Free Republic

Study history, and you will understand why no such document is ever likely to be found: That just isn't how these things work. Very few people are aware of this, but there is no document -- not one -- linking Adolf Hitler to the Holocaust. Why not? Because Hitler didn't need to sign a document ordering the slaughter of six million Jews. All he needed to do was to demonize his enemy in speeches at the Reichstag, on the radio, and from one end of Germany to the other -- then hire thugs like Herman Goering, Heinrich Himmler, Adolf Eichmann,...

The 9-11 attacks did more than start a war; they started a war about the war. No sooner had the World Trade towers collapsed and the Pentagon burst into flames than two perceptions of the threat began competing for the public's support: Perception One: We're at War For the third time in history Islam - or, more precisely, its most radical element - has launched a war whose objective is the destruction of Western civilization. Our survival is at stake, and despite its imperfections we believe that Western civilization is worth defending to the death. Moreover, in the modern world...

  12 February 2007 A Global Intelligence Briefing for CEOs The following is an article that is being sent around the internet. I do not know the original source publication, so I will post it here until I find an original source to link to. This article is discussed in this Evolving Excellence blog post. -------------------------------------------------------------What In The World Is Going On? A Global Intelligence Briefing For CEOs by Herbert Meyer Four Major Transformations The War in IraqThe Emergence of ChinaShifting Demographics of Western CivilizationRestructuring of American Business Implications of the Four Major Transformations The War in IraqThe Emergence...

If your objective were to place a beacon atop a mountain, would you: A: Get a beacon and place it atop the mountain, or B: Get a beacon, suspend it in mid-air near the mountain using poles, wires and helicopters, then shove the mountain under the beacon? If you chose Option A, you should consider a career in the private sector, where common sense often is rewarded.  If you chose Option B – your future lies in Washington.  For this is precisely the approach the Bush administration and Congress have taken to fix our country’s broken intelligence service and get...

I am not writing to quarrel with your judgment about the war in Iraq. Rather, I am writing to protest your attitude toward the war. And the point I want to make is this: sometimes, you have to choose between proving yourself to have been right, or helping make a project succeed despite your opposition to it. Since all our tempers are running hot, it might be best to illustrate my point with a non-political example: Imagine that a husband and wife are planning their vacation. One wants to spend it on the beach at Puerto Vallarta, and the other...

More than 60 years after Nevil Shute wrote his savvy novel about a British investment banker who struggles to restart a dormant shipyard in the midst of England's depression — the book should be required reading for MBA students — the need for work sits at the top of our national agenda. Indeed, as the 2004 election cycle revs up, the only thing that President Bush and Senator Kerry agree about is that today we are not creating enough new jobs. The question is, "Why not?" One obvious reason is that we are only now emerging from a recession. This...