http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/ The Online Magazine for Independent Conservatives, edited by Taki Theodoracopulos en razibk@gmail.com Copyright 2009 2009-07-03T22:33:30+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/the_sarah_palin_show_ends_with_a_twist/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/the_sarah_palin_show_ends_with_a_twist/#When:22:33:30Z Well, since she’s resigning as governor of Alaska, perhaps she could relocate to South Carolina and contest the 2010 race? After the Vanity Fair hit-piece and the interview with Runner’s World I wouldn’t have expected her to withdraw from the fight to establish herself as a public figure. Nevertheless, in the wake of the whole Mark Sanford fiasco I think many people are going to be a lot more cautious about giving pols a benefit of the doubt when it comes to erratic or confusing behavior. I’m sure there’s more to come…. Politics 2009-07-03T22:33:30+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/site/article/german_charm/ http://www.takimag.com/site/article/german_charm/#When:15:11:24Z Poor Michael Jackson. His last words were: ‘Take me to the children’s ward.’ But it was nice of the jockeys in Santa Anita to wear a black mourning band in honour of a man who rode more three-year-old winners than anyone. Mind you, I thought the great Paul Johnson was the best when I happened to tell him over the telephone of Jackson’s untimely death: ‘Was he a member of the Beatles?’ Er, well no, dear Paul, but he was in the same undignified business. It has been said that you only ever meet the world once, in childhood. All the … High Life 2009-07-03T15:11:24+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/site/article/hands_off_honduras/ http://www.takimag.com/site/article/hands_off_honduras/#When:13:26:32Z Last Saturday, Honduran soldiers marched into the presidential palace, bundled up President Manuel Zelaya and put him on a plane for Costa Rica. The ouster had been ordered by the Supreme Court and approved by the Congress, as Zelaya was attempting an illegal referendum to change the Honduran constitution so he could run for another term. Will someone please explain why this bloodless transfer of power to the civilian legislator first in line for the presidency, in a sovereign nation, is any business of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, Hugo Chavez, the Castro brothers or Barack Obama? For … World 2009-07-03T13:26:32+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/site/article/establishment_chic/ http://www.takimag.com/site/article/establishment_chic/#When:21:35:48Z Wonkette, if you have the good fortune of not knowing, is a left-liberal site that manages to consider itself cheeky and iconoclastic while endorsing only the most exquisitely conventional, establishment-approved opinions.  If you’re not located somewhere along that fantastic spectrum of genius that ranges from Chuck Schumer to Arlen Specter, Wonkette will expose you to the world as the misanthropic imbecile you obviously are. In order to remain as predictable as possible, Wonkette’s writers have decided they really don’t like Rep. Michele Bachmann, member of Congress from Minnesota. Of all the geniuses in Congress, they select for special ridicule one of … Blogosphere 2009-07-02T21:35:48+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/insufferable_historicism/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/insufferable_historicism/#When:22:25:46Z The recent crises in Iran and Honduras have produced plenty of rhetoric in Washington, very little of it constructive or relevant to actual US interests. Official statements do remind us of the vision of history held by the governing classes and diffused among the population at large. Commenting on the post-election riots in Iran last week, Sen. John McCain said that the US must be on “the right side of history” in doing something (what, exactly?) for “human rights and values”. McCain mentioned the Prague Spring and the Greek War of Independence as precedents justifying his demand for a more confrontational … 2009-07-01T22:25:46+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/breaking_up_is_hard_to_do/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/breaking_up_is_hard_to_do/#When:22:11:06Z Heather Mac Donald expresses some frustration at Mark Sanford’s antics the past week. Here’s what he told the Associated Press: In emotional interviews with the AP over two days, he said he would die “knowing that I had met my soul mate.” He also said he had “crossed the lines” with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage, but not as far as he did with his mistress. Sanford insisted his relationship with Maria Belen Chapur, whom he met at an open air dance spot in Uruguay eight years ago, was more than just sex. “This was a … Politics 2009-07-01T22:11:06+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/our_man_in_iran/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/our_man_in_iran/#When:18:40:39Z As the blogosphere has taught us, the “Green Revolution” is all about democracy and human rights and was fomented, no doubt, after the Iranian people began reading up on Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, and Catholic Social Teaching. Problem is, the Greens’ Great Leader isn’t exactly ideal in the global-friendship-of-the-peoples department—after the Iran-Iraq war, it seems, he ordered the murder of 5000 political dissidents. While the beltway sees a new dawn for American influence in the Middle East, for me the whole thing’s beginning to look like a replay of the 2004 Orange “Revolution”: Western journalists think it’s all about them … 2009-07-01T18:40:39+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/the_genetics_of_history_thomas_jefferson/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/the_genetics_of_history_thomas_jefferson/#When:15:36:54Z Kevin Gutzman alludes to genetic evidence pointing to a strong likelihood that Thomas Jefferson fathered at least one of Sally Hemings’ children. Why strong likelihood as opposed to 100% certainty? The genetic test in question focused on the Y chromosome, which is passed exclusively through males, and Jefferson naturally shared his Y chromosome with his brother. So it is certain that some of the descendants of Sally Hemings derive from the Jefferson lineage, but not necessarily Thomas Jefferson. But there’s a way to establish full certainty: obtain a sample of Thomas Jefferson and Randolph Jefferson’s genetic material from the family burial … History 2009-07-01T15:36:54+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/site/article/jacko_and_celebrity_eugenics/ http://www.takimag.com/site/article/jacko_and_celebrity_eugenics/#When:14:07:51Z Jacko was the King of Celebrity Eugenics. The late Michael Jackson was a strange individual, but his various obsessions, such as weight loss, whitening his skin, and expensively designing his children, were hardly unique to him. They are shared by more than few of his legion of female fans. To become a superstar, you have to embody some of the inner fixations of either the male or female publics. And in popular music in recent decades, the biggest names have had largely feminine audiences because male tastes have fragmented into multitudinous narrow genres, such as, say, Melodic Death Metal. First, Jackson’s … Zeitgeist 2009-07-01T14:07:51+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/mad_max_conservatism/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/mad_max_conservatism/#When:23:48:49Z Tomorrow (July 1), the assembly of non-Left creative types living in NYC known as “The Manhattan Project” will be holding its monthly debate at Lolita Bar, right in the heart of the Lower East Side. And this one’s gonna be a humdinger! “Is America Economically Doomed?” is the question for the evening. Arguing “No, we’re all gonna be just fine,” will be Bryan Harris, political journalist and author of a book on gay marriage. Arguing “Yes! Quick go convert your backyard lawnmower into a personal helicopter from which you can ambush S&M Goth dudes on go-carts who’re hoarding all the precious, … 2009-06-30T23:48:49+00:00