Free Republic

Cover Story 8/12/02 The coming water crisis Many billions of dollars will be needed to quench America's thirst, but is private business the answer?? By Marianne Lavelle and Joshua Kurlantzick The tap water was so dark in Atlanta some days this summer that Meg Evans couldn't see the bottom of the tub when she filled the bath. Elsewhere in her neighborhood, Gregg Goldenberg puts his infant daughter, Kasey, to bed unbathed rather than lower her into a brew "the color of iced tea." Tom Crowley is gratified that the Publix supermarket seems to be keeping extra bottled water on hand;...

Power Poll: Airline security Has airport security crossed a line from caution to absurdity? We want to know what you think. It’s been almost a year since the Sept. 11 attack, and in that time, the country has reinvented the way it handles air travel. Instead of spending hours wondering what to take, passengers are more concerned with what not to take. In Monday’s Wall Street Journal, former Senator George McGovern writes that he has found it more difficult to meet the demands of air travel these days. He recaps a few stressful days traveling from South Dakota to Denver,...

Did anyone see this coming? By "this," I mean not only the bear market, but the accounting scandals, the deception by corporate executives, and the disappearance of billions of dollars in shareholders' equity? Yes, indeed. Two longtime stock market experts waved red flags for the last five years. And they were ignored, ridiculed, and even threatened over their warnings of questionable accounting. So, it's appropriate to go back and acknowledge their foresight--as well as to ask them where they'd be investing now, and for the future. Here's a hint: They're both still incredibly bearish. Chuck Allmon has written the...

In the tight fraternity of Arthur Andersen LLP, Charles Anthony counts himself among a proud group forgotten amid the scandal that's brought down the once- venerable accounting firm. Mr. Anthony is a retired Andersen partner - one of about 720. And his retirement income was entirely dependent on the performance of the firm. His future income - and that of his spouse - is now in doubt as the company struggles to survive in the face of a federal indictment arising from Andersen's auditing of Enron Corp. “I'm disappointed, very disappointed,” said Mr. Anthony, 85, who joined Andersen in 1944...

I shock many students on the first day of my Property classes by defining property ownership in terms of control: whoever gets to make decisions about an item of property is the effective owner, regardless of what legal definitions may have to say about title. I then propose the following application of a property principle (which I ask them only to understand, not necessarily to agree with): "based upon what I have just stated, I may do whatever I want with my property, without any restrictions or limitations whatsoever. If I may not do so, then someone else – the...