Hugo Chavez says “just give me ten more years, and everything will be great.” Today’s referendum on abolishing presidential term limits will allow him to seek those ten years and more, in the grand old tradition of predecessor and mentor … Continue reading →
The California woman who gave birth to octuplets last Monday is now revealed to be the mother of six other children. What’s more, they are alleged to be living with her and her parents, and not a father in sight—except … Continue reading →
Obama ran as the post-racial candidate. But he was not above using false accusations of racism to beat his opponents, and he emphasized the racially historic nature of an Obama win. The first method is to be condemned. And although … Continue reading →
Obama is protesting an ad that targets his association with domestic 60s terrorist Bill Ayres. Here’s the ad: Obama is asking his supporters to threaten to boycott stations running the ad.
Continue reading →As far as the recent horrific killings at Northern Illinois University go, I’ve said most of what I want to say before, here. As I wrote earlier in connection with the shootings Virginia Tech: Yes, a gun was involved here, … Continue reading →
Which comes first, democracy or security? It’s a trick question, like the one about the chicken and egg. The truth is they must come simultaneously. And ay, there’s (as Hamlet would say) the rub, because in chaotic third-world nations—Pakistan comes … Continue reading →
My first thought late last night on hearing the news of Chavez’s defeat in yesterday’s referendum was, “Great (and surprising)!” My second thought was a more cynical one: “How bad must the defeat really have been for Chavez to announce … Continue reading →
I’ve been reading a collection of essays in the book The Survival of Culture by Hilton Kramer and Roger Kimball. In a piece entitled “Burke and Political Liberty,” by Martin Greenberg, the author is discussing the French Revolution and its … Continue reading →
In the many posts I’ve written attempting to explain the basic neocon attitude towards the spread of democracy-(see this and this) I’ve tried to be careful to use the term “liberal democracy” to describe what is advocated. Why? Because democracy … Continue reading →
Today is the Fourth of July, our Independence Day. Although the focus is on fireworks and barbecues—a tradition I intend to perpetuate this evening—deep down, this particular holiday is really about American history. John Adams, one of our founding fathers, … Continue reading →
Ron Rosenbaum has written his reflections on the mixed legacy of Boris Yeltsin, who died last Monday. Rosenbaum focuses on the hope those times represented, when the once-mighty Soviet Union withered away and died and was replaced by a fledgling … Continue reading →
Where, oh where, are those moderate Muslims we all yearn for? Here. Although, to tell the truth, there’s nothing so very “moderate” about these particular moderates; they are radical as far as Islam is concerned. And they are among the … Continue reading →