Ignorance about Diversity
Menckens GhostWisdom is knowing how ignorant you are.
Racial Marxism Coming Your Way
Menckens GhostWhen Karl Marx published Das Kapital 152 years ago, thinkers of the day had no inkling of the horrors that it would unleash. And if anyone had predicted the horrors, the person would have been ridiculed as an alarmist.
Tucson Resort Hosts "Nonprofit" Bigshots
Menckens GhostThe vision of the Alliance is to achieve "a thriving nonprofit sector that has the resources and influence to meaningfully change the world." Its mission is to "be the authoritative voice of nonprofits to promote, protect, and strengthen the p
The Middle Class vs. Élites à Deux Visages
Menckens GhostBeginning in the early 1970s and continuing today, troubling socioeconomic trends have beset America's middle class. The trends include a declining percentage of children born to married parents, a declining percentage of children living with both
Teaming Up Against the Middle Class
Menckens GhostIntellectuals have joined forces with the New Aristocracy
San Francisco, Hostage to the Homeless
Menckens GhostThe long article below about the shameful homeless crisis in San Francisco is another example of great journalism from courageous Heather Mac Donald, who is not afraid of being politically incorrect.
The Damage from Unprincipled, Greedy Colleges
Menckens GhostHave you noticed that as more Americans have obtained college degrees, the nation has seen more divisiveness, more tawdriness and vulgarity, more asinine and sophomoric news coverage, more personal and governmental indebtedness, more herding behavior
Proof of America's Decline?
Menckens GhostAre there any standards left in America of good taste, decorum and modesty?
The Airbnb Hotel Next Door
Menckens GhostThe op-ed below has a dateline of Scottsdale and mirrors my experience in living in a HOA in that city when a de facto hotel began operating in the townhouse next door to ours. "Hotel" guests with no concern for the community came and went at all ho
Wonderful Skewering of Google
Menckens GhostWall Street Journal columnist Daniel Henninger is spot on below about the Google culture and its corporate insanity of encouraging political message boards and political debates at work.
Kids as Guinea Pigs of Google
Menckens GhostHow many more times will children be used as guinea pigs by cruel and stupid school districts? Below is an infuriating article about districts going all-tech, resulting in lousy outcomes, angry parents, and huge amounts of money going to the tech in
France Teaches the U.S. about Free Markets
Menckens GhostThe following commentary might make your brain short-circuit. It claims that France has more market competition than the U.S., due to less consolidation of industry, which in turn is due in part to the EU being more aggressive about stopping market
Tax Nepotism to Close the Wealth Gap
Menckens GhostDemocrat presidential candidates and others on the left are proposing a wealth tax as a way of closing the wealth gap in America--a gap that is a serious problem, as this writer has documented many times.
The Latest Hypocrisies, Contradictions, Canards and Clichés
Menckens GhostThe more that the news media, the commentariat, the academy, the intelligentsia, the two political parties, and the unprincipled hawkers of goods and services spread misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and baloney, the more I retreat to readi
A Politically-Incorrect History of Hispanics
Menckens GhostA politically-correct (PC) version of the history of Hispanics in the United States and the rest of the Americas is in vogue today. Trigger warning: The PC version will be replaced herein with the correct history, which is politically-incorrect.
Madness and Society: The Power of Social Capital
Menckens GhostI've written about the lack of social capital in my adopted home of Tucson and in much of the United States, as evidenced by, among other social ills, the cruelty of letting the homeless, most of whom are addicts or mentally ill, live and die in the
The Demise of Local News and Rise of Tech Oligopolies
Menckens GhostGoogle, Facebook, and other tech companies have brought many economic benefits by eliminating middlemen, hierarchies and bureaucracies. But they've also caused harm by their control of more and more news and information
Trump and Bezos as Seen from Tucson
Menckens GhostTucson will only get poorer if poor immigrants keep crossing the border to live here while rich companies don't move their headquarters and highly paid executives here to improve the wage and tax base.
Who Will Overthrow the Hoity-Toity Hypocrites?
Menckens GhostRegarding the college admission scandal, it's incomprehensible that parents would pay tens of thousands in bribes to get their kids admitted to elite colleges. Sure, once their kids are admitted, graduation is assured. And once they graduate, the
Heather Mac Donald on Racial Preferences for STEM Admissions
Menckens GhostBelow is another courageous article from Heather Mac Donald that will no doubt result in her being called racist in some quarters. This one is about admission preferences for certain racial groups to major in STEM disciplines---preferences that back
The Brilliance of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Menckens GhostIt takes a certain brilliance to come out of nowhere and win a seat in Congress with only 16,000 votes and then instantly propel yourself to the national stage. Freedom lovers and free marketers, as well as those Republicans who are neither, should
A govt that can't solve this problem, can't . . .
Menckens GhostThe following article is about the homeless problem in San Diego, a problem that also exists here in Tucson. Understandably, it's of little concern to most people, because most people don't encounter it firsthand. But it's a blight on the entire na
Deadly Masculinity and Toxic Femininity
Menckens GhostYou're no doubt aware of Gillette admen cynically producing a commercial to sell more razors to younger men by appealing to their programmed desire to buy products from companies that pretend to support some social cause. In this case, the cause i
Why Does Tucson Lead in Poverty?
Menckens GhostThe following is a table of mine that shows how Tucson compares to El Paso, San Antonio and Albuquerque in population, in the percent of the population in poverty, in per-capita income, in median household income, in the percent of those 25 years and
If you're not enraged by this, you're comatose
Menckens GhostThe word "shocking" is overused. Not in this case. Not only are the details in the following shocking, but it's also shocking how political correctness contributed to the deaths of so many students (and to the stupid media covering up the truth).
