North Korea is a country formed by a war that never ended. Pacifists are fond of saying that war never solves anything. I beg to differ–war, for example, solved the problem of Adolf Hitler and German expansionist aggressiveness, although at … Continue reading →
I’m with Winston Churchill when he said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others. Truly democratic states, with guarantees of human rights and freedom of speech, press, and religion, are precious and yet rare … Continue reading →
North Korea is somewhat of an informational black hole. But apparently even black holes may give off a few emissions now and then. Yesterday was one of those times for North Korea, which claims to have successfully accomplished an underground … Continue reading →
Another week, another podcast. This time the Sanity Squad takes on Congress, in particular the Foley scandal, and the Squad doth not its punches pull. (And if I sound a bit disconnected on this podcast, let me just drop the … Continue reading →
I’m in New York City for the weekend, the town where I was born and raised but don’t visit all that much any more. It seems to me there are more people here than ever. Whether that’s true or just … Continue reading →
[Part I of my interview with McDermott challenger Steve Beren can be found here. We take up the second half of the interview shortly after 9/11, when Beren had become convinced that the unity the country faced was temporary and … Continue reading →
When I read that ultraliberal Jim McDermott‘s eminently safe seat in the mostly-Seattle 7th District of Washington was being challenged by a Republican who was actually attempting to mount some sort of viable campaign, I was intrigued. And I was … Continue reading →
It’s been a long time coming, but vindication is finally here for astronaut Neil Armstrong. That’s actually–ahem–Neil A. Armstrong. Don’t forget that A, like Armstrong did! Except it turns out he didn’t forget it, he just spoke it too quickly … Continue reading →
The headlines that announced the killings of five young girls in an Amish school (“Amish School Shootings”) seemed more than oxymorons. It seemed as though matter was colliding with antimatter in a meeting of opposites that shouldn’t have been able … Continue reading →
Bob Woodward has done an about-face from the relatively Bush-approving stance of his last two books on the administration. The present one, State of Denial, is by all accounts a description of a quarrelsome and conflict-ridden administration, with Rumsfeld, Cheney, … Continue reading →
Yesterday morning I was awakened by a phone call from my mother’s caretaker, the sort of phone call no one likes to get. She said my mother was having tingling and numbness in her left arm and left leg, which … Continue reading →
Charles Krauthammer’s column “Turning up Jewish” is both funny and serious. Funny because his thesis–that, scratch a politician these days, and you get a Jewish ancestor–though hyperbolic, is based on the odd but true fact that it’s now a campaign … Continue reading →