Articles
March 31, 2005
The Nation Magazine does Venezuela
Gustavo Coronel
The Nation Magazine, is the largest and most influential journal of the American left. Since George W. Bush's election, it has seen its circulation soar, as those who call themselves "progressives" have been energized to combat what they perceive as... More
March 31, 2005
How low can Krugman go?
Edward L. Daley
Every once in a while I stumble across an opinion article that's so irrational, hate—filled and hypocritical that I feel compelled to comment on it. New York Times op—ed writer Paul Krugman's most recent column is no exception. Titled "What's... More
March 31, 2005
Terri Schiavo's CT scan – another physician's opinion
Mary L. Davenport, MD
The amount of medical misinformation put out about Terri Schiavo has been truly stunning. The testimony of Terri's physicians who believe that some recovery is possible has been largely dismissed. Judge Greer's court and the media in turn, have focused... More
March 30, 2005
Law, legal fictions and lawlessness
Marc A. Jones
At the heart of the controversy surrounding the court—enforced death of Terri Schiavo is a legal issue that the courts and the media have failed to address. Does a person have a legal right to consent to a crime? To... More
March 30, 2005
Return of the swastika (3)
Charles A. Coulombe
[Part 3 of a three part series. Part one here. Part two here.] John Lukacs' book, The Hitler of History, points out the tremendous parallels between the fates ——— after their defeats ——— of the ideologies bequeathed by Napoleon and Hitler (as... More
March 30, 2005
He told us so
Matthew May
Though it hardly seems like it, it was not long ago that the best part of every Wednesday — rain or shine, good day or bad — was waiting impatiently for the computer to fire up and browse to the... More
March 29, 2005
Return of the swastika (2)
Charles A. Coulombe
[Second of a three part series; part one can be found here.]The transfer of Hitler's loyalty from the House of Habsburg to the House of Hohenzollern became concrete in August of 1914, when Hitler left the Empire to join the... More
March 29, 2005
Japan's new gateway
Thomas Lifson
Nagoya is the city other Japanese love to look down on. I have been told confidently by many Tokyoites, Osakans, and especially by the haughty natives of Kyoto, that 'Nagoya has no culture.' Most foreign tourists only catch a glimpse... More
March 29, 2005
Stop whining, start thinking
Christopher Chantrill
During Easter Week, conservatives took a blow to the solar plexus. We thought that all we had to do was pass a law asking the federal courts to take a de novo look at the Terri Schiavo case, and presto, Terri... More
March 28, 2005
Return of the Swastika (1)
Charles A. Coulombe
[The first in a three part series] The recent contretemps over Prince Harry's wearing of a swastika on a (wildly inaccurate) Afrika Korps uniform at a masquerade party made headlines around the globe. All sorts of folk were up in arms:... More
March 28, 2005
Energy policy, wherefore art thou?
