Iran: A crucial lesson from Lord of the Rings

Lord of the Rings

Given the choice between pursuing wholesale regime change or making a deal that can be improved in the future, I’d take my chances with the deal and hope that like Sauron in Lord of the Rings, Iran’s evil can be diminished such that it will never rise again even if it can’t be destroyed. “For… Continue reading Iran: A crucial lesson from Lord of the Rings

Iran: As Trump switches into deal making mode, did everyone forget that we’ve been at war for more than three weeks?

Iran Peace Talks

Last week, they claimed killing any enemy’s leadership only prolongs a war. On Monday, they claimed the President lied about engaging in talks with Iran. On Tuesday, they insisted we should not have talks at all, pretending Iran is the same now as it was before the war. On Monday, President Donald Trump announced that… Continue reading Iran: As Trump switches into deal making mode, did everyone forget that we’ve been at war for more than three weeks?

Iran: One thing is clear, we better hope we’re never in a war with a real global power because half the country would surrender in a week

World at War

From the Revolutionary War to World War II, setbacks have been a reality, but perhaps never before has the United States dominated so objectively compared to the naysaying of detractors who are content to repeat Iranian propaganda and prefer to praise the Iranian regime. George Washington has the dubious distinction of having lost more battles… Continue reading Iran: One thing is clear, we better hope we’re never in a war with a real global power because half the country would surrender in a week

Trump’s State of the Union and the two things that might matter in the days ahead

While this speech, nor any speech, is likely to be remembered in an age of short attention spans, the President did two things that could matter by tying his policies to individual people and positioning the Democrats as anti-American rather than merely anti-Trump. On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump delivered an effective if not truly… Continue reading Trump’s State of the Union and the two things that might matter in the days ahead

I am a Thanksgiving turkey and I live to die for your holiday meal

Chickens?  Pigs?  Cows?  They get slaughtered all year for any old meal, but not me.  I’m special and I serve a higher purpose, so forget the various controversies surrounding the holiday over the centuries and belly up to the table. I am a Thanksgiving turkey.  You might find me roasted, smoked, or fried at the… Continue reading I am a Thanksgiving turkey and I live to die for your holiday meal

Thomas Jefferson and why power trumps principle in politics

For a man who prided himself on principle, communicating our Founding ethos those better than anyone else, Jefferson had a habit of discarding them when convenient. Was he a liar, a hypocrite, a fraud, or simply a political genius?  Thomas Jefferson has long been acknowledged as one of the most eloquent communicators of our Founding… Continue reading Thomas Jefferson and why power trumps principle in politics

Patton, the man, the movie, and the “they just don’t write ‘em like that anymore” phenomenon

Somehow, a mere 25 years after Patton’s death Hollywood managed to create a big budget masterpiece that unflinchingly and unapologetically tells his story.  Rather than moralize or criticize, the film immerses the viewer in the unique combination of madness, genius, grit, and determination that drove one of America’s greatest generals.  In one sense, legendary general… Continue reading Patton, the man, the movie, and the “they just don’t write ‘em like that anymore” phenomenon

Trump, Zelensky, the reality that there are no guarantees in life, and other lessons from a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office that shouldn’t have been

No piece of paper can fully commit a country to war on behalf of another. Rather than lecturing President Trump, President Zelensky should have read his George Washington, accepting that strong commercial relations are the foundation for mutual defense, not words on a page. Whether you love President Donald Trump or hate him, the simple,… Continue reading Trump, Zelensky, the reality that there are no guarantees in life, and other lessons from a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office that shouldn’t have been

Is Trump really only in it for himself?

The events of this summer make it clear President Trump is risking his very life to run, coming within less than an inch of having his head blown off on national television.  What selfish, self-interested person would voluntarily lay their lives on the line any time they appear in public?  With two weeks to go… Continue reading Is Trump really only in it for himself?

Winston Churchill and our modern fetish with ankle-biting

Last week, Tucker Carlson interviewed a historian who claimed the legendary Prime Minister was the chief villain in World War II, more responsible for the war than Hitler. Previously, progressives condemned him as a racist retrograde, nor is Churchill alone. The incessant need to continually re-evaluate the past infects both the left and increasingly the… Continue reading Winston Churchill and our modern fetish with ankle-biting