When I found out that Muzak was going bankrupt on February 11th, 2009, I cried myself to sleep at least four times that day. Who, besides satellite and terrestrial radio, would provide soft background music in public places for me?
The biggest long-term threat to fiscal responsibility is a value-added tax, as I’ve explained here, here, here, here, and here. So I’m delighted to see a growing amount of research showing that a VAT is bad news. Jim Powell has
Yes, I know. This post is a few weeks late. Unfortunately I don’t have the time to see everything as soon as it comes out and only caught up with “Salt” and “Eat Pray Love” this last week. So please
Columbia University President Lee Bollinger has come out in favor of a fascist press system. It goes without saying that Mr. Bollinger wouldn’t describe it that way, but that would be the end result of adopting his suggestion to Federally
After World War Two, territorial changes in Western Europe were supposed to be a thing of past. The fall of the Soviet Empire required big adjustments to the map of Eastern and Central Europe, but once all those changes were
If you have not served in combat, go see Restrepo … and if you have served in combat, go see Restrepo. Every American should watch this gripping film if for no other reason than to allow our collective conscience as
I have, for weeks, had a mercifully short but accurate metaphor to deliver as an editorial titled America As Job. However, my last two columns had to take precedence over America As Job. Recent headlines demanded I postpone any Biblical
Now we move to World War II, and a darker chapter in the history of the Medal. Namely, the formal discrimination by the US Army regarding the heroism of minority soldiers, particularly African-American and Asian-Americans. (If you missed Part 1,
Leave it to the Obama administration to come up with yet another bald power grab, in the guise of “helping” us: now the FCC, invoking an ancient law designed to regulate the telephone industry, wants to lay its heavy hand
Or something like that. That headline certainly makes as much sense as this deranged PC-rant from National Progressive Radio by way of the ancient leftist publication The Nation: “Why the Far Right Hates Soccer,” by Dave Zirin. Just when you
Barack Obama’s infamous phrase “Just words. Just speeches” keeps ringing in my ears. While the U.S. economy crumbles and the world teeters toward war, the President busies himself with words and speeches (not to mention photo ops and vacations and
Today is the anniversary of D-Day. [youtube wti6NR9P7ZA&feature nolink] World War II saw some of the greatest war correspondents of all time go into action with the troops. Along with Ernie Pyle in the Pacific, Martha Gellhorn was probably the
What the hell is going on in this great country of ours? First, let me say I am sick and tired of The Left destroying the values this country was built on. And not being held accountable! I see the
It is not the magnitude of the rapidly collapsing Greek economy that should concern us in America. It is, rather, that Greece is unquestionably the proverbial canary in the coal mine that should have the American ruling class burning the
If Hollywood hadn’t spent most of the post-9/11 decade portraying Islamic terrorists as nuanced victims driven to violence by the West, their open cowardice when it come to taking on Islamists might make some sense. After all, if these extremists
What leading vacation destination has a warm, temperate climate, villas overlooking the sea, terrific food and drink, and an enormous debt crisis? Greece has been in the news recently because its massive debt is sparking a crisis in the European
In the vernacular of financial commentary, “PIGS” is the term recently coined by the financial markets to refer to sovereign countries whose economies are virtually bankrupt and whose bonds are virtually worthless. These are the basket cases of the international
Canadians hosted hundreds of American air passengers whose planes were grounded on 9/11. They opened their hearts and their homes to us. During the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-81, fearless Canadian diplomats in Tehran helped smuggle out of that maddened
AFP: Growing levels of violence along with a deepening recession are driving an increasing number of people to try and get out of Venezuela. Many of those escaping tough times are trying to move to European countries like Spain, Portugal
Both represent ideals we Americans hold dear. But they aren’t really the same thing and as we have seen in the still acrimonious national debate over the issue of health care and the government’s proper role in providing it, the
Before the most recent report on Lehman Brothers’ use of Enron-like methods to hide debt from its balance sheet, Greece had recently been accused of similar shenangians. The sovereign was under scrutiny for swaps it had set up with Goldman
“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, not your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” — Alexis de Tocqueville In part one we discussed how there are only two forms of government. In part two
One of the nifty things about living in Santa Monica, California is watching Hollywood celebrities mince about Main Street, in their half-hearted attempt to remain incognito. In the past 3 months alone, I’ve been treated to Diane Lane and Josh
The great pioneering director D.W. Griffith hired Rabbi Isadore Myers as the Jewish technical consultant on his great epic, Intolerance, 1916. Griffith was so happy with Rabbi Myer’s expert advice and attention to detail that he said to the good