Impact of Immigrants on Congressional Districts
Menckens GhostThe following explains that the more immigrants in a congressional district, the fewer votes it takes to be elected. I had not thought of this, although it no doubt affects congressional elections in Tucson. This is why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was
My First Cannabis Litter
Menckens GhostI sent a WSJ commentary around the other day on the supposed dangers of pot. My prefatory remarks said that whatever the facts of the matter, at least in my daily picking up of litter, I've never come across cannabis litter but do come across scores
Testosterone but not GMOs for Young Daughters
Menckens GhostThe following claims something that initially sounds as unbelievable as claiming that the moon is made of Styrofoam: that because gender dysphoria has become trendy, young women with minor gender confusion are asking for, and receiving, testosterone
Heather Mac Donald Hits Another Home Run
Menckens GhostMac Donald writes in the piece below about black kids being shot be black thugs, including in Ferguson, Missouri, the infamous suburb of St. Louis. Ferguson has nicer houses than the working-class suburb of St. Louis where I grew up. Yet it has exp
Professor Says There Is no Divide in America
Menckens Ghostn an op-ed in the December 27, 2018 Wall Street Journal, University of Southern California Professor Elizabeth Currid-Halkett claimed that there is not a divide between rural and urban America, when measured by homeownership, mortgage payments, house
Staggering stats on black v. white teen crime
Menckens GhostThe Trump administration is rescinding the Obama policy of using racial differences in school discipline and suspension as prima facia proof of discrimination. The article below cites statistics on the huge difference in crime rates between black an
Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel
Menckens GhostNow that Christmas has passed, it's safe to talk about religious zealots. The article below describes the problems caused by ultra-orthodox Jews moving to a tourist town in Israel and the growing numbers of the ultra-orthodox in Israel, where they l
Surviving Another Year of Self-Rule
Menckens GhostJust as miraculously, I survived another year with a stick in my eye and beans up my nose.
How immigrants see America
Menckens GhostAmerica is friendlier to foreigners than headlines suggest
The Consequences of Unasked Questions about Capitalism
Menckens GhostYou've no doubt heard why Donald Trump was elected to the presidency, why French President Emmanuel Macron is facing a crisis, why the Brits voted for Brexit, why German President Angela Merkel is hanging on by her fingernails, and why there are po
Cherry-Picked Facts about Israel
Menckens GhostI published a commentary on December 4, 2018, with the premise that the dissemination of fake news isn't the primary problem in the media and elsewhere today. Rather, it is the dissemination of cherry-picked facts to make a point while ignoring co
Pop Quiz about Migrant Caravans
Menckens GhostLet's see if you're as smart as I think you are. Regarding the migrant caravans from Central America, why do you think the female migrants want to come to the United States?
Post Office delivered Amazon yesterday but no mail
Menckens GhostBelow is good journalism in yesterday's WSJ about Trump being right that the Post Office is subsidizing Amazon and other delivery companies. To add insult to government incompetence, there was no first-class mail service yesterday because of George
Cherry Pickers on the Left and Right
Menckens GhostThe American cherry-picking industry is thriving--not the industry that sells the small, round, red fruit with the stone inside, but the industry that deals in cherry-picked news and information about world affairs and domestic politics.
Question about E-Solicitations
Menckens GhostOn Black Friday and the two days prior to it, I received about 60 email solicitations from scores of companies offering Black Friday deals. How did they find me?
Politicization of People Being Burned Alive
Menckens GhostBefore all the bodies had been identified in the horrendous California fires, and while the known victims were being mourned by their heartbroken families, the tragedy was politicized by the left and right.
Great Journalism: 250,000 Dead and 37,400 Missing in Mexico
Menckens GhostIt's in our self-interest to help restore the rule of law and bring about prosperity in the country (Mexico). Equally important, as I wrote in a commentary yesterday, we have to reduce America's demand for illicit drugs, which are a major cause of Me
Sorry, Feminists, Men Are Better at Scrabble
Menckens GhostI feel like a sissy compared to courageous Heather Mac Donald. I wish I had her gonads.
No More Racial Problems in America
Menckens GhostIf you were part of the equal rights movement decades ago, as I was, then take a bow. Due to your efforts, there is no longer any racism in America or significant differences between races in income, test scores, school dropouts, crime, incarceratio
Is Dartmouth President Racist?
Menckens GhostStated differently, Mexicans, Africans, Italians, and other nationalities and races are inferior to the Chinese in these regards. Are the two academics going to be accused of racism?
Mutual suicide pact of Dems & Reps
Menckens GhostPolitical divisiveness in the nation is a myth. Both parties are in lockstep where it matters. They and their minions are marching off a debt cliff together, with nothing in a democracy to stop them.
Lifestyles of Powerful Political Potentates
Menckens GhostLeaders Head for a Pacific Island---Don't Expect Them to Hang Around
Campaign Signs and the First Amendment
Menckens GhostOf all the insults to our intelligence during campaign season, the worst is the political class trying to make us believe that they have a First Amendment right to clutter street corners and other public places with their ugly campaign signs.
Camel Turds for Climate Hypocrites
Menckens GhostI was flipping through TV channels recently and came across a show on Discovery or National Geographic about the swankest hotels in the world. The featured hotel on the particular episode was a hotel in Morocco that was preparing to host a United Na
Under Armour Proves My Point
Menckens GhostI mentioned in my commentary that a telltale sign of lousy leadership is when a company says it's going to hire a hotshot HR person to address workplace harassment issues. That's exactly what Under Armour is going to do.
America Imports China's Cultural Revolution
Menckens GhostChina's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution took place from 1966 to 1976, led by a woman (Mao's wife) and comprised mostly of idealistic youth lacking in wisdom and judgment but overflowing with sophomoric bromides about social relations and so
Minorities and women don't have unconscious biases
Menckens GhostMy, oh my, have times changed. In the early eighties, I went on retreats with black women to have open discussions about our respective views on race and gender. It quickly became apparent that black women had as many biases about white men as whit
'The Facebook Dilemma' Review: A Message That Can't Be Ignored
Menckens GhostAn unrelenting 'Frontline' documentary wants you to know that Facebook is not your friend.
Useless Idiots on the Khashoggi Killing
Menckens GhostDear Thinker: I recently wrote that American journalists didn't seem to have a clue about the complexities of Muslim politics or the history of the Middle East in their coverage of the Khashoggi killing, thus playing into the hands of the regional a
A Swart on America's Obsession with Race
Menckens GhostIs America obsessed with race? Is the world obsessed with race? Have humans been obsessed with race ever since hominoids divided into tribes? Do government racial classifications worsen the obsession? Is it foolhardy to write about race? Am I a
Brilliant Advice on Investing (and Life)
Menckens GhostAnthony Deden is a very erudite, private, and successful head of an investment firm. He doesn't tweet, isn't on Facebook, avoids publicity, rarely follows the news, and thinks that the financial press is worthless.
