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On the evening September 11th, 1970: thirty-one years to the day before al-Qaeda’s attack on America, John Forbes Kerry was sitting in a room somewhere with the other leaders of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, engaged in a busy meeting of the Executive Committee. Among other things they discussed plans to brand all American soldiers as “war criminals” (literally so, in the form of demonstrations outside of induction centers, “for the purpose of making clear the transition between citizen and war criminal”) and making plans for a speaking tour starring fake Vietnam veteran Al Hubbard and unindicted traitor Jane Fonda....

I’m going to make a prediction. It might sound foolish at this stage and it’s certainly true that I’ve made predictions in the past that have turned out to be wildly (wr)ong, but I’m going to make it anyways: John Kerry is going to lose this election, and lose it badly. The first truly ominous sign for Kerry since his sudden rise after Iowa is the surprisingly strong candidacy of Ralph Nader. Given the widespread perception that Nader cost Gore the last election, and the supposed fact that Democrats are united and energized because of their “anger” towards President Bush,...

I have said it many times before: the War on Terrorism cannot be won in a day, but it can be lost in one. There can be no more effective demonstration of this dictum than the recent election results in Spain. For all that we fear it; al-Qaeda’s actual forces are so small that, if they were to attempt to fight a traditional open battle, they would probably be destroyed by a single Spanish brigade. Yet it was al-Qaeda that beat Spain. Already their propagandists are crowing about the “conquest of Madrid” and proclaiming a truce to allow Spain to...

Lost amid the clamor over the disastrous result of the Spanish elections on March 14th have been the results of the perhaps equally important Russian Presidential election of the same day. Frankly I suspect that, over the long term, these might be even more consequential. While it is far too early to proclaim the death of freedom in Russia, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, at the very least, liberal democracy has perished in that great land. I still don’t know what to make of Vladimir Putin: is he a future tyrant that we shall have to...

What happened in Spain’s election was almost enough to make one feel nostalgic for General Franco (who is, unfortunately, still dead). Whatever other flaws he had (and they were both serious and numerous) at least he’d have made sure that Spain dealt harshly with Islamic terrorists and their allies. There is no inherent legitimacy in democratic decisions. A bad decision remains one even if it is taken in such a fashion. The choice of the Spanish people to, in response to the Madrid bombings, opt for the road of cowardice and of the appeasement of terror is such a decision....

We’re still not sure exactly who was responsible for the recent atrocity in Madrid. Initial speculation focused on the ETA, a violent Basque separatist group. Now, after a claim of responsibility by an affiliated group, most people are looking towards al-Qaeda. Frankly, on reflection, I believe that this was probably a joint operation, given evidence linking both the ETA and al-Qaeda to the attack. The fact that the sort of explosives used match up with those that the ETA has been caught with in the past points directly at them. The operational methods (which are inconsistent with those of the...

In announcing his campaign for the Presidency in late 1967, Senator Eugene McCarthy assailed the war in Vietnam on the grounds that it was opposed by the “decent opinion of mankind.” That’s an interesting phrase, when you think about it: and one that’s been at the core of Democratic foreign policy ever since. American policy can be legitimate, the left holds, only so long as “decent opinion” supports it. But who defines “decent opinion”? The hard-working, hard-fighting Americans who are willing to stand up against tyranny or the limp-wristed, faint-hearted Europeans who want to see the “nuance” in evil? This...

This is an essay that began as one thing and ended as another. I went into this with the intention of writing on the potential of military conflict between a European Superpower and the United States, in particular on those areas where such open military conflicts might arise. However, as I conducted research for that paper, I came to a very different conclusion: there isn’t going to be any military conflict between the United States and European Superpower, because there is probably never going to be a European Superpower. In fact, unless trends change drastically, within a few decades the...

Frankly, I’m mystified at how anyone could have lost a relative on 9-11 and responded by calling for steps that would protect the murderers. Other than in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the only time that family members of the lost have been showcased is when one of them is trotted out to attack the Bush Administration with heavily-choreographed leftist rhetoric to bolster the cause of a courage-challenged Democratic Party. The media has attempted to stir up a controversy over the use of 9-11 related images in the first batch of Bush-Cheney campaign commercials. This, in fact, is not...

