Contratimes

• Fouad Ajami: The Arab Street & Barack Obama

  Once again Fouad Ajami does not disappoint in his essay "The Arabs Have Stopped Applauding Obama." I doubt you will feel you wasted the few minutes it takes to read Mr. Ajami's piece.Be well. [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:31pm EST
  

• A Contratimes Replay: The Death of C. S. Lewis

  From the Contratimes archives, 2005:Today I give thanks, though not in a holiday sense. I will wait two days for that fine American celebration. Instead, I give thanks for a man who died 42 years ago today, in England, his death overshadowed by the assassination of U.S. President John F. [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 10:47pm EST
  

• I Am Sorry

  To the few faithful readers I have, I want to apologize for my silence at Contratimes. Simply, I am exhausted. Peace to you.Bill Gnade [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 9:04pm EST
  

• Hitchens: Mother Teresa Can Go To Hell (If There Was A Hell)

  Christopher Hitchens, the erudite atheist and belletrist, recently had this to say about Mother Teresa:"Mother Teresa spent her whole life saying (that what Calcutta needs) is a huge campaign against family planning. I mean who comes to that conclusion who isn't a complete fanatic? She took -- and I would'" [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 7:19am EST
  

• Washington Post: Obama's Nobel Prize May Be Unconstitutional?

  Please read this very interesting article. [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2009, 7:51am EDT
  

• Homecoming

  It was homecoming at my alma materAnd I stood at the Welcome TentA prodigal son, penniless, spentA wandering squandererThere was no mother, fatherNo friend running toward meTo slay the fattened calfThere was no welcomeAt allJust a tentAnd a map to the familiarI went unrecognized as I wonderedIf 25 years were [...]
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  Posted: October 11, 2009, 10:17pm EDT
  

• Ignoble Surprise

  The holy writings of Jews and Christians appear incredibly insightful as we analyze the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama. For example, people familiar with the ancient story of Israel's King David will recall that, according to the Jewish scriptures, God would not permit the beloved king' [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 1:11pm EDT
  

• The Nobel Peace Prize: The New Spirit In Old Wineskins

  Welcome to Fantasy.The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama is fantastic in the strictest sense of the word. Truly, when I saw the headline that he had won my initial conclusion was that I was reading parody, satire or spoof. Now I realize I was reading a [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 9:25am EDT
  

• Dear Israel

  You won’t like what I have to say,because it is what someone else said.Turn the other cheek.They want your eye. Your tooth.They are trying to lure youto react,to defend,to protectAnd they willdescribeitas overreactionaggressionterrorisma grave transgressionagainst humanitya clear human rights violationa provocationdestabilizingderailing the peace processThe goal is to [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2009, 10:14pm EDT
  

• Pensive Pensées

  You know that odd spoon or fork in your silverware drawer that you never use or remove? You know the one I am talking about. Well, that's me.Mel Gibson, drunk as a skunk and obviously fraught with pain, once said some stupid things about "the Jews." I wonder if Woody' [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 10:22pm EDT
  

• Prolepsis

  I posted a piece today (see below, September 16) that I have been holding in my queue for a couple of weeks. It is about, mostly, the left's apparently broad concern that right-wingers, full of bombast and vitriol, are fomenting violence, violence that gravely threatens the government and the President [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 1:17pm EDT
  

• Blame It On Racist Rio: Prince Hamlet Stumbles in Denmark

  None dare whisper it in good company, but since I keep such notoriously bad company, I will shout it from the rooftops: when the International Olympic Committee, and the presumptuous delegates from Rio De Janeiro, worked to award a city in the southern hemisphere the right to host the 2016 [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 12:59pm EDT
  

• The Coup That Isn't: America Abuses a Friend

  Please read Mary Anastasia O'Grady's excellent essay about the Obama Administration's treatment of Honduras' Supreme Court,"Hillary's Honduras Obsession." [...]
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  Posted: September 20, 2009, 10:05pm EDT
  

• What We Dare Not Think Or Speak

  [Please see note here.]The New York Times columnist who is neither frank nor rich (rhetorically speaking) opined recently in print and radio that the increase in sales of ammunition and guns after the Obama victory last fall was rooted in the fear and hatred of black men. Mr. Frank Rich [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2009, 4:26pm EDT
  

• On War In Afghanistan: The Quote of the Day

  It may seem a sacrilege on this day to quote something as politically charged as James Taranto's words below, but Mr. Taranto is actually writing about what was said at a 9/11 memorial service this morning by Barack Obama. Regardless, Mr. Taranto's words are the quote of the day (thus [...]
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  Posted: September 11, 2009, 4:03pm EDT
  

• Fouad Ajami On How Mr. Obama Is Fighting The "Good War" After 9/11

  Consider taking a few minutes to read Fouad Ajami's incisive essay, "9/11 and the 'Good War'," published in the Wall Street Journal. [...]
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  Posted: September 11, 2009, 9:42am EDT
  

• How Did Glenn Beck Get So Threatening?

  I am watching -- not without wincing and cringing and even from afar -- Glenn Beck's "sting" operation of the Baltimore chapter of ACORN, the community organizing group committed, allegedly, to democracy and social justice. Have you seen this bit of undercover work? Have you seen these video clips? [Update,' [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 5:39pm EDT
  

• And Speaking Of Fox Television...

  Another bone-headed decision by executives at Fox TV was to sign with Don Imus for a simulcast of his morning radio show on Fox News' Business Channel. The show begins Oct. 5. I was an ardent defender of Mr. Imus when he made his now infamous racial gaffe on radio' [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 7:40am EDT
  

• The End of American Idol

  The choice of Ellen Degeneres as the replacement of Paula Abdul on Fox's wildly successful "American Idol" is such a stupid one it suggests sabotage.Without one ounce of shame I admit to having become a very enthusiastic fan of American Idol. I not only watched the last season from the [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 7:11am EDT
  

• Don't Mention It: Mr. Obama's Van Jones Mistake

  Yesterday morning I was listening to two progressive radio personalities out of Vermont talk about the Van Jones resignation; Mr. Jones resigned "under the cover of darkness", as they say, at about midnight -- seriously -- early Sunday morning.What was just delicious is that these two personalities -- both seemingly [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 6:50am EDT
  

• "We Have The Votes": What Comes After Mr. Obama's Speech To Congress

  Barack Obama is right now addressing the United States Congress solely to justify what comes next: The Democratic Party in power is going to cram through Congress a universal health care project, and this despite overwhelming American opposition to that project. Yes, most Americans support reform, but not the kind [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2009, 9:05pm EDT
  

• Mr. Obama's Problem, In A Nutshell

  "Obama and the Left: The lesson of the rise and fall of Van Jones" sums up Mr. Obama's problems in a few short paragraphs. In particular, the editorial's last paragraph is a perfectly accurate summary of the Obama term thus far [bold added for emphasis]:No President is responsible for all [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2009, 7:10am EDT
  

• Van Jones Quits (Though Everyone Wanted Him To Stay)

  Incredulity doesn't even begin to describe my reaction to Van Jones' comments offered in the wake of his resignation as Barack Obama's "Green Jobs Czar." Mr. Jones, who came under fire for a whole host of reasons ranging from his self-description as a communist, his support of 9-11 Truther paranoia, [...]
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  Posted: September 06, 2009, 7:53am EDT
  

• Charisma Is So "Third World" Indeed

  Please. Leave this site right now. You've no right being here. The one place you should be, the "place" where you should be reading, is here. Please, read Fouad Ajami's essay "Obama's Summer of Discontent." When an essay has the subhead "The politics of charisma is so Third World," you' [...]
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  Posted: August 24, 2009, 9:46pm EDT
  

• Buy That Extinguisher After Your House Burns

  I love it when I hear Mr. Obama tell me that I can keep my health-care plan. If I like my plan, well, I can keep it. If I like my doctor, I can keep her, too. His words just make me feel so cared for, so protected. But what [...]
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  Posted: August 24, 2009, 5:32pm EDT
  

• Our Reasonable Leader

  I wonder if readers happened to spot last week's editorial in the Wall Street Journal, "ObamaCare's Contradictions." Reading it is grand fun: it's delightful to see a major publication bring attention to what we all hear when Mr. Obama speaks: duplicity. Check out the WSJ's editorial. It will take you [...]
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  Posted: August 24, 2009, 5:20pm EDT
  

