Taki's Daily Blog
I have to say that watching Ron Paul on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno was one of those surreal occurences, like an out-of-body experience, that leave one wondering: Did that really happen? Well, yes, it did: that was What’s-His-Name of the Sex Pistols calling out “Hello, Mr. Paul!” in between the snarling refrain of ”Anarchy in the UK.” Ron Paul … [Read More]
There have been two intriguing book reviews over last weekend in the establishment press. Both concern the overriding topics of war and peace and the future of America. The first article was in Friday’s New York Times, written by the inimitable Michiko Kakutani, perhaps the most influential book reviewer in the country. The book under review was Norman Podhoretz’s World War … [Read More]
A piece over at The Politico on Ron Paul is snarky yet informative, which seems to be the signature style of that site: “Libertarian Paul wins young minds” gives us brief profiles of young Ron Paul enthusiasts, naturally framing the whole thing in terms of isn’t-that-cute-ness. Oh those kids! What’ll they think of next! Bright, energized, and contemptuous of the “neocons”—a … [Read More]
This week I stumbled across an astounding blooper in a column by the usually informative Bob Novak about the “Abortion War’s Newest Front.” Novak was discussing a Kansas District Judge, James E. Vano, who had brought criminal charges against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri for its involvement in “facilitating” late-term abortions. Novak commended Vano for having gone after the pro-abortion … [Read More]
While I cannot (by which I do not mean “will not,” but truly cannot) endorse the opening paragraph of Kevin Michael Derby’s ”The Silence of Father Neuhaus,” the rest of the piece is excellent, and even the fulsome praise in Mr. Derby’s first paragraph serves a rhetorical purpose, heightening the effect of the criticism throughout the rest of the piece. Mr. … [Read More]
As the government of Turkey weighs whether to invade the single prosperous, relatively orderly part of Iraq-- Kurdistan --one’s natural, Christian impulse is to pray for peace. The Kurds have been oppressed for far too long, they are U.S. allies, et cetera. An invasion of Kurdistan would set back Turkey’s apparent moves toward democracy and stop its march toward membership in … [Read More]
They scoffed at Ron Paul’s poll numbers—six months before a single vote was cast. Now he’s at 7.4 percent [.pdf file] in the latest New Hampshire poll. He’s in fourth place, he’s got $5.3 million to spend, and the campaign will soon air the first Paul-for-President television ads. The state is swarming with young volunteers—Ron is the Eugene McCarthy of the … [Read More]
Irans says it’s safe from US attack—but if I were them, I wouldn’t count on it ... “In the scenario concocted by Cheney’s strategists, Washington’s first step would be to convince Israel to fire missiles at Iran’s uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Tehran would retaliate with its own strike, providing the US with an excuse to attack military targets and nuclear … [Read More]
Pat on Rudy: ”A McGovernite in 1972, he boasted in the campaign of 1993 that he would ‘rekindle the Rockefeller, Javits, Lefkowitz tradition’ of New York’s GOP and ‘produce the kind of change New York City saw with ... John Lindsay.’ He ran on the Liberal Party line and supported Mario Cuomo in 1994. Pro-abortion, anti-gun, again and again he strutted … [Read More]
John Fund cites Phyllis Schlafly on the Huckabee Horror: “‘Phyllis Schlafly, president of the national Eagle Forum, is even more blunt. ‘He destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas, and left the Republican Party a shambles,’ she says. ‘Yet some of the same evangelicals who sold us on George W. Bush as a ‘compassionate conservative’ are now trying to sell us on … [Read More]