How old do you think this woman is? Or this one (hint: it’s the same woman, around the same time)? Or how about this one? All three are pictures of Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya. She’s eighty years old in the … Continue reading →
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 →