The difference was made gin-clear by a recent editorial in the International Herald Tribune, wholly owned by the New York Times, sneeringly entitled The Nanny State? The difference is this:  A bank robber doesn't claim he has a moral right to steal your money.  A bank robber doesn't claim his thievery makes him the moral superior over his victims. Liberals do - which makes them far more immoral than common criminals, thugs and thieves.  According to the IHT, "The United States has long had one of the most meager tax takes in the industrial world [at least they call it ‘take,' as in ‘theft'].  America's social spending [i.e., welfare programs] is almost the stingiest among industrial nations." Such meager and stingy theft is condemned as a "moral outrage," a contemptibly "tightfisted" approach to "public needs." It is liberal thievery that is the moral outrage - and we have a Congress in Washington run by such thieves because too few conservatives have the courage to denounce the criminality.

In recent years, the old "let's tax them more" crowd was on the defensive. But now, with a politically weakened president, the tax increase lobby is out in full force. All the Democrats running for president have promised to increase taxes. Almost every week, some senator or representative advocates more taxes to impose upon the American people. The tax increasing Democrats are betting the new generation of voters does not remember how the old, high tax rates affected the economy. The U.S. has only suffered three "down" quarters of economic growth since 1982 - a record never before enjoyed. To pull off the "new taxes will not hurt" charade, the Democrats need to convince people the Reagan and Bush tax cuts had nothing to do with the unmatched economic growth and job creation. If Benjamin Franklin were with us today, he would rephrase his famous quote and say, with Democrats, nothing is certain but lies and taxes.

Alpbach, Austria. Nestled in the middle of the Alps, this is about as scenic as a place can be. The homes and lodges, all of which have the distinctive Alpine architecture, are graced with lovely hanging red and white flowers. There is no crime, no graffiti, no litter and no apparent poverty. In short, it is the perfect place for the 63rd annual Alpbach European Forum, where many European opinion leaders gather each summer to discuss the problems of, and opportunities for, Europe. Alpbach, of course, is no more representative of Europe than is the Disney-created town of Celebration, Florida, representative of America. They are both attempts to produce the ideal community. Many conference participants seek to fashion their ideal version of Europe, yet fail to understand that the philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment and the economists of the Austrian School (along with their University of Chicago comrades) many years ago set forth the rules that need to be followed for Europe and the rest of the planet to achieve peace, tolerance and ever-increasing prosperity. Ironically, America learned the lessons from these Europeans better than did Europe, and now many Asians are learning them and becoming ever freer and more prosperous as a result. Yet today, many in Europe claim they have a more humane economic system than one with the rough edges of American style capitalism. However, reality shows a very different picture.

Students the world over have always asked their elders, what should I study in order to get a good job? In this age of globalization and the Internet, the question involves a whole new dimension. Students in rich countries, such as the United States and Germany, fear their chosen trade or profession might be outsourced to a low-wage country. Students in developing countries, such as Mongolia and Paraguay, understand that globalization and the Internet may give them access to jobs never before available. Those on both the left and right who can only see dangers and misery from any new technological advance argue that huge quantities of jobs will be transferred to the developing world, resulting in big drops in income in the developed countries. It is turning out, however, that if you have two basic skills, you'll be able to learn what you need to know for most jobs anywhere in the world.

Folks, I just can't adequately express what a wonderful time we had at the To The Point Summer Rendezvous last weekend in Colorado Springs.  The friendship, with everyone so obviously enjoying each other's company, was such a marvelous experience.  We ate well - the buffalo steak was fabulous - drank good wine, had endless scintillating conversations, hiked in the Garden of the Gods, and all of us can hardly wait to get together again. I owe a lot of thanks - to Miko Reyes, TTP General Manager, who put everything together while I was on the other side of the world.  To Joan Johnson, John Nehring, and Bill Gregory, without whose help Miko tells me he couldn't have succeeded. To Joel Wade, Jack Kelly, and Dagny D'Anconia, who so copiously shared their insights with us. And to all TTPers who attended, for the more I got to know them, the more interesting and fascinating they became.  Their skills, intelligence, values, patriotism, and just plain likeability were really overwhelming. Of all the myriad of questions during the weekend, the one most asked was:  When do we get to do this again - when and where's the next Rendezvous? It'll be mid-January, and as we've had two now in the West (Vegas and Colorado), it should be in the East.  But warm - forget winter in, say, Boston or DC.  Also historic, memorable, and fun.  So we're thinking Charleston, maybe Savannah.  Let me know what you think. So thanks to all for a great Rendezvous.  Don't miss the next one.  I can hardly wait for it myself.

