After America

by Mark Steyn

  38 Stephen F. Hayes, “Scott Brown’s Road to Victory,” The Weekly Standard, January 20, 2010; available online at http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/scottbrowns-road-victory.

  39 MSNBC, “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” January 19, 2010; facts available online at http://hotair.com/archives/2010/01/20/olby-massachusetts-suddenlyturned-racist/.

  40 Chris Woodyard, “Scott Brown drives his GMC pickup to U.S. Senate victory,” USA Today, January 20, 2010; facts available online at http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/01/scott-brown-drives-his-gmc-pickuptruck-to-us-senate-victory/1.

  41 Roderick Random, “Kanjorski ponders ‘nuts,’ bolts from blue,” Scranton Times Tribune, October 23, 2010; available online at http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/editorials-columns/roderick-random/kanjorski-ponders-nuts-boltsfrom-blue-1.1052739#axzz1A4hLabIP.

  42 Michael Young, “Down With Meritocracy,” The Guardian, June 29, 2001; available online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2001/jun/29/comment.

  43 Peter Berkowitz, “The New Dogma of Fairness,” from New Threats to Freedom, ed. Adam Bellow (Templeton Press, May, 2010); available online at http://www.peterberkowitz.com/thenewdogmaoffairness.pdf.

  44 Neil Munro, “The Diversity Economy,” National Journal, July 24, 2010; available online at http://nationaljournal.com/magazine/the-diversity-economy-20100724?print=true.

  45 Frank Rich, “The Rage is Not About Health Care,” New York Times, March 27, 2010; available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/opinion/28rich.html.

  46 Karen Brown, “Mass. Health Care Reform Reveals Doctor Shortage,” NPR, November 30, 2008; available online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97620520.

  47 FOX News, “New Rules Coming for Payments Out of Health Savings Accounts,” October 15, 2010; available online at http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/15/new-health-care-rules-require-doctors-note-pay-otc-drugs-fsas/.

  48 NPR, “What’s The Role Of Race In Health Care Fracas?” August 14, 2009; available online at http://m.npr.org/news/front/111899507?page=2.

  49 Remarks to the Atlanta Press Club in Atlanta, Georgia, October 21, 2010; facts available online at http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/10/21/130728202/nprceo-williams-views-of-muslims-should-stay-between-himself-and-his-psychiatrist.

  50 Comments posted on “JournoList”, November 7, 2008; facts available online at http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/21/obama-wins-and-journolisters-rejoice/2/ and http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/07/on-eric-altermansfucking-nascar-retards/60556/.

  51 Greg Bluestein, “Firefighters stuck in Ga. awaiting orders,” Associated Press, September 7, 2005; available online at http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-07-firefighters-ga-katrina_x.htm.

  52 David Warren, “Two Solitudes,” Ottawa Citizen, October 5, 2008; available online http://davidwarrenonline.com/index.php?id=927.

  53 John Tierney,“Nader Searches for His Roots,” New York Times, February 15, 2004; facts available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/politics/campaign/15POIN.html.

  54 David Warren, “Two Solitudes,” Ottawa Citizen.

  55 Jeanne Sahadi, “47% will pay no federal income tax,” CNNMoney.com, October 3, 2009; available online at http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/30/pf/taxes/who_pays_taxes/index.htm.

  56 Benjamin Niolet, “Stimulus funds pay for monkey research in N.C.,” The Raleigh News & Observer, March 8, 2010; available online at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/08/89974/stimulus-funds-pay-for-monkey.html.

  57 Interview with WJR in Detroit, Michigan on October 7, 2009; facts available online at http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_100809/content/01125107.guest.html.

  58 Christopher Caldwell, “Islam on the Outskirts of the Welfare State,” New York Times, February 5, 2006; available online at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E1DA1E3FF936A35751C0A9609C8B63&pagewanted=1.

  59 “The ‘Shameless’ generation of benefit addicts: Almost five million adults live in jobless homes,” UK Daily Mail, August 26, 2009; available online at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1209072/Five-million-job-Labour--raising-fears-Shameless-generation-benefit-addicts.html.

  60 Remarks to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, March 31, 2010; available online at http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150147642760012.

