Some questions I would like someone to explain to me why we are still in Iraq. President Bush told us it was to remove a human rights-violating dictator and to destroy his weapons of mass destruction. The dictator is dead. No WMDs were found. But we are still there. Obama promised change but has not delivered. ...more

November 9, 2009

Preoccupied as it was poring through Tom Daschle's tax returns, Washington hardly noticed a near-miracle abroad. Iraq held provincial elections. There was no Election Day violence. Security was handled by Iraqi forces with little U.S. involvement. A fabulous bazaar of 14,400 candidates representing 400 parties participated, yielding results highly favorable to both Iraq and the United States. ...more

February 16, 2009

Modern conservatism began as a movement of dissident intellectuals. Richard Weaver wrote a book called, "Ideas Have Consequences." Russell Kirk placed Edmund Burke in an American context. William F. Buckley famously said he'd rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phonebook than by the faculty of Harvard. But he didn't believe those were the only two options. His entire life was a celebration of urbane values, sophistication and the rigorous and constant application of intellect. ...more

October 11, 2008

It's a total goof, of course. A lark, a one-off. "Burn After Reading," the latest offering in the eclectic filmography of Joel and Ethan Coen, is not to be taken seriously - one look at Brad Pitt's blond-streaked pouf of hair tells you that - and it's certainly not to be compared to their starkly violent Academy Award winner from last year, "No Country for Old Men." ...more

September 12, 2008

At Mid-Ohio a few weeks ago, an old friend from the CART/Champ Car days observed - with more than a hint of condescension - one reason the American Le Mans Series has developed a fair degree of momentum is that "with four classes, everybody gets to win. If we'd run Formula Atlantic and Champ Cars together we'd have had 35- and 40-car grids, too." ...more

August 15, 2008

While negotiating with myself over where This Space ought to stand regarding the upcoming vote on Amendment 1: Armageddon or Utopia?, the image I can't shake is President Bush, feet planted on the deck of the USS Lincoln, a celebratory banner - soon to be a long-legged symbol of controversy - pulsing from the observation deck overhead. ...more

January 20, 2008

that a government be democratic or that it be a friend and ally in the war against al-Qaida and Islamic extremism? ...more

November 24, 2007