The Department of Biological Sciences of Lehigh University (from whence my grandfather graduated in 1912) took the rather bold step of publicly opposing the concept of intelligent design as articulated by one of its own faculty members, Dr. Michael Behe (author of the opening shot in this debate, the book Darwin's Black Box.) How times …
Chrysler Creditors: Approaching the Moment of Truth on Property Rights
The time for decision by our judiciary has come: Chrysler LLC creditors asked a U.S. Supreme Court justice to block the carmaker from selling its assets as early as tomorrow to a group led by Italy’s Fiat SpA. Indiana pension funds that lent Chrysler money said in papers filed late yesterday that they will seek …
Continue reading "Chrysler Creditors: Approaching the Moment of Truth on Property Rights"
Archie Lowe: Before the Republic of Texas
Archie can be heard making music in 1977 here. He's still making music; click here to go to his website. It was yet another hostage incident in 1997 when Rick McLaren took hostages in West Texas. Living in Tennessee, I had not heard of the "Republic of Texas" movement to separate the State of Texas …
Continue reading "Archie Lowe: Before the Republic of Texas"
Maybe Europe Doesn’t Need Real Democracy Either
The European left can't get traction in the current depression: Yet as Europe goes to the polls, left-leaning parties across the continent are looking likely to falter. That's true both for those in government, such as in the U.K. and Spain, and in the opposition -- such as France, Germany and Italy. France's Socialist Party …
Continue reading "Maybe Europe Doesn’t Need Real Democracy Either"
World War II in the Pacific vs. World War II in Europe: The War of the Future vs. The War of the Past
The sad article in the L.A. Times about our fading legacy in the Pacific brought many things to mind, especially for someone whose father fought in that theatre. From the time that FDR, with the usual British connaivance, decided to put the main emphasis on the European theatre, World War II in the Pacific has …
Sonia Sotomayor: The 100 Person Referendum on White People
It seems that the issue of Sonia Sotomayor's idea about the relation between her ethnicity, gender and life experiences and her decisions on the bench won't go away. Why? Because she keeps bringing it up: The federal appeals court judge divulged new details about her finances and provided three decades of writings, speeches and rulings …
Continue reading "Sonia Sotomayor: The 100 Person Referendum on White People"
If Anyone Needs to Skip D-Day, It’s Obama
The Queen, participant though she was in the original festivities, is not amused at being left out of the D-Day commemoration: Indeed, she is decidedly displeased, angry even, that she was not invited to join President Obama and France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, next week at commemorations of the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings in …
Continue reading "If Anyone Needs to Skip D-Day, It’s Obama"
Sonia Sotomayor: Obama’s Harriet Miers?
Some of Jeffrey Rosen's comments on Obama's first nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court make me think of that: I haven't read enough of Sotomayor's opinions to have a confident sense of them, nor have I talked to enough of Sotomayor's detractors and supporters, to get a fully balanced picture of her strengths. It's possible …
Bob Corker is a Great Presidential Candidate. Except…
Zach Wamp speaks of Tennessee's junior Senator in glowing terms: Rep. Zach Wamp told members of the Chattanooga Pachyderm Club on Monday that Sen. Bob Corker is gaining clout around the country as a potential presidential candidate. He noted that Sen. Corker was chosen to deliver Friday night's Silver Elephant Banquet speech at the convention …
Continue reading "Bob Corker is a Great Presidential Candidate. Except…"
Filling the Coming Power Vacuum in Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is already on the case: Many of its leaders, including prime ministers Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Maliki, were close to Iran, while Hakim had spent his long exile during the Saddam Hussein years in Tehran. By refusing to join the UIA, Maliki is sending a strong message to the Iraqi people, …
Positive Infinity 