President Obama has often been compared to Jimmy Carter. But lately it occurs to me that there’s a lot of resemblance to presidential candidate Mike Dukakis, who failed a basic emotional test in his response to a hypothetical asked during … Continue reading →
It’s being widely described as an aplogy to Israel, and I suppose technically it’s true that Jimmy Carter has offered something of the sort, whether to enhance his grandson’s Atlanta election bid, or as a reflection of that old-fashioned Christmas … Continue reading →
I’m currently reading Francine Prose’s Anne Frank: the book, the life, the afterlife. It’s about the process by which Anne Frank wrote and then rewrote her diary, with an eye to its ultimate publication, and how her father edited her … Continue reading →
Abraham Lincoln was an unusual man in a number of ways, not the least of them his startling and haunting looks. In person, he must have been an imposing but somewhat daunting sight. Impossibly tall and very thin, in his … Continue reading →
It’s enough to make you weep. During Obama’s announcement that soon he’ll be making an announcement about the number of troops in Afghanistan, he said: After eight years ”” some of those years in which we did not have, I … Continue reading →
I’m reading the fascinating book They thought they were free: the Germans 1933-1945 by Milton Mayer (it’s also one of my book recommendations on the right sidebar). The author was an American journalist and educator who lived for a time … Continue reading →
There’s been a great deal of discussion on this recent thread about whether Obama is contemplating a tyrannical takeover of the statist type, and whether he can possibly succeed. I’m not going to address that topic again right now (perhaps … Continue reading →
Here’s one of the many differences between Obama and Reagan, both considered effective orators. In Reagans’ farewell speech he said: And in all of that time I won a nickname, “The Great Communicator.” But I never thought it was my … Continue reading →
Here’s a link sent by an astute reader, featuring quotes from some prominent media liberals about the JFK (and in one case the RFK) assassination[s]: Exhibit A – Liberal talk radio host Mike Malloy, August 27: …I remember feeling that … Continue reading →
Once again, we have the news that a well-known person has died. But this time it’s neither a movie star nor a singer, but the man who was widely known as the father of neoconservatism (and the actual father of … Continue reading →
For the sake of convenience, I’ve decided to call people like Maureen Dowd, who see hidden racism in every complaint about Obama, “racers.” If I could sum up the underpinnings of their position, it would be a riff on Descartes’s … Continue reading →
I had previously heard something vague about the NY Times having lauded Fidel Castro when he first came to power, but I didn’t know the details. Most people are ignorant (as I was) of the story of Times reporter Herbert … Continue reading →