Noel Sheppard
In case you missed it, oil and wholesale gas prices hit all—time highs recently, with unleaded gas futures closing at roughly $1.58/gallon. As one can typically double this number to approximate what it might translate into at the retail level,... More
March 28, 2005
It's a Brave New World after Terri Schiavo dies
Timothy Birdnow
In his landmark novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley conveys the vision of a technological nightmare in which man is forced, through conditioning and eugenics, to happily serve as a cog in an utopian socialist machine. Those things which we see... More
March 27, 2005
The 'No Right Answer' Game
Russ Vaughn
(Inspired by 'The Wrong Army,' by Jeff Edwards, USN, Ret., warrior and novelist) America's forces have won all their wars,From Revolution to war in Iraq;And Lefties don't point to the Vietnam War,Where you stabbed winning troops in the back.No, the... More
March 27, 2005
Sour grapes make British whine
P.J. Costello
I like Tony Blair and Jack Straw. Listening to the British Prime Minister committing his nation to standing shoulder to shoulder with the US after 9/11 provided a certain amount of comfort and reassurance. I appreciate the support many in... More
March 27, 2005
Denying Victory: a gray anatomy of combat
John B. Dwyer
Not A Good Day To Die: The Untold Story of Operation AnacondaBy Sean Naylor. (Berkley Books, NY, 2005) 425 pages, maps, photos, glossary, chapter notes, index. Completed three years ago on March 19, Operation Anaconda was the major battle of... More
March 26, 2005
In Terri's bed
Dennis Sevakis
In 'Teri Schiavo— one physician's perspective,' Dr. Steve Collins examines the physiological brain function aspect of Schiavo's condition and speculates on the possibility of her experiencing pain but being unable to communicate her suffering to those responsible for her care.... More
March 26, 2005
Confusion over Christ: Meacham and Newsweek
James Arlandson
Jon Meacham writes from a privileged platform. He is the religion editor for Newsweek, and he appears on television talk shows with some regularity. He uses his perch, however, to espouse the theology of the religious left. That is, he... More
March 26, 2005
Terri Schiavo- one physician's perspective
Steve Collins
As an oncologist I frequently deal with the terminal care of patients and with end of life situations, and these are invariably complicated by the potential availability of medical interventions that can prolong life indefinitely. Such cases need to be... More
March 25, 2005
The old media game
Thomas Lifson
It seemed so long ago that the old media and their liberal cohorts were able to mount successful campaigns manipulating the public into support for dubious propositions: Bill Clinton's veto of a GOP budget as a 'Republican shutdown' of the... More
March 25, 2005
Our living, breathing Constitution
Edward L. Daley
Many judges these days like to refer to the Constitution of the United States as a "living, breathing document", implying that its text is designed to be flexible. It is not. The Constitution is a set of rules, and like... More
March 25, 2005
Second-class citizens
Douglas Hanson
The conservative political punditry certainly called this one right. Wednesday, President Bush spoke out against the Minuteman Project, which consists of about 1000 US volunteers who have grown tired of the rampant illegal immigration across our southern borders, and is... More
March 24, 2005
Beyond the judicial filibuster
Christopher Chantrill
On March 17, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent for consideration by the entire Senate the nomination of William G. Myers III to a seat on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Democrats have threatened to filibuster. Republicans have threatened to... More
March 24, 2005
A brief taxonomy of euthanasia
Kal Kaplan
There are two basic types of euthanasia: active and passive, Active refers to killing with a toxin which is what Dr. Jack Kevorkian did, and was jailed for. Passive euthanasia refers to withdrawal from a life—sustaining treatment. The precise definition... More
March 24, 2005
Dear Terri
Dave St. John
Dear Terri, You don't know me and you never will. Unfortunately, I know a lot more about you than you could have ever imagined. I am not alone; there are millions of your fellow Americans who can say the same... More
March 23, 2005
For the Times, it is always racism
Richard Baehr
For the third time in a week, the New York Times has devoted space on the front page of its main news section to a sports article. The first story covered the baseball steroid hearings in Congress. The second was... More
March 23, 2005
The Schiavo case and moral inquiry
Tim McNabb
The case of Terri Schaivo uncorks a nettlesome series of moral propositions every bit as difficult as some theoretical scenario crafted by a philosophy professor to taunt his freshmen. It pits a spouse's responsibility against a parent's love. It pits... More
March 23, 2005
It's not about the money
Steve Feinstein
Whenever you hear the phrase, 'It's not about the money,' one thing is absolutely certain: it's about the money. Of all the complicated, convoluted, and heart—wrenching aspects of the Terri Schiavo case, one thing that proponents on both sides of... More
March 22, 2005
Can TWA 800 shoot down Hillary?
Richard Baehr
On July 17th, 1996, TWA flight 800, headed for Paris, exploded over the Atlantic Ocean at 8:30 PM, just minutes after takeoff from JFK Airport. Immediately, suspicion arose that the plane had been shot down by a missile fired from... More
March 22, 2005
A clarion call to Republicans: take back the cities
Ed Lasky
While the Republican Party rightfully celebrates the re—election of President Bush and a slew of other Republicans in Congress, now is precisely the time for Republicans to extend their dominance in areas heretofore considered terra incognita: the nation's urban areas.... More
March 22, 2005
Nuclear Iran
Rachel Neuwirth
The Iranian mullahs are intractable in their all—out push to achieve nuclear weapons as soon as possible. They cunningly toy with the West while cynically insisting that their nuclear program is intended to only produce peaceful nuclear energy. Meanwhile they... More
March 21, 2005
Desperate cry from Venezuela's wild
A. M. Mora y Leon
Venezuela is now like a house on fire in the name of Marxist revolution. The worst of it is in land confiscations. The regime is declaring productive land "unproductive" and expropriating it for redistribution to "the people." When it can't... More
March 21, 2005
Dense poets society
Thomas Lifson
Poetry is a window on the human soul. Sad to say, American poetry has fallen on hard times. At least that branch of it represented by the dozen or so poets recently outraged by an article we published which dared... More
March 21, 2005
Hold principles sacred (in principle)
Herbert E. Meyer
Right now two issues are roiling the country that involve the question of 'principle' — whether 'in principle' the U.S. Congress has the right to intervene in hopes of saving Terri Schiavo's life, and whether the CIA 'in principle' should... More
March 20, 2005
Press conference of my dreams
Tim McNabb
In a press conference with President Bush the other day, several reporters put on display their nettlesome proclivities. The President is a classy man and did not respond to the nitwittery as it bloomed, but I can always dream about what... More
March 19, 2005
Karen Hughes and public diplomacy
John B. Dwyer
Amidst a shifting of political tectonic plates in the Middle East and major media thinking aloud 'Could Bush have been right?', Karen Hughes has been nominated for the post of Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy with the rank of... More
March 19, 2005
Naught's Solved by War?
Russ Vaughn
A flickering dawn lights Islam's hillsA faint emerging light.Can the torch of Lady LibertyFlare away Medieval night?How fitting our bold symbol Of all that's good and rightEyewitness to the Jihad's wrath,Stands forefront in this fight. Her torch is not mere sculpted... More
March 18, 2005
A revolutionary change
Herbert E. Meyer
Each political revolution is unique, but in all revolutions the decisive moment comes when the crowd surges and the dictator turns to his military leaders and gives the order to shoot. If the order is obeyed and the army shoots... More
March 18, 2005
A coup looms – maybe -- in Bolivia
A.M. Fantini
Bolivia, to which democracy returned in 1982, used to be called Latin America's youngest democracy; but if things continue to spiral out of control here in the next few days, it may very well shed its twenty—three year history of... More
March 17, 2005
Our Justice System is the real criminal
Bob Weir
Weir Thinking About It In another example of a justice system with no teeth, a man on trial for rape shot and killed the judge presiding over his case, a sheriff's deputy and a court stenographer during a violent rampage in... More
March 17, 2005
Judicial activism's perfect storm
Thomas Lifson
After six decades of expansion, the tendency of judges to impose their preferences on society, rather than simply interpret the law as written, may have reached its apogee. Judicial activism, as this writing of law from the bench is known,... More
March 17, 2005
Princeton's feminist president
Steven M. Warshawsky
After Harvard University president Lawrence Summers dared to suggest that innate differences between men's and women's aptitudes for high—level math and science careers may be one of the reasons for the lower percentage of female math and science professors at... More
March 16, 2005
Ask the man in the street
Richard N. Weltz
Ask the average American what a VNR is, or a B—roll; and even the educated citizen isn't likely to have a clue, unless he or she has been involved in advertising, public relations, or some other form of mass communication.... More
March 16, 2005
The fatal flaw in communism
James Arlandson
Once in a while I hear a student or another sincere thinker assert that communism in its purest form is good, but that no society has yet practiced it purely. If a society were to do so, it would make... More
March 16, 2005
The Social Security Ponzi scheme
Noel Sheppard
In the past several months as the debate over Social Security reform has taken center stage in the theater of the absurd that is modern American politics, the idea has been floated that the entire pay—as—you—go structure of this system... More
March 15, 2005
Trust us, we care: The Democrats' postmodernist narrative
Christopher Chantrill
Remember the stolen gubernatorial election of November 2004 in Washington State? Seattle blogger Stephan Sharkansky got a look last week at some poll books in Democratic King County. At the Denny Terrace polling station (a public housing project) the records... More
March 15, 2005
Hail to the Chief: tribes and tribalism in American sports
Richard Baehr
At the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center in Chicago this week, ten of the eleven teams were allowed to bring their mascot. The outcast was the University of Illinois, the number one seed, the tournament winner... More
March 15, 2005
Baseball in D.C.