German Insanity Coming to America?
Menckens GhostThe following article boggles the mind, at least what's left of mine. It's about what has happened in Berlin as a result of Germany allowing thousands of Arab and Kurdish asylum-seekers into the country, putting them on the dole, and not allowing the
Proof Found of Elizabeth Warren's Heritage
Menckens GhostElizabeth Warren announced yesterday that she shares 98% of her genes with chimpanzees...President Trump immediately announced that he'd give a million bucks to the National Zoo if she could verify this with a genetic test.
Trump Territory Then and Now
Menckens GhostIf you want to understand why President Trump is popular in some quarters, then join me for a recap of a recent visit to Trump territory. Along the way, we'll go back in American history to see that there is nothing new about fake news, populism,
Income and Poverty in the USA
Menckens GhostThe Census Bureau has published its latest report on income and poverty: "Income and Poverty in the United States, 2017
Outstanding Journalism: 400 Murders a Day in Latin America
Menckens GhostThe following front-page story appeared in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Wow! Yikes! It provides sobering stats and sickening anecdotes on the murder rates in the Caribbean and in six Central and South American countries. In those countries, t
Invitation: Best Free-Market Conference Ever
Menckens GhostYou are cordially invited to a learning opportunity that comes along only once in a lifetime--and there is no seminar fee for attending.
The Truth About Polygraph Tests
Menckens GhostThey're junk science, inadmissible in court, and about as reliable as a pack of Tarot cards [or Scientology's E-meter]
Google Won't Understand This Satire
Menckens GhostWe fear that Google is developing a worldview--a uniformity and conformity in viewpoints, values, beliefs, and politics. It's gotten so bad that, unlike just about every other major corporation, Googlers talk openly about their political views--
The Great Human Contradiction
Menckens GhostSome observers say that there are also parallels between cults in general and religion, but I'm not about to go there. I will say, though, that there are parallels between cults and politics, in the sense that members of political parties are ofte
No Left Wings at WSJ, Barnard, and Buffalo Wild Wings
Menckens GhostAbout ten years ago, I counted the use of the adjectives "right-wing" and "left-wing" in the media and academia and found that the former adjective was used ten times more than the latter.
A Simple Explanation for Nike and Kaepernick
Menckens GhostThe media and Wall Street are bewildered over Nike running ads featuring National Anthem-kneeler Colin Kaepernick. He may be a mediocre professional football player and sub-par thinker, but he's an all-star in getting publicity for his social-just
Silly, shallow debates on silly, shallow cable news
Menckens GhostWhen there's a lull in the game, I take a break from baseball for a few minutes of partisan yelling.
Media spin on Serena losing US Open?
Menckens GhostAlmost everything today has racial and gender overtones, including sports. So how will the media spin what happened at the US Open this afternoon?
Free Laundries in Schools. Insanity?
Menckens GhostPlease help me. I think I'm going insane. Or maybe it's too late. Or maybe the world is insane.
Starbucks Less Healthy than a Snickers Bar
Menckens GhostBelow is an article about a Starbucks Frappuccino having considerably more sugar and calories than a Snickers Bar, an article of interest to me for two reasons: one, I used to work for the maker of Snickers, M&M Mars; and two, I've been saying for m
Pouring ketchup on the heads of Arizona students
Menckens GhostBelow my signature is a WSJ editorial about how Arizona teacher unions and their dumbbell supporters want to emulate NJ and other states by taxing the "rich" and giving the money to "education." Geez, I escaped from NJ in 1992 and moved back to Ari
Fake news is as old as Homo sapiens
Menckens GhostI've been working on a commentary about fake news with a similar theme as Harari's new book. But since Harari is far more gifted thinker and writer, I can now delete the piece.
Guys & Gals Are Different After All
Menckens GhostGender Is a Construct--Except When It's Not - A foundational tenet of academic feminism holds that alleged differences between males and females are socially constructed.
Heather Mac Donald on Chicago Carnage
Menckens GhostBelow is Heather Mac Donald's take on last weekend's carnage in Chicago, where 74 people were shot and 11 killed by gangbangers. Sounds like Mexico or Nicaragua. Even downtown and the Miracle Mile have not escaped marauding teenage gangs.
Why Democracies Fail
Menckens GhostThere is no need for you to read history, political science, sociology or philosophy to understand why democracies fail. All you need is to understand the intelligence of your fellow voters. And for that, all you need is to read some sample headlin
Trump Normal or Abnormal?
Menckens GhostI've had the misfortune of knowing a lot of powerful people in politics, government, business and the media. In almost all cases, they were people whose public persona had little relationship to their true nature.
Dueling Letters to the Editor
Menckens GhostBelow are two letters to the editor in response to a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about the folly of investment funds taking into consideration political and social issues in their investment decisions.
Finally, an academic gets it
Menckens GhostAs recently as the 1990s, Harvard sociologist Michèle Lamont found that working-class men in the New York City area held generally positive attitudes toward immigrants, describing them as "family oriented" and "hard workers, just like us."
Trump's Supporters: Beasts of Burden
Menckens GhostLower-middle-income workers comprise the majority of Trump supporters.
Tucson, city of paradoxes
Menckens GhostMy Commentary in Arizona Daily Star - The following is from the electronic edition. Also appeared in the print edition with a large photo. Local TV station wants to interview me. Not sure I want to go down that road again. All reader emails are in
Are Libertarians Good Neighbors?
Menckens GhostThis question comes to mind because of the problem between the most libertarian member of Congress, Rand Paul, and his neighbor in Kentucky.
Excerpts from Inspector General Report
Menckens GhostI'm speed-reading the inspector general report. Pasted below are excerpts of instant messages between FBI agents. Putting aside the political implications, it's astonishing that FBI agents, or employees of any large organization, would engage in su
Great Letter About the Imaginery Social Security Trust Fund
Menckens GhostSince its inception in 1935, all funds collected that weren't disbursed to beneficiaries each year were converted into federal IOUs known as special-issue Treasury bonds. By law, the fund could do nothing else.
