I’m working on too many speculative projects—and putting off the one that I’m sure would sell the best. Since I fear I’ll never get around to writing the thing, I’ve decided to spill the idea. If one of you can bang it out before I do, you deserve to rake in the bucks. Just invite me to one of your signings. … [Read More]

The classic interpretation of Ian Fleming’s James Bond character is that he stands as a kind of fantasy of Britishness the British people, and especially the elite, could indulge in during the rather grim 1950s—when the Sceptred Isle lost its empire, was usurped as a Great Power and banker to the world by Uncle Sam, and suffered under a social democracy … [Read More]

One of my favorite things to learn about Sarah Palin was her ties to the Alaskan Independence Party, a group that wants their state to secede from the United States. Said the group’s late founder Joe Vogler “The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government.” Pretty radical stuff, right? Perhaps. But no more radical … [Read More]

It’s funny to see John McCain realize, so late in the game, that he really does want to be president—even more than he wants the editors of Washington monthlies to admire him. For most of this campaign, he has behaved like the kind of insufferable goody-two-shoes who in student council elections would talk about “civic duty,” and refuse to vote for … [Read More]

Having seen “American Carol” on the basis of James Hirsen’s glowing review on Newsmax I am still reacting to this flick’s neoconservative message with a queasy stomach. From my exposure to this movie that David Zucker threw together with Bill O’Reilly, who appears as one of the movie’s characters, it seems that I was viewing a cinematic adaptation of Victor Davis … [Read More]

The Two Minutes of Hate began in Ballston before the movie even began, when the previews of Oliver Stone’s W. hit the screen.  My brief speculation as to the political leanings of the crowd dissipated, as the Republican faithful screamed in rage at Stone’s biopic. “Judas,” “Traitor,” and the ultimate insult from any National Review conservative, “Fascist,” echoed through the theater.  … [Read More]

The TV show Gossip Girl, now in its second season, chronicles the “scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite”—“elite” meaning private school kids and their families.  Replete with iphone-toting teenagers, haute couture and on-location filming, the show pretends to at least a surface verisimilitude. When it comes to underlying sociological realities, however, it offers nothing but the most fatuous distortions. For example: • … [Read More]

For every call or email I’ve ever received pointing out that conservative talk radio is “just entertainment,” I have received dozens upon dozens more responses that reflect, almost to a T, the perspective of men like Limbaugh, Hannity, and all the rest. For years, conservatives complained about the impact of the liberal media on the voting public. They were correct. Conservative … [Read More]

Last week in this space I was grossly unfair to a vast swathe of our country, one of America’s most hard-working and patriotic regions. In mocking the Midwest as humorless—indeed, affectless—I surely offended many thousands of my fellow citizens. And I did it without thinking, or considering the effect my words might have. That is what’s so great about writing … [Read More]

Suggesting that movie director Woody Allen, who has abandoned the Big Apple and is residing in Europe now, has been transformed from a New York Liberal into a Continental Conservative would certainly sound like a stretch. But after watching his 2005 Match Point, in which the main character is a professional tennis player by the name of Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys … [Read More]