Froma Harrop from Creators Syndicate

Vacation Shortage in Land of Plenty for 06/17/2008

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

As we watch the economy slip into second-rateness, another depressing thought rises. All the toil and stress we've put into making America great never translated into the Dolce Vita (sweet life) for ordinary folks.

This may be the land of plenty — plenty of stuff and the debt to show for it — but it's also home of subsistence-level vacations. And rather than grow with prosper ...

Updated: Tue Jun 17, 2008

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McCain Has Given Enough for 06/19/2008

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

"Dear Greg, I've been dating a guy since I was 23. I'm 28 now. We started talking about marriage two years ago, and he said he wasn't 'ready.' So we moved in together to help him get 'ready.' ... Does he need more time, or is he just not that into marrying me?"

The above comes from the self-help book (now a movie) "He's Just Not That Into You." Co-author Greg Behrendt ...

Updated: Thu Jun 19, 2008

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The Real Beef in Korean Trade Talks for 06/24/2008

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The high-class explanation for the South Korean riots against U.S. beef is protectionism. The low-class explanation is anti-Americanism.

But a third view — that South Koreans are justified in slamming the safety of American beef — has no class at all. That educated people subscribe to such libel does not dignify it.

Let's back up.

South Korea once was the third- ...

Updated: Tue Jun 24, 2008

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Who Is Cutting Women's Lives Short? for 06/26/2008

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

News that life expectancy among some American women has fallen earned startled headlines, as well it should. In this country, life expectancy is something that's supposed to go up. It took a big scourge, such as the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, to depress it.

But a study published in the online journal PLoS finds that in about 1,000 U.S. counties, women's life expectancies are shorter t ...

Updated: Thu Jun 26, 2008

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Dominators Decline With Dollar for 07/01/2008

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Paris was hardly empty of U.S. visitors last week. But there were far fewer American voices than in past years, and the ones you heard were saying things like, "It's so ex-PEN-sive!"

The U.S. dollar — which once carried the adjective "mighty" before it — is now a shadow of its former swaggering self. In 2000, one U.S. dollar could buy 1.21 euros, the then- ...

Updated: Tue Jul 01, 2008

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The Politics of Foreclosure for 07/03/2008

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

What are the politics of the housing meltdown? Foreclosure agony is undoubtedly a campaign issue, but the political question remains: What do the voters want their leader to do about it? Then there's the economic question: What can a president do about it — other than ask taxpayers to bail out people who took on more debt than they could handle?

More than 3 million homeowners curre ...

Updated: Thu Jul 03, 2008

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What Americans Want in Immigration for 07/08/2008

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Immigration is said to be a divisive issue, but it really isn't. Large majorities of Americans favor legal immigration, and large majorities oppose illegal immigration.

But the failure to control the process has created a tiger that periodically pounces onto the national stage. John McCain and Barack Obama both have their positions on immigration — many similar, some different. And ...

Updated: Tue Jul 08, 2008

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Obama's Liberal Shiver for 07/10/2008

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Watching liberals grope for first aid as Barack Obama does an about-face on their most cherished issues, one recalls a scene from the 1950 movie "All About Eve."

Theater critic Addison DeWitt takes great offense when a manipulative young actress tries to sneak her schemes past him. He snarls, "Is it possible, even conceivable, that you've confused me with that gang of back ...

Updated: Thu Jul 10, 2008

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Mortgage Scandal a Bipartisan Affair for 07/15/2008

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

To borrow a Barack Obama line, "There's not a liberal America and a conservative America, there's a United States of America." That's true — and everyone in it tried to make a quick buck off the housing bubble.

Since Ronald Reagan, Republicans have demonized government oversight as a liberal plot to dampen the animal spirits of America's entrepreneurs. Let the market do t ...

Updated: Tue Jul 15, 2008

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The High Cost of Healthy People for 07/17/2008

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The word "prevention" has a nice ring in any health-care discussion. Thus, many politicians argue that programs to stop smoking, improve diets and otherwise promote wholesome living save money in the long run. A healthier population at less cost —sounds like a win-win situation.

Unfortunately, that formulation is a pleasant fantasy.

Medical economists agree that ca ...