Apple Isn't the Apple of My Eye
Menckens GhostDespite my dislike of Apple Stores, I went to one the other day with my wife, because she needed a new battery for her two-year-old iPhone...For most electronic gizmos, installing a new battery is as easy as walking into a store, buying a battery, an
What Does Litter Say About Us?
Menckens GhostLitter says a lot about us. It says something about class, race, ethnicity, and even political ideology. It speaks volumes about our sense of community, or lack thereof. It's also an example of the Tragedy of the Commons.
Colleges Bend the Rules for More Students, Give Them Extra Help
Menckens GhostWith an influx of students classified as disabled, schools move to accommodate their needs
Free-Market Intellectual Escapes Echo Chamber
Menckens GhostA noted free-market intellectual, Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia Business School, has escaped from the economics echo chamber and admitted that prevailing dogma has holes in it. Now we need some noted left-liberals to escape from their echo cha
Throw Capitalism into the Dustbin of History
Menckens Ghost
Arizona Teachers Demonstrate in Red on May Day
Menckens GhostHere in Tucson, hordes of striking teachers are standing on street corners in red shirts today, apparently oblivious to the irony of demanding on May Day that the "wealthy" be taxed to pay for the 20% increase promised by the governor. They either d
Glaring Omission in WSJ China Essay
Menckens GhostHere is a 2,155-word commentary from this weekend's Wall Street Journal on the success of China's political model, which blends authoritarianism with economic progress and what the author, a Cambridge professor of politics, calls national dignity.
Tarred and Feathered for Economic Heresy
Menckens GhostWould free-market libertarians and conservatives tar and feather someone--figuratively speaking, that is--for the heresy of agreeing about economics with the president of half-socialist France?
A Jewish-Like Homeland for Seminoles
Menckens GhostWhat do you consider your homeland?...You probably consider it to be the locale where you were born and spent your formative years.
The Creepy Business Models of Google and Facebook
Menckens GhostFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's recent testimony in Congress proved one thing: that members of Congress are so idiotic that they can even make android Zuckerberg look good by comparison.
The USA and Russia: A New Guinea State of Mind
Menckens GhostUntil the middle of the 20th century, remote tribes in the jungles of New Guinea were still largely untouched by civilization and living as they always had. That is, they were engaging in tribal warfare, stealing each other's womenfolk, and having
Dogs Have Better Medical Care than Humans
Menckens GhostEven in lower-income parts of town there is an abundance of veterinarian clinics, animal hospitals, kennels, and pet stores, which sell expensive pet supplies and all-natural pet food and treats. No processed fast-food for pets. No fat-laden Domino
Who Is Responsible for the Opioid Epidemic?
Menckens GhostThe opioid epidemic has killed tens of thousands of Americans and devastated families and communities, yet no one is responsible for it.
Free-Market Thinkers Have Stopped Thinking
Menckens GhostAnthropologists say that humans became human about 200,000 years ago. Evolutionists say this was the result of a million years or so of evolution. Creationists say it was the result of creation. For purposes of this commentary, it doesn't matter
Conservative Erectile Dysfunction
Menckens GhostI don't have a rooster in the ongoing cockfight between liberals and conservatives. But I do pay attention to both liberal and conservative media.
A Political Test for Libertarians
Menckens GhostLibertarians embrace civil liberties more than liberals, markets more than conservatives, and freedom more than just about anyone... Yet they can't get elected to public office in meaningful numbers. It's the same with independents.
Gov. Ineptitude Score: Florida 17, Iraq 110,000
Menckens GhostAmericans are understandably sickened by the massacre of 17 people in Florida and want something done to prevent such school massacres from recurring.
Federal Agency Wastes $500 Million
Menckens GhostOn February 19, I published a commentary about how the federal government couldn't account for $21 trillion and how the General Accounting Office concludes year after year that the nation's books are "not trustworthy" and not in compliance wi
The Feds Misplace $21 Trillion and a School Shooter
Menckens GhostA February 13 story in City Journal details how the $21 trillion was misplaced. It seems that when federal agencies can't balance their books, they just plug in a number to make them balance.
A School Shooting: Pull Out the Old Scripts
Menckens GhostStrangely, not one of them questioned why a school would have 4,000 students or wondered how a school of that size could ever be anything but a big bureaucracy that follows the rules but misses important nuances, variables, signs, and clues.
The Enlightenmnet Is Working
Menckens GhostSteven Pinker's article below continues the theme of his earlier fact-laden book, "The Better Angels of Our Nature," which detailed the tremendous progress around the world due to the Enlightenment, as measured by key indices.
A Surreal Scene from American Healthcare
Menckens GhostThe first impulse is not to ask how the problem might be solved without the use of force. In healthcare this means that the first solution to the problem of the uninsured is to force everyone into a "same size fits all" program that is controlle
Minnesota Plundered by Vikings
Menckens GhostAh, nothing like the Super Bowl to test if anyone in America will stick to political principles...Will liberals who blather about caring for the little guy over big corporations watch a game played in a stadium that was built with a $500 million taxp
He Who Reads History Is Doomed
Menckens GhostThanks to social media and the duopoly of Google and Facebook, they have the attention span of fruit flies, but, thankfully, without the same urge to procreate. As with the huuuge fruit fly in the Oval Office and the smaller ones at the top of the D
The Most Ignorant College Teacher of All Time
Menckens GhostBenjamin Fong is on the faculty of the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University (ASU), which means that this Arizonan helps to pay him through my state taxes. But I'm more embarrassed than chagrined--embarrassed that such a dim bulb tea
Sexual Harassment: a Problem of Leadership, not HR
Menckens GhostDuring much of my corporate career, I was a human resources executive for large companies, where I fired scores of jerks and creeps for sexual harassment, long before harassment became headline news.
