Two hundred and thirty-one years have passed since a bunch of rabble-rousing troublemakers declared the independence of 13 American colonies from their mother country.  Much has changed in that time, and it’s all too easy for us to regard Independence Day as just another expression of neocon nationalism run wild.  And. as far as national “celebrations” are concerned, it probably is. … [Read More]

When I was a boy, back in the 1960s and 70s, the big news of the day was the Vietnam War. It went on and on, occasionally making house-calls when someone from the office would come into our class and take a student away. We always knew what that meant—the student in question had lost a brother over there. But one … [Read More]

“I am going to teach [them] to elect good men.”—President Woodrow Wilson, referring to his decision in 1914 to invade Mexico.  (Quoted in Peter Smith, Talons of the Eagle: Dynamics of U.S.-Latin American Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. page 51.) When the American electorate handed the Republicans a majority in the national legislature, the world gave it some thought and … [Read More]

This James Kirchick character who smears Taki in TNR has quite a rep in the blogosphere, best summed up by liberal blogger Matt Yglesias: “Kirchick has a promising future in conservative journalism, having mastered the time-honored techniques of rising through the ranks without any demonstrated ability in fields other than arguing with straw men and making things up about his opponents.” … [Read More]

James Kirchick of the limping New Republic has shown his totalitarian stripes. In a silly, probably libelous blog he attacks the good Taki as racist, anti-Semitic, yadda-yadda…. Yawn. Then he goes further, asserting: The best argument for the Estate Tax—next to MTV’s “My Super Sweet 16”—is Taki.  Ah yes. Those pesky dissenting opinions—it’s essential they be completely quashed. There must be … [Read More]

We’re told that Israel, unlike the Arab states that surround it, is a “free” country, a “democracy” just like us: indeed, the Israelis are trying to push their way into NATO partly on this basis. But the reality, as is often the case when it comes to the Israelis, is quite different, as the case of Mordechai Vanunu makes all too … [Read More]

Since we last addressed the topic, Irving “Scooter” Libby was assigned a federal prison number. It certainly looked like he was headed for a Federal correctional facility, all because he refused to tell the truth about what was happening inside the Cheney Regency in the aftermath of “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. But now—surprise! surprise!—Scooter has just been handed a stay-out-of-jail card by … [Read More]

Two days ago, on Friday evening, I took a break from the wettest and most miserable Wimbledon in decades, and went to the theatre with two friends. Once at the West End –- as London’s Broadway is called –- a rather flustered Bobby informed us that theatre lights had been dimmed for the evening and no performances would take place. Two … [Read More]

Justin Raimondo writes so fast that he can be forgiven for misreading what I wrote.  He refers to “excluding” adherents to Islam, while I wrote “denying entrance to adherents of Islam.”  Obviously, I’m not talking about deporting citizens who are Muslim, Black Muslim or otherwise, but changing our immigration policy so that we’re not accepting more Muslims. Would that make a … [Read More]

My friend Scott Richert is right: there is a problem. But excluding all “adherents of Islam” from the US isn’t the solution. To begin with, a real terrorist isn’t going to proclaim his (or her) adherence to Islam upon entering the US. How hard would it be to lie about it? Secondly, what about all those Muslims already living in the … [Read More]