Giant Sucking Sound
In 2009, more than 2,600 people were murdered as a part of the drug trade in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. As I write, Kingston, Jamaica is …
The Hidden Movement Toward National Land-Use Planning
Planners have zoned 97% of my home state of Oregon as “rural.” In the least restrictive of the rural zones, you cannot build a house …
For the Gripper
Few people understand what the Tea Party movement is all about. Although at first glance it appears to be a collection of anti-tax conservatives, what …
High-Speed Flail, cont’d
Even as President Obama attempts to emulate the French by building high- speed rail lines, the French are stepping back and may cur- tail service …
Unleashing the Hounds
Recently, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that future federal transit grants would focus on “livability.” Beneath the rhetoric is LaHood’s decision to eliminate the only …
High-Speed Folly
President Obama’s decision to travel to Florida to announce federal grants to the states for high- speed trains on the day after his State of …
How the Greens Went Red
As many supporters of the free market have observed, the mainstream environmental movement firmly supports big government. Yet this wasn’t always true, and it is …
Riding the Dog
President Obama’s $100-billion high-speed rail plan faces an unexpected threat. It is called the bus. At least 14 bus companies compete directly with Amtrak’s high-speed …
Auto Asphyxiation
George Will recently accused Obama’s token Republican, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, of being the “Secretary of Behavior Modification.” Rather than making our transportation systems …
Granola Works
My former hometown of Portland, Oregon, is proud of its international reputation for sustain- ability and land-use and transportation planning. But lately the city government …