  61 Pew Research Center, “A Balance Sheet at 30 Months: How the Great Recession Has Changed Life in America,” June 30, 2010; available online at http://pewsocialtrends.org/files/2010/11/759-recession.pdf.

  62 Interview with Robert Costa of National Review in New York, New York, September 2, 2010; available online at http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/245438/caddell-midterm-elections-robert-costa.

  63 Remarks during first inaugural address in Washington, D.C., January 20, 1981; available online at http://www.reaganfoundation.org/pdf/Inaugural_Address_012081.pdf.

  64 Dennis Cauchon, “For Feds, More Get 6-Figure Salaries,” USA Today, December 11, 2009; available online at http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-12-10-federal-pay-salaries_N.htm.

  65 Ibid.

  66 Veronique de Rugy, “Interesting Data on Increasing Public Employment,” National Review, July 22, 2010; available online at http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/233524/interesting-data-increasing-public-employment-veronique-de-rugy.

  67 The Bureau of Public Debt, “Careers With Us,” United States Department of the Treasury; available online at http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/careers/careers_with_us.htm.

  68 Dennis Cauchon, “Federal workers earning double their private counterparts,” USA Today, August 13, 2010; available online at http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm.

  69 Ibid.

  70 “Charlie’s Ways and Means,” New York Post, September 19, 2008; available online at http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/item_snml5IwUtfFmW-Wzs2g2BMK.

  71 Kerry Picket, “Rangel to TWT: I don’t deal in average American citizens,” Washington Times, December 3, 2010; available online at http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm.

  72 Remarks at a town hall meeting in Hayward, California, August 2, 2010 ; available online at http://www.breitbart.tv/congressman-at-town-hall-the-federalgovernment-can-do-most-anything-in-this-country/.

  73 Remarks to the National Press Club at a luncheon, July 24, 2009; facts available online at http://www.cnsnews.com/node/51610 and http://press.org/speakers/speakers-press-club/luncheon-archive.

  74 Allahpundit, “Aw: John Conyers openly reading Playboy on airplanes now,” HotAir.com, November 24, 2010; facts available online at http://hotair.com/archives/2010/11/24/aw-john-conyers-openly-reading-playboy-on-airplanesnow/.

  75 Charles Hurt and Yoav Gonen, “Teachers union gets a pass on ObamaCare rule,” New York Post, October 8, 2010; available online at http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/teachers_union_gets_pass_on_obamacare_dhoJQgXRKLwbYtp6Nam7LK.

  76 Todd J. Gillman, “Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson repays Congressional Black Caucus Foundation for scholarships,” Dallas Morning News, September 2, 2010; available online at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/nationalpolitics/20100901-Rep-Eddie-Bernice-Johnson-repays-6732.ece.

  77 Remarks at a press conference, July 4, 2005; facts available online at http://spectator.org/archives/2005/07/05/nullification-nancy and http://eminentdomain.blogspot.com/2005/07/pelosi-supreme-court-is-god.html.

  78 Remarks during first inaugural address, March 4, 1861; available online at http://www.nationalcenter.org/LincolnFirstInaugural.html.

  79 Theodore Lowi, The End of Liberalism: The Second Republic of the United States (New York: W. W. Norton, 1979).

  80 Remarks to the Legislative Conference for National Association of Counties, March 9, 2010; available online at http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/pelosi-health-care-039we-have-pass-bill-so-you-can-findout-what-it039.

  81 Terence P. Jeffrey, “Obama Doesn’t
Rule Out Bypassing Congress and Using EPA Regulations to Cap Carbon Emissions,” CNSNews.com, November 4, 2011; available online at http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-doesn-t-rulebypassing-congress-an.

  82 Robert Pear, “Obama Returns to End-of-Life Plan That Caused Stir,” New York Times, December 26, 2010; available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/us/politics/26death.html; and Jay Solomon, “Medicare Will Pay for End-of-Life Talks,” Wall Street Journal, December 27, 2010; available online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203568004576043970989095748.html?mod=WSJ_topics_obama.

  83 Philip Klein, “The Empress of ObamaCare,” American Spectator, June 2010; available online at http://spectator.org/archives/2010/06/04/the-empress-ofobamacare.

  84 Reuven Fenton and Jennifer Fermino, “Extra Tax for Slicing,” New York Post, August 25, 2010; available online at http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ny_cut_of_bagel_dough_YEhNdwO7ZwlUO555GQ4rNN.

  85 Cardwell, Diane, “A New Team Helps Steer Restaurateurs Through a Thicket of Red Tape,” New York Times, December 27, 2010; available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/nyregion/28permits.html.

  86 Danny Hakim, “Albany’s Two Payrolls: One Is Anybody’s Guess,” New York Times, July 27, 2010; available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/nyregion/28payroll.html

  87 Tom Cohen, “White House: $98 billion in bad payments,” CNNMoney.com, November 18, 2009; available online at http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/18/news/improper_payments.cnnw/index.htm.

  88 Jack Shafer, “Fannie Mae and the Vast Bipartisan Conspiracy,” Slate.com, September 16, 2008; available online at http://www.slate.com/id/2200160/.

  89 Clyde Wayne Crews, “Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Regulatory State,” Competitive Enterprise Institute report, June 28, 2006; available online at http://cei.org/studies-issue-analysis/ten-thousandcommandments-annual-snapshot-regulatory-state.

  90 Joel Salatin, Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front, Polyface, 2007; available online at http://acresusa.com/books/closeup.asp?prodid=1601&catid=13&pcid=2.

  91 Interview during a Tea Party in Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 2009; available online at http://newsbusters.org/blogs/julia-seymour/2009/04/15/cnn-correspondentclaims-tea-parties-anti-government-anti-cnn.

  92 Kris Maher, “Pennsylvania Pie Fight: State Cracks Down on Baked Goods,” Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2009; available online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123932034907406927.html.

  93 Helen Jung, “Portland lemonade stand runs into health inspectors, needs $120 license to operate,” The Oregonian, August 4, 2010; available online at http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/portland_lemonade_stand_runs_i.html.

  94 State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., January 23, 1996; available online at http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/New/other/sotu.html.

  95 Mark Storer, “County pulls plug on free coffee, doughnuts at Camarillo store,” Ventura County Star, February 24, 2010; available online at http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/feb/24/county-pulls-plug-on-free-coffee-doughnutsat/?print=1.

  96 Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gross-Domestic-Product-by-Industry Accounts, 1947-2010, “Value Added by Industry as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product,” (Historical table); available online at http://www.bea.gov.

  97 David Streitfeld, “Housing Fades as a Means to Build Wealth, Analysts Say,” (alternate headline online) New York Times, August 22, 2010; available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/business/economy/23decline.html.

  98 Ibid.

  99 David P. Goldman, “Demographics & Depression,” First Things, May 2009; available online at http://www.firstthings.com/article/2009/05/demographics-depression-1243457089.

  100 David Streitfeld, “Housing Fades as a Means to Build Wealth, Analysts Say,” New York Times.

  101 Simon Johnson, “The Quiet Coup,” the Atlantic Monthly, May, 2009; available online at http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/05/the-quietcoup/7364/.

  102 Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, “OCC’s Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities Fourth Quarter 2010,” 2011; available online at http://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/capital-markets/financial-markets/trading/derivatives/dq410.pdf.

  103 “Taleb’s ‘Black Swan’ Investors Post Gains as Markets Take Dive,” Bloomberg News, October 14, 2008; available online at http://marketpipeline.blogspot. com/2008/10/talebs-black-swan-investors-post-gains.html.

  104 Jay Currie, “2008 Adieu,” JayCurrie.info-syn.com, December 31, 2008; available online at http://jaycurrie.info-syn.com/2008-adieu/.

  105 Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Products Accounts Table, 1982-2010, “Table 2.1: Personal Income and Its Disposition,” (Historical table); available online at http://www.bea.gov.

  106 Justin Lahart and Mark Whitehouse, “Families Slice Debt to Lowest in 6 Years,” Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2011; available online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704823004576192602754071800.html.

  107 Ann Zimmerman, Jennifer Saranow and Miguel Bustillo, “Retail Sales Plummet,” Wall Street Journal, December 26, 2008; available online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123025036865134309.html.

  108 Remarks at a campaign stop in Roseburg, Oregon, May 16, 2008; facts available online at http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-wpxs1Re-8vx2Zk5xnYygW1W67w.

  109 Martin Wolf, “Keynes offers us the best way to think about the financial crisis,” Financial Times, December 23, 2008; available online at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/be2dbf2c-d113-11dd-8cc3-000077b07658.html#axzz1MYZ4Ba8m.

  110 US Census Bureau, “International Data Base (IDB): Country Rankings,” 2011; available online at http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/rank.php.

  111 Federal Reserve Bank of New York, “Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit,” (page 27) February, 2011; available online at http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/national_economy/householdcredit/DistrictReport_Q42010.pdf.

  112 Fortune, “Global 500,” CNNMoney.com, July 26, 2010; available online at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/snapshots/11384.html.

  113 Ibid.

  114 Press release, “Minmetals & Jiangxi Copper Successfully Acquire Northern Peru Copper,” China Minmetals Corporation, January 29, 2008; available online at http://www.minmetals.com/english/detail.jsp?article_millseconds=1201592566219.

  115 Press release, “Minmetals Succeeds in OZ Minerals Deal,” Minmetals Australia Pty. Ltd., June 11, 2008; available online at http://australia.minmetals.com.cn/news_1.jsp?article_millseconds=1248748749312.

  116 Press release, “Minmetals Seals Bauxite Agreement with Jamaica.Premier Wen and Jamaican Prime Minister Attend the Ceremony,” China Minmetals Corporation, June 23, 2005; available online at http://www.minmetals.com/english/detail.jsp?article_millseconds=200512150159.

  117 Chris Nicholson, “Sinopec to Buy Addax Petroleum for $7.2 Billion,” New York Times, June 24, 2009; available online at http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/sinopec-to-buy-addax-for-7-billion/.

  118 Shawn McCarthy, “China’s big move into Alberta,” Globe and Mail, April 12, 2010; available online at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/chinas-big-move-into-alberta/article1532062/.

  119 Press release, “Sinochem Completed the Acquisition of Emerald,” Sinochem Group, November 13, 2009; available online at http://www.sinochem.com/tabid/696/InfoID/10994/Default.aspx.

  120 Ahmed Rasheed, “Iraq inaugurates oil deal with China’s CNPC,” Reuters, March 11, 2009; available online at http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/11/iraqoil-ahdab-idUSLB36965920090311.

  121 Ezra Levant, “Collecting the weak,” Calgary Sun, November 28, 2010; available at http://www.calgarysun.com/comment/columnists/ezra_levant/2010/11/26/16332861.html; and Shrikesh Laxmidas and Kevin Yao, “China offers to help Portugal, but silent on debt,” Reuters, November 7, 2010; available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/07/us-china-portugal-hu-idUS-TRE6A616R20101107.

  122 �
�GM’s IPO Included Selling Holding of $500 Million to Chinese Partner SAIC,” Bloomberg News, November 18, 2010; available at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-18/gm-sells-500-million-stake-to-chinese-partner-saic-as-partof-stock-offer.html; and “China’s SAIC close to GM IPO stake buy-sources,” Reuters, November 10, 2010; available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/10/gm-saic-idUSWEN287720101110.

  123 Remarks at a conference in Montreal, Quebec, February 7, 2008; available online at http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=290513.

  124 Quoted by Local Transport Today, December 2007; available online at http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/007646.html.

  125 James Hansen, “The Price of Change,” South China Morning Post, November 3, 2010; available online at http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2010/20101122_ChinaOpEd.pdf.

  126 Remarks on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” May 23, 2010; available online at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37279599/ns/meet_the_press/.

  127 Thomas L. Friedman, “Our One-Party Democracy,” New York Times, September 8, 2009; available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/opinion/09friedman.html.

  Chapter Three

  1 Philip Pangalos, “Greece on brink of abyss as three bank workers killed in riots,” The Times, May 6, 2010; available online at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7117546.ece.

  2 Emily Ford and David Charter, “Q&A: The Greek Crisis,” The Times, May 4, 2010; available online at http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article7115701.ece.

  3 Interview with Thames TV, London, England, February 5, 1976; available online at http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/102953.

  4 United Nations, “Total Fertility Rate (children per woman),” UNData; available online at http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A54.

  5 Alan S. Blinder, “The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics: Keynesian Economics,” Library of Economics and Liberty; available online at http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/KeynesianEconomics.html.

  6 Remarks during state of the state address in Sacramento, California, January 9, 2007; available online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901427.html.