Category: Opinion

​​​Reparations Revisited​

Commentary The drive for reparations to be paid to African-Americans in the United States has been gaining momentum in places such as California and New York. I have written before about how morally dubious reparations to descendants of slaves would be. But even if we assume, for the sake of argument, that reparations can be…


The T-90M Tank, Cost Has a Quality All of Its Own

Commentary “In my opinion, this [T-90M tank] is now the best tank in the world. … It is certainly better than Leopard, Challenger, Abrams [tanks], including in terms of its tactical and technical data, even in terms of such a component as mass,” Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, reportedly said. Boasts…


Treating the Common Cold With Telehealth, Brought to You by COVID-Era Madness

Commentary Have you ever experienced a persistent and severe common cold, only to be advised by your healthcare provider to schedule a telehealth appointment with your treating doctor? Nowadays, medical clinics discourage patients from visiting their doctors in person, presumably to avoid the risk of infection for their staff who are required to wear masks….


Affirmative Action Debate Brings Racist Attack on California Republican

Commentary Affirmative action has brought nothing but division. That’s still happening at a time when California is the most diverse polity in human history. The latest comes from Fox News: “Calif. Democrat accuses Muslim colleague of White supremacy for not backing race-based law: Calif. Republican says bill allows state to ‘discriminate based on race when…


COMING SOON: Ride the 2024 Presidential Roller Coaster With Roger Simon and Crew

Already tired of all those tedious presidential interviews that never change and sound so canned you might as well call them Chef Boyardee? So am I. In an attempt to try something new—mixed with my own unfortunate compulsion to make a fool of myself—we have come up with something we call “The Presidential Roller Coaster:…


Trump’s Documents and the Bob Kerrey Precedent

Commentary For the better part of a decade, I worked as a cryptanalyst for the National Security Agency (NSA). In that position, I handled highly classified documents on a daily basis. All of the people I worked with took the responsibility of dealing with classified information seriously, and if they hadn’t, the consequences would have…


China Retreats From Southeast Asia

Commentary In yet another sign of China’s economic and financial troubles, Beijing has dramatically diminished its financial presence in Southeast Asia. Once preeminent, China finds itself today eclipsed by others. If Xi Jinping and his colleagues in Beijing still dream of global dominance, it must look further away than ever as China retreats from its…


Putin’s Nuclear Threat Against the US Is Terrorism

Commentary In Vladimir Putin’s latest act of desperation, he has again threatened the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and by extension, the United States as its lead member, with nuclear weapons. The U.S. nuclear umbrella covers all NATO nations, so a nuclear threat against NATO is a nuclear threat against the United States. On June 16,…


The Chinese Military Won’t Talk to Us. So What?

Commentary If you want to make Americans uncomfortable—or desperate—don’t talk to them. During his recent visit to China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeatedly asked his hosts to set up a military-to-military crisis communications hotline. They declined. John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, complained earlier this year that the Chinese ignored his requests to…


A Summer Solstice on Block Island

Commentary Every summer, I come with my colleagues from The New Criterion and Encounter Books to Block Island for a few days. This year, we happen to be here on the plumpest day of the year, summer solstice. The guidebooks say that the actual moment occurs at about 2:58 post meridiem this year.   The…