American conservatives like to demonize the "mainstream media" as a creature of the left, at odds with morality itself. But conservatives' real problem is with reality. Facts, in their view, should either serve their ideological purpose or go away. Reporting facts that do not fit the conservative creed must be...

Most of us think of prices in the context of shopping expeditions. In the marketplace, prices ration what we consume, guiding how we allocate resources among our many wants. They prompt us to set priorities within the limits of our budgets. Just as prices steer our purchasing patterns, they steer...