Latest Article from Lee Harris

Newspeak's Comeback and the Invincible Sincerity of America's Liberal Elite

December 4, 2013  •  The American

Did President Obama lie to the American people when he said that those who liked their current health insurance policies could keep them? Or was he simply out of the loop when it came down to the details of his health care reform, as he has claimed in his own defense — a defense that, in the minds of some of his critics at least, comes suspiciously close to Bart Simpson's "I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything." After all, how could a man of Obama's obvious intelligence fail to know something so critical to the success of his most significant piece of legislation? Since Obama is not a fool, he must be a liar.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Lee Harris

Latest Article from Michael Freund

Hanukka and the spirit of Samaria

December 3, 2013  •  The Jerusalem Post

Across the long, winding and often painful sweep of Jewish history, the festival of Hanukka has proven to be a reliable companion.

Despite the passage of over two millennia, the heroism of the Maccabees and the miracle of the oil, together with the deliverance from foreign occupation and the liberation of the Holy Temple, have been a faithful source of hope and determination under even the most trying of circumstances.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Michael Freund

Latest Article from Tevi Troy

The Three Failed Promises of ObamaCare

December 2013  •  Commentary

No matter the degree of disastrousness of its October debut, no matter the efforts of Republicans to derail it, there is little or no chance that ObamaCare can be stopped before the president leaves office in January 2017. The Affordable Care Act and its complicated and costly system of mandates, regulations, and subsidies will now shape our health-care system.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Tevi Troy

Latest Article from Clifford May

Iran after Geneva

November 28, 2013  •  Scripps Howard News Service

To be fair, the document signed in Geneva is not meant to neutralize the threat posed by those who rule Iran. It is meant only to be