Author Archive | David Bernstein

As I type this, the VC is featuring an ad for the movie Fast Food Nation, which asks, “Who do you think is harmed most by fast food chains: the animals; the workers; or the consumers?” Hmm, unless McDonalds et al. are paying for the slaughter of workers and consumers, grinding them up, cooking them, […]

Building on Ilya’s last post, I remember reading a funny story about a visit by Milton Friedman to Israel in the 1970s, which may or may not be aprochryphal. To understand the story, you need the following background information: First, Israel traditionally has had a five and a half day workweek. Second, in the 1970s […]

Would you believe Israeli Defense Minister and former socialist labor leader Amir Peretz criticizing a wealthy citizen for being charitable because it’s the job of the state, and only the state, to help individuals who need it? Sheesh! Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Thursday blasted business tycoon Arkady Gaydamak for financing a free weekend in […]

I’ve just learned that Milton Friedman died today. He was, without question, one of the twentieth century’s greatest champions of liberty. The debt of intellectual gratitude that I, along with so many others, owe him, is simply immense. Without realizing it at the time, I virtually grew up on Friedman, as my dad’s self-tutoring in […]

It will be interesting to follow this one. I remember many years ago reading an article in one of the newsweeklies (that I wished I had saved, but didn’t), that contained a couple of startling bits of information. One was a quote from an official at one of the U.C. schools, I think it was […]

I’ve continued to follow the Northern Virginia real estate market, as my wife an I are moving back to the area in January after spending two semesters visiting at University of Michigan Law School, and one at Brooklyn Law School. At this point, we’re hoping to rent a house or townhouse near the metro in […]

Kirkland and Ellis awards a “diversity” fellowship at many of the nation’s leading law schools (see this announcement for the one at Yale). The fellowship seems to consist of a Summer associate position at K & E, plus a $15,000 stipend during one’s third year of law school. Only non-whites are eligible. If K & […]

Tom Smith of the Right Coast I thought we had to go into Iraq because of WMDs and I still think so. I thought that’s what we learned from all those dangerous documents the Pentagon put up on the web that the NY Times was complaining about. I just thought the idea of hanging around […]

on Canadian Jews: Benjamin Netanyahu and Daniel Pipes cannot equally freely, or fearlessly, speak at any progressive, multicultural, Canadian campus. No pro-Zionist can. But just about every self-serving anti-Zionist demagogue and Israel-demonizing progressive ideologue can. Hate is whatever those with the power to disrupt, destroy, and silence, say it is. And so, only the Jewish […]

showing various characteristics of different parts of the U.S.

There has been a bit of a brouhaha lately over the decision of Israeli security officials to ban students from the Palestinian territories from Israeli universities. The Israeli government has been criticized by Israeli university presidents for this decision, as well as by various international bodies, including the AAUP. The decision strikes me as unwise, […]

claiming that the anti-preference initiative violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (in part because it bans only certain types of preferences), is preempted by federal civil rights laws (because it prevents universities from using the only effective technique they have at hand to integrate), and violates the First Amendment of public universities […]

Having just seen “Borat,” I’m afraid it turns out that the Jews have played another hoax on the Kazakh people. The Kazakh documentarian Borat is actually an Israeli! Despite his rugged Kazakh looks and cunning Kazakh accent, when he is not speaking English in the movie, he is actually speaking Hebrew! Those Jews will stop […]

I didn’t know that Deval Patrick was running for governor of Massachusetts, or I would have posted this sooner. Patrick makes a brief cameo in my book You Can’t Say That!, and this cameo suggests that he has, or at least had, little understanding of, or sympathy for, freedom of speech. The background is that […]

Detroit Free Press: University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman says the school will explore its legal options after the state’s voters approved a ban on affirmative action programs that offer preferences to women and minorities. Coleman says she has questions as to whether the ban is lawful, particularly as it pertains to higher education. […]