Searching for a Doctor, Hair Stylist, and Auto Mechanic
Menckens GhostBy definition, a consumer market doesn't exist when someone other than the consumer pays a service provider. In medical care, the payer is typically not the consumer, or patient. Rather, the payer is Medicare, Medicaid, ObamaCare, or an employer
Torture by Smartphone
Menckens GhostMy latest torture by smartphone began with the installation of a new garage door opener at my new house in Tucson...The opener is Wi-Fi enabled and designed so that the garage door can be opened and closed remotely via a smartphone. It's similar t
Hispanic Hokum and Hypocrisy about White Privilege
Menckens GhostThe most mindless are the parrots who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino, such as un-funny comedian George Lopez, who recently insulted an audience at a charity event with a diatribe about white privilege. Other Hispanic celebrities, as well as pse
Hooray Peggy Noonana and Holman Jenkins
Menckens GhostI never cared for Peggy Noonan's politics, thinking or writing but have to admit I was wrong after reading the commentary below. When I had my newspaper column, I wrote something similar about the kinds of people and depravity that parents allow int
Trump vs. Tattooed Millionaires
Menckens GhostThe article below is spot on, especially the sentences highlighted in the third paragraph about football players of yesteryear being blue-collar and not making much money, just like their fan base in working-class neighborhoods, such as my boyhood ho
The Asian Skunks at the Diversity Party
Menckens GhostOnce again, they've debunked the diversity dogma that prevails at universities and elsewhere, including the canard that minorities are held back because of white privilege, which is itself a canard.
Two Compelling Articles: Why Entitlements Keep Growing, and Growing, and . . .
Menckens GhostWhy American Students Need Chinese Schools
Cognitive Dissonance and the Statue of Robert E. Lee
Menckens GhostWhen the news broke about white supremacists inciting violence over the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, I was reading one of the most thought-provoking books on human nature that I've ever read--namely, the New
Americans Want LIberty & Freedom - Hahaha!
Menckens GhostThe more I've studied evolutionary psychology, the more convinced I've become that these statistics mirror human nature, or if you will, the genetic hard-wiring of Homo sapiens.
Reagan's Economic Policies Then vs. Today
Menckens GhostCutting taxes in the manner suggested by Messrs. Gramm and Solon is highly unlikely to bring back 1980s growth rates.
Asians vs. Blacks and Hispanics
Menckens GhostPerhaps you've been following the lawsuit by Asians against Harvard and other universities for discriminating against Asians by holding them to far higher admission standards than blacks and Hispanics. Below is an article on a related issue at New Y
Make Gravel out of Plymouth Rock
Menckens GhostAs seen in the news, there is a movement to tear down monuments to the Confederacy and to change the names of university buildings that were named after slave owners. The proponents of this movement argue that it is inappropriate for a society to h
Single-Payer for Food, Shelter, Clothing and Transportation
Menckens GhostThe non-thinking of many highly educated people is sobering...Case in point: The Wall Street Journal ran a letter to the editor yesterday, written by a physician from Berkeley, Calif., who spoke of the efficiencies and wonders of a single-payer syst
Black Racists versus White Trash
Menckens GhostPerhaps you've watched the YouTube video of the "students" at Evergreen State College screaming racist slurs about whites, as they tried without success to form intelligent thoughts in a meeting with the college president.
An Environmentalist Applauds Trump
Menckens GhostTwenty-five years ago I founded and headed a large and influential environmental grassroots group in metro New York. One of my biggest challenges was to keep my board of directors and rank-and-file from embellishing, exaggerating and distorting the f
History of Korea as the War Drums Beat
Menckens GhostSantayana's warning about not learning from history is valid up to a point. As is the case of North Korea today, a point is sometimes reached in which the history of who did what to whom doesn't matter.
Astonishing Explanation for Campus Snowflakes
Menckens GhostIn a letter to the editor in the April 27^th edition of the Wall Street Journal, a faculty member of Northwestern University explained why snowflakes behave the way they do on college campuses. The letter is pasted at the end of this commentary.
Millennials, Mortgages and Government Grizzlies
Menckens GhostWorking sheeple are being devoured by the very same grizzlies that they elected to protect them.
Emotion Trumps Reason in Trump's Missile Attack
Menckens GhostIt was a sure sign that emotion had once again trumped reason when both the left and the right agreed that Trump had a moral imperative to attack the Syrian air base. The implication was that the United States should intercede with force whenever bar
A Dago's Perspective on Diversity and White Privilege
Menckens GhostIf you are a member of the campus thought police and offended by the word "dago," too bad. Here are some other offensive synonyms for "Italian:" wop, greaseball, greaser, goombah, mobster, and garlic eater.
Trump is in a fiscal hole but wants to keep digging
Menckens GhostThat particular chapter of the "replace" saga, however, is chicken feed compared to finding a coherent majority on measures to "replace" the /$4 trillion /of revenue loss from the corporate and individual tax cuts promised by Trump and embraced widel
Bill Gates, Hypocrite of the Year
Menckens GhostSure, they'll kill jobs. Like Microsoft Excel, they'll also create new ones.
NFL Announces Raiders Move to North Korea
Menckens GhostScottsdale, Ariz. - National Football League bigshots, meeting here to drive drunk and get in fights in Old Town nightclubs, in the longstanding tradition of college and professional football players who visit this resort city, announced today that t
Letter to Governor Doug Ducey about drug legalization
Menckens GhostAs reported by Mr. Will, you justify your opposition to marijuana legalization by noting that you are "the son of a cop and the father of three teenage sons." With respect, how many people, including cops, are gunned down by sellers of beer and
Michelangelo and ObamaCare Reform
Menckens GhostIt was almost a certainty that ObamaCare would not be replaced or reformed enough to restore a consumer market in medical care/insurance, one in which the consumer is at the top of the pyramid instead of the bottom.
Two Great Takes on Putin
Menckens Ghost
The Science of Fat vs. the Science of Global Warming
Menckens GhostFor over a half-century, the government and those in the medical and science community who fed at its richly nutritious teats of grants and subsidies had declared that it was a scientific fact that saturated fats were a primary cause of heart disease
The rest of the story about immigrants revitalizing cities
Menckens GhostThe following Bloomberg article is about a neighborhood in St. Louis that is a couple of miles from my boyhood home, a neighborhood that is being revitalized by Bosnian immigrants. A former German neighborhood, I used to ride my bike there as a kid (
Facts about Medicaid that will blow your socks off
Menckens GhostThe first is an excerpt from a commentary by Nick Ebertstadt. The excerpt explains how Medicaid fuels the horrible opioid epidemic.
