Random thoughts on this and that

- Today is International Women's Day. Before you hear the usual arguments trotted out about how women earn 75 or 80 cents for every dollar that a man makes, think about this. If it were the case that women were underpaid for doing exactly the same job a man does, wouldn't it make sense for employers to hire women exclusively, since they would save 20-25% on labour costs? In the aggregate, women may make less but that's because they take time off for maternity leave. Moreover, women are disproportionately drawn to careers that are not as lucrative such as early childhood education. Discrimination is a convenient whipping boy but it's more imagined than real upon further analysis.

- Very interesting articles here and here looking forward to 2008. It looks like George Allen of Virginia is being heralded as the new Reagan as conservatives are increasingly disenchanted with the free-spending Bush administration. A new book, Getting America Right, asks six questions of every government program:

1. Is it the government's business?
2. Does it promote self-reliance?
3. Is it responsible?
4. Does it make America more prosperous?
5. Does it make us safer?
6. Does it unify us?

There's no reason these questions couldn't be asked in Canada, either.

- Great article here on how Dems have a vested interest in perpetuating racial grievances.

- Finally, Anne Appelbaum says it's time that Russia get slapped. I agree.