mikeyhemlok

According to reports, the US has once again managed to convince the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority to participate in another round of direct talks, to begin in Washington in a couple weeks. I cannot for the life of me understand what tactical benefit the Palestinians see in participating in negotiations with the Netanyahu government. [...]

According to a new Pew Research poll, 18% of Americans think Barack Obama is a Muslim. Surprisingly, even organizations like the Associated Press, who ordinarily have a hard time differentiating honest debate from blatant falsehood, in this case repeatedly take the unequivocal position that this view is “incorrect”. There’s a couple things going on here [...]

A few months ago, in response to a small flurry of disingenuous claims of military service by political candidates, Orin Hatch decided something had to be done. In an unusual demonstration of legislative agility, he quickly proposed amending the original 2005 “Stolen Valor Act” to include criminal provisions for “false claims in order to obtain [...]

I’m getting increasingly uncomfortable with where we find ourselves going. It’s moving quickly past mere reprehensible politics, fueling itself with more vitriol, more lies, more fear and more hatred, taking us all too fast to a place that, as an American, I believed was behind us for good. Think about what we’re all tied up [...]

One of the real weaknesses of despots and dictators is their methodology for the transition of power. One result of this is they very often die in office. Because their hold on the leadership role is inherently illegitimate, they find themselves throughout the history of their regimes beset on all sides by schemers, usurpers, disloyal [...]

When you think about it, it’s not hard to understand why Hamid Karzai can be a bit, well, prickly at times. I don’t think anyone aspires to grow up to be President of their home country while it is host to foreign armies and additional legions of diplomats and technocrats, all of whom can either [...]

Depending upon their willingness to demonstrate a straight-up, full on bigotry or a kinder and gentler sort of discrimination, opponents of the Cordoba House project will tell you it’s about Islamists, Muslims, or the victims of 9/11. Their opponents counter that it’s about freedom of religion, the constitutional guarantees of liberty and basic human values [...]

Two things worthy of comment this morning. First, there are credible reports that the Germans are set to announce significant reductions in the size of their army and an end to conscription. This is a move that not only makes good sense for Germany, but contributes to a potentially developing trend toward the overall reduction [...]

Christopher Hitchens has a powerful and moving piece in Vanity Fair, in which he talks about his cancer diagnosis. I strongly recommend it – it’s well worth your time. I’ve often disagreed with Christopher Hitchens, but I’ve always admired him, and I’ve willingly succumbed to an overwhelming urge to like him. He’s like an irascible [...]

“When word of a crisis breaks out in Washington, it’s no accident that the first question that comes to everyone’s lips is: ‘Where’s the nearest carrier?’” –Bill Clinton 80 years ago the idea of an aircraft carrier was a novelty, to be scoffed at by any real blue water sailor. But a decade later the [...]