Did you know — better, would you have guessed? — that the top income-tax rate in India, which is the home of breast-fed socialism, is a mere 30 percent? That is down from 60 percent in 1979. How does that compare? Well, in the United Kingdom it is down from 83 percent in 1979 to 40 percent today; in the United States, from 70 to 35. In all three cases, it has been cut roughly in half.

Enoch lived thousands of years ago during a time when the knowledge of God was very limited. There were no churches, no bibles, no radios or other forms of media that we are blessed with today. No one in his day was born again because Jesus had yet to be raised from the dead, yet Genesis 5:24 tells us that he was famous for “walking with God.”

“There is nothing so dreadful as a great victory ... excepting a great defeat.” — Sir Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington

This spring, I reminded readers about a 2006 column of mine. That original column warned that America was headed off a cliff with its commitment to a bloated housing market, and that the mortgage industry would come tumbling after.

Should biblical churches host gay-glorifying funerals? Should evangelical politics move leftward? Many news organs give us one answer: Yes!

Elizabeth Edwards, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards’ wife, wants affirmative action — for white males. Okay, she didn’t put it exactly that way. Here’s what happened.

All around the country certain cities are refusing to inform federal authorities about the activities of illegal aliens, even foreign nationals who commit crimes in their jurisdictions.

University of Kansas professor and respected scholar on the subject Diana Carlin said it best about presidential debates: They are the “only time you have the (presidential) nominees in the same place, the only time you can really get to compare them. ... I equate it to a job interview that gives voters the chance to really assess who would be the best president.”

WASHINGTON — Anticipating that Sen. Hillary Clinton will clinch the Democratic presidential nomination, some supporters are beginning to argue against her principal rival — Sen. Barack Obama — for vice president.

Suspiciously, Daniel Pearl’s widow is suddenly being lavishly praised by the Treason Lobby. Jane Mayer, co-author of the discredited hit-book on Clarence Thomas, “Strange Justice,” published an article in The New Yorker last week recounting that Mariane Pearl was called by Alberto Gonzales in March with the news that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had admitted to American interrogators that he had personally beheaded her husband and they were going to release the transcript to the press. Mayer wrote: “Gonzales’ announcement seemed like a publicity stunt.”

The GOP has traditionally been the party of political primogeniture. From Ronald Reagan to George Herbert Walker Bush to Bob Dole to George W. Bush, Republicans have nominated the man who could best lay claim to being the natural heir, either by virtue of his service to the party or his ability to ring up early endorsements and financial backing from the party faithful.

[Editor’s note: The dean of American conservatives, William F. Buckley, Jr., has been ill for several weeks. This is his first column since June.]

WASHINGTON — Prior to the recent global financial crisis, the Federal Reserve Board under Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was ready to take a subtle step toward easier money in order to stave off U.S. recession fears.

In every child’s life there comes a time when childhood fantasies are shattered and he or she is forced to accept reality — there is no Santa Claus or tooth fairy; parents don’t always mean it when they promise to stay married until parted by death.

Historical costs, sometimes called sunk costs, are irrelevant to decision-making because they are costs that have already been incurred. That’s something that’s not intuitively obvious, even for some trained economists. On a couple of occasions, I’ve recommended to a graduate student, having difficulty with his Ph.D. dissertation, that it might be wise to start all over again with a different topic. The response:

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who became only the second Republican president after the Civil War to win and to serve two full White House terms, liked to quote approvingly the first Republican president and the American martyr to that war, Abraham Lincoln: “The role of government is to do for people what they cannot do at all for themselves or so well do in their individual capacities.”

When “The Simpsons” movie turns out to be more realistic than “The Bourne Ultimatum,” you know something is up. Nevertheless, the thriller is a big hit, proving once again that film audiences now want live action cartoons rather than crisp, realistic films like “The Ipcress File” or “The French Connection.”

Sometimes, with all the bad reports and unfortunate news we receive, it is vital and encouraging to hear some good news.

Will the execution-style murder of three young students in Newark, N.J., finally turn the tide in the immigration enforcement debate? Will we at last abandon the deadly, chaotic, lawless sanctuary nation experiment and restore America’s lost status as a sovereign nation under the rule of law?

Tim Morowski lived two doors up from Old Mrs. Crabtree at the end of Flamingo Street and was the slowest person I knew. We all called him Slow Moe for short, but he wasn’t dumb.

Two recent tragedies — in Minnesota and in Utah — have held the nation’s attention. The implications of these tragedies also deserve attention.

Some people say you have to be crazy to run for public office.

After covering politicians over a span of 37 years, I have a different perspective. I say they go crazy after they get elected.

I have read some local comments about lousy health care given our veterans, both in the service and after their discharge. I don’t question that problems exist here and there, but the whole system should not be painted with a broad brush of blame without some careful examination. Let me tell you my own story.

A very disappointing thing happens to some of our elected officials when it comes to protection of our environment. Right up until they have to vote to spend extra money to make sure that adequate protective measures have been taken, they will say a lot of the right words about how they do everything possible to maintain a healthy environment. But for some, standing by their words and doing the right thing is not so easy.

They are words that every decent Southern woman hopes to hear from her mother.

My mama said ‘em but I never thought I’d hear ‘em.

WASHINGTON — With the midnight hour approaching Saturday Aug. 4 near the end of a marathon session, Democratic and Republican leaders alike wanted to pass the Defense appropriations bill quickly and start their summer recess. But Republican Rep. Jeff Flake’s stubborn adherence to principle forced an hour-long delay that revealed unpleasant realities about Congress.

Hillary Clinton may be pulling away from the pack of Democratic contenders, but she’s still playing it safe. She’s quick to stake out territory that puts her in the mainstream of Democratic opinion, even if it means disavowing her own past positions — or those of her husband.

“How long will it take,” I thought, as I watched the coverage of the collapsed bridge outside of Minneapolis, “before someone blames President George W. Bush?” It turns out, not long.

WASHINGTON — Republicans returning to the House floor on Friday morning Aug. 3 after their walkout the night before were surprised to find as presiding officer the Democrat they call “King Corruption”: Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, master of earmarks and backroom deals.

The tale of Army Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, the discredited “Baghdad Diarist” for the discredited New Republic magazine, is an old tale: