As I have previously noted, the military understands Israel’s value as an American security Asset.General George Keegan, Head of Air Force Intelligence, once said: “Israel is worth 5 CIAs.” Now 50 retired Generals decided it’s time to set the record straight and published an open letter urging the President, Congress and the American people entitled:

More »

I’m sure that you have heard about the judge in Wisconsin who recently ruled that the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional. While the allegations of such atrocious thinking were not widely accepted or acted on, even the thought of having that right taken away was enough to move us to action.

More »

Does novice pundit Meghan McCain want her dad to come home from Washington? One might wonder, following her online attacks on Arizona’s tough new immigration law, which he actually supports.

More »

Once upon a time, Florida Governor Charlie Crist decided he was the best thing the state of Florida has ever known. Floridians knew that they were lucky to have him, he thought, so they would rubber-stamp any office he sought.

More »

More »

For the past two years, Downfall, a 2004 German film about Hitler’s final days, has been adopted for very funny viral YouTube parodies. The parodies replaced the original dialogue with phony subtitles, showing Hitler ranting about everything from Xbox video games to Kanye West’s MTV Award embarrassment to Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid. A favorite target of Der Fuhrer’s ire was Brett Favre.

More »

More »

The South Korean government is now reporting that a large undersea explosion (e.g., a torpedo) is likely responsible for sinking its warship Cheonan in the Yellow Sea in March, with the loss of more than 40 souls.

More »

Life is heavy in America these days. Unemployment, bailouts, health care “reform,” trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, a $13 trillion national debt, higher taxes, American vs. American in the immigration debate, Iran going nuclear, North Korea attacking South Korea, an out of control and unresponsive U.S. government.

More »

There is much to-do in the international press about a recent BBC poll showing that America’s popularity around the world has indeed risen since Barack Obama was anointed on January 20, 2009.

More »

Having spent a few days these past weeks with some of my bachelor friends I can safely say that this type of life is not good for them and I’m certain for me. I don’t think I would survive for very long in that kind of an environment. I need help. I need help all of the time.

More »

More »

I’m going to deal with the new Arizona immigration law in full this weekend on the radio show, but here I want to point out two important but largely missed points.

More »

In a recent interview New York Senator Chuck Schumer noted that there is there is a battle going on inside the Obama administration about Israel and added correctly that such a battle is not unusual. The State Department tends to be Arabist while the Defense Department and the military appreciate Israel’s strategic value. The difference is that educated by the most radical leftist (hence anti-Israeli) professors he could find, Barack Obama came to power believing that Israel, like the US, is a bully that needs to be humbled and the way to sell that need to the American people is by convincing it that Israel is a strategic burden even if he hurts US interests in the process. The result is a transformation of US policy towards Israel radical enough to shock as savvy a foreign policy expert as Fareed Zakaria. Barack Obama’s close friend (see picture) and surreptitious adviser, Rashid Khalidi, gleefully explains

More »

For the past several weeks the tea party movement has been widely maligned as radical and dangerous. For example, former President Bill Clinton, in a speech and a New York Times op-ed, has cautioned that supporting tea parties could unleash violent militias. The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report claiming they are “shot through with rich veins of radical ideas, conspiracy theories, and racism.”

More »

Last week an Iraqi court ruled that sufficient evidence of likely fraud in Iraq’s March 7 election exists to warrant a recount of the votes in Baghdad. In yesterday’s American Spectator I published this piece on alleged fraud likely perpetrated by Iran and Saudi Arabia in the election. Iraqi Parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi, a fearless champion of human rights and of normalized relations between Israel and Iraq, believes the elections were indeed corrupted by radical regimes in the mideast that are using Iraq as their battleground.

More »

How clueless do you have to be to not realize that Superman and Clark Kent look exactly alike? That’s the question for the ages — something that has haunted every version of Superman since he debuted as a comic book character in 1938. His was one of the original “secret identities” and the concept involved the Man-of-Steel being accepted by everyone as an alien visitor (who looks human) known as Superman. Even so, no problem there. When he put on a pair of glasses and a business suit and acted a little differently in order to pass as Clark Kent, however, it seemed that nobody realized they were the same person. As comic book films have gotten more and more realistic, the cognitive dissonance we experience in enjoying the character has grown greater and greater.

More »

“Big Pharma:” Do those two words make you feel angry? Do they make your pulse raise, your blood pressure rise? If not, odds are you haven’t been listening to the President this year, railing against “Big Pharma” and the big bad insurance company boogeyman in his successful campaign to socialize our healthcare system.

More »

From CNN.com this morning:

More »

Can’t keep a good dictator down!

More »

Valery Gergiev’s idea of playing two Mahler symphonies in the same BBC Prom concert - the fourth before the interval and the fifth after - is a product of our special-offer times. If neon-strip retailers can accustom us to buying more than we want by pretending to give it away free, what’s to stop conductors cramming our heads with musical excess?

More »

Over the past 20 years it has become increasingly clear that the conservative cause is being hindered by ideological boilerplate, otherwise known as the same old same old.  Two prime examples are the generic conservative stances on education and trade.

More »

Today is Earth Day, so if you haven’t already, sprawl yourself on the ground and give Mother Earth a great big hug. The president and vice president decided to mark Earth Day by hightailing it to New York City. I know: New York City isn’t exactly the most logical place to spend Earth Day: acres of earth are paved over and under for high rises, streets, and subways. But Earth Day wasn’t the reason they trekked to the Big Apple. They had another reason. Obama was in Manhattan to deliver a sanctimonious dressing-down of Wall Street.  (Biden just came to sit for a hard-hitting interview with the ladies of “The View.”)

More »

     The exhibition on Henri Cartier-Bresson currently at MOMA is a vast retrospective of the photographer’s work as he traveled around the world documenting pivotal and marginal events with equal attention and artistry.  As most people are aware by now, Cartier-Bresson formulated the concept of seizing the decisive moment in his viewfinder, as opposed to manipulating his images in the darkroom.  Enormous world maps at the entrance to the galleries show the breadth of his enterprise and the boundless energy required to maintain enthusiasm for his profession.  Among the myriad places that he visited were the Soviet Union, China and the United States and large wall texts headline what the curator (Peter Galassi) wants us to glean from looking at the photographs of these three countries.  The following captions are distilled from their respective text blocks:

More »

As someone who loves history, living in Washington, DC has certainly afforded me the chance to meet an incredible array of historical figures over the years. From presidents to politicians to pundits, I constantly marvel at the paths I cross in our nation’s capitol. Such was the case for me a few years back when I had the amazing opportunity to meet Dr. Dorothy Height.

More »

It can’t bear repeating too often. Despite the adage about defeat/failure being an orphan, the parentage of the recent economic collapse is clearly discernible:  The names are Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  In addition to Clinton signing the legislation that overturned the Depression-era Glass-Steagall law that prevented commercial banks from getting into the investment business, it would appear that neither the SEC of “42″ or “43″ knew the difference between “oversight” and “overlook.”  

More »

The fifth or sixth time I read about that Pew poll showing a staggering number of Americans — 78 percent — distrust their government, I began to wonder: Who exactly DO we trust?

More »

In old movies (and a lot of new ones too), there is the usual formula of romantic tension between the leading man and the leading lady. They usually start out hating each other but ultimately find themselves drawn to each other. This usually culminates in a climactic argument, during which the woman expresses her total contempt and disdain for the man: “I hate you!” He then grabs her, pulls her close, and plants a big, passionate kiss on her. She, of course, succumbs, and the two then declare their undying love for each other.

More »

Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 not only thrilled movie audiences by taking them back to man’s reach for the moon; it also recalled an era when America faced a goal boldly and accepted nothing short of success.

More »

We should underline the following four points in our initial reaction to foreign reports, including a statement from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Maliki, that “Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri were killed by an Iraqi team.”

More »

On Tax Day, the president did two things. 1) He went to Florida to decimate another symbol of American exceptionalism: the NASA space program. And 2) He attended a fundraiser (what else?) in Miami to try to rake in money for his crippled party. Priorities!

More »

I have a vivid memory of the day Israel was born as I both attended a meeting called by Ben-Gurion and joined the fighting that preceded and followed. Few remember that after decades of promises to create a homeland for Jews in Palestine (the Balfour Declaration) it took a very unusual constellation of international forces for the UN to vote to recognize the formation of the state of Israel.  In effect, the majority of the Jewish leaders at the time felt that going for a state was too risky, and they favored seeking instead a greater level of autonomy for the Jewish community within the framework of the prevailing British colonial rule (“mandate”). It was left to Ben-Gurion to recognize the unique opportunity for the Soviet bloc and the U.S.—already engaged in a Cold War—to both to support the formation of a new state.

More »

Some months ago the Obama administration put out the word that the economy is doing great and 10% unemployment should be considered the new normal. As the unemployed were almost exclusively persons without college degrees seeking employment in the small business sector, the intellectual, media and political elite could not care less. Tim Geitner can make the Sunday rounds unafraid that he would be asked about horrific unemployment statistics, such as the 41.1% Black youth unemployment or the “unexpected” rise in the number of persons applying for unemployment benefits a second week in a row or that the initial unemployment claims data have not really changed in the past five and a halve months despite repeated administration assertions to the contrary.

More »

Fifty years ago this week, a failed Chicago accountant who became a comedian changed the face of American comedy. The young unknown did it without telling a single joke and, by his own admission, without saying anything that would strike casual listeners as particularly funny. But his comedy album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, released May 6, 1960, was a groundbreaking event in American culture.

More »

Jews are beginning to see the light. Voting for for Barack Obama was a major error. Many would not repeat it and not only because of his shameful treatment of Israel. John Mclaughlin survey of Jewish voters  finds:

More »