The Truth about Losing "Healthcare"
Menckens GhostMedia reports say that 20 million Americans will lose their "healthcare" under the Republican plan to replace ObamaCare, as if healthcare is like a cellphone, wallet, or item of clothing unintentionally left somewhere or stolen by someone.
Why Trade Deficits Are not Bad
Menckens GhostAs the following WSJ editorial explains, a trade deficit is not ipso facto bad. It's only seen as bad because the word "deficit" has a negative connotation. If the word "benefit" were used in lieu of the word "deficit," there would be no negative
Brilliant: Why few women are in positions of power
Menckens GhostThe discussion is brilliant, direct, politically-incorrect, and spot-on--and it took place on a college campus. It's also fairly long, because, to avoid being typecast as a Neanderthal male, it takes more than sound bites to debunk the canards, nost
Political Realities of Replacing ObamaCare
Menckens GhostBelow is the Wall Street Journal's lead editorial of today on the political realities of replacing ObamaCare. It is spot-on in its assessment that the Ryan plan is about the best that can be achieved politically, and that failure to enact it will le
Poor Productivity Is the Pink Elephant in the Economy
Menckens GhostTrump is another president in a long line of presidents with a magical plan to restore the economy to high growth, especially for the working class. But other than some temporary blips, the nation hasn't seen sustained high growth since the eco
Retiring Baby Boomers Face Crushing Debt
Menckens GhostWhen I was in corporate life, boomers would come to me and request a contrived hardship withdrawal of their 401(k) funds, which they then used to buy an expensive German car or some other extravagance, resulting in a tax penalty. I knew what people
Politically-Incorrect Harvard Commencement Address and Other Stuff
Menckens Ghost
Two Interesting Articles on the Mexican Economy
Menckens GhostThe first describes how Trump's comments about trade with Mexico and NAFTA have shrunk investments in Mexico, lowered forecasts for growth of the Mexican economy, and weakened the peso, thus making Mexican exports cheaper and pushing Mexico to increa
Trigger Warning: See what's okay on college campuses
Menckens GhostYou no doubt know by now that the leftists at the University of California-Berkeley rioted to stop Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking. He is a gay conservative, a jerk, a lousy public speaker, and not very learned. But he is a genius, an intellectual,
Audi deserves to be keyed
Menckens GhostIt would be wrong to vandalize a car by running a key along the side, even a car manufactured by a German company that fouled the airwaves during the Super Bowl with agitprop about equal pay for women. But it's not wrong to verbally key the ignora
Working Stiffs Stiffed by Nixon, Reagan, and now Trump
Menckens GhostHe appealed directly to white Southerners and ethnic working-class Northerners, largely ignoring the left-leaning media, academia, and racial minorities. And he imposed a 10% tariff on imports.
U.S. Healthcare Costs: What's the truth?
Menckens GhostBelow my signature is a Wall Street Journal blurb that compares life expectancies and costs for selected drugs and medical treatments between the U.S. and selected countries. The stats suggest that Americans pay through the nose for medical care yet
The Dystopian Vision of George Soros
Menckens GhostSoros is just another alpha male in a long line of big chimps on the left and right who want to remake society and the world in their own image instead of leaving people alone. An egotistical busybody and bully, in other words.
Do You Agree that Libertarians are Fruit Loops?
Menckens GhostThe final straw was a noted libertarian saying the following about foreign policy: "The United States should observe good faith and justice toward all nations and cultivate peace and harmony with all, should not have hatreds against some na
How History Will See Libertarians v. Laura Ingraham
Menckens GhostActually, their mortal sin is that they believe in non-aggression in personal and national affairs, in people owning themselves instead of being owned by the state, in being able to keep the fruits of their labor instead of having the fruits expropri
Russia's Lies about America Are a Casus Belli
Menckens GhostSomething has to be done about Vladimir Putin directing his spies to undermine American democracy by spreading lies about our presidential candidates. If this isn't a casus belli, I don't know what is.
A Fool in the Crossfire over Russia and Israel
Menckens GhostOnly a fool would step into the crossfire between the warring tribes known as Democrats and Republicans on the two burning issues of the day: Russia's hacking and the U.N. resolution on Israel.
Death by Smartphone
Menckens GhostMy wife and I are avid participants in one of the most dangerous sports nowadays: We walk.
America's imperialism 1830 to 1910
Menckens GhostBelow is a review of a new book that I'll be buying. Of course many flag-waving nationalists foam at the mouth over any suggestion that the Shining City on the Hill has been imperialistic.
A National Tragedy
Menckens GhostBelow is a heartbreaking front-page story from today's Wall Street Journal on the family and social havoc caused by the epidemic of opioid addiction. I've written previously about how this epidemic and drug use in general have contributed to declini
Crybabies Snivel to the WSJ about Student Loans
Menckens GhostOh my, another great injustice in the USA, as described in the article below. This time it's an electrical engineer and his hair stylist wife in their sixties who think it's unjust that they have to pay off their student loans, unlike other borrowers
Speech Codes
Menckens GhostWhen I read the following, I thought the Dutch had lost their minds. . .
Cognitive Bias
Menckens GhostKahneman has shown that humans aren't as rational, logical, and reasoned as they think. (I'm a noted exception. Haha!) This can be seen by anyone who observes TV shows, commercials, the mainstream media, talk radio, elections, Congress, presidents
Connecting the Dots on the Declining Work Ethic:
Menckens GhostVideo Games, Student Debt, Drugs, and Welfare
Holman Jenkins Gives NY Times What It Deserves
Menckens GhostIn his column below, Holman Jenkins of the WSJ masterfully skewers the NYT and other parishioners at the Church of Climatology for claiming that climate change has lowered the value of hoity-toity homes along coastlines.
Was the price of your turkey set like this?
Menckens GhostThe other day I sent an email with the subject line, "Chicken S**t Price-Fixing," with a WSJ article attached about the way that chicken prices are set. Below is a follow-up article from the WSJ, which, like the first article, is a turkey of an arti
Chicken S**t Price-Fixing
Menckens GhostI had to read the following WSJ article three times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. It disabused me of three notions: one, that we have a market economy; two, that price-fixing is illegal; and three, that prices are set by supply and demand an
Do we want these jobs back?
