http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/ The Online Magazine for Independent Conservatives, edited by Taki Theodoracopulos en rbs6@duke.edu Copyright 2009 2009-07-04T19:04:45+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/re_sarah_being_sarah/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/re_sarah_being_sarah/#When:19:04:45Z While Manny Ramirez rarely offers explanations for his slovenly, erratic behavior out in left field, Gov. Youbetcha treats us to such baffling, inane assertions as not quitting her job would be “a quitter’s way out” and continuing to serve the people of Alaska would amount to “the worthless, easy path.”  And I’m not so sure Rick Sanchez’s suggestion is so daft after all—the legendarily fecund Sarah might be with child once again. And, indeed, I think we should start speculating about the name of the latest addition to the Palin brood. “Grendol” Palin, “Kitt” Palin” or, my favorite, “Palin” Palin?    … 2009-07-04T19:04:45+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/site/article/national_holiday/ http://www.takimag.com/site/article/national_holiday/#When:18:51:15Z The Declaration of Independence—whose proclamation, on July 4, 1776, we celebrate today—has been mocked out of meaning. To be fair to the liberal establishment, ordinary Americans are not entirely blameless. For most, Independence Day means firecrackers and cookouts. The Declaration doesn’t feature. In fact, contemporary Americans are less likely to read it now that it is easily available on the Internet, than when it relied on horseback riders for its distribution. Back in 1776, gallopers carried the Declaration through the country. Printer John Dunlap had worked through the night to set the full text on “a handsome folio sheet,” recounts historian … Culture 2009-07-04T18:51:15+00:00 http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/sarah_being_sarah/ http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/sarah_being_sarah/#When:18:28:39Z The news of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s resignation has media outlets clamoring for a saucy reason why. HuffPo offers a tabloid explanation via a link to CNN’s typically daft Rick Sanchez, while Politico wonders if repeated ethics inquiries are to blame for Palin’s departure. The news comes on the heels of a devastating hit-piece from Vanity Fair that charted her unusual behavior from her nomination as John McCain’s VP candidate to her return to Alaska as Governor in the election’s aftermath. The reaction on both sides is predictable. Palin’s admirers on the Right will classify the numerous ethics investigations aimed at … 2009-07-04T18:28:39+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