Politics & Rights
Politics & Rights
McBama vs. America
Craig Biddle August 20, 2008
Surveys the promises of John McCain and Barack Obama, shows that these intentions are at odds with the American ideal of individual rights, demonstrates that the cause of such political aims is a particular moral philosophy (shared by McCain and Obama), and calls for Americans to repudiate that morality and to embrace instead a morality that supports the American ideal.
Politics & Rights
Israel and the Front Line of Civilization
John David Lewis June 21, 2008
I just returned from a speaking engagement at Tel Aviv University . . . My honorarium was four days of sight-seeing in Tel Aviv, Abu Gosh, Jerusalem, En Gedi and Masada, and a series of meetings with writers, policy analysts, academics and writers. I came back with one overriding conclusion, which…
Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Turkey's Turn Back to the Book
John David Lewis May 24, 2008
According to a recent article in the Jerusalem Post (“Is Turkey's Government Starting a Muslim Reformation?” Daniel Pipes, May 22, 2008), a government ministry in Turkey, the so-called “Presidency of Religious Affairs and the Religious Charitable Foundation,” has undertaken a three year project to study and condense thousands of pages…
Politics & Rights, Reviews
Review: Sun-tzu: Art of War, translated by Ralph D. Sawyer
John David Lewis May 20, 2008
John David Lewis reviews Sun-tzu: Art of War, translated with an introduction and commentary by Ralph D. Sawyer.
Politics & Rights, Reviews
Review: The Rise of the Conservative Legal Movement, by Steven M. Teles
Larry Salzman May 20, 2008
Larry Salzman reviews The Rise of the Conservative Legal Movement: The Battle for Control of the Law, by Steven M. Teles.
History, Politics & Rights, Science & Technology
Property Rights and the Crisis of the Electric Grid
Raymond C. Niles May 20, 2008
Surveys the history and achievements of America’s electricity entrepreneurs, shows how government interference in the transmission grid has hampered their enterprises from the outset to the present day, and indicates what America must do to liberate the grid and enable a new wave of entrepreneurs to supply this vital product commensurate with the country’s demand.
Politics & Rights
'Life and Taxes' by Yaron Brook
Craig Biddle April 17, 2008
Yaron Brook has another excellent commentary in Forbes, this time on “Life and Taxes.” Here’s an excerpt: Tax policy works by attaching financial incentives to a long list of values deemed morally worthy. If you want to maximize your wealth come tax time—and who doesn't?—you must look at the world…
Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Defender of Civilization: Andrew Bostom
John David Lewis April 14, 2008
Those interested in cutting to the truth about the Islamic Totalitarian threat that is descending upon—and arising among—all of us should pay special attention to the works of Andrew Bostom. His blog is a must-read, and his articles in The American Thinker are not to be missed. Bostom’s major works…
Philosophy, Politics & Rights
An Islamist 'Declaration Against Terrorism'
John David Lewis March 23, 2008
In the "question" period of my recent talk at Georgia Tech, a student's fifteen-minute monologue included the claim that a recent Islamic conference in India had condemned terrorism—and that the western press had ignored this conference. MEMRI covered the conference, which was attended by some ten thousand clerics, scholars and…
Politics & Rights
Free Speech vs. McCain and Company
Craig Biddle March 21, 2008
Yaron Brook, director of the Ayn Rand Institute, has a timely and important op-ed in today’s Forbes.com titled “War On Free Political Speech,” in which he answers common arguments for campaign finance restrictions. Here are the opening paragraphs: This presidential campaign will be, by far, the most expensive in U.S.…