When the great Thomas Sowell retired from writing commentary in 2016, he wrapped up his farewell column this way: With all the advances of blacks over the years, nothing so brought home to me the social degeneration in black ghettoes like a visit to a Harlem high school some years ago. When I
In the 1955 crime drama “The Desperate Hours,” a businessman and his family are taken hostage by a gang of escaped convicts. A struggle of wills and of wits ensues, with the businessman (Fredric March) and the lead convict (Humphrey Bogart, in the last of his great gangster roles) each striving to secure
An old joke tells how various newspapers would report the end of the world. The New York Times says: "World ends: Story and analysis on page B11." The Wall Street Journal’s version: "World ends: Markets take a beating." USA Today runs with: “World ends: Full color pullout, state-by-state highlights inside.” And the Washington
Another day, another massacre, another argument. Seems like only yesterday we were arguing about the slaying of 26 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Before that, it was Las Vegas (58 dead). Before that, it was Orlando (49 dead). Before that, it was San Bernardino (14 dead). Before that, it was Sandy Hook (27
Juan Leonardo Quintero was a pretty good yard man. His employer, Camp Landscaping of Deer Park, Texas, valued his services so much that the boss bailed him out of jail when he was arrested on a morals charge, and after Quintero pleaded guilty and was deported to Mexico, Camp lent him the money
It’s too soon to comment in any detail about what happened at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival Sunday night in Las Vegas. There’s too much we don’t yet know, and too much of what has already been reported doesn’t add up. But it’s clear that what President Trump has called “American
The United States is reaching a grim milestone: One million murdered Americans. The FBI just released the Uniform Crime Report for 2016, and it contains good news and bad news. The report’s two main categories are property crime (burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson) and violent crime (rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and
The brouhaha over political demonstrations during the National Anthem makes me think of a scene from “Junior Bonner,” a 1972 Sam Peckinpah film about rodeo cowboys starring Steve McQueen. A barroom brawl has broken out during the rodeo’s noontime break, and the biggest bruiser in the joint decides to put a stop to
“A murderer forfeits his life, and it is right that he should be killed by the sword.” So said Martin Luther, and his argument to that effect, cited here last week, may have impressed some readers and discombobulated others. But among those who confidently tell one another and the world that it’s unchristian—nay,
In January, I took up Donald Trump’s extraordinary promise to bring the crime and violence we know today to a quick end. I argued that this seemingly impossible vow can be fulfilled, but only by dramatically increasing the speed and certainty with which murderers are put to death. My piece had no impact