The Chicoms intend to use the 2008 Beijing Olympics as did the Nazis in the 1936 Berlin Olympics - as a glorification of their rule and a demand that the world provide it with the prestige it so desperately craves.  That's their dream. Last May in Chinese Wishes, we discussed how the Chicoms' dearest dream may turn out to be a nightmare of protests and boycotts, a human rights debacle of Olympian proportions. It looks like Taiwan is going to make this nightmare a lot worse.  And the Chicoms won't be able to do a thing about it.

[Richard Rahn send us this from Mongolia, about which I wrote when I was there five years ago (August 2002) in Glaciers in the Gobi.  Yes, there really is a glacier in the Gobi Desert. -JW] Ulan Bator, Mongolia. This, one of Asia's poorest countries, has been an economic laggard relative to most of its Asian competitors. But now the economy has begun to grow rapidly. The question is, can this growth be sustained and perhaps even speeded up? Mongolia is landlocked in the center of Asia between two powerful neighbors, China and Russia. Though twice the size of France, it has less than three million people. Traditionally, the Mongols have been nomadic, tending their animal herds along the thousands of miles of Central Asian grasslands. Despite its handicaps, Mongolia has a few things going for it.  Consider:  by 2010, it is expected that 60 percent of Mongolians will have access to high-speed Internet.  Compare that to Russia, where little more than 1% do.

Last Saturday (8.18), a once enormously influential man in Washington died.  He was eulogized in every important newspaper from the New York Times to the Wall St. Journal to the Washington Times.  Let me tell you a completely unknown story about him. Before his presidency, Ronald Reagan lived for many years in California.  On a regular basis, he had his hair cut at his favorite barbershop in Beverly Hills.  After his election and before he moved to Washington, a friend of mine was assigned to his transition team.  Thus he accompanied Mr. Reagan to his barbershop appointment. My friend was startled to see an elderly man who just happened to be getting a haircut in the very next chair to which Mr. Reagan was seated.  The elderly man immediately began chatting up Mr. Reagan.  My friend was startled because the man was a Communist, the son of the founder of the Communist Party USA, one of America's richest and most powerful men who had made his fortune doing business with the Soviet Union since the days of Lenin. His name was Armand Hammer. My friend was seriously alarmed.  The president-elect's personal schedule and whereabouts was a highly-kept secret.  For someone in league with the Soviets to know it meant that someone - Armand Hammer - had a mole within Mr. Reagan's team on his payroll.  It took my friend years to find out the mole's identity.  It was the lionized man who died last Saturday.

Do you fear the Internal Revenue Service, even though you have done nothing wrong?  Most Americans do, and for good reason.

For decades, the courts, congressional hearings and the press have documented a steady stream of abuses by IRS personnel and federal prosecutors dealing with tax cases.

Last week, a federal judge dismissed charges against 13 former employees of the accounting firm KPMG because the government had violated their rights, in what had been billed by the government as its biggest-ever tax shelter case.

Despite overwhelming evidence of disgraceful and illegal government behavior (in the private sector it would be called extortion), the government has decided to appeal the case. Have they no shame?

Of, course, that's a rhetorical question.  Who needs shame when you have guns and power instead?

Do you think the world is getting better or worse? Despite the endless doom and gloom dished out by many in the media and political class, the objective evidence is that by almost any measure the world this past year was a better place for most of its habitants. Yes, the rich are getting richer, but the poor are also getting a lot richer, so much so that there are fewer poor each year. And more people live in free countries than ever. It is good to remind ourselves, as unhappy as we may be with our political leaders, that things are really getting better.   So despite the media hype and the blogs, the safer bet is things will get better for you and your family rather than worse. However, there are three real risks to most people's future well-being: Islamic fundamentalism, irrational global environmentalism, and the U.S. Congress.