Bob Novak on the Barrett report

Townhall.com :: Columns :: The Barrett report by Robert Novak - Jan 19, 2006:

"... an unredacted Barrett report is an opportunity to observe how the Internal Revenue Service decides when to prosecute, a place where Congress until now has feared to venture."

The true dirty little secret of this affair is not so much the failure to prosecute former HUD Secy. Cisneros but the degree to which fear of their own finances being investigated intimidates members of Congress from effective oversight of the IRS.

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

Global Warming Could Spell Disaster for Blacks:

"Citing Katrina as a case-in-point, some environmentalists say global warming impacts minorities and the disadvantaged harder than other groups. If global warming gets worse, many African-American communities will be more vulnerable to breathing ailments, insect-carried diseases and heat-related illness and death."

Although this bit of commentary mercifully omits most actual numbers except, for example, to excuse the fondness of minorities for flashy SUVs by pointing out that they emit 20% less CO2 per capita than Whites, it is fairly obvious that the entire premise of this article is based on misleading use of statistics.

It's sort of like the old joke about the bias of headline writers in the MSM - "World to end tomorrow: Minorities, children, elderly and women to be hardest hit: Bush denies responsibility."

Another boogeyman gets the social science research torture

The Scotsman - UK - Alcohol ads 'make teenagers drink more':

"Interviews with more than 4,000 young people aged 15 to 26 found that those who reported viewing more drink adverts also consumed more alcohol.

"Each additional advertisement viewed per month was associated with a 1 per cent increase in the number of drinks consumed. Increased advertising spending also led to heavier drinking over time."

Isn't it possible that interest in drinking has something to do with how much alcohol advertising you see? Does automobile advertising cause driving? If the modern-day Anti-Saloon League really is concerned about "binge drinking" by young people, why don't they support policies that allow parents to drink with their children socially - this was how I learned. These continuing attacks on legal articles of commerce and commercial speech are just the thin edge of a wedge that will destroy both rights and reasoned debate in many fields as time goes by.

Illegals strain medical care system

WorldNetDaily: Illegals threaten closure of emergency rooms:

"[Madeleine Pelner] Cosman said 84 hospitals in California have been forced to close because of the high cost of treating illegal aliens with only 50 percent of all treatments reimbursed by government."

I've commented on this subject numerous times before. This article also notes that illegals have a lot to do with the growing incidence of a number of diseases rarely seen in the US in recent decades.