Free Republic

Jeb Bush RetweetedIf you ever wondered, "What would get Trump booed at a Trump rally?," you have your answer. https://t.co/E8u5dXi08m— Jay Nordlinger (@jaynordlinger) August 22, 2021VIDEO: Trump Booed at Alabama Rally for 'Get COVID-19 Vaccine' Remarkhttps://t.co/M0BT87be3e— Mike Walker (@New_Narrative) August 22, 2021

Rolla, Mo. - There are many summer camps, something for everyone. But there's no other camp quite like this: an explosives camp. A hands-on explosives camp. Such a thing would seem impossible in modern America. These days, kids ride their trikes in protective gear. So, the very idea of explosives camp is thrilling... Explosives Camp is an offering of Missouri University of Science and Technology -- formerly known as the University of Missouri-Rolla, formerly known as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy. Rolla is midway between St. Louis and Springfield (Springfield, Mo., that is)... Here in Rolla, the explosives...

Well, I’ve said it a million times: The anchorman of CBS News should attend Democratic fundraisers (as happened). The Supreme Court reporter of the New York Times, a.k.a. the paper of record, should march in abortion-rights rallies (as happened). And PBS news figures should be open partisans. Yesterday, when Senator Barbara Mikulski declared for the Iran deal, meaning that this deal could not be blocked by the Senate, Gwen Ifill spiked the football. “Take that, Bibi,” she tweeted. Aha! Good one, Gwen! The PBS ombudsman has written about this matter disapprovingly. I’m not sure I disapprove. What I disapprove of...

Concerning Obama’s Hampton University speech, just one observation. I don’t care so much about the down-home accent and style. Lots of people slip into different skins, for different purposes. It isn’t necessarily hypocritical or wrong. (That said, I’m not eager to hear Hillary Clinton’s “black voice” again. Will we be treated to it when she runs in 2016?)What is damnable about Obama’s Hampton speech is this: It perpetrates a racial lie. It furthers racial grievance and alienation. It hardens division in our society. It increases bitterness and mistrust.The charge that President Bush and Republicans generally were indifferent to black...

From Brown’s victory speech: “And let me say this, with respect to those who wish to harm us: I believe that our Constitution and laws exist to protect this nation. They do not grant rights and privileges to enemies in wartime. In dealing with terrorists, our tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them, not lawyers to defend them.” Isn’t that the sort of right-wing talk that is supposed to be poison in our politics now? I wonder whether Americans in general realize how conservative Scott Brown is — how conservative a campaign he ran. I wonder if they...

Like you, I’m sure, I’m all for “realism” in foreign policy. Sometimes you have to hold your nose: as when you deal with the rulers in Beijing, for example. But now and then you might ask, “How does it look to the boys in the camps?” That is the line attributed to Vladimir Bukovsky, the great Soviet dissident. When making policy or holding meetings, Westerners should pause to consider, “How will it look to the boys in the camps?” Well, our new president, Obama, has been pretty depressing on that score. It started, really, when he gave an interview to...

In recent days, there has been a great fuss over Rush Limbaugh. It’s amazing, the attention he attracts, and the heebie-jeebies he gives people. Some of my friends have blasted him. One was in my office just yesterday, blasting him. Okay. Rush isn’t for everybody, but who is? There are many other radio hosts on the dial, and you can choose the ones you like — or none at all. I like Rush. I think he’s right about almost everything. And I like his spirit — the sheer joie de vivre he expresses. I wish I had more of that...

There are a lot of people who didn’t like Edmund Morris’s biography of Reagan, which was authorized — they said it was a failure, or at least a missed opportunity. I don’t know. I didn’t read it. But I do know this: Morris had one insight into Reagan, and it was perfectly observed. Reagan spent his entire life standing up to the bully. From boyhood on, he interposed himself between the bully and the innocent. He stood up to the bullies in his schools. He stood up to the Communists in Hollywood, and to the coercive unions. He stood up...

Don’t Shoot the Messenger . . . . . . ’cause this assessment’s grim. Don't shoot the messenger. I thought Kerry did very, very well; and I thought Bush did poorly — much worse than he is capable of doing. Listen: If I were just a normal guy — not Joe Political Junkie — I would vote for Kerry. On the basis of that debate, I would. If I were just a normal, fairly conservative, war-supporting guy: I would vote for Kerry. On the basis of that debate. And I promise you that no one wants this president reelected more...

The Kerry campaign has reached rock bottom. I'm not talking about its standing in the polls — I don't care about that, so much. I'm talking about its moral status. Its behavior during Prime Minister Allawi's visit to the United States was appalling. The contempt that these people — the Kerry people — threw on Allawi was beyond belief. I feel like a McCarthyite when I think, "Are they on the other side? They seem desperate for our endeavors in Iraq to fail. They seem to be rooting against us." But I think it. Of Allawi, Joe Lockhart, the Kerry...

-snip- (click on above link to read his other comments) -snip- Okay, folks, George W. Bush, the Big Kahuna, the Main Event. Let me give you some notes, made as I was watching and listening. 1. That introductory film was superb - maybe the best such film I have seen (although the one for the senior Bush in '88 was mighty good - remember the survey of the Salvadoran honor guard, and the hugging of the old Polish woman?). The W. film was soft and hard at the same time, crunchy and soggy (to borrow Mike Barone's language, I think)....

Shall we start with some media bias? Some grousing about? Conservatives never tire of it — the grousing, that is — but, at the same time, the media never tire of delivering the bias. So . . . From lovely Reuters comes a news story, featuring this sentence: "Bush, who avoided combat in Vietnam while serving as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard, calls himself a war president for his re-election campaign against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran." Read that a few times, and keep gasping. That sentence is from a wire service, mind...

Shall we start with some media bias? Some grousing about? Conservatives never tire of it — the grousing, that is — but, at the same time, the media never tire of delivering the bias. So . . . From lovely Reuters comes a news story, featuring this sentence: "Bush, who avoided combat in Vietnam while serving as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard, calls himself a war president for his re-election campaign against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran." Read that a few times, and keep gasping. That sentence is from a wire service, mind...

Ready for a little Teresa, the lady who would be First Lady? Okay, check her out. First, in response to Bush's gay-marriage position, she says, "It's divisive politics." Oh, sure: divisiveness. Because it's only supporters of a marriage amendment who are acting divisively, not those who would impose a radical redefinition of marriage. "You wish to thwart my staggeringly revolutionary action, therefore you are divisive." What a lovely way to argue! And here's Joe Klein, in the Quote of the Day from yesterday's Hotline (a political compilation from the National Journal people): "[Bush] said he was a war president, but...

Welcome to Part III (and for Parts I and II, go here and here). Shall we just wade right in? Back in, that is? Okay. I'll begin this installment with the amazing Olusegun Obasanjo, president of Nigeria. He meets with a few journalists in an on-the-record session, garbed in his native dress, looking elegant and serene. As I mentioned earlier in this Journal, Obasanjo is a dignified man whose lilting English is endearing, almost hypnotic. If he's challenged, however, he gets prickly — formidable. The thought occurs, "You don't get to be Number One in an African country — or...

Friends, I'm writing you from the village of Davos, in Switzerland, where the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum is being held. I will report for the next few days, mixing items of some moment with items of a light nature. (How does that differ from the normal Impromptus, huh?) Anyone and everyone is here, as is always the case. You have your heads of state: Abdullah, Klaus, Kwasniewski, Musharraf, Khatami, Erdogan. You have a slew of foreign ministers, and other ministers. U.S. Cabinet members include Ashcroft and Evans (Vice President Cheney will also show.) You have thinkers, deep...

Yesterday, I committed Part I of this Davos Journal, and I promised you, the next day, a little Bill Clinton — so here he is. As you may remember from my reporting and commentary last year, Bill Clinton is King of Davos, the World Economic Forum's favorite American, by far, just as Shimon Peres is its favorite Israeli (you may detect a pattern here). There is almost a worshipful attitude about Clinton here in Davos, as people get adoring looks in their eyes, and follow his every move like bobby-soxers in thrall to Sinatra. No wonder the ex-prez so loves...

May I start with a little anti-union rant? I didn't think you'd mind, you NRO wingnuts, you. It is also an anti-airline rant — and you may not mind that, either. I'm writing you on the high seas, in the course of a National Review cruise (and you should really come on one). But I don't have my baggage, and never have, since I boarded last Saturday. Here was the deal: On that day, Saturday, I took an American Airlines flight to Ft. Lauderdale, to meet NR's ship. The plane landed, on time, at 2:15. But the ground crew would...

Colmes & Kunstler. Rosie, o Rosie. About David Bar-Illan. And more I saw something that shocked me, from Alan Colmes. You know him: one half of the Hannity-and-Colmes team on Fox. Interviewed by The Hotline (a Washington political sheet), Colmes was asked, "If you could have any other job besides the one you have now, what would it be?" Colmes answered, "I admired William Kunstler. To defend the defenseless, to empower the powerless, to work within the system to change it. Atticus Finch in 'To Kill a Mockingbird.'" This is a breathtaking statement, if you know the personalities, issues, and...

I'd like to start by comparing George W. Bush to Jimmy Carter. Now, before you lose your lunch, hear me out. Besides, President Carter wasn't all bad. The other day, Bush said, "When you become the president" — he always says "the president," instead of "president" — "you cannot predict all the challenges that will come. But you do know the principles that you bring to the office, and they should not change with time or with polls." Nicely said. And very reminiscent of something that Governor Carter said repeatedly in the '76 campaign: "We must adapt to changing times...