FROM THE ARCHIVES.

15 YEARS AGO

December 2002

"Not that religion should be singled out as the source of intolerance: The worst acts of individual or state-sponsored terrorism during the last 100 years were driven by aggressively secular ideologies that promised an earthly paradise. It's more accurate to say that every belief system that lays claim to the One Truth carries within it the seeds of violent intolerance."

CATHY YOUNG

"Ecumenical Intolerance"

25 YEARS AGO

December 1992

"When presented with packaged food, my 5-year-old niece will carefully examine the label, looking for the symbol that assures her it's OK to eat: a U inside a circle, which certifies that the food has been prepared according to Jewish dietary laws, under the supervision of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. She will not accept a mere K, which represents the manufacturer's unverified statement that the product is kosher. You might think that if a preschooler is capable of making such distinctions, so is the average adult, observant Jew. But some people don't want to take any chances. For decades regulators in 20 states have inspected businesses selling ostensibly kosher food to make sure they follow the laws of kashrut."

JACOB SULLUM

"Kosher Pickle"

"Any appreciation of the overreaching of politics must be accompanied by an understanding of how markets can provide nonpoliticized alternative solutions, even if, in many cases, organizational judgments must be made by pragmatic comparisons between an imperfect politics and an imperfect market."

JAMES M. BUCHANAN

"What Should the President Read?"

"That phrase--'The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world without ...'--has become the justification for all sorts of nefarious schemes, from mandatory parental leave to national health insurance."

RICK HENDERSON

"Consuming Debate"

"In the Babel that is Miami, it is not unusual to walk for blocks at a time without hearing a word of English; the city is home to many immigrants who speak only Spanish or Haitian Creole. But the powerful bus drivers' union has blocked the county from assigning drivers to routes on any basis but seniority, which means buses are often packed with passengers who can't communicate with their driver."

GLENN GARVIN

"Van Ban"

40 YEARS AGO

December 1977

"Congress recently passed a bill to increase the number of unemployed persons by 1.5 million. It was not, of course, called the Unemployment Act of 1977. No, in the semantic...