FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2009 Africa with Dambisa Moyo: Chapter 5 of 5 What would happen if the aid taps to Africa were shut off in five years? Dambisa Moyo responds. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2009 Africa with Dambisa Moyo: Chapter 4 of 5 Dambisa Moyo responds to her critics. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2009 Africa with Dambisa Moyo: Chapter 3 of 5 Dambisa Moyo describes the unique Africa–China relationship, and why she supports it. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2009 Africa with Dambisa Moyo: Chapter 2 of 5 Dambisa Moyo explains how she escaped the dire poverty that marks Africa today. PERMALINK
MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2009 Africa with Dambisa Moyo: Chapter 1 of 5 Dambisa Moyo says $1 trillion in foreign aid to Africa has not helped the continent. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2009 Charles Kesler on the Grand Liberal Project: Chapter 5 of 5 What ails the American conservative movement? Charles Kesler says conservatives have become too progressive. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2009 Charles Kesler on the Grand Liberal Project: Chapter 4 of 5 Charles Kesler explains why Obama is poised to accelerate the grand liberal project. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2009 Charles Kesler on the Grand Liberal Project: Chapter 3 of 5 Charles Kesler describes the origins of, and prospects for, the cultural liberalism that sprang forth in the 1960s. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, JUNE 09, 2009 Charles Kesler on the Grand Liberal Project: Chapter 2 of 5 Charles Kesler discusses the emergence of economic liberalism, and the “doctrine of social and economic rights.” PERMALINK
MONDAY, JUNE 08, 2009 Charles Kesler on the Grand Liberal Project: Chapter 1 of 5 Charles Kesler outlines the “grand liberal project” that began a century ago. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009 Politics & Hollywood with Andrew Breitbart: Chapter 5 of 5 Andrew Breitbart discusses his desire to “desperately...change the environment in Hollywood.” PERMALINK
THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009 Politics & Hollywood with Andrew Breitbart: Chapter 4 of 5 Who’s winning on the Internet, the Left or the Right? In terms of effect, Andrew Breitbart says the Left has taken the lead. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 Politics & Hollywood with Andrew Breitbart: Chapter 3 of 5 Andrew Breitbart describes his evolution from “namby-pamby liberal” to conservative. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009 Politics & Hollywood with Andrew Breitbart: Chapter 2 of 5 Andrew Breitbart details why a leftward-leaning Hollywood is dangerous for America. PERMALINK
MONDAY, MAY 25, 2009 Politics & Hollywood with Andrew Breitbart: Chapter 1 of 5 Andrew Breitbart explains why the people who run Hollywood are “uninteresting,” “vicious,” “vitriolic,” and “not good.” PERMALINK
FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2009 The Environment with Steven Hayward: Chapter 5 of 5 Steven Hayward scores the environmental records and policies of Bush and Obama. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2009 The Environment with Steven Hayward: Chapter 4 of 5 Steven Hayward draws a connection between the environmentalist movement and the goal of global, coercive, non-consensual governance. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2009 The Environment with Steven Hayward: Chapter 3 of 5 Steven Hayward describes how environmental conditions improve in countries that become more prosperous over time. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2009 The Environment with Steven Hayward: Chapter 2 of 5 Steven Hayward says we have achieved “a perfect storm of tipping points on climate change.” PERMALINK
MONDAY, MAY 11, 2009 The Environment with Steven Hayward: Chapter 1 of 5 Steven Hayward offers evidence that the Earth is a lot more resilient than the environmentalists would have us believe. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, MAY 01, 2009 The Aussie Way with John Howard: Chapter 5 of 5 John Howard explains why he is optimistic about the future of economic liberalism and political freedom in Australia and across the globe. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009 The Aussie Way with John Howard: Chapter 4 of 5 John Howard discusses the origins and implications of the global financial crisis. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 The Aussie Way with John Howard: Chapter 3 of 5 John Howard describes the Australia-China relationship. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2009 The Aussie Way with John Howard: Chapter 2 of 5 John Howard offers his views on multiculturalism — which he calls “a very confused credo” — and Australia’s role in the Anglosphere. PERMALINK
MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2009 The Aussie Way with John Howard: Chapter 1 of 5 Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard discusses why Australia’s participation in the Iraq War was in his nation’s best interest. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2009 At War with Gen. Jack Keane: Chapter 5 of 5 Jack Keane discusses the multiple challenges facing the U.S. military, the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran, and more. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2009 At War with Gen. Jack Keane: Chapter 4 of 5 Can the U.S. military win in Afghanistan, just as it is winning in Iraq? Jack Keane is optimistic — strategy depending. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2009 At War with Gen. Jack Keane: Chapter 3 of 5 Jack Keane says President Obama’s plan to draw down U.S. troops in Iraq is a good one. And was the war in Iraq worth it? Keane says, “Absolutely, yes.” PERMALINK
TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2009 At War with Gen. Jack Keane: Chapter 2 of 5 Jack Keane describes why changing the U.S. war strategy in Iraq was such a difficult process. PERMALINK
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2009 At War with Gen. Jack Keane: Chapter 1 of 5 Retired Gen. Jack Keane outlines the origins of the surge in Iraq — the successful military strategy he helped design. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, APRIL 03, 2009 Crisis & the Law with Richard Epstein: Chapter 5 of 5 Richard Epstein discusses the constitutionality of several hot items on the congressional agenda, including card check. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, APRIL 02, 2009 Crisis & the Law with Richard Epstein: Chapter 4 of 5 Richard Epstein, who has dealt professionally with Barack Obama in the past, describes the talents and shortcomings of the 44th president. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 01, 2009 Crisis & the Law with Richard Epstein: Chapter 3 of 5 Richard Epstein rates the separate responses of the Bush and Obama administrations to the financial crisis. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009 Crisis & the Law with Richard Epstein: Chapter 2 of 5 Richard Epstein discusses the financial crisis, determining that “government incentives were perverse, so the actions of the private parties were perverse.” PERMALINK
MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2009 Crisis & the Law with Richard Epstein: Chapter 1 of 5 Richard Epstein considers the soundness of contracts and the constitutionality of taxing bonuses at a rate of 90 percent. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2009 Law and Justice with Antonin Scalia: Chapter 5 of 5 Justice Antonin Scalia fields questions about his career, his family, his opinions, his faith, his colleagues, his legacy, and the fate of the Constitution. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2009 Law and Justice with Antonin Scalia: Chapter 4 of 5 Justice Antonin Scalia talks about Roe v. Wade — and other mistakes of the past 50 years. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2009 Law and Justice with Antonin Scalia: Chapter 3 of 5 Justice Antonin Scalia discusses why the originalists have lost so much ground to the devotees of a living Constitution. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2009 Law and Justice with Antonin Scalia: Chapter 2 of 5 Justice Antonin Scalia explains why he believes the Constitution “is not living, but dead.” PERMALINK
MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2009 Law and Justice with Antonin Scalia: Chapter 1 of 5 Justice Antonin Scalia discusses the premise of his book, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2009 The World According to John Bolton: Chapter 5 of 5 John Bolton critiques the U.N., the State Department, and the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, MARCH 05, 2009 The World According to John Bolton: Chapter 4 of 5 According to John Bolton, if Iran gets nuclear weapons, the power-shift in the region will be fundamental, calamitous, and “irreversible.” PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 04, 2009 The World According to John Bolton: Chapter 3 of 5 John Bolton says Vladimir Putin is clearly focused on reasserting Russian hegemony, a troubling development that invites a strong U.S. response. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, MARCH 03, 2009 The World According to John Bolton: Chapter 2 of 5 John Bolton describes the various policy mistakes made by the U.S. in dealing with the “criminal” regime in North Korea. PERMALINK
MONDAY, MARCH 02, 2009 The World According to John Bolton: Chapter 1 of 5 John Bolton reflects on the war in Iraq — from success to failure to success. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2009 Ferguson and Long on Obama, Lincoln, and More: Chapter 5 of 5 Ferguson and Long comment on the various expectations attached to Barack Obama’s presidency. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009 Ferguson and Long on Obama, Lincoln, and More: Chapter 4 of 5 Ferguson and Long draw distinctions between the Reagan way and the Obama way. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2009 Ferguson and Long on Obama, Lincoln, and More: Chapter 3 of 5 Ferguson and Long reflect on the idea that George W. Bush as commander-in-chief was most like Harry S. Truman. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2009 Ferguson and Long on Obama, Lincoln, and More: Chapter 2 of 5 Ferguson and Long compare and contrast the experience and character of Obama and Lincoln. PERMALINK
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2009 Ferguson and Long on Obama, Lincoln, and More: Chapter 1 of 5 Andrew Ferguson and Rob Long compare and contrast the rhetoric of Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 06, 2009 Immigration with Mark Krikorian: Chapter 5 of 5 How do we solve our immigration problem? Mark Krikorian has the answers. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2009 Immigration with Mark Krikorian: Chapter 4 of 5 Mark Krikorian describes how mass immigration causes “a serious erosion of sovereignty.” PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2009 Immigration with Mark Krikorian: Chapter 3 of 5 Mark Krikorian details the dangers of trans-nationalism and multiculturalism. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 03, 2009 Immigration with Mark Krikorian: Chapter 2 of 5 Mark Krikorian presents the fiscal case against immigration. PERMALINK
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2009 Immigration with Mark Krikorian: Chapter 1 of 5 Mark Krikorian explains why “mass immigration is fundamentally incompatible with a modern society.” PERMALINK
FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009 Intelligence & Security with James Woolsey: Chapter 5 of 5 James Woolsey describes, and defends, his professional journey. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2009 Intelligence & Security with James Woolsey: Chapter 4 of 5 James Woolsey says we need destroy oil as a strategic commodity — not only for the good of our security, but for the good of the planet. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2009 Intelligence & Security with James Woolsey: Chapter 3 of 5 James Woolsey describes the current conflict, or World War IV, as a global battle against “theocratic totalitarian genocidal maniacs.” PERMALINK
TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2009 Intelligence & Security with James Woolsey: Chapter 2 of 5 James Woolsey discusses Barack Obama’s selection of Leon Panetta to head the CIA, as well as the historical relationship between the president and the CIA director. PERMALINK
MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2009 Intelligence & Security with James Woolsey: Chapter 1 of 5 Former CIA director James Woolsey discusses the failure of the intelligence community in the run-up to the Iraq war. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, JANUARY 09, 2009 Crisis Management with John Taylor: Chapter 5 of 5 John Taylor says it will be tragic if we forget all we learned over the past two-and-a-half decades about the importance of the private sector and the free market. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, JANUARY 08, 2009 Crisis Management with John Taylor: Chapter 4 of 5 John Taylor describes four economic stimuli that will work to solve the financial crisis. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 07, 2009 Crisis Management with John Taylor: Chapter 3 of 5 John Taylor describes what the government should and should not do in response to the financial crisis. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, JANUARY 06, 2009 Crisis Management with John Taylor: Chapter 2 of 5 John Taylor says the origin of today’s financial crisis can be located in the monetary excesses of the Greenspan Fed, although there were many other contributing factors. PERMALINK
MONDAY, JANUARY 05, 2009 Crisis Management with John Taylor: Chapter 1 of 5 Economist John Taylor discusses today’s financial crisis — which he labels the most “unusual” crisis since the Great Depression. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 05, 2008 The U.S. Economy with Peter Thiel: Chapter 5 of 5 Peter Thiel says the U.S. may be facing several years of slow growth or stagnation. However, in a globalized and very competitive world, there are surprisingly big constraints on political action that can lead us toward being less capitalist and less competitive. In short, we will compete, although it will be an increasingly difficult slog unless our technological means elevate dramatically. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2008 The U.S. Economy with Peter Thiel: Chapter 4 of 5 Peter Thiel says the credit crisis of 2008 has nothing to do with the free market. Rather, it is a byproduct of government entanglement, nurtured by the fact that the motors of economic growth have worked less well than expected. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 03, 2008 The U.S. Economy with Peter Thiel: Chapter 3 of 5 Peter Thiel explains what’s wrong with the real U.S. economy: While we have benefited from growth that is both extensive (e.g., free trade) and intensive (e.g., technology), our growth has not featured enough of each. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2008 The U.S. Economy with Peter Thiel: Chapter 2 of 5 Why do American laborers work so many more hours than their French counterparts? According to Peter Thiel, this is a symptom of the incredible decline of socio-economic circumstances in America. PERMALINK
MONDAY, DECEMBER 01, 2008 The U.S. Economy with Peter Thiel: Chapter 1 of 5 Hedge-fund manager Peter Thiel discusses why the U.S. has failed to rise to the heights predicted in The American Challenge, a landmark 1967 book by J. J. Servan-Schreiber. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2008 Shelby Steele on President-Elect Obama: Chapter 5 of 5 Shelby Steele says racism – in the aftermath of the 2008 presidential election — is now located by default in the Republican party. How can the GOP shake this stigma? Steele says the process won’t be easy, and that it may very well lead Republicans to betray the values that have made America great. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008 Shelby Steele on President-Elect Obama: Chapter 4 of 5 Shelby Steele says no white candidate could have won the 2008 presidential election armed with Barack Obama’s policies. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008 Shelby Steele on President-Elect Obama: Chapter 3 of 5 Shelby Steels says Obama represented an opportunity for white voters to dispel the stigma that this is a racist country. Black voters, by contrast, voted for Obama to dispel the idea that they are inferior. Either way, the November elections revealed how this country is obsessed by race. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2008 Shelby Steele on President-Elect Obama: Chapter 2 of 5 Shelby Steele says we know very little about the content of Barack Obama’s character — although we will come to know it with every decision he makes as president. PERMALINK
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2008 Shelby Steele on President-Elect Obama: Chapter 1 of 5 Shelby Steele says Barack Obama won the presidential election by successfully basing his candidacy on race. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2008 Thomas Sowell and a Conflict of Visions: Chapter 5 of 5 Thomas Sowell discusses the dangerous unconstrained vision of Barack Obama and other elites. And what will happen if this vision scores a three-house sweep on Election Day? Sowell says we may have reached “a point of no return.” PERMALINK
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2008 Thomas Sowell and a Conflict of Visions: Chapter 4 of 5 Is John McCain’s the constrained vision of the economy, and is Obama’s the unconstrained? According to Sowell, the distinction is sadly not that clear. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2008 Thomas Sowell and a Conflict of Visions: Chapter 3 of 5 Speaking of the differing visions of war, Sowell says the constrained vision is never surprised by war, while the unconstrained vision almost always is. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2008 Thomas Sowell and a Conflict of Visions: Chapter 2 of 5 Sowell describes the constrained and unconstrained visions of the law, noting that the former applies to John McCain and the latter to Barrack Obama. PERMALINK
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2008 Thomas Sowell and a Conflict of Visions: Chapter 1 of 5 Thomas Sowell describes the critical differences between interests and visions. Interests, he says, are articulated by people who know what their interests are and what they want to do about them. Visions, however, are the implicit assumptions by which people operate. This idea elevates to politics, where visions are either “constrained” or “unconstrained.” PERMALINK
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2008 Ward Connerly on Race: Chapter 5 of 5 Connerly says Martin Luther King would likely have supported affirmative action back in the 1960s. But if he were alive today, he’d say, “We’re beyond that now.” Would a President Obama agree? Connerly weighs in. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008 Ward Connerly on Race: Chapter 4 of 5 According to Connerly, the Supreme Court is moving in the right direction on race, which is toward “a Constitution that is colorblind.” PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2008 Ward Connerly on Race: Chapter 3 of 5 A dozen years after the enactment of Proposition 209, Ward Connerly keeps at it, fighting, now, for anti-preference measures on the ballot in Colorado and Nebraska. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2008 Ward Connerly on Race: Chapter 2 of 5 How has Proposition 209 fared since it went into effect in California in 1998? Very well, says Ward Connerly: “Once you remove that artificiality of race preferences,” as Prop. 209 did, “kids are going [to school] where they can compete.” PERMALINK
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2008 Ward Connerly on Race: Chapter 1 of 5 In discussing the battle to end racial preferences in Colorado and Nebraska, Ward Connerly notes that “the establishment is always at odds with the people on issues involving race.” PERMALINK
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2008 Anything Goes with Chris Buckley: Chapter 5 of 5 Christopher Buckley talks about politics, Republicans, the war, spending, McCain, Obama, and American life. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 09, 2008 Anything Goes with Chris Buckley: Chapter 4 of 5 Christopher Buckley reflects on life with WFB, from Friday-night sails to a father’s fear of wasted time. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 08, 2008 Anything Goes with Chris Buckley: Chapter 3 of 5 Christopher Buckley, former presidential speechwriter, rates the speechifying of Obama, Biden, McCain, and Palin. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2008 Anything Goes with Chris Buckley: Chapter 2 of 5 Christopher Buckley discusses POTUS as acronym and erectile dysfunction. He also chimes in on the new media — Wolfe’s “billion-footed beast.” PERMALINK
MONDAY, OCTOBER 06, 2008 Anything Goes with Chris Buckley: Chapter 1 of 5 Christopher Buckley discusses (sort of) his new comic novel, Supreme Courtship. What was his motivation? “I thought, the Supreme Court … why not?” What is his method? “I am a plotter,” says Buckley. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2008 Politics & Catholics with Charles Chaput: Chapter 5 of 5 Archbishop Chaput says Catholic Democrats have an obligation to change their party’s platform on abortion, just as Catholic Republicans are responsible for keeping their party pro-life. Moreover, he says the Catholic position on abortion need not be just a Catholic position, but an American position. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2008 Politics & Catholics with Charles Chaput: Chapter 4 of 5 Archbishop Chaput has written that “The logic behind abortion makes all human rights politically contingent.” For example, Chaput explains that if our leaders can decide when life begins, they also can make determinations about when life should end. Overall, Chaput describes what is a coarsening of the value of life in the Western world. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 Politics & Catholics with Charles Chaput: Chapter 3 of 5 Archbishop Chaput describes the relationship between Jesus and Caesar, or between Catholics and the state: First, Jesus acknowledged his responsibilities to Caesar. Second, Jesus demoted Caesar, making clear that “God is God and Caesar is not.” Third, Jesus remained silent about what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God, allowing for individual determinations on the duties of citizens. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 Politics & Catholics with Charles Chaput: Chapter 2 of 5 Archbishop Chaput describes Vatican II as the “primary grace of God to the Catholic Church in the 20th century.” And yet, since Vatican II, the Catholic Church in America has suffered greatly. In particular, the numbers of Catholic seminarians, priests, and nuns have plummeted. Chaput explains why this is, and is not, a dilemma. PERMALINK
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 Politics & Catholics with Charles Chaput: Chapter 1 of 5 Archbishop Charles Chaput corrects House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has said the Catholic Church’s teachings on abortion aren’t clear. On the contrary, Chaput says the Church has long held that abortion is always and in all circumstances wrong. He also says Sen. Joe Biden’s position on abortion — that people should not impose their beliefs on the subject on others — is highly flawed. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2008 The Word According to Andrew Klavan: Chapter 5 of 5 Andrew Klavan defends his idea that George W. Bush and Batman (as portrayed in The Dark Knight) are very much alike in that they “sacrificed their popularity to do the right thing,” while the Left, with its lack of substantive argument, can only stoop to ridicule as a way of turning the populace against the president. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 The Word According to Andrew Klavan: Chapter 4 of 5 While Andrew Klavan is proud to say that several of his books have been turned into feature films, he is ashamed to be associated with the film industry, and for very specific reasons. We are at war, he says, and an important war at that. And for Hollywood to produce what are propaganda films for the enemy in a time of war is nothing short of wicked. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2008 The Word According to Andrew Klavan: Chapter 3 of 5 Andrew Klavan gives a tour of his life in — and out of — faith. Early on, he was raised in the Jewish faith, but as he says “without faith”; then as a young man he rejected God and faith entirely; finally, in what he calls “the atmosphere of unknown,” he “made the decision to believe.” PERMALINK
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 09, 2008 The Word According to Andrew Klavan: Chapter 2 of 5 Andrew Klavan says the Left has long argued that Western civilization — from its embrace of capitalism to its foundations in Judeo-Christian doctrine to its traditions of personal liberty — is in error and needs to go. But Klavan says “that argument has failed spectacularly, in every way,” and that when you do not relinquish a failed argument all you have left is insult and ridicule. PERMALINK
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 08, 2008 The Word According to Andrew Klavan: Chapter 1 of 5 Andrew Klavan discusses his latest novel, Empire of Lies — a thriller that diverges from its genre by way of its explicitly Christian hero, Jason Harrow. Klavan explains that while thrillers are founded on the thrill, writers in the genre also can ask larger questions about the nature of man and society. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2008 The Great Depression with Amity Shlaes: Chapter 5 of 5 Will we ever be able to put the New Deal and its great social legacies behind us? Shlaes has an optimistic response. “Only a permanent Katrina,” says Shlaes, or a permanent national economic disaster, “can make the New Deal vision hold forever.” PERMALINK
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2008 The Great Depression with Amity Shlaes: Chapter 4 of 5 Shlaes describes how the New Dealers of the 1920s and 1930s were greatly influenced by the Soviet Union and Mussolini’s Italy. She says they were deeply inspired by the ambition of the collectivists, all while believing there was something intrinsically wrong with the United States. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2008 The Great Depression with Amity Shlaes: Chapter 3 of 5 Was FDR’s progressivism, as evident in the New Deal, really all that new, or was it a step along a progressive continuum that already had been established? Shlaes answers that while the impulse of progressivism was strong in America in the 1930s, FDR’s progressivism was radically more advanced. In addition, Shlaes says the FDR administration “used the excuse of the emergency of the Great Depression” to advance its progressive agenda. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2008 The Great Depression with Amity Shlaes: Chapter 2 of 5 How much blame does Herbert Hoover deserve for the Great Depression? Shlaes says a good amount since he both misjudged the Wall Street crash and failed in his reaction to it. There also was the depression-inducing Smoot-Hawley tariff, which Hoover — an internationalist by nature — knew better than to sign into law. PERMALINK
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2008 The Great Depression with Amity Shlaes: Chapter 1 of 5 Amity Shlaes challenges the received wisdom that the Great Depression occurred because capitalism broke, and that it ended because FDR, and government in general, came to the rescue. According to Shlaes, it was the government that made the Great Depression worse. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2008 The Founders and Us: Chapter 5 of 5 Brookhiser says the Founders would have approved of today’s political culture of “attack ads, spinning, and mindless partisanship.” In fact, they would have said it’s better than what they had back in the 18th century, when the politics was much more mean-spirited. Of course, that’s not to say today’s politicians are somehow superior to yesterday’s. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2008 The Founders and Us: Chapter 4 of 5 Did the Founders want a republic or an empire? Brookhiser leans toward the latter, noting that Jefferson desired Canada and Cuba — assets that would make us an “empire for liberty” — and that Washington regularly used the phrase “this rising empire.” And how would the Founders have judged the invasion of Iraq? Brookhiser says they’d have been for it if they believed an un-invaded Iraq posed a threat to this nation. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2008 The Founders and Us: Chapter 3 of 5 Brookhiser says the Founders saw America as a religious nation, and not necessarily a Christian nation. Washington, for example, while not overtly passionate about a specific church or religious denomination, often spoke about how providence played an active role in the whole founding experience. His phrase was the “astonishing interpositions of Providence.” PERMALINK
TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2008 The Founders and Us: Chapter 2 of 5 Founders Madison and Hamilton clashed over the constitutionality of a national bank, while Founders Washington and Madison had a constitutional dispute over the power to make treaties. Does the existence of these disagreements undercut the arguments of present-day “originalists” who believe the meaning of the Constitution is fixed and immutable? Not at all, says Brookhiser, although he says today’s originalists must be accommodative to those disagreements. PERMALINK
MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2008 The Founders and Us: Chapter 1 of 5 Should we care what the Founders would say about modern-day America? Richard Brookhiser says yes, reasoning that the Founders started a system more than 200 years ago that lasts till this day; that they lived at a time of war and so do we; and, finally, that human nature simply doesn’t change all that much over time. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, AUGUST 01, 2008 In Defense of WWII: Chapter 5 of 5 Buchanan describes the emergence of a “Churchill cult” in America post-9/11, whereby the liberation of Iraq from Saddam was erroneously equated with the liberation of Europe from Hitler. Hanson and Hitchens contend that this diagram is, in fact, correct. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2008 In Defense of WWII: Chapter 4 of 5 Niall Ferguson, author of The War of the World, describes the Allies in WWII as just as brutal as the German and Japanese opposition. In rebuttal, Hitchens makes the point that Germany and Japan were nurtured back to health following defeat, something that never would have happened to Russia or Britain under German occupation. Hanson adds that any atrocities committed by the Allies were incidental, not premeditated. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2008 In Defense of WWII: Chapter 3 of 5 Hanson and Hitchens take on Buchanan’s argument that Germany invaded Russia only because Britain under Churchill was determined to partner with Russia against Germany. According to Buchanan, had Churchill not refused a negotiated peace with Germany, Germany may never have invaded Russia and prolonged the bloody war for another four years. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2008 In Defense of WWII: Chapter 2 of 5 Buchanan describes the Holocaust as a consequence of WWII; without that war, it may not have occurred. Hanson counters that the mechanisms of the Holocaust could not have been envisioned and organized just because of a war scenario. Hitchens reminds that Hitler’s program for genocide, Mein Kampf, came out in the 1920s. PERMALINK
MONDAY, JULY 28, 2008 In Defense of WWII: Chapter 1 of 5 Victor Davis Hanson and Christopher Hitchens take on the WWII revisionists, centering on Patrick J. Buchanan, the author, most recently, of Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War. In terms of the origins of the conflict, Buchanan says essentially that Britain’s guarantee to protect Poland in the event of a German invasion made the war inevitable. Hanson counters that Germany’s invasion of Poland was not an isolated act. Hitchens says Buchanan is “consciously trying to deceive us.” PERMALINK
FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2008 Law & Jihad with Andrew McCarthy: Chapter 5 of 5 Is there a way to balance war and the “rule of law”? McCarthy says simply that those we capture must be given “enough” justice — in particular so we can continue to maintain the cooperation of our allies — while the idea must be to win the war. And how well has the Bush administration performed at both administrating the law and prosecuting the war? McCarthy hands out some grades. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2008 Law & Jihad with Andrew McCarthy: Chapter 4 of 5 Andy McCarthy illustrates some of the differences between law enforcement and national security. Citizens of the U.S., of course, are presumed innocent until proven guilty; in this country we would rather see the guilty go free than the innocent wrongly convicted. Yet in terms of national security, government cannot be permitted to fail. Hence, we cannot have a system where we presume the innocence of accused terrorists. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2008 Law & Jihad with Andrew McCarthy: Chapter 3 of 5 Andy McCarthy discusses jihad in America, underscoring the fact that “jihadists are very adept at exploiting the freedoms that are available to them in Western democracies.” Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, in fact, found it easier to operate here in the U.S. than in his home country of Egypt. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008 Law & Jihad with Andrew McCarthy: Chapter 2 of 5 Andy McCarthy discusses the “chasm between the Islam of Western fantasy and the Islam that actually exists.” For one, the Islamic ideology of jihad, or holy war, is not a modern, incidental phenomenon; rather, it is fourteen centuries old and commands the allegiance of hundreds of millions of people. For another, jihad will not simply “go away.” PERMALINK
MONDAY, JULY 14, 2008 Law & Jihad with Andrew McCarthy: Chapter 1 of 5 Andrew McCarthy discusses his role in the prosecution of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who is now serving time for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. McCarthy says justice was served in the trial. In terms of national security, however, McCarthy fears the protracted trial only emboldened the enemy. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, JULY 04, 2008 War & Terror with Philip Bobbitt: Chapter 5 of 5 Bobbitt says the U.S. cannot possibly hope to defeat the terrorists without allies, particularly in Europe. Alliances cannot be an aspiration; they are a necessity. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, JULY 03, 2008 War & Terror with Philip Bobbitt: Chapter 4 of 5 We tend to believe the people have more power than the government when the times are tranquil, and that the government asserts more power than the people in times of emergency. Bobbitt says this is a misleading paradigm. Just because a government’s power increases during times of emergency does not mean the people must surrender either rights or power. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, JULY 02, 2008 War & Terror with Philip Bobbitt: Chapter 3 of 5 During the 20th century it was important that the law and the Allied war strategy were separate. According to Bobbitt, “We won the war and then the law followed.” In the current century, however, Bobbitt says our challenge is to unite the two: Law and war strategy must meet since we are now fighting to protect what free people have a lawful right to do. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, JULY 01, 2008 War & Terror with Philip Bobbitt: Chapter 2 of 5 Philip Bobbitt says we think we know terrorism because we know 20th century terrorism — the PLO, the FLN, the IRA, etc. But terror and terrorism are forever changing as the times change, becoming symptoms or phenomena of the established constitutional order. Today, nation states have globalized and privatized; are integrated and networked; and will outsource and insource to achieve the right mix of labor. The exact same can be said of terrorism in the 21st century. PERMALINK
MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2008 War & Terror with Philip Bobbitt: Chapter 1 of 5 Professor Philip Bobbitt describes the “wars of the 21st Century” as wars against terror — against modern market-state terrorism, against the distribution and assimilation of weapons of mass destruction, and against the forces that create human catastrophes, such as genocide and ethnic cleansing. Where many today portray “terror” as the method and not the enemy, Bobbitt says terror is, in fact, an enemy, and one that must be vanquished. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008 War Policy with Douglas Feith: Chapter 5 of 5 Is the U.S. equipped to deal with national-security problems around the world? Feith says no, pointing out the antiquated organization of our entire security community as well as the ineffective mess that is the CIA. Of course, our national security ultimately depends on the people in charge. Feith rates a few of the bigger names. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2008 War Policy with Douglas Feith: Chapter 4 of 5 Feith describes how WMD in Iraq — or the lack thereof — changed everything. Despite the fact that the WMD threat was but one of several dangers posed by Saddam’s regime, the failure to discover the WMD stockpiles prompted the Bush administration to shift its rhetoric away from past threats and toward Iraq’s future. In doing so the administration only empowered its critics. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2008 War Policy with Douglas Feith: Chapter 3 of 5 Why was the CIA’s pre-war intelligence about Iraq so faulty? Simple, says Feith. According to a congressional report, “the CIA did not have . . . a single agent dedicated to the WMD issue in Iraq before the war. Not one.” Making matters worse, the CIA neither offered the president alternatives to his Iraq policy, nor did it wholeheartedly support that policy once it was implemented. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2008 War Policy with Douglas Feith: Chapter 2 of 5 Feith discusses the war blunders. First, the failure to provide adequate security forces after the fall of Saddam. Feith describes how this grew out of a sense that a build-up of U.S. forces would play to enemy propaganda. Second, the decision to maintain an occupation government in Iraq for over a year. Feith says this came counter to the idea of “liberation, not occupation.” PERMALINK
MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2008 War Policy with Douglas Feith: Chapter 1 of 5 Critics argue that U.S. officials manipulated intelligence in order to boost public support for the war. There mantra is “Bush lied, people died.” Not true, says Douglas Feith. Bush believed the same intelligence information that Clinton believed. Saddam, meanwhile, was corrupting that intelligence, leading the world to believe the WMD stockpiles were there. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, JUNE 06, 2008 The Middle East with Daniel Pipes: Chapter 5 of 5 Daniel Pipes talks the odds. The chance that immigrant Muslims and indigenous Europeans find a way to live in harmony? Five percent, says Pipes. The chance that Europe becomes Eurabian, part of the Muslim world? Forty-seven-and-a-half percent. The chance that Europeans reassert control over the continent? Forty-seven-and-a-half percent, once more — and Pipes says it won’t be pretty. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, JUNE 05, 2008 The Middle East with Daniel Pipes: Chapter 4 of 5 The Bush administration this year requested $2.5 billion in aid for Israel. Pipes calls such a high level of aid “a mistake.” It costs Israelis on several levels — for starters, in terms of public opinion of Israel in the United States. That said, a strong U.S.-Israel bond benefits both countries, and contrary to mainstream opinion does not spoil U.S.-Arab relations. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 04, 2008 The Middle East with Daniel Pipes: Chapter 3 of 5 What to do with Iran — or more specifically, an Iran with nuclear weapons? Daniel Pipes takes a tough stance. He says the U.S. must make it clear that if Iran continues down the nuclear path, the consequences will be dire. That said, there is no reason for the U.S. to involve Israel in the matter. The Israelis, in the estimation of Pipes, are quite capable on their own of standing up to a nuclear Iran. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, JUNE 03, 2008 The Middle East with Daniel Pipes: Chapter 2 of 5 Israel: a “noble mistake”? There are those in the mainstream media who attempt to spread this notion, emphasizing that the now 60-year-old nation was a flawed concept from the beginning. Daniel Pipes firmly disagrees. He says Israel is a tremendous success in every quantifiable area, from its economy to its freedoms to its scientific advancements to its cultural uniqueness. “The trouble Israel has,” says Pipes, “is that its neighbors don’t accept it.” PERMALINK
MONDAY, JUNE 02, 2008 The Middle East with Daniel Pipes: Chapter 1 of 5 Is Islam a religion of peace? Daniel Pipes, a leading Islamic scholar, says yes and no. If Islam prevails, becoming the world’s pervasive religion, the answer is yes; and since it will require war for Islam to prevail, for the time being the answer is no. But to begin to understand Islam, Pipes says it should be viewed in its several forms: traditional, radical, and modern, the last of which is only in the act of becoming. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2008 The Rise and Fall of Liberalism: Chapter 5 of 5 Piereson says conservatives were not at all surprised that a communist killed Kennedy, and thus had no need to recast any of their assumptions about America in the aftermath of the event. Liberals, on the other hand, lost an honest sense of themselves, their history, and America following the assassination. In short, they cracked — a condition that endures to this day. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2008 The Rise and Fall of Liberalism: Chapter 4 of 5 Jackie Kennedy was the first to make the association between her late husband and the legend of Camelot. In so doing, says Piereson, she introduced a false sense of nostalgia into liberal thought — the idea that the best of times were in the past. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2008 The Rise and Fall of Liberalism: Chapter 3 of 5 Liberals in the 1960s attempted to place John F. Kennedy, following his death, on a pedestal with Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated a century earlier. The notion was that each president was a martyr for the cause of civil rights. According to James Piereson, this only added confusion to an already confused event. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2008 The Rise and Fall of Liberalism: Chapter 2 of 5 Americans in 1963 would immediately blame the assassination of JFK on right-wing extremists — on anti-communists or white supremacists. Piereson says this was understandable, since violence in American life had at the time been perpetrated by fringe groups on the right. In truth, however, the assassination was performed by a dedicated communist — by a member of the far left — making JFK a causality of the Cold War. PERMALINK
MONDAY, MAY 19, 2008 The Rise and Fall of Liberalism: Chapter 1 of 5 James Piereson describes the liberalism that came out of the New Deal as being very optimistic about the future, the role of the U.S. in the world, and the function of the federal government in perfecting our democracy. These were liberalism’s golden years, with successes including the end of the Great Depression, the defeat of Hitler, the establishment of the federal highway system, and, ultimately, the election of John F. Kennedy. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, MAY 09, 2008 The Word According to Tom Wolfe: Chapter 5 of 5 Tom Wolfe and America? He loves the place, a position that puts him at odds with much of the charming aristocracy. He’s also an optimist about America — and American greatness. “The biggest problem,” says Wolfe, “is all the people who see a problem.” PERMALINK
THURSDAY, MAY 08, 2008 The Word According to Tom Wolfe: Chapter 4 of 5 Tom Wolfe says evolution ended when man learned to speak — with the dawn of homo loquax. Where status for the beast of the field is determined by power, for man it is determined in innumerable ways because of language. And it is language that gives us rational thought. Wolfe asks, “Have you ever see an animal shrug?” PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, MAY 07, 2008 The Word According to Tom Wolfe: Chapter 3 of 5 Darwin, Marx, Freud, (E.O.) Wilson? Tom Wolfe says the common thread there is the power of the word — of ideas that change human history in large and obvious ways. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, MAY 06, 2008 The Word According to Tom Wolfe: Chapter 2 of 5 Tom Wolfe says the ideas for his novels grow out of conversation — from what’s really happening. His critics have pounced on this, calling his novels more journalism than literature. But Wolfe shrugs this off: He says he doesn’t write for the “charming aristocracy” — the aristocracy of taste that believes the novelist must aspire to things the masses cannot understand. PERMALINK
MONDAY, MAY 05, 2008 The Word According to Tom Wolfe: Chapter 1 of 5 Tom Wolfe begins by discussing the written word, in its popular forms. The master novelist and journalist says the novel is dying a horrible death, although non-fiction work will continue and the memoir will never die. He then talks about the subject of his latest novel (still in progress): immigration. PERMALINK
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008 Kissinger on War & More: Chapter 5 of 5 War and the media — the two have not partnered so well since Vietnam. But in the days of the Internet, conservative talk radio, and Fox News, has the dynamic changed? Kissinger says only a bit, and that the media remain heavily biased against military action. Additionally, the 1960s concept that the U.S. government is somehow an evil enterprise is alive and well. In this environment, Kissinger says our leaders need to present a clearer and more educated vision of the American role in the world. PERMALINK
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2008 Kissinger on War & More: Chapter 4 of 5 Kissinger has partnered with George Shultz and others in the noble cause of a nuclear-free world. But what, in fact, are the risks should the U.S. dismantle its nuclear arsenal? And what are the prospects of eradicating all nuclear weapons, without having a few “fall through the cracks”? Kissinger is realistic. The process will not be perfect, nor will it be complete. Yet it must be done undertaken. PERMALINK
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2008 Kissinger on War & More: Chapter 3 of 5 Kissinger says the rise of India and China is an immensely significant event. He describes these nations as “conglomerates of cultures” that are much larger and potentially more powerful than European nation states ever will be. Looking to each, Kissinger says it is sensible to think of India as a de facto ally, while China and the U.S. have the chance to form a lasting relationship to the benefit of the world. PERMALINK
TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2008 Kissinger on War & More: Chapter 2 of 5 Kissinger says Europe is suspended between its past and its future. The European integration that began after World War II has delivered something undesirable. Meanwhile, Muslim birthrates are soaring while indigenous European birthrates are foundering. This is no longer the Europe we have known. And what of a NATO where the U.S. far and away commits the most on the battlefield? Kissinger concludes that Europe’s interests must become compatible with ours. PERMALINK
MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2008 Kissinger on War & More: Chapter 1 of 5 Henry Kissinger explains how the war in Iraq is not specifically about Iraq. Rather, it is a war on radical Islam, which will stop at nothing in its assault on the West. America thus cannot afford to become exhausted with the conflict. If we do so — if we conform to political pressure from the left and the apparent anti-war sentiment of the electorate — jihad will only spread. PERMALINK
