The presentation of its archives by the defunct Communist Party U.S.A. to New York University’s library reminded me of the days in the 1940s when party members were more open, especially in the trade unions — for example, in their takeover coups in the nascent Congress of Industrial Organizations or CIO.
In the words of Henry Kissinger: “There are all kinds of tactical discussions about how to deal with Iran…. But there are a number of fundamental principles to keep in mind.
Every day in every way things worsen in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Putinism in the 21st century has become as significant a watchword as Stalinism was in the 20th. The Putinist regime’s behavior has raised a question historians have asked repeatedly: Why is Russia unable to sustain a democratic form of government, a state based on the rule of law, not on a rule of a dictator or a Politburo?
If you were watching Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on C-Span as she testified the other day before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, you would ask yourself as I did: what is this handsome, articulate, charming statesman going to do for an encore, after her term of office is over in a year or so? Become a fundraising president of some university? Oh, no. President of some big corporation? Please. A Goldman Sachs banker? Please again.
“How should a conscientious Jew react to Israel’s new image as military giant and flawed oppressor?” That’s the question asked by the current Economist, the distinguished British weekly, a rhetorical question that would fit right in with Jimmy Carter’s latest attack on Israel.
The day after, Edwin Heath, leader of the Conservative Opposition, sacked Powell from his Shadow Cabinet post. Powell never again held another senior political post. But his words ring loud and clear as we look upon the sociopolitical phenomenon of our time, a phenomenon that has been called the Islamization of Europe’s cities and the growth of Euro-Islamist populations. The prominent Swedish blogger who calls himself Fjordman has supplied some tormenting predictions about what Europe’s Islamization entails:
In judging the intellectual and moral caliber of Jimmy Carter and the meaning of his new anti-Israel book, we should keep in mind he was probably the worst president in modern times. (Warren G. Harding didn’t live to complete his 1921 presidential term.)
