The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Who Put the Bomp?

What does a car made in Wolfsburg, Germany, have to do with a novelty hit from 1961? It’s a strange tale, with musical connections to Dolly Parton, the Mamas and Papas, a children’s cartoon and an iconic scene from a famous 1980s movie. It’s about a boy from Brooklyn. Last weekend, I had my home […]

Columbus and the Meaning of America

“Twelve protesters were arrested and 18 police officers injured during an altercation Friday in Chicago’s Grant Park over a statue of Christopher Columbus. ‘Hundreds of protesters rallied, crowding around the Columbus statue while trying to tear it down. The statue was still vandalized and tagged with spray paint,’ according to Fox 32.” — June 19, […]

Born in Odessa, Ukraine, in 1886

Louis Wolfe Gilbert emigrated to the United States as a boy and became “one of the most prolific lyricists of Tin Pan Alley.” He started out as a singer on Coney Island, eventually settled in Hollywood, where he helped popularize Cuban rumba music and “was an innovator in his field, having been one of the […]

What Time Is It?

Not long ago, I mentioned how Ace of Spades has for a while been referring to certain Republicans as believing it’s still 2003, i.e., they’re stuck in the obsolete politics of Bushism, incapable of dealing with the current reality. Ace makes the same point in referring to those who know What Time It Is, i.e., […]

An Analogy Too Far?

Considering my own notorious propensity for hyperbole, perhaps I’m not the ideal person to quibble here, but has Michael Walsh gone too far in declaring Merrick Garland to be “the second coming of Lavrentiy Beria”? Grant that Garland’s motives are essentially totalitarian, i.e., that he wishes to criminalize opposition and establish an all-powerful one-party government. […]

Historic Thoughts on ‘Our Democracy’

“It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend, for their […]

War and the Meaning of Nationhood

Once upon a time (he says, as if speaking of a mythical ancient past, but in fact speaking of his own youth) students were taught to think deeply about the nature of government, what constitutes a nation-state, and what purpose such a geopolitical entity is intended to serve. This is (or at least once was) […]

The Savage Young

Dave Reaboi is a hater. The Southern Poverty Law Center doesn’t have a “Beatlephobia” category on their Hate Map, but if they did, Dave would be a dot on it. Like a lot of Beatle haters — and I could also name Ace of Spades in this category — Dave Reaboi is a Gen Xer, […]

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