Hate crimes "are different" from other crimes: That was the argument for hate-crimes laws that Al Gore made during the 2000 campaign, and it is the argument that we are going to hear again this week, as Congress takes up federal legislation on the subject. Crimes motivated by hostility to the victim’s race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation are said to be different chiefly because they, supposedly, instill fear in entire communities and generate social division.

Even if this generalization is true -- and it is not obvious that it is -- it should not end our thought about hate. There is no evidence that adding hate-crimes laws on top of regular criminal laws does anything to deter these acts. Nor is there any evidence that federal action is needed. Most states already have hate-crimes laws; the federal government has a hate-crimes law that applies to victims who were engaged in federally protected activities, such as holding rallies.

The proposed legislation would allow the federal government to investigate and prosecute hate crimes, whether or not federally protected activities were involved, and to assist local law enforcement in fighting them. But there is no evidence that local law enforcement has a special need for federal resources to help it combat hate crimes. 

Contractors (such as Blackwater) have gotten a bad rap because allegations of war-profiteering are a cheap and easy talking point for the anti-Bush gang. Taking it as a given that about 80 percent of what our federal government does it has no business doing at all, it is interesting to note that the image of the well-connected contractor basically hooking up a syphon pump to the treasury while shouting "I drink your milkshake!" is yet another media myth.

The New York City Health Department's regulatory move appears to mark the first time a health agency has taken action against safe, legal foods -- in this case, certain margarines and cooking oils -- instead of disease-causing organisms. The regulatory demonization of trans fats and the underlying "trans-fat-phobia" reveal a good deal about how the media and consumers react to a health scare, how scientists respond (or do not), and what lies ahead for other food ingredients.

Most of the trans fats in our diet are derived from man-made partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans fats also occur naturally in beef, lamb, and dairy products). In recent years, trans fats have accounted for about 3-4 percent of our total calorie intake, but given the food industry's race to get trans fats out of many foods, the percentage of our total calories today that is trans fats is probably more like 1-2 percent.