I’ve always wondered if it were possible for someone to get elected President with a truly secret agenda in the back of their mind. Could a sufficiently determined individual mouth the right platitudes, do the right things, get to know the right people, and then take hold of the greatest office in the land and use it for some strange purpose? Such things are hardly unknown. Our recent history is filled with examples of covert agents how managed to remain under cover for years or even decades. Look at how high the Cambridge Spies rose in Britain before their fall....

Nearly a year has now passed since the commencement of the Battle of Iraq. Given the time elapsed it now seems appropriate to assess the success of our venture there, the relative rightness of our pre-war arguments, and the path that we must now take towards a brighter future. Let us review our successes. Iraq is free and Saddam is in jail. More than that, the spin-offs of the invasion have been astounding. Libya has surrendered her weapons of mass destruction. Two foreign tyrants, thus convinced to US resolve, have willingly gone into exile when, in the past, they would...

The Democratic Party is determined to make this election as dirty a fight as possible. They mean to use every possible rumour to smear the President. They mean to interfere with the national defense for the sole purpose of putting their man in the White House. The Party of Treason must not be allowed to emerge victorious, whatever the cost. This means that we’re going to have to do what Howard Dean accuses us of: we’re going to have to fight a good part of this election on the issues of God, guns, and gays. Now, what exactly does this...

This election may be the most important in living memory. I believe that it is the most important since 1864, when the voters of the North were asked to choose between the folksy Republican who had led them through three years of war and a Democratic “war hero” whose election would almost certainly lead to capitulation and defeat. There were two sides in 1864: patriots, who were willing to save the Union regardless of the cost, and traitors, who were willing to lose the war for ideological reasons. The same is true today. Let us understand the cause for which...

Damn. It happened again. The moment it became clear that the presumptive Democratic nominee was eminently beatable, something happened to bring the guy down. I am referring, of course, to John F. Kerry’s latest apparent effort to emulate his initial-sharer and hero. Just as the whole “Bush AWOL” story had reached its culmination point, and just as people were beginning to focus on Kerry’s treasonous post-Vietnam behavior, this had to happen. Let’s review the story, because it’s already becoming cluttered and confused. Various internet pundits appear to be taking two different stories about possible affairs (several years apart) and fusing...

Damn. It happened again. The moment it became clear that the presumptive Democratic nominee was eminently beatable, something happened to bring the guy down. I am referring, of course, to John F. Kerry’s latest apparent effort to emulate his initial-sharer and hero. Just as the whole “Bush AWOL” story had reached its culmination point, and just as people were beginning to focus on Kerry’s treasonous post-Vietnam behavior, this had to happen. Let’s review the story, because it’s already becoming cluttered and confused. Various internet pundits appear to be taking two different stories about possible affairs (several years apart) and fusing...

At the present time, California authorities believe that at least half of the fires threatening the southern part of that State were deliberately set. In at least one case, witnesses report seeing a man drive a van into the brush, drop something which started a fire, and speeding away. The general conclusion would seem to be, based upon the vast scale of the fires and the large number caused by deliberate arson, that these fires are something more than the usual: that there’s something else at work in this. I’m going to go out on a limb here: I believe...

Canada is not a strong nation. Throughout all of our history, even when we were at our best, our fate has been dictated by events in outside of our control. We are a country at the mercy of waves, always at risk of running aground where we saw no ground. It is with this in mind that I assert that, if and when it comes, the final act of Canada's history will come at a time and place not of our choosing. We have already examined the question of what the fate of the West and of Canada itself could...

The Fall of Canada - Part 5 of 5 written by Adam Yoshida 2003-05-05 Canada is not a strong nation. Throughout all of our history, even when we were at our best, our fate has been dictated by events in outside of our control. We are a country at the mercy of waves, always at risk of running aground where we saw no ground. It is with this in mind that I assert that, if and when it comes, the final act of Canada's history will come at a time and place not of our choosing. We have already examined...