Menckens GhostI gave a talk the other night about growing income inequality in the USA. The next day, the Wall Street Journal published the article below my signature about electronics work outsourced to contract manufactures in China by Apple and other American
The Forgotten Word in the Presidential Race
Menckens GhostA very important word was not mentioned once throughout the long and nauseating presidential race--not once in the torrent of inane campaign commercials, not once in the hundreds of silly interviews conducted by the sophomoric media, not once in the
What the election means to me
Menckens Ghost
The Beaver Street Divide in America
Menckens GhostBeaver Street runs through downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, a high-country town at 7,000-foot elevation and towered over by the 12,000-foot Humphrey's Peak. A couple of blocks of the street are a microcosm of the political divide in America.
Sobering article about the new economics
Menckens GhostThe article below compares the rise and fall of textile manufacturing in Lowell, Mass over a century ago to the rise and fall of the city of Dongguan in China. A big difference is that the growth and decline of Dongguan happened at warp speed compar
Children of the Revolution: Bernie Sanders' alt-left
Menckens GhostThe article pasted below is insightful but very long. It describes the alt-left, or the millennials who supported Bernie Sanders and comprise a large and growing wing of the Democrat party. To save you time, I've pasted a two-paragraph excerpt imme
The 2016 Election's Over----The Battle For A Grand Realignment Begins
Menckens GhostDespite Donald Trump's game display of counter-punching last night, the 2016 election campaign is over. The establishment media has destroyed his candidacy-----not by refuting a single issue in his indictment of the status quo but by destroying the e
Give 'em the boot
Menckens GhostMcCain is airing an ad that claims that his opponent walked out of a constituent meeting (sans cowgirl boots) when she didn't like questions about her support of ObamaCare. The commercial goes on to say that McCain didn't walk out of the Vietnam
Photo & Commentary: Trump Supporter's Home
Menckens GhostImagine living in the home in the photo and driving by the HUD homes every day. That could change one's politics.
Doctor exposes NFL's pink ribbon marketing ploy
Menckens GhostThe author of the following, a cancer doc, is going to get hammered for criticizing America's favorite fall and winter pastime of watching 15 mins. of actual playing time set amidst three hours of commentary, commercials, replays and Gatorade chuggin
A New York State of Mind about Corruption
Menckens GhostI landed at the Buffalo airport on Sept. 23, just as a story was breaking about massive corruption associated with economic redevelopment projects in the Buffalo region and elsewhere in the state. Curiously, the scandal was barely mentioned in the na
Five reasons for not voting this November
Menckens GhostOn a personal note, a better use of my time over the decades has been to influence public opinion by publishing hundreds of commentaries in newspapers and professional journals, which have been read by millions of people and no doubt changed the mind
Trump Debates Milton Friedman on Trade
Menckens GhostA lot of the benefits of trade are counterintuitive. A rule of politics is that the more that the right public policy is counterintuitive, the greater the opportunity for demagogues to get elected by advocating the wrong policy.
Fraying Social Fabric Explains Trump
Menckens GhostBelow my signature is an excellent and sobering front-page story that appeared in yesterday's WSJ. It details the social and economic decline of the white working class in Reading, Penn., including drug abuse, broken families, medical problems, and
Trump's Homerun about the Fed and Strikeout about Ford
Menckens GhostDonald Trump was bound to eventually hit a homerun if he continued to wildly swing his policy bat. That was the case with his recent comments about the Federal Reserve in an interview on MSNBC. But he also struck out over his comments about Ford Mo
America's Wage Disadvantage and What to Do about It
Menckens GhostThe United States has a huge disadvantage in labor costs relative to much of the world, especially compared to China, the Subcontinent, and Latin America, all of which have substantially lower labor costs. Japan and Europe have a similar disadvantag
Hispanic Homicide Rate 298 Percent Higher than Asian Rate
Menckens GhostAnd Other Facts about Homicide Rates
Pot Roasts Running for Office
Menckens GhostWinston Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all others...Whether Churchill was right or wrong, campaign commercials now running 24/7 are certainly the worst form of advertising, even worse than commercials about
The Impossibility of an Informed Electorate
Menckens GhostA well-functioning democracy depends on a well-informed electorate. But is it possible to have a well-informed electorate once a nation gets to the size and complexity of the United States?
Is Trump a psychopath?
Menckens GhostIn the 1970s, Robert Hare identified twenty characteristics of a psychopath and created the Psychopathy Checklist, which became the basis for contemporary research on the psychological disorder. His book Without Conscience became a classic on the di
Abnormal Thoughts about Curb Cuts
Menckens GhostOn my daily walk this morning, I once again noticed that parks, streets, and other public places in my hometown of Scottsdale, Ariz., are not as well-maintained they as used to be. That's a red flag for a city of 230,000 that is largely dependent
A Diverse Conversation the Day before Dependence Day
Menckens GhostThe conversations between the CNAs are often politically-incorrect and come without trigger warnings. They are a refreshing change from the sanitized social commentary in academia, in government, in the media, and in big corporations.
Israel Has Gone Missing!!!
Menckens GhostIran must've finally wiped Israel off the map. What else would explain why Israel isn't mentioned by all the self-appointed experts on the Middle East in all their bilious blabber about what should be done about evil incarnate ISIS?
Gadhafi, Napolitano, Clinton, Reagan, and Trump
Menckens GhostThis morning I read a commentary by conservative commentator Andrew P. Napolitano about the report of the House Select Committee on Benghazi. The commentary, which is pasted below, is a discouraging example of how the masses are played by the two pa
All the News That's Unfit to Print
Menckens GhostThree recent articles in the New York Times reminded me of why I no longer read that newspaper regularly...The articles were so New York. The subject matter was silly, pretentious, elitist, leftist, and, of course, obsessed with race and class.
Letter and Article on a Universal Basic Income
Menckens Ghost
Voting for the guy in a thong for president
Menckens GhostThe hilarious but serious commentary below explains why it might be better to vote for a libertarian in a thong than to vote for Donald or Hillary. Picture either one of them in a thong.
