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Wonderful news of great significance has been announced, and America's major media are yawning. Mexico's state—owned oil company Pemex has revealed that it has discovered a gigantic new oil field, one capable of delivering millions of barrels a day of new capacity to the thirsty world oil... More
John Kerry has often stated how proud he is of how he stood up for Vietnam Veterans when he came back from his four month tour in Vietnam. A recent example appeared on CNN's website on March 23, 2004:
"I'm proud of... More
'For shame', say the moralizers about the Swift Vets' vitriolic attacks on John Kerry, insisting on attributing dishonorable or politically inspired motives to the Swift Vets' actions. Perhaps, to be charitable, they simply are ignorant about the psychology of the surviving 2 million or so... More
The southern city of Najaf is finally quiet, as a peace deal went into effect that was brokered between Muqtada al—Sadr and the top Shia cleric of Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al—Sistani. Rather than risk an assault by Iraqi forces, Sadr and the remaining members of his Mehdi... More
Friday night, a breathless Leslie Stahl, led off the CBS Evening News with her scoop that the FBI was hot on the trail of a spy working for Israel in the Defense Department. The CBS story presented a tale of the spy passing documents to officials at AIPAC, the American... More
(With apologies to Rudyard Kipling and the British Army)
Johnny went public with 'is boasts, an' 'ero without fear,
'Til sudden like the Swifties say, 'We got a turncoat 'ere.'
The Libs they just ignored 'em, sayin' 'Ah, it's all a lie!'
Then Johnny's... More
It is truly amazing that people who were in positions of authority during the Clinton administration continue to lecture President Bush on how to handle national security problems that are a direct result of their failed policies. The latest to continue this tradition is Robert E. Hunter,... More
"Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth," Franklin D. Roosevelt once said. He might have been talking about John Kerry's tale of his 1968 Christmas supposedly spent in Cambodia, which he's been repeating for twenty five years to anyone who would listen.
The story was so... More
Weir Thinking About It
In this column, I'd like to make 3 separate comments on the news of the day.
#1 — When Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992, the Democrats didn't want to talk about his refusal to serve in Vietnam, his burning of the American flag on... More
The Kerry campaign is in crisis. Polling data is beginning to reflect a turn against his candidacy by the uncommitted and weakly—committed voters. The temptation for the campaigners is to blame the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth television commercials. But the real problem is much deeper,... More
The President of the United States holds the most demanding job in the world. The physical and mental fitness of a candidate are matters of legitimate concern for voters. The refusal of John F. Kerry to release his complete medical records should be disconcerting to the press and public. All the... More
Evan Thomas of Newsweek has written that the media chorus behind John Kerry's candidacy could add 15 points to his Presidential bid. Given that the race is now about even, or Bush very slightly ahead, this... More
The findings of the Schlesinger—Fay panel report on Abu Ghraib prison abuses have been made public. Responses, immediate and predictable, sounded forth from the Chorus of Usual Suspects.
Out on the hustings, candidate John Kerry saw fit to join that off—key band of... More
Ah, that bright perpetual smile and dashing good looks. That smooth delivery and good ol' boy, yuckin' it up style. That's John Edwards, the beauty to John Kerry's beast. Kerry may look like he just emerged from cryogenic suspension, but Edwards hath charms to melt the hearts... More
Last week's announcement that the US plans to withdraw 70,000 US troops from overseas locations has drawn the predictable wailing and gnashing of teeth from the left's so—called national security experts. Richard Holbrooke and Wesley Clark, Clinton's architects of the 'home by... More
Here in Detroit, a good way to test one's ability to keep his or her blood pressure in check is to tune into WJR radio from 3—6 on weekday afternoons.
Taking the microphone is Mitch Albom, once a... More
The Baehr Essentials
The Kerry and Bush campaigns have spent about $400 million between them so far. Add the two national committees, plus the other Democratic candidates and the spending by independent groups, and with 10 weeks to go before Election Day, total... More
When John Kerry gave his victory speech the night of the New Hampshire primary, he said he was indebted to a specific group around him on stage.
"In the hardest moments of the past month,... More
The proper duration of individual front line troop deployments in wartime has been debated since the Revolutionary War without any clear conclusion. Our nation's first Commander—In—Chief frequently despaired over perilously anemic troop strengths as enlistment contracts... More
At a Vietnam Special Forces base during 1964, I watched a More
'The dog that didn't bark' is an expression from a Sherlock Holmes mystery. It was an important clue that led to identifying the criminal. It seems that the killer entered and left the estate grounds one night but without the guard dog barking an alarm at the intruder's presence as... More
South Vietnam's Mekong Delta covers about 40,000 square miles of mostly flat alluvial plain, much of which is covered with rice paddies. It is veined with rivers and canals, streams and ditches. The Mekong—Bassac river system, running from the South China Sea back up into... More
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is a federal law, enacted by Congress. Its provisions are contained in United States Code, Title 10, Chapter 47. Article 36 of the UCMJ allows the President to prescribe rules and procedures to implement the provisions of the UCMJ. The President does... More
The past week in Najaf has been confusing, with a series of on—again, off—again agreements to end the fighting, followed by further battles between Sadr's Mehdi militia and US and Iraqi forces. Last weekend, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi authorized the resumption of military... More
So are they knaves or fools at CNN?
CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider exonerates John Kerry of having accused his fellow soldiers of raping and beheading innocent Vietnamese civilians. While Kerry is quoted in the soon—to—be broadcast second Swift Boat ad as... More
More than a decade after the Japanese boom in it began, the San Francisco Chronicle's wine section (which provides the best wine industry coverage in the nation) introduces Shochu, a... More
It's Sunday morning, the sky a brightening crisp blue with nary a cloud nor hint of breeze. The world might seem at peace were it not for the troubling scenes just a mouse or remote click away. We're back at it with the fellows in Najaf that CNN now labels the 'Mehdi Army.' Kerry has filed... More
Once again, a seeming strength of the Kerry campaign has turned into a liability.
Adam Nagourney, writing in the New York Times, speculates that Kerry spent too much time letting the Swiftvets'... More
Despite his wish that merely saying it to his supporters in the populace and the sycophants in the media will make it so, Sen. John Kerry's claim that President George W. Bush is behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign is false. Anybody who truly thinks these veterans would be so... More
John Kerry is beginning to look as clumsy as George Bush in answering questions about his military records. In February Bush was accused by Terry McAuliffe on Tim Russert's Meet the Press show of having been AWOL on his National Guard service in Alabama. In spite of Bush's appearance on... More
The elections are really heating up. Yes, that's a plural noun, for America is making two important choices this Fall. The first choice is about whom to elect as President of the United States. The second choice is about which media to trust to bring us truth and useful insight on politics.... More
[Editor's note: We are re—publishing a few articles this summer from the early days — 7 months ago — of the American Thinker, for the benefit of our new readers. This article originally appeared on February 3rd of this year.]
More
Can we agree that John Kerry has problems with his arrogance? Can we agree that he has bragged about his Vietnam service and deceived others regarding it? That he a is self—aggrandizing person who has married wealthy women and promotes an image of the manly athlete with all the... More
The Texas—based corporate giant has been caught red—handed, cheating its customers and lying to those entrusted with auditing its most important reports. Massive refunds to customers are due for overcharging them. Halliburton? Enron? Nope.
You have probably never heard of this... More
The big story currently in the media (those that aren't in the practice of turning big stories that aren't their stories into little stories and then dead stories) is the controversy surrounding presidential nominee John Kerry and the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. With Senator Kerry... More
Paul Krugman, salving his wounds after his knockout at the hands of Bill O'Reilly on Tim Russert's show, has offered a warning in his August 17 column about what he says is the coming threat to the "credibility of our... More
A year ago, a group of 'researchers' published a paper in the Bulletin of the American Psychological Association that 'reviewed fifty years of literature' to come to the conclusion that political conservatism was a reflection of certain unflattering psychological traits, such as fear and... More
I have the honor to be a graduate of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1967, which counts among its members Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tony Principi, Deputy Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, and many other... More
Something's been nagging at me about the prominence of military issues in this year's presidential campaign. As has been widely noted on this website and elsewhere in the media, Sen. John Kerry has predicated his run for the White House almost entirely on his short, though eventful, tour on... More
[Editor's note: We are re—publishing a few articles this summer from the early days — 7 months ago — of the American Thinker, for the benefit of our new readers. This article originally appeared on January 6th of this year.]
The debate over abortion has been an... More
The Governor of Illinois announces his defiance of federal regulations and unveils a program today to help residents import foreign drugs. In justification, he states:
"The federal government has failed... More
Weir thinking about it
Do you remember when America was a less tolerant country? There was a time when some behavior was considered to be intolerable, and people were not afraid to say they refused to put up with conduct that was socially repugnant.
Every... More
Shortly after 9/11, explanations for the attacks fell into two broad categories: Terrorism is the result of a small minority of Muslim evildoers; or the US (and the West) deserved it.
Karen Armstrong, a former nun and well—spoken, prolific author on Islam, beloved by many in the... More
Only a few cities throughout history have had the impact of Hollywood: Washington is the locus of political power, and Mecca, Rome and Jerusalem are famed for their sacral status. However, as we move into the new Millennium, Hollywood projects an influence and force that transcends borders and... More
There is nothing more frustrating than a pundit who proposes to solve a critical problem with a solution that is based upon false premises and revisionist history. There is no shortage of intellectually pretentious commentators looking down their noses at President Bush, and prescribing... More
The Battle Blog will continue to focus on operations of the Multi—National Forces (MNF) and Iraqi forces against the militia of radical Shia leader, Muqtada al—Sadr. A special... More
The genie is out of the bottle. The best efforts of the mainstream media to blockade the story of Kerry's lies about Cambodia, and the charges by the vast majority of men who served with him in the Swift Boat operations, have failed. Glenn... More
Bordeaux is in crisis, with many of the region's small wine producers staring bankruptcy in the face. Only the very top producers, whose snob appeal ensures the marketability of their product, are immune from the financial... More
The addiction to negotiation
Will editorial writers and foreign policy experts ever admit that negotiations are futile with people like Sadr? It is amazing that writers, from the safety of their skyscrapers, sipping their lattes, can actually ignore a history of... More
We now have the spectacle of the Kerry campaign trying to silence the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth for having the temerity, the unmitigated gall, to question the unquestionable: their candidate's medals.
This, coming from the party that invented the politics of personal destruction,... More
For most of this election year, the Kerry for President campaign has had its own ad buys supplemented by ads purchased by "independent" 527 groups, such as the Media Fund, America Coming Together, and Moveon.org. Over $200 million has been raised by the 527 groups, almost all of it to... More
[Editor's note: Richard Baehr published the definitive analysis of the false claim that that the 2000 election was stolen on our site's debut day last January. Given the extreme bitterness of the current election, the mobilization of thousands of Democrat lawyers to litigate the... More
Winston Churchill said that 'the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.' This little quip came to mind as I was watching a famous contemporary comedian conduct an interview with an average Josephine on the street. He asked this young... More
C—SPAN founder, CEO, and host Brian Lamb has decided to discontinue the hour—long weekly program... More
A Battle Blog special edition
The battle this week in Najaf pitting Coalition and Iraqi forces against Muqtada al—Sadr's Mehdi Militia will shortly reach a conclusion that will likely not please the radical cleric.
The fighting actually started on August 5,... More
Why has the US invaded other nations in the past 60 years? To liberate people or take over their economy? Al—Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist who is stalking Iraq and beheading innocents, in his list of grievances shrieks... More
The back room of a Mexican restaurant in Houston is not exactly the place you would expect your mind to wander to questions of civilization, grand historical forces and electoral behavior. Rather, you tend to think that "salt or no salt" will be about as serious as it will get.
I... More
Professor Norman Dombey, professor of theoretical physics at the University of Sussex, England, has confirmed that Saddam Hussein had more than enough yellowcake uranium to make over 100 nuclear weapons. There was no... More
My better half is, to the likely benefit of her health, not a political junkie. She is fairly moderate on the issues and not at all fascinated by the shouting on Hannity or the morons who call C—SPAN every morning, nor does she genuflect at the sight of Charles Krauthammer. So imagine her... More
Although Usama bin Ladin is the terrorist who masterminded the most heinous attack ever on US soil, he may be effectively out of the picture in the planning of future attacks. But we should never forget him. It is important to revisit bin Ladin's ideology, not only because terrorism today still... More
Weir thinking about it
Did you ever give serious thought to why people run for political office? It can't be for the money because the pay isn't that good. Therefore, it must be the power, right? And what do people do when they achieve power? Well, they can give orders to... More
The big story in Iraq this past week is the resurgence of extremist Shiite cleric Muqtada al—Sadr's militia in Najaf. Reports stated that during the initial fighting that broke out on August 5, a U.S. helicopter was shot down, however, the crew was successfully evacuated. ... More
In one of the few instances where county and city planners have done their homework in planning for homeland security expenditures, Tulsa, Oklahoma stands as a great example in obtaining equipment that would be critical in the event of a terrorist attack. KOTV News
Architectural history is one of the most fascinating mirrors of human existence. For far too long,
Not always does one have a precise place and date to associate with an epiphany of significant import for one's life. But this past Monday, August 2nd , was such a day for me. On that day I learned that my daughter, twenty—nine and a product of the University of Colorado at Boulder, had... More
Unfit for Command, the blockbuster book critiquing John F. Kerry's Viet Nam service, will not be released until next week. But a chapter is available for preview on the web. Military historian John. B. Dwyer previews it for American Thinker... More
Is it a mistake for opponents of John. F. Kerry to question his Viet Nam service? Dick Morris thinks it is, on the ground that you don't attack the opposition's strength. Others, like Senator John McCain, Bill O'Reilly and much of the establishment media, think it is slimy and... More
The worldwide Body Shop chain of stores maintains that it is 'values—driven' and lists 'the pursuit of social and environmental change' first on its mission... More
The Baehr EssentialsMore
After I read two articles by moderate Muslims living in the West, one born here, the other in Iran, I wondered how they reached the conclusion that Jerusalem is holy for the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I can see how it is holy for Jews, since they have historical... More
'Isn't she great?' said candidate Kerry in Milwaukee, following the 'four more years of hell' remark of his wife Teresa. Lawyer Kerry surely knows that, technically speaking, he is asking a question, not necessarily paying a compliment. 'And by the way, how great was... More
The prestigious Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) will recommend that the US 'negotiate' with Iran in order to stop Iran's de—stabilizing influence on Iraq, and to end... More
[Part (1) argues that Muhammad received revelations that the sacred Ka'bah shrine belonged to him and his followers. The Meccans were deemed unrighteous to take care of a shrine that folk belief... More
National Public Radio's choice of an expert to interview on the terror alert in New York, Newark, and Washington, DC is odd, to say the least. Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent, proclaimed on the public air that the alert... More
Some of Muhammad's theology and policies have ambiguities or seeds —— not found in other religions —— which... More
Once upon a time, not many generations ago, we were a nation at war, and focused our total energies on winning that war. Even Hollywood contributed, providing not only crews who filmed the progress of American armies, but also producers and directors who made movies in support of the war... More
John Kerry's duty in Viet Nam is the service which keeps on serving him. Flinging those decorations (of disputed ownership) over the fence at the Capitol was the sort of dramatic visual image irresistible to television news directors. He parlayed the publicity of... More
John Kerry skipped over 30 years of his political career in his acceptance speech Thursday night. He also skipped over Iran, and Syria, Israel and the Palestinians. He skipped over Iraq, except to briefly complain that we (and presumably he) were misled by George Bush, and that we... More
All Americans owe a profound personal debt, one that never can be repaid. We are heirs to the courage, vision and sacrifices of the Founders, and obligated to all those who fought to establish, and subsequently protect in war and peace this noble democratic experiment in political liberty.... More
In Iraq, anti—Coalition forces continue the tactic of kidnapping foreign workers who help with the logistics support of US and Iraqi forces, or in reconstruction efforts. It was reported on Saturday, July 31, that members of Abu Musab al—Zarqawi's terrorist group had... More
