The Daily Top Five: Jan. 10, 2007

1. Read Thomas Sowell, really read his work. Want a quick sample of the man's mind at work, here is a "Random Samples" column. Some quick excerpts:

The Funny:

Nothing is called "second-hand" any more, except "second-hand smoke." Why is it not called "pre-owned" smoke?

The Insightful:

Some people seem to think that we live in more "liberated" times, when all that has happened is that one set of taboos has been replaced by another and more intolerantly enforced set of taboos.

The Observational:

What is especially disturbing about the political left is that they seem to have no sense of the tragedy of the human condition. Instead, they tend to see the problems of the world as due to other people not being as wise or as noble as themselves.

The Truth:

We can only hope that the rumor that Israel is going to take out Iran's nuclear weapons facilities is true. If they do, Israel will be widely condemned by governments that are breathing a sigh of relief that they did.

Read more and then find more of his work to read.

2. Want read about what would be the greatest taxpayer funded boondoggle since the $400 hammer? How about taxpayer funded political campaigns? The fellas at the Center for Competitive Politics points to this article in the Washington Monthly. CCP won't give a pull quote, but I will:

But despite the efforts of some committed reformers in Congress, neither chamber’s Democratic leadership appears likely to put the issue squarely on the agenda during this session. The office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told me that, though she herself supports public financing, she has not yet decided to make it a “caucus position”—and she has conspicuously failed to sign a public-financing pledge being circulated by good-government groups. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has been no more enthusiastic.

This is a crazy decision. Leave aside the fact that, without public financing, you can’t begin to reform Washington’s pay-to-play legislative system. Leave aside the fact that major progressive policy goals—from universal health care to a fairer tax code—probably can’t be achieved without public financing. Leave aside, even, the fact that the current system, which winds up giving outsized political influence to those who can afford to fund campaigns, is a grievous affront to the ideals of the founding fathers. Focus instead on what is, to elected officials, the most important consideration of all: crass political advantage.

If money were the sole determinant of who would win elections, the GOP should have won in 2004 by a much bigger margin and should have kept the Congressional races in 2006 much closer than they were.

3. Speaking of the culture of corruption that is Capitol Hill, the Democratic House has passed a new set of rules regarding the behavior of members on matters ethical. Jan Baran and Bob Bauer, perhaps two of the leading luminaries of campaign finance and governmental ethics law are writing a series of Roll Call articles, which you can read at Bauer's blog without have to pay for a Roll Call subscription. Here is the first intallment and this takes you to the second. More will be forthcoming.

4. Speaking of campaign finance luminaries, Allison Hayward spent her morning at the Supreme Court, which has banned fur from the list of appropriate attire for members of the bar. But the Supreme Court did have real business, including the oral arguments for Davenport. The Skeptic is skeptical that the Washington state Supreme Court decision will survive.

5. A new blog for me comes via the 101st Edition of the Carnival of Education. Dirty Mechanism discusses the need to reform education, but with a take that is a little different than I have discussed and those most education policy makers and bloggers would take. It is a good read.