Updated: Thu Jul 17, 2008

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Tomatoes and Their Bad Rap for 07/22/2008

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

"Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?" former Labor Secretary Ray Donovan famously asked after being indicted for mob-related larceny and fraud, and then acquitted of the charges.

Vegetables can have the same problem — or to be (SET ITA) botanically correct in the case of tomatoes, fruit. For three months, the Food and Drug Administration held tomatoes ...

Updated: Tue Jul 22, 2008

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Memories of the McCain That Was for 07/24/2008

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Too bad there's no time-traveling on Election Day. The more moderate John McCain of eight years ago would make a very attractive candidate, and Barack Obama eight years from now could offer an impressive track record.

Of course, we can time-travel in our heads. And that ability accounts for polls showing a tight race in a year when the Democrat should be surfing double-digit margins.

...

Updated: Thu Jul 24, 2008

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Live Man Dying for 07/29/2008

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Fascination with Heath Ledger no doubt swells the mobs going to see "The Dark Knight," the new Batman movie. Ledger's brilliance as the psycho Joker has spawned speculation that the actor's own descent in drug madness had fueled his demonic performance.

Ledger died of an apparently accidental prescription-drug overdose last January, just as the main filming ended. The 28-year-o ...

Updated: Tue Jul 29, 2008

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Could a VP Romney Be Health-Care Tsar? for 07/31/2008

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

We who obsess over universal health coverage may soon confront a startling development: The only candidate on a major-party presidential ticket to have proposed and implemented a universal plan could well be a Republican. I speak of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, now high on the list of John McCain's possible running mates.

McCain's own health proposal merely tinkers around an ex ...

Updated: Thu Jul 31, 2008

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Offshore Drilling: Candidates Concur on Bad Idea for 08/05/2008

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In a rare burst of bipartisan consensus, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama have agreed on a dreadful proposal: Open more of America's fragile coastlines to offshore oil drilling.

How is it awful? Let me count the ways.

1. It will do nothing for today's or tomorrow's pump prices. The U.S. Energy Department says it: Drilling in these previously banned offshore areas "would not ...

Updated: Tue Aug 05, 2008

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A Nation of Whiners? Perhaps for 08/07/2008

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

You won't hear me straining to defend Phil Gramm, the Texas Republican whose penchant for grating commentary sunk his 1996 bid for the presidency before the New Hampshire primary. It was really just a matter of time before the former senator, serving as John McCain's economic advisor, put his foot in it: Gramm opined that Americans complaining about the economy were "whiners."

...

Updated: Thu Aug 07, 2008

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Sex, etc. and the City for 08/12/2008

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I'm not a big fan of the nanny society's limits on freedom, except when I am. That's the dilemma for me, and for everyone. Reason magazine recently ranked "the worst nanny cities in America" by assessing their laws regulating sex, tobacco, alcohol, guns, driving, drugs, gambling and food. Whether these things are good, bad or no one's business is clearly up to the beholder.

Lib ...

Updated: Tue Aug 12, 2008

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Dry Eyes Follow Edwards' Downfall for 08/14/2008

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

It's hard to recall a political burial as fast and cold as that of John Edwards. After all, the former North Carolina senator had been a serious contender for president until a few months ago and possibly for VP until last week. Had his cheesy affair not surfaced, he would have commanded a choice speaking slot at the Democrats' convention.

The tabloids and cable television are still havi ...

Updated: Thu Aug 14, 2008

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It's No Longer Just About Hillary for 08/19/2008

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

After hearing her name placed in nomination at the Democrats' convention next week, Hillary Clinton will no doubt urge her followers to support Barack Obama. What good that gesture will do for the Obama candidacy remains to be seen. Clinton has already made it several times, but a new Pew Research Center poll shows that 28 percent of her primary voters do not intend to vote for Obama, a number ...

Updated: Tue Aug 19, 2008

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Even Health Care Can Be Outsourced for 08/21/2008

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Is "medical tourism" — Americans' going abroad for cheaper treatments — good or bad? The answer is "yes." It's both. But one thing is for sure: Medical tourism is here to stay. A new study by the Deloitte consulting firm forecasts that the number of Americans going abroad for care, 750,000 last year, will explode to 10 million by 2012.

I fancy myself somet ...

Updated: Thu Aug 21, 2008

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