Andrew Sumereau
'First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League.' Baseball has long had a troubled history with our nation's capital. Once home to the notorious perennial losers, the Washington Senators, abandoned by major league baseball altogether in... More
March 14, 2005
Oh the humanity!
Edward L. Daley
Is there any doubt that there's something seriously wrong with a judicial process which leads to the prohibition of the care and feeding, by her own parents, of a brain damaged woman? Of course, the woman to whom I refer... More
March 14, 2005
The feminist assault on the English language
Edward Bernard Glick
In 1965 I stopped working for Department of Defense think tanks and became a professor at Temple University. One of my contractual obligations — right in the middle of anti—ROTC demonstrations and of protests against the Vietnam war — was... More
March 14, 2005
Leviathan: the grand deception of the European Constitution
James Lewis
Imagine that the United States was instituting a brand—new Constitution, and suppose it had been drafted in secret by only two people, a former President of France, Giscard d'Estaing, and an American diplomat, someone like Madeleine Albright. After they made... More
March 13, 2005
Make that call today
John B. Dwyer
There is intriguing news out there for deep spacers, CloseEncounter—ites, and really, really lonely people. For $3.99 a minute the folks at www.TalkToAliens.com will beam your phone call into space so you can communicate with...whoever might be out there. Did... More
March 13, 2005
Land of the free, home of the brave?
Emily Younger
Our national song made news recently, thanks to the launching of the National Anthem Project. Highlighting widespread ignorance of the Anthem's lyrics, ...the Project aims to 'get America singing 'The Star—Spangled Banner' while spotlighting the important role music education plays... More
March 12, 2005
'New SAT' blurs aptitude
Trevor Bothwell
Today marks the first day high school students around the country will take the New SAT. Changes to the college entrance exam are outlined on the College Board website, the most notable difference being that students will no longer have to... More
March 11, 2005
Columbia University versus New York City Public Schools
Richard N. Weltz
Columbia University president Lee Bollinger has made good on his threat and discontinued the university's 10—year participation in a professional development program for training New York City K — 12 public school teachers. The dropped training program guided the teachers... More
March 11, 2005
Leasing the American Dream
Noel Sheppard
Remember the concept 'Owning a piece of the American Dream?' That goal you had when you graduated from college to eventually own your own home? Well, some recently released statistics suggest that, although the percentage of homeowners in our nation... More
March 11, 2005
The hypocrisy of the Army Times
Douglas Hanson
The Old Guard of the legacy media is crumbling before our eyes, in large part because of the blogsphere and other alternative media. This is no less the case for the Army Times, which has finally published a series of... More
March 10, 2005
For the sake of Terri Schiavo
K.L. Marsala
I demand to know where the human rights and women's rights groups are over the case of the Floridian woman Terri Schiavo. Where are her civil rights? Did she lose them the moment she could no longer audibly answer or... More
March 10, 2005
The feminine mistake
Bob Weir
Martha Stewart, AKA, Domestic Diva, Home Furnishings Honcho, Bilious Billionaire, and Foul—mouthed Bully toward those too powerless to fight back, was recently released after 5 months in prison for obstruction of justice. As expected, her release has become a promotional... More
March 10, 2005
Why liberals abhor true Social Security reform
Christopher G. Adamo
If Americans of all ages ever recognize the degree to which they've been conned by the proponents of failed government programs such as Social Security, they will likely respond in a manner reminiscent of the Boston Tea Party. And it... More
March 09, 2005
Say 'Good night,' Dan
Thomas Lifson
Like millions of other Americans, I will be tuning—in tonight to the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather for the first time in well over a decade. I don't really expect Dan Rather to own—up to any of his egregious... More
March 09, 2005
Top ten reasons why Islam is not the religion of peace
James Arlandson
Ever since 9/11, Muslim leaders who have access to the national media have told us that Islam is the religion of peace and that violence does not represent the essence of Muhammad's religion. Even President Bush and Britain's Prime Minister... More
March 09, 2005
The race to unimportance
Christopher Chantrill
Everybody now knows that President Larry Summers of Harvard, leader of an institution devoted both to truth and phonics (VE—RI—TAS, it says on the Harvard crest), is in serious trouble for pursuing truth. It is a situation beyond parody. But... More
March 08, 2005
Bolivia on the brink -- again
A. M. Fantini
In what almost has become a perverse annual tradition, Bolivian mobs again have blocked city streets and highways around the country. This—and the promise of further unrest in the coming weeks—forced embattled President Carlos Mesa to offer his resignation Sunday... More
March 08, 2005
The degradation of British tolerance
James Lewis
'Red Ken' Livingstone, the Lord Mayor of London, is a classic European demagogue, and his rise to power may signal the end of what was once the greatest boon of British civilization: a level of civic tolerance unsurpassed anywhere in... More
March 08, 2005
The desperate left
Thomas Lifson
The desperate left is reviving old clichés and images, fighting a reactionary rear—guard effort to defend the vision of a secular state and society they have tried to build in the Twentieth Century. Faced with continuing losses at the polls,... More
March 07, 2005
Arlen Specter's warped sense of proportion
Christopher G. Adamo
Illustrating the abhorrent yet entirely predictable behavior of those on the left, Rush Limbaugh explains, 'A tiger is a tiger. A snake is a snake. And a liberal is a liberal.' To which he might add, a 'moderate' is a... More
March 07, 2005
Running on Fumes?
Steve Feinstein
In light of the recent run—up in oil prices to more than $50/barrel, and the statement by OPEC Acting Secretary—General Adnan Shihab—Eldin that prices may spike to as high as $80/barrel within two years, it may be instructive to take... More
March 07, 2005
No WMDs? Really?
Randall Hoven
'Everyone knows' there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq when Bush decided to invade in 2003. If there were any doubts about that, surely they were laid to rest by the Duelfer Report, the official findings of the... More
March 06, 2005
Market discipline for Hugo Chavez?
A. M. Mora y Leon
Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most striking. Blogger Miguel Octavio in Caracas, Venezuela, has suggested the best way for Venezuela to draw some earnings from its Citgo refineries here in the U.S. is to sell shares. Houston—based Citgo has been... More
March 06, 2005
Atheism in decline
Joesph Grant Swank, Jr.
Atheism, that mammoth godlessness that overarched the scientific age, is declining, that is, according to UPI's Uwe Siemon—Netto. Atheism just doesn't hack it any more. It's got as many charlatans as the fallen TV evangelists. It's got as many stupidities... More
March 06, 2005
Thirty-five years ago today
Lona Manning
March 6th marks the thirty—fifth anniversary of the Manhattan town house explosion that killed radical activists Diana Oughton, Ted Gold and Terry Robbins. Oughton, Gold and Robbins were all members of the Weather Underground, a radical offshoot of Students for a... More
March 05, 2005
A travesty in Jakarta
A.M. Mora y Leon
This week's Indonesian court verdict against Abu Bakar Bashir on 'evil conspiracy' charges meted out a pickpocket's punishment to a terrorist ringleader responsible for an atrocity second only to 9/11. Bashir's 2 ½ year sentence for the October 2002 Bali... More
March 05, 2005
The revenge of the Sixties
Norm Hapke
One day recently, while performing some house—husbandly chores, I tuned in to National Public Radio for diversion. In short order I heard the story of some women who have started "Mistresses Anonymous" to help deal with the pain, rage, and... More
March 05, 2005
Watching Scalia Eviscerate a Kennedy
Christopher Schweickert
Even his most ardent opponents are wont to acknowledge Justice Antonin Scalia's intellectual brilliance. If you've never watched his devastating fire handily blasting the drunken jurisprudence of postmodernism, you owe yourself a read some evening. It's an irreverence that arouses the... More
March 04, 2005
Social Security and political realignments
Noel Sheppard
One Sunday this past November, President Bush's chief strategist Karl Rove went on the talk show circuit to discuss the possibility that 2004 would be depicted by historians as being a realigning election. A little over three months later, with... More
March 04, 2005
Target: Iran
Douglas Hanson
Iran's headlong rush to develop nuclear weapons has been the top story in both the legacy and the new media for the last several months. The mullahs' on again/off again deals with the E—3 (UK, France, and Germany) and Russia,... More
March 04, 2005
Poetry, terror and political narcissism
Alyssa A. Lappen
Poetry is a window on the human soul. But the politics of American poetry, in recent years have veered into more and more radical territory, as an increasing number of poets openly declare their allegiance with 'Palestine,' and implicitly, with... More
March 03, 2005
Northwest To Victory
John B. Dwyer
Sixty years ago, on March 11, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur landed on Corregidor after forces from General Walter Krueger's 6th Army had liberated it. As General Krueger would later write in his book From Down Under To Nippon, 'General MacArthur,... More
March 03, 2005
Martyrdom? What a bargain!
James Arlandson
Another suicide—homicide bomber strikes Tel Aviv, for which Islamic Jihad claims 'credit.' A suicide car bomber in Iraq killed the most civilians (115) ever so far in a single blast. They were waiting to join the police and National Guard, signing... More
March 03, 2005
Israel's withdrawal of settlers: an exchange
[Editor's note: The proposed withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Gaza and a portion of the West Bank (also known as Samaria) has proven to be a highly controversial policy of the Sharon government. Some critics of the Labor Party government's... More
March 02, 2005
The undeniable truth of life
Matthew May
Have you ever been in the middle of a sound, warm sleep, completely undisturbed in absolute darkness and comfort? Has anyone ever unexpectedly shone a bright light on you as you slept? How did you react? Were you startled? Did... More
March 02, 2005
Media and the Pope
Andrew Sumereau
The relief seems somewhat tempered, doesn't it though? As the Pope goes through one physical crisis after another, the mainstream media goes on high alert, with breathless excitement and anticipation, only to be let down by the Pontiff's annoying durability.... More
March 02, 2005
The next domino
Douglas Hanson
With virtually no attention from the mainstream media, the United States has been taking actions calculated to ratchet—up pressure on the mullahs of Iran. A complex plan has been carefully crafted to avoid a direct military attack on Iran, which... More
March 01, 2005
Food for thought
Russ Vaughn
I am so sick of the liberal left, both domestic and foreign, constantly berating America as being morally bankrupt and a plague upon mankind. To them, we are quite singularly responsible for all the evil in the world through our... More
March 01, 2005
Social Security grand strategy
Christopher Chantrill
In the current campaign for Social Security reform, we should not lose sight of the forest for the trees. All the talk about trust funds, caps, IOUs, actuarial scoring, and bankruptcy is mere ritual, the rich symbolic pageantry of the national... More
March 01, 2005
The early morning line on the biggest of the open seats
Richard Baehr
Every two years, both major political parties fight hardest over open Senate and House seats. These seats tend to change hands between the parties a lot more often than incumbent Senate and House members are defeated running for re—election. In... More
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