The Economist writes the only article, likely, that I could take too seriously about the most recent U.N. report on children.

Suffer the children?

The Economist actually gives this report more credibility that I likely would. Not because I'm not concerned with children, obviously. But because the U.N. clearly has an axe it is goring.

UNICEF is a notoriously liberal organization. And the conclusions that the Economist reports - though, clearly, I will want to read this from the horses' mouth and from liberal reports as well; but I've spent enough time with the Economist to trust its reporting, especially around matters involving liberal bias - are clearly designed to trumpet more socialist policies in Europe and speak ill of the more market friendly countries of Anglo-America.

I agree with the Economist that it is important to take the conclusions seriously, even if it very much seems like hand-wringing on the part of the liberals looking to convince the world that they were right and conservatives were wrong all along that a socialist-style social security net really is the only thing that will make childrens' and everyones' lives better.

There is a much longer discussion on that theme that I need to get into when I'm not finishing some work.

But the long and short of my take on this report is that it seems that many liberals, right now, are very convinced that they are finally hitting their period, where they can prove - and enforce - once and for all, that they were right and conservatives were wrong.

It's almost as if all those pesky intellectual debates aren't really all that necessary after all. They distract, really, from the clearly more intelligent liberal arguments on these matters

And this report, UNICEF believes, is the unblemished evidence of their intellectual superior take on this issue.

If only the rest of the world could just comply with their wisdom.

David Frum has this excellent commentary on the controversy over the American Enterprise Institute and the global warming debate on Marketplace on NPR tonight.

An honest attempt to heat up the debate

And David is right. The best thing for any policy debate is to consider the arguments and the evidence and engage the debate and discussion.

I've got a U.N. report on children to read this week.

Love,
Ben