Bobby Fischer, who put chess on the mainstream map for a while back in the early 70s, has died at the age of 64. Those of you too young to remember may find it odd that the nation was riveted … Continue reading →
The big news today seems to hardly be news at all. Like a tragic play you watch anyway, knowing it will not end well, Benazir Bhutto’s assassination—once by shooting and again by bombing, just to make certain—almost seems to have … Continue reading →
After eight years of exile, Benazir Bhutto has returned to Pakistan in a deal brokered with President Musharraf. She’s talking the democracy talk as she walks the comeback walk: “Restoration of democracy is the only guarantee to the people’s progress … Continue reading →
Lady Bird Johnson has died at the age of 94. I’ve referred to her by her given name in the title of this post, not just because I always thought her nickname silly, but because she did: Lady Bird Johnson … Continue reading →
George Tenet has written a tell-all book, another example of the talk show mentality that has pervaded this country in recent years. Correct me if I’m wrong (I know you will!), but I don’t recall that it used to be … Continue reading →
Giuliani’s no Cary Grant (who, by the way, did not actually say “Judy, Judy, Judy“in any movie). But nevertheless, to an electorate starved for somebody to love, he’s got a certain rough charm. John Podhoretz thinks (hat tip: Pajamas Media) … Continue reading →
I got an email the other day asking me why I think Churchill’s speeches are more remembered and quoted than FDR’s. The answer isn’t immediately apparent. After all, both of them were incomparably better than most politicians today at public … Continue reading →
Who’s Nyamko Sabuni? She’s the new Swedish Minister for Integration and Gender Equality. Sounds awfully PC, doesn’t it? But Sabuni is anything but. In fact, she’s already raised a storm of controversy in Sweden with her statements on the subject … Continue reading →
I like Joe Donnelly’s style. Who’s Joe Donnelly? A very freshman US Congressman from Indiana, one of the Blue Dog Democrats (in fact, being a freshman, Donnelly might better be called a “blue pup”–and no, I didn’t make the term … Continue reading →
[Part I here.] In his introduction to that Cronkite interview featured in Part I, Dick Gordon writes: It was February 1968, and in a three minute editorial essay on the CBS Evening news Cronkite quite simply changed the course of … Continue reading →
While Bush formulates a new plan for Iraq, and others say all is lost there no matter what, I’m reminded of a famous “all is lost” moment from that ever-festering sore of history, the Vietnam War: Walter Cronkite’s editorial on … Continue reading →
In honor of Oriana Fallaci, the fearless and uniquely outspoken correspondent who died yesterday in Florence Italy, I’m posting excerpts from her 1979 interview with Ayatollah Khomeini, which occurred not long after he came to power (these quotes appeared as … Continue reading →