Around the country, sports entrepreneurs have been responding to a perceived social problem by doing what they do best: efficiently serving customers. The advent of the work-out craze led to the blossoming of a prospering health-club industry. Along with growth, however, came certain problems, some of which are the result of men and women using the same fitness facilities.
Bill Clinton has long enjoyed the support of prominent feminists. They not only know a political ally when they see one; they recognize that many of Clinton’s detractors are actually attacking sexual harassment laws. But, in light of the Clinton sexual scandals, some, like Anita Hill, fear the laws may be weakened. Indeed, this may be the only happy outcome of an otherwise dreary episode.
Having failed to nationalize health care at the beginning of its first term, the Clinton administration seeks to nationalize children in its second. With little opposition from Republicans, the administration has proposed spending tens of billions of dollars on subsidized day care, mostly through federal grants to state day-care bureaucracies.
G.K. Chesterton called the family an anarchistic institution. He meant that it requires no act of the state to bring it about. Its existence flows from fixed realities in the nature of man, with its form refined by the development of sexual norms and the advance of civilization.
Far from having been reformed, much less abolished, welfare continues to grow. The most recent example is the attempt by the Clinton administration to convince Americans that there is a “child care crisis,” which can only be “solved” through expansion of government. The welfare state has become a deeply destructive but sadly unavoidable fact of life in modern society.
When Clinton declared he would use budget surpluses to “fix” Social Security, the ruse was obvious. He was trying to forestall the only moral use of any surplus: cutting taxes. But a few days later, a very strange trend began to develop. Clintons words were endorsed and echoed by D.C. conservatives and libertarians.
The civil rights juggernaut has now invaded sports, that one-time redoubt of pure merit and standing embarrassment for affirmative action. Not only does this latest beachhead presage significant real-world consequences, it reveals something of the strategy of the privilege lobby.
It was a news story to end all news stories—literally. The announcement that a giant asteroid was headed for the vicinity of the earth caused a momentary sensation. Dr. Brian G. Marsden, director of the Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams, informed the media that an asteroid would pass within 30,000 miles of earth on October 26, 2028—a Thursday—and that it could possibly score a direct hit.
How is capitalism being treated in American popular culture today? The signals are mixed, but generally the picture is bleak. Hollywood continues its unrelenting assault on the commercial society that is its own lifeblood. The latest filmmaker to criticize capitalism all the way to the bank is James Cameron, self-proclaimed “king of the world” at the recent Oscar ceremonies. His film Titanic has become the biggest money-maker of all time by providing a cheesy parable on the evils of money-making.
Former FTC Chairman James C. Miller III, tells the story of how, in the early 1980s, Chrysler head Lee Iacocca requested that the FTC block a proposed joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. The request was denied. GM and Toyota formed the New United Motor Manufacturing Corporation. Iacocca entered into his own joint venture with Mitsubishi.
