Taki's Daily Blog
Scott McConnell has now responded to the many criticisms of his decision to run John Lukacs’s outrageous review of The Unnecessary War. It is interesting that he does not even mention that Pat Buchanan helped found the magazine and is still the person most associated with it. However what I would like to respond to is his insistence that the book … [Read More]
A few days ago, I began receiving multiple Google alerts about something called “Banned in DC,” an anonymous blog with a fixation on Takimag. The site was established only two week ago, apparently for the express purpose of attacking Takimag writers and talking up the Lukacs/Buchanan controversy. The commentary struck me as rather inane and trivial, and I moved on—until I … [Read More]
I’ll admit this up front: On the subject of Pat Buchanan, I’m not an objective observer. Since 1992, when he launched his creative dissent from the faltering conservative movement, my admiration for him has grown and deepened. My first job in journalism—obtained through an Operation Rescue connection—was lost over a letter I wrote in Pat’s defense to The New Republic. (Some … [Read More]
May I, even at this late stage of the John Lukacs controversy, offer a few thoughts that do not seem to have been articulated elsewhere on this site? Readers have now stepped into a first-person authorial zone. They should be, accordingly, warned. I have on my shelves a 2004 edition of Dr. Lukacs’s A Student’s Guide to the Study of History. … [Read More]
The American Conservative, John Lukacs, and The Unnecessary Review
The latest issue of The American Conservative has a surprisingly negative review of Pat Buchanan’s latest book, Churchill, Hitler, and The Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost an Empire and the West Lost the World by John Lukacs. Well actually, it isn’t that surprising to me. Allow me to explain why. The question that I guess most lay-readers are asking: “Isn’t this … [Read More]
From the moment that The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs first appeared, I’ve been a fan. With his skewering of Silicon Valley culture and his incisive, yet still humorous critiques of tech journalism, “Fake Steve” quickly developed an audience that went far beyond Mac users. Speculation about the identity of “Fake Steve” made the pages of the Wall Street Journal, the … [Read More]
As the venerable Chicago radio newsman and commentator Paul Harvey would say, “Here is a strange . . . ” According to the time stamp in the e-mail headers, I received a “Press Advisory” last night, at 11:50 P.M. CST. The headline of the advisory reads: “Student’s Civil Disobedience and Arrest at Rockefeller Center: Demonstration against the war in Iraq.” Yet … [Read More]
I support Ron Paul, and I intend to vote for him in the Illinois primary. But I had a little different reaction from Justin’s when I watched the clip of the congressman commenting on the Huckster’s Christmas ad. My friend and colleague Aaron Wolf is right: “That was not a wise comment by Ron Paul.” In fact, the congressman seems tired … [Read More]
On Wednesday, November 28, Derrick Shareef pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Chicago on federal charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. I’ve discussed the Shareef case before on this website, most notably here, here, and here. In the past, I’ve suggested the Shareef case was only the tip of the iceberg, and that those who thought … [Read More]
Robert Novak might not be able to distinguish Thomas Fleming from Thomas Fleming (as the howler in his latest book shows), and he might benefit from a remedial course in journalistic ethics (as the Valerie Plame outing, among other incidents, indicates), but he’s generally pretty savvy when it comes to electoral politics. So I’m discussing his latest column today not simply … [Read More]