With the New World Order and global democracy having been abandoned as America’s great goals, what is the new goal of U.S. foreign policy? What is the strategy to achieve it? Does anyone know? For the World War II generation, there was clarity. The attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec 7, 1941, united the nation as [...]
Democracy requires common ground on which all can stand, but that ground is sinking beneath our feet, and democracy may be going down the sinkhole with it… “You all start with the premise that democracy is some good. I don’t think it’s worth a darn. Churchill is right. The only thing to be said for [...]
The problem with red lines is that, while they may provide our adversaries with clear guidelines, they can box us in and make it very difficult to maneuver and be more flexible in new circumstances… On January 12, 1950, then-Secretary of State Dean Acheson gave a speech at the National Press Club describing in detail [...]
In the post-truth society, your facts are not my facts, and lies by political figures are greeted with indifference. Judged by past standards, citizens of a post-truth society have no real experience and no capacity for critical thinking. We Americans have virtually no interest in history; for us, the past pales in comparison with the [...]
The nation-state is a fact of life today. It is a necessary protection for people, in their communities, as they face dangers from foreign powers and state-less international elites. But we must remember that it is necessary to guard the guardian of our freedom, and to maintain our own virtue if we are to guard [...]
If we could dialogue with our friends and enemies in a spirit of charity we would all be much happier and, more to the point, we would all be much closer to the truth of things… I am glad to think that through all those years we never stopped arguing; and we never once quarreled [...]
President Trump rarely uses the language of restraint, but his limited agenda makes clear the vast room available for a renewal of state and local politics as a necessary ground and embodiment of self-government… We continue to witness the left’s refusal to come to grips with their loss of electoral power in Washington, D.C. Childish and [...]
How is it that so many Senators on both sides of the aisle, and media outlets ranging from liberal to conservative, seem so fixated on goading the Trump Administration into confrontation with Vladimir Putin and Russia…? It never fails to get a few chuckles and more than a few eye rolls whenever a worn-out comedian [...]
Steve Bannon is a deeply thoughtful pugilist who does not care what you think. Some will say this is a recipe for disaster. I say it’s just what we need… Out of the blue in the summer of 2014, I received an email from Steve Bannon asking if I ever published anyplace other than Crisis Magazine [...]
The myth of civil service neutrality, like the myth of an unbiased press, has fostered the growth of an arrogant, self-interested governing class and structure than can and will defend its own interests… In less than three weeks, the Trump administration has suffered a Niagara of leaks from the White House to the press. Backroom [...]
For anyone to hold “the media” in contempt—for example, over “fake news”—is nothing but a bizarre form of self-loathing… In this digital age of polarized politics, where can we look for guidance on how to turn down the heat? After all, we don’t want to blow ourselves up. Fortunately, although the imperative to use our [...]
How does the deep state go about its work? The intelligence and investigative arms of the regime dig up dirt, and then move it to their Fourth Estate collaborators, who enjoy First Amendment immunity to get it out… When General Michael Flynn was forced to resign as national security adviser, Bill Kristol purred his satisfaction, [...]
That a district judge would overrule the President of the United States on a matter of border security in wartime is absurd. And only someone ignorant of history can view President Trump’s disparagement of the judge blocking his travel ban as frightening… “Disheartening and demoralizing,” wailed Judge Neil Gorsuch of President Trump’s comments about the [...]
The fact that some Americans once considered Catholicism a menace is now used as an argument against critics of Muslim immigration. But what if all the things that were once falsely charged against Catholicism are actually true of Islam?… “In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country [...]