• Barack Obama Writes For The School Newspaper

  I read Barack Obama's opinion piece in the New York Times reminding us all once again why we so desperately need the glories of his health care reforms, and I was left with one distinct impression: The man writes as if he is trying to drum up support in the [...]
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  Posted: August 16, 2009, 8:49am EDT
  

• Busing In Support And Dissent: The Democracy Of Illusion

  When former NH congressman Charles F. Bass first ran for the US House of Representatives, I followed him on Election Day, 1994, from the moment he awoke to the very end of his busy day. As a staff photographer for the local paper, I approached my editor with the idea; [...]
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  Posted: August 10, 2009, 9:36am EDT
  

• "Now Let Me Be Perfectly Clear"

  From Mr. Obama's speech yesterday in Elkhart County, Indiana [bold added for emphasis]:"...let me just talk about the so-called stimulus package, or the Recovery Act, because there's been a lot of misinformation out there about the Recovery Act. Let me tell you what it is and what it's not."The plan [...]
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  Posted: August 06, 2009, 8:28am EDT
  

• Transparency

  ______________I hate this blog. I hate my voice. I hate my own words. I do not like the sort of writer I've become. Over the past couple of years, my life has become increasingly focused on caregiving for my elderly mother. This focus has reached a rather acute point, as' [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 9:23pm EDT
  

• Contratimes Labeled A "SPAM" Blog: On Hold

  In case readers have had a difficult time accessing this site, I have to report that BLOGGER contacted this writer at 11:34 AM to announce that Contratimes had been flagged as a SPAM blog and that it was subject to review. In fact, if I did not follow the link [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 2:32pm EDT
  

• Cash For Clunkers: Which Party's Constituents Are Participating?

  As an addendum to my essay below, "Cash For Clunkers Hurts The Poor," I ask readers to consider -- for fun -- which political party's constituents are more likely to participate in the Cash For Clunkers program. I haven't the requisite skills or time to divine this sort of thing;' [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 8:50am EDT
  

• Cash For Clunkers Hurts The Poor

  I am not the only person who thinks Cash for Clunkers is bad for poor people, but with all the recent analysis dispensed by the talking-head pundit-class seemingly ignoring this simple injustice, I am tempted to think I am among few who do. Clunkers, as you know, is part of [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 7:28am EDT
  

• In Command Of Himself: One Cool Cop

  I have to agree with those commentators who have opined that the clear winner in last night's so-called "Beer Summit" was Sgt. James Crowley. He has maintained a level of dignity, decorum and self-control throughout this whole episode that is truly reassuring. He has stayed within himself, he has not [...]
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  Posted: July 31, 2009, 12:06pm EDT
  

• Look For The Resurrection Of The Pop King

  It seems there is some uncertainty about the location of Michael Jackson's body. Lest you believe I am inventing things, permit me to direct you to this story, or this blog post (one of many possible examples).Adding to the alleged mysteries around the pop icon's death and the whereabouts of [...]
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  Posted: July 31, 2009, 11:14am EDT
  

• Beer Pressure II

  What would be perfect tonight is if, at the great Summit of Beer, after Messrs. Obama and Gates choose their respective lite pilsners, Sergeant James Crowley asks for a glass of pinot noir.Perfect.©2009/Contratimes. All Rights Reserved. [...]
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  Posted: July 30, 2009, 6:15pm EDT
  

• Beer Pressure

  Sergeant James Crowley is in the White House as I write, dispatched there by the occupant of the Oval Office. The good sergeant will be joined by the man he arrested, Henry Louis Gates Jr.; both men will have beers with Mr. Obama.Of course, this all strikes me as an [...]
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  Posted: July 30, 2009, 5:15pm EDT
  

• Strictly Procedural: A Link Of Confession

  Since the "Birther" thing is hot right now, and because I have dismissed the conspiracy as belated and frivolous, I nonetheless feel a need to be utterly transparent. I posited, in October 2008, that the much-touted "October Surprise" would be built on charges that Barack Obama was NOT a natural-born [...]
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  Posted: July 29, 2009, 11:58am EDT
  

• Comments On The "Birther" Conspiracy: A Response To James Taranto

  [Dear Readers: For the following comments to make any sense, they need to be placed in context. Please read James Taranto's first entry in yesterday's column, "Birthers Lay An Egg." What follows here is what I posted in the comments thread at Mr. Taranto's Wall Street Journal blog.]Dear Mr. Taranto,I [...]
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  Posted: July 29, 2009, 11:23am EDT
  

• BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT: A New Word

  It seems that during, or just prior to, the month of July 2009, in a place of dubious certitude and of equally dubious parentage, "Birther" was born. This word, by some accounts a bastard word, came into the world to denote, and to denigrate and marginalize, those who have doubts [...]
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  Posted: July 29, 2009, 11:23am EDT
  

• Why I Am For The Birds: The Gates Story Is About Something Else

  I have discovered that I am something of a rare bird, an odd duck. A cuckoo in the snow. I am not particularly surprised by this discovery. I know I am just strange.In fact I am just strange enough to believe that what is most important about the arrest of [...]
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  Posted: July 28, 2009, 1:08pm EDT
  

• Barack Obama: His Genius At Work

  If Barack Obama possesses any sort of genius, it is not the sort of genius that works toward something positive. It seems rather obvious that the man has a gift for obfuscation, and of covering his tracks. Let me show you a perfect example of what I mean.The question that [...]
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  Posted: July 26, 2009, 7:42am EDT
  

• En Passant: Words Out Of Nowhere

  Over the last few days -- perhaps only in the last day -- I've noticed the use of the word "presser." Apparently this hip new noun denotes press conferences, like the one last Wednesday night in which Barack Obama discussed health care. This word is even so new Wikipedia has' [...]
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  Posted: July 25, 2009, 7:33am EDT
  

• Our Pusillanimous Commander In Chief

  Barack Obama, the US Commander in Chief, chose cowardice today in his back-pedaling statements on the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates. Mr. Obama did not manifest any of the manly qualities one expects of a commander, nor did he show any of the courage common to the average [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2009, 4:37pm EDT
  

• What If "Stupidly" Was Meant To Distract?

  Just for fun, let me be a blogger gone wild.Allow me to suggest that Barack Obama's advisers believed he could gain some political cover if he distracted America from spotting the systemic weaknesses in his party's health care reform plans by claiming the "Cambridge (MA) Police Department acted stupidly." Perhaps [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2009, 1:11pm EDT
  

• Cambridge, MASSACHUSETTS: Blowing Up In The President's Face

  It is utterly ironic that the city dismissed so often by conservatives (and self-effacingly by some liberals) as the People's Republic of Cambridge (Cambridge, MA), the arguable center of New England and perhaps even American liberalism, is the epicenter of Barack Obama's largest domestic problem to date. It may be [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2009, 12:17pm EDT
  

• Barack Obama: The Abuse Of Power Will Be His Waterloo

  For those of you who are outside New England or are unfamiliar with the controversy around the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. by Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge, MA police department, please let me state the obvious: This story is going "nuclear." By this I mean that it [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2009, 11:37am EDT
  

• Mr. Obama, You Just Acted "Stupidly." Please Resign.

  Dear Mr. Obama,I was wondering if you had ever really thought much about racial profiling. Have you? Permit me to ask you a few questions.How many times a day in America's cities do you think a white police officer hears something about racism from the African-American men and women he' [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:02pm EDT
  

• Proof Barack Obama Is Not Smart...Or Worse

  Imagine what it must have been like to study law under the eminent intellectual currently and formally known as the President of the United States. Seriously. Just imagine it.This man has been presented not only as a god, but as a god of the mind; a man of superior intellect [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 9:54pm EDT
  

• Proof Barack Obama Is NOT Smart...Or Worse

  Imagine what it must have been like to study law under the eminent intellectual currently and formally known as the President of the United States. Seriously. Just imagine it.This man has been presented not only as a god, but as a god of the mind; a man of superior intellect [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 9:53pm EDT
  

• They Should Hear Mr. Van Dyk

  In the biography box at the end of Ted Van Dyk's recent essay "Obama Needs to 'Reset' His Presidency," one finds this:Mr. Van Dyk was Vice President Hubert Humphrey's assistant in the Johnson White House and active in national Democratic politics over 40 years.Those, I believe, are some fairly hefty [...]
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  Posted: July 17, 2009, 10:47am EDT
  

• The Obama Speeches: "These Go To Eleven"

  Really, I can't help myself.In his most recent column in which he discusses Barack Obama's many speeches, Daniel Henninger states the following: In our time, public remarks remain first of all a photo-op to make a president glow in public. Mr. Obama is taking it to another level, making the' [...]
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  Posted: July 16, 2009, 7:43am EDT
  

• Henninger Straight Up: "Obama and the Speech"

  It's about Us and Them, I guess:'Haven't you heardIt's a battle of words'The poster bearer criedDaniel Henninger has a way with words:Six months into his presidency, with more surely to come, it is an appropriate moment to ask: What is the point and purpose of Barack Obama's speeches?One answer --' [...]
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  Posted: July 16, 2009, 6:48am EDT
  

• Why Peggy Noonan Again?

  There is a technical reason I posted the Peggy Noonan headline twice. I will not bother you with why. Besides, such revelations, I am afraid, might prove I'm ridiculously challenged by simple technology. And I can't have that.Blunderingly,BG [...]
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  Posted: July 13, 2009, 7:09am EDT
  

• Peggy Noonan Is Definitely Not Working Class

  Really. [...]
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  Posted: July 13, 2009, 7:04am EDT
  

• Peggy Noonan Is Definitely Not Working Class

  Peggy Noonan's "A Farewell to Harms" in the Wall Street Journal leaves me wondering where I stand in relation to the Republican Party. Ms. Noonan pretty much slams anyone who found Gov. Sarah Palin the least bit interesting. In fact, Ms. Noonan's slam -- so full of the sort of [...]
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  Posted: July 11, 2009, 1:50pm EDT
  

• Henninger Straight Up: Democracy For Dummies

  Barack Obama is too open-minded to be any earthly good. Or so one should conclude from Daniel Henninger's excellent Wonderland column, "The Dumbing Down of Democracy." Henninger's is a very important bit of commentary. You should read it immediately.Such is a man who has been weaned on moral, political and [...]
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  Posted: July 09, 2009, 7:42am EDT
  

• Sarah Palin Should Have Simply Said "No."

  There is no time to read all the commentary about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to leave her office on July 26. Clearly there is much to say about that decision; some people in fact have much to say about Gov. Palin's every move. Even after she leaves office an [...]
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  Posted: July 07, 2009, 9:44am EDT
  

• KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL IS BATTING 1.000

  Continuing with our theme of "we will restore science to its rightful place," I would like to point readers to another Kimberley A. Strassel column. It is a dandy of a piece; Ms. Strassel has combined a rather decent string of hits of late, and this one's good for at' [...]
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  Posted: July 05, 2009, 1:09pm EDT
  

• I Have No Idea: On Sarah Palin

  We've been hearing a lot about false choices these days, especially from the man in the White House. Barack Obama seemingly loves mentioning the many "false choices" made by his predecessor's administration. And I have shown (see link above) that Mr. Obama fails to see the irony in his pop-pronouncements' [...]
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  Posted: July 04, 2009, 9:51am EDT
  

• Science In It's "Rightful Place": The "NEW" Science Guy

  Mr. Obama is the new science guy. In fact, it's high time Bill Nye step† aside: there is a new science whiz in town, and he is the presumed leader of the free world. Not necessarily the world of free thinking, maybe not even the world of the politically free; [...]
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  Posted: July 03, 2009, 7:20am EDT
  

• What's Your Problem With Sarah Palin?

  Indulge me for a moment. Some of you may recall that I commented here the night of the Republican National Convention last September that Sarah Palin, even without John McCain, is a "formidable" political opponent. I offered this only a few moments after hearing Gov. Palin speak for my very [...]
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  Posted: June 27, 2009, 7:30am EDT
  

• What Happened To "Global Warming"? You Know.

  It's been reported that Al Gore and his friends have invested billions of dollars into "green energy" futures. A mere $50 billion or so. Like most eager investors, Al Gore and friends hope to make a renewable and sustainable killing.Everyone who has visited this site should know that I have [...]
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  Posted: June 26, 2009, 7:15am EDT
  

• Where's The Outrage? (In Your Dreams)

  Had this sort of story hit the presses, had it crossed the airwaves and satellite feeds anytime between January 2001 to January 2009, we would have heard the very hills tremble with outrage. Today we hear nary a rumble, really. Or have I just grown deaf? Please read it for [...]
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  Posted: June 16, 2009, 6:40am EDT
  

• SIMPLY FASCINATING!

  My little hiatus, or, I should say, my extended hiatus from prolific blogging has led me to some interesting places, both outside and inside the World Wide Web. One truly fascinating place inside the WWW is the essay on humanity's position in the biosphere written by George Ball titled, "The" [...]
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  Posted: June 14, 2009, 9:29am EDT
  

• "Our Historically Challenged President": Another Important Essay

  It will only take a few minutes for you to read Victor Davis Hanson's essay in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Our Historically Challenged President." It's a few minutes you should take. (According to the Chronicle's micro-bio of Mr. Hanson, he is a classicist at Stanford University.)Question: Did George W. Bush [...]
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  Posted: June 13, 2009, 12:17pm EDT
  

• Charles Krauthammer Is...

  ... exactly right. [...]
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  Posted: June 12, 2009, 8:42am EDT
  

• Pre-mature Post-Racialism, Or Post-Post-Racialism?

  What an interesting perspective Shelby Steele brings to his analysis (in today's Wall Street Journal) of Barack Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court! I know, I know. You've heard it all before; sickened by the endless commentary about Ms. Sotomayor, you're eager to just move [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2009, 9:17am EDT
  

• George Will On The Public's Hold On The Private Sector

  George Will's essay, "Have We Got A Deal For You," should leave you feeling a bit alarmed. Mr. Will's topic is the government takeover of GM; his theme is that this takeover is irresponsible and an abuse, or, at best, a misuse of power, Mr. Obama's denials of government meddling [...]
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  Posted: June 07, 2009, 6:32am EDT
  

• "Mirth In Funeral, Dirge In Marriage": President Hamlet

  This morning's title is pulled from an incredible essay written in March 2009 by Sam Schulman. I cannot overstate the power and excellence of Mr. Schulman's "President Hamlet" published in The Weekly Standard after the Obama administration's first 40 days in power. In fact, I would be understating the case [...]
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  Posted: June 05, 2009, 7:32am EDT
  

• An Amazing Argument: Why Gay Marriage Will Fail

  Contratimes readers should take a moment to read Sam Schulman's brilliant and original essay, "The Worst Thing About Gay Marriage: It isn't going to work."Let us know what you think (via email or in the comments below).' [...]
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  Posted: June 02, 2009, 7:18am EDT
  

• Why Black Women Are Fat? Mere Perceptions?

  In yesterday's Best of the Web Today, published by the Wall Street Journal online, James Taranto addresses a new study linking obesity with racial oppression. As usual, his analysis is trenchant and pointed; the study is replete with hidden assumptions and non causa pro causa fallacies where causality and correlation [...]
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  Posted: May 29, 2009, 7:49am EDT
  

• Kissing Wide-eyed Justice

  The problems of the equality (to men) and nature of women have been addressed here several times, particularly in two essays regarding Lawrence Summers' maligned comments at Harvard University four years ago this month (see this essay, and this).Recall that it was asserted at Contratimes in the wake of Mr.' [...]
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  Posted: May 28, 2009, 9:30am EDT
  

• Remembering The Color Red (repost from 2005)

  [Today is Memorial Day, and there is much to remember, and much for which to be grateful. Today is a Thanksgiving Day of sorts, a day of gratitude for heroism, strategic genius, strength, and even death. Not senseless death, not ruthless genius, not heroism based on lies; but the noblest [...]
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  Posted: May 25, 2009, 9:11am EDT
  

• It's SO Bad, It's Charitable!

  In a courageous demonstration of moral clarity, a Rhode Island Democratic state legislator has promised to donate $100 to charity for each second George W. Bush and Dick Cheney (et al) endure waterboarding.Hurray for speaking "truth to power"!Recall what was written here not too long ago regarding Barack Obama's infatuation [...]
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  Posted: May 23, 2009, 11:58am EDT
  

• Let Sleeping Goats Sleep

  There is, not far from here, a new wind farm. (Just imagine raising wind: it costs nothing to feed but there remains quite a lot of overhead.) It is a fascinating spectacle. This writer has traveled past it several times in recent months. His one unshakeable curiosity? To get close [...]
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  Posted: May 23, 2009, 10:28am EDT
  

• Thank You, Mr. Blackwell

  When reason leads a man's mind, he writes essays such as "Obama And Crimes Against Humanity." [...]
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  Posted: May 16, 2009, 8:22am EDT
  

• A NOTE TO REPUBLICANS (AND CONSERVATIVES)

  It is rather common to think, even among Republicans, that gay marriage has little to do with anything important. All kinds of people sigh that there seem to be more important things to worry about than gay marriage, and they may be right. But it should be noted that if [...]
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  Posted: May 10, 2009, 11:21am EDT
  

• TO THE GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

  (The first of two emails to Governor Lynch of New Hampshire. Unfortunately the email field for the governor limits each comment to 800 characters, including spaces. The emails printed here are rounded out more fully, though not completely, for clarity.)Dear Governor Lynch,HB 436 -- or the same-sex marriage bill -- [...]
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  Posted: May 08, 2009, 12:37pm EDT
  

• Shifting Sands; Obama's Idealism; The Court; The Water Board

  Perhaps the next party defection Americans will hear about is George McGovern, the once-upon-a-time "'most liberal' nominee for president in American history." Admittedly, this writer has over-stated the case. But Mr. McGovern sure sounds like a true free-marketeer in this comment:My perspective on the so-called Employee Free Choice Act is [...]
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  Posted: May 07, 2009, 9:15am EDT
  

• CONTRATIMES ON HIATUS

  My dear readers,Without any explanation or alerts, I closed this blog several weeks ago. Quite a few of you contacted me about gaining access to what appeared to be an invitation-only website. Unfortunately Blogger does not have a simple "Closed for Self-Reflection" sign that one can post on the front [...]
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  Posted: April 27, 2009, 7:49am EDT
  

• Internet Traffic: A Question

  I am wondering if any other bloggers have noticed a sudden shift in internet traffic. I know I have.Beginning March 31, Contratimes suddenly received a spate of hits -- all rather close in time -- from places all around the globe. I've had international traffic before, but nothing like this.' [...]
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  Posted: April 05, 2009, 11:56pm EDT
  

• Olbermann At His Best

  If you're into political/media intrigue, and if you'd like a fun read, then check out the delicious story about Keith Olbermann's Twitter meltdown, "New Revelations In Olbermann v. Twitter."Seriously, it's scrumptious. [...]
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  Posted: March 29, 2009, 11:10pm EDT
  

• The Rookie

  It's truly amazing.You know what I mean: that first-round draft pick that everyone is so jazzed about disappoints in the first few games of the season. It's all just "rookie mistakes." And for some reason the fans are able to forgive the flubs and flops of their beloved rookie. It's' [...]
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  Posted: March 29, 2009, 10:47pm EDT
  

• Barack Obama And The "False Choice"

  In Mr. Obama's inaugural address we find this statement:As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.It's a stunning bit of vapidity: safety is one of our ideals.In Mr. Obama's speech regarding the use (and destruction) of human embryos for scientific inquiry, [...]
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  Posted: March 29, 2009, 8:58pm EDT
  

• Is GOOGLE the Beast of the Apocalypse?

  A few years ago I speculated here that we are all doing data-entry for Google. It seems I am not the only who thinks this way.There is nothing more individual in the world than a book, an author, a publisher, and the value of a contract. The aging baby boomers [...]
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  Posted: March 29, 2009, 12:24pm EDT
  

• My Name Is Mr. President

  [Originally posted on March 14, 2009, at Political Pundoetry.]In the classroom beneath the stairsAlong the hallway near the doorsStands the substitute teacherAnd all hell has broken loose.Despite the texting of bad newsHe still lectures all with bland glaresHe spins the globe in his hands-- He’s proudest of foreign lands --But [...]
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  Posted: March 22, 2009, 7:47am EDT
  

• Wonders Of Man Kind

  [Originally posted on March 4, 2009, at Political Pundoetry.]A little girlBarely old enough to dress herselfOr to know evilIs stolen from her bedAnd then raped through the night andThe next day, and then is freedTo the grave, her bogeyman buryingHer alive to smother in muffledHope the monster has goneThe family [...]
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  Posted: March 22, 2009, 7:43am EDT
  

• Every Knee Shall Bow

  [Originally posted March 4, 2009 at Political Pundoetry.]Barney Frankly requests more spendingFearing the day his King will denyThe petitionOn the Hill, they’re all BaracknophobicFrightened into quiescence byThe Baracktagon;By the eight-legged stimulusStool distended like the OctomomMore kits than teatsTo suckle on the wet nurse ofThe borrowing StateRe-distributing your hard-earned milk moneyBut [...]
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  Posted: March 22, 2009, 7:38am EDT
  

• Enslaved By Compassion

  These few clips from an article in the Wall Street Journal are rather humbling:Giving alms to Africa remains one of the biggest ideas of our time -- millions march for it, governments are judged by it, celebrities proselytize the need for it. Calls for more aid to Africa are growing [...]
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  Posted: March 22, 2009, 6:07am EDT
  

• "Taxpayer Money" Nonsense: Right Or Left, They're Confused About AIG

  Whether coming from the right or from the left, from conservative talk radio or from liberal blogger land, you have heard some form of the following:AIG has taken "taxpayer" money and given it away in ridiculous bonuses. Such avarice is unconscionable. American taxpayers have bailed out a company that deserved [...]
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  Posted: March 22, 2009, 6:05am EDT
  

• Contrabamadiction

  Those nasty AIG bonuses have just stuck themselves in nearly everyone's craw. While I have no problem with them, countless others do. But the math is really interesting, and so is a glaring contradiction.If we accept the numbers as given, we know that AIG has received $190,000,000,000 in government loans [...]
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  Posted: March 22, 2009, 6:03am EDT
  

• Bowling A Perfect Scorn

  I left this comment on the Wall Street Journal's website in response to what seemed a rather dismissive editorial about Mr. Obama's "Special Olympics" gaffe:It is self-evident that any president needs to safeguard the images of his or her most vulnerable constituents. Special Olympians are a particularly vulnerable set; the [...]
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  Posted: March 22, 2009, 6:01am EDT
  

• Are We Yet Broken?

  Americans who care about such things will recall what First Lady Michelle Obama said during her husband's presidential campaign:[B]efore we can work on the problems, we have to fix our souls - our souls are broken in this nation.Ms. Obama made this very same announcement in my hometown. I stood [...]
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  Posted: March 15, 2009, 8:45am EDT
  

• Do You Have A Problem With That?

  AIG is under fire for distributing some of its cash "borrowed" from the US treasury in huge bonuses to its chief executives. Do you have a problem with that? I don't.Of course, the neo-Marxists among us do have a problem; they are driven by implacable envy. Allow me to take' [...]
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  Posted: March 15, 2009, 8:34am EDT
  

• What Is Truth, Mr. Obama?

  Ahh, the Truth. Remember the good old days, you know, the days of the Obama campaign when a new dawn of truth was imminent? Remember the rosy days when Mr. Obama's people would tell us that he understood that "words mean something"?Maybe you don't. I sure don't. But I sure [...]
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  Posted: March 15, 2009, 8:23am EDT
  

• I will be offline until April 13 ...

  I will be offline until April 13 (save a few uncertain Sundays). Sorry. Be well. Know peace. Make merry. And love.Gnade [...]
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  Posted: March 08, 2009, 9:16pm EDT
  

• Monstrous Conceptions

  I recently read about a scientist who discovered a new method of creating human babies in a laboratory. He begins simply by putting a baby in a test tube and adding a few enzymes. A few days later, he pulls the baby out into the open air. Presto! A baby.This [...]
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  Posted: March 08, 2009, 9:02am EDT
  

• Holiday

  I will be offline until April 13 (save a few uncertain Sundays). Sorry. Be well. Know peace. Make merry. And love.Gnade [...]
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  Posted: February 25, 2009, 10:23pm EST
  

• "I Am So Angry!"

  Last night, as I conversed with a woman perhaps 35 years my senior, my interlocutor expressed regrets for spending "the last eight years so angry." Her rage has passed: the election of Barack Obama and the end of the Bush terms has brought her peace.I am glad for her. She [...]
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  Posted: February 25, 2009, 8:42pm EST