Homeruns in Today's Wall Street Journal
Menckens GhostToday's WSJ opinion pages stayed away from the Journal's war mongering and is better for it. You will find pasted below my signature the following:
Does Anybody Still Care About Free Speech?
Menckens GhostBelow are four letters to the editor from today's WSJ, in response to a recent commentary by Michael Bloomberg and Charles Koch about the importance of free speech on campuses. The third one, from some brainwashed moron at Duke University, defends s
Why the USA and the rest of the West is unhappy
Menckens GhostThe masses in the West are unhappy, despite living in climate-controlled abodes and having more calories than ever, more gadgets than ever, more sports venues than ever, more leisure time than ever, more lifesaving medical technology than ever, and m
Is Trump the Next FDR?
Menckens GhostDonald Trump and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) have some striking similarities...Don't laugh. Don't hang up on me. I'm serious.
The Establishment: 245 Million Strong
Menckens GhostBut who is the establishment, or if you will, the established order? And what are the problems facing the country that the establishment is not addressing?
Regurgitating the Canard about Deregulation
Menckens Ghost
Republicans withhold a winner about withholding
Menckens GhostDemocrats would counter that withholding saves taxpayers the time and trouble of paying their taxes separately, and that the elimination of withholding would result in massive nonpayment of taxes.
Jimmy Buffet sings about Washington, D.C.
Menckens GhostAt least Jimmy Buffet had a lick of sense, even after consuming numerous margaritas. Here is what he would have written and sung about Washington...
Two great takes on the capture of universities by idiots
Menckens GhostThe first take is an insider's view of Canadian universities, which, based on the author's description, mirror most American universities, at least in the humanities.
Marshmallows, Mortgages and the Media
Menckens GhostAt Stanford University in the late Sixties and early Seventies, marshmallows were used in behavioral experiments with children.
FedEx Founder & CEO on Trade
Menckens GhostSee the great article below about trade by Frederick Smith in this weekend's WSJ. Too bad this accomplished businessman and staunch free-marketer and classical liberal (aka libertarian) isn't running for USA president.
The Source of Our Disgusting Uncivil Politics
Menckens GhostPersonal attacks, name-calling, vulgarities, accusations of adultery, gross hypocrisy, bitter fights about the meaning of the Constitution, divisive partisan battles between proponents and opponents of a big federal government, ugly stereotypes about
The Molenbeek Problem | City Journal
Menckens GhostGreat commentary on the Brussels atrocity by the great British commentator Theodore Dalrymple. I love the comment about the Belgian government not being competent enough to collect taxes from Muslim immigrants but somehow being able to give them wel
Emory University students scared and in pain
Menckens GhostWhy are they scared and in pain? Because Trump's name was written in chalk around campus. See article at link below.
Bernistas, Baristas and Bolsheviks without Rakes and Ambition
Menckens GhostHow are the poor supporters of Bernie (aka the Bernistas) going to be able to afford pitchforks to overthrow capitalism when they can't even afford rakes?
Trump doesn't cotton to unfair trade--or does he?
Menckens GhostAlthough his behavior and orange-tinted hair and skin resemble an orangutan's, Donald the Primary Primate is right to rail against unfair trade practices.
Brits vs. Ugandans, and Americans vs. Immigrants
Menckens GhostIt's sobering that such a work ethic, attitude, and common sense have been lost in three generations of Americans (and Brits). A silver lining with my Mom's dementia is that she doesn't see what's happening to America.
A Livable Wage Then and Now
Menckens GhostFor sure, we know what will not make America great again: the erection of border walls and tariff walls. These will only exacerbate the nation's economic and class problems. Unfortunately, to explain this would require as much time as three epis
The Establishment "R" Us
Menckens GhostPundits, reporters, talk-radio hosts, politician wannabees, and the masses have Cliché Reflux Disease. They are repeating, regurgitating, burping, and belching a cliché about The Establishment.
What would a sociopathic candidate look like?
Menckens GhostAccording to excerpts from the book, The Sociopath Next Door, a sociopath has:
Wonderful letters to the editor
Menckens GhostBelow are four letters to the Wall Street Journal in today's edition. The first three are in response to a commentary by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, about the minefield of federal laws and sentencing. I like the third one, which draws an analogy to the
The War on Boys and Men: Or Why Young Males Are Effeminate and Slackers
Menckens GhostYou may know the alarming statistics and trends stemming from the War on American Boys and Men, but let's review them again
GE explains the phenomena of Trump and Sanders
Menckens GhostThis week General Electric announced it was moving its headquarters and 800 jobs from extremely high-tax Connecticut to moderately high-tax Boston, Massachusetts, which seduced the company with $145 million in incentives over 20 years, or a staggerin
12 Charts Showing the Real State of the Union
Menckens Ghost
Foreign Follies Hatched by Republican Neocons and Obama Liberals
Menckens GhostIn spite of these documented misjudgments turning out as Goldman predicted two and one-half years ago, Republican pundits and pols keep blaming Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and not themselves for the horrid messes in Libya, Syria, Iraq, and elsew
The Legacy of Murray Rothbard
Menckens GhostThe commentary includes a good history of the old right, which was the opposite of the imperialistic hawks of today's right.
Five Surefire Predictions for 2016 that You Can Bet on
Menckens GhostOn the biggest issues facing the nation, it is almost certain that the following five predictions will come true in 2016
Please help me, as I'm so confused about gun murders
Menckens GhostIn researching murders with guns, I found a chart showing the rates of such murders per 100,000 inhabitants for the 50 states.
Joke of the day: Reagan had conviction, and Trump cares about working stiffs
Menckens GhostWhile driving this morning, I checked into talk radio to hear the latest bullcrap from the right and to compare it with the latest bullcrap from the left. Wow, the stench coming out of the radio made my intellect gag.
The family of the killlers didn't see anything unusual
Menckens GhostFamily members also said they knew nothing about the stockpiling of guns and bombs, although the killers lived with grandma in a tiny townhouse, where they were stockpiling guns and ammo in the garage, were modifying semi-automatic guns in the garage
Obama Calls for Auto Loan Debt to Be Forgiven
Menckens GhostYou might have missed the announcement in the midst of the latest horrendous terrorism news, but President Obama has called for auto loan debt to be paid off by the federal government.
Watch Streaming Broadcast Live:
