Iraq, says scientist and curmudgeon Gregory Cochran, “is a Seinfeld war—a war about nothing.” That is, I take it, neither the defenders nor the architects of the invasion and occupation or Iraq have ever actually spelled out—not even in their own minds— the causal logic whereby the occupation of Iraq will actually make Americans safer. They may know how the story … [Read More]

From a profile of radio talk show host Brian Wilson, in the Toledo Blade: “‘Barack Obama admitted to doing a little nose candy back in his youth,’ Mr. Wilson said, sniffing his nose. ‘Shame and scandal in the city! Who cares? Me, I don’t want to vote for anybody who has not done drugs before. Were you raised in the ’60s … [Read More]

This is the third installment in a four-part symposium on the Ron Paul movement to be published in Taki’s magazine. John Derbyshire and Justin Raimondo have made previous contributions.   Although it might be premature to claim that Ron Paul’s campaign is winding down, plainly the candidate has not done as well as his supporters had expected and as his … [Read More]

The NY Times’ Purple State blog offers a nice video retrospective on the Ron Paul candidacy, exploring his bipartisan appeal. Watching this makes me all the more disappointed that Rep. Paul isn’t considering a third party run. I for one would love the opportunity to vote for a candidate without holding my nose, plugging my eyes, ears, and nose like Tommy … [Read More]

The Law of Unexpected Consequences knows no national boundaries. Rural Mexican belts have come in a notch as tortilla prices rise in response to gasohol demand driving corn above a peso a pound on world commodity exchanges. Now the national staple of a Caribbean neighbor is threatened as well.  Beer still flows freely in Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines have weathered … [Read More]

In a move befitting his cornball wholesomeness, Mitt Romney endorsed McCain on Valentine’s Day, but he did at least refrain in this latest political makeover from declaring his former bitter rival to be his sweetheart. In the space of a week, the candidate whom Romney was willing to fight to the convention for the sake of very recently acquired high … [Read More]

On the Commentary blog, our good friend James Kirchick warns of race baiting at the upcoming UN-sponsored “Durban II” conference. He also presents us with a broader critique of the tendency of gatherings dedicated to “combat[ing] something as nebulous as ‘Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance’” to descend into hate-mongering powwows.  Generally speaking, I agree with most everything Kirchick says … [Read More]

Earlier this week, I mentioned the latest attempt by Michael Gerson to demonize conservatives by reviving the “Social Gospel,” a fuzzy pink mass of “idealism” coughed up by progressives who quickly mistook it for Jesus. And so they began to worship it instead. Along the way, Gerson tries to polish up the tainted name of Woodrow Wilson. In the past week … [Read More]

John McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee. There is only one minor problem—many activists and voters in the Republican Party don’t quite seem to believe it and aren’t going to acknowledge it until they absolutely must. The naturally anti-McCain crowd at CPAC gave Romney a narrow moral victory in the straw poll there (as meaningless as the victory that he … [Read More]

As neoconservatism ascended, its regard for science slipped to the brink of open contempt, for it owed much of its political traction to social conservatives apt to dismiss science as corrupt as literary theory, only more materialistic, and a born-again Base defensive of Biblical authority. Both seemed to worry little about what children needed to know about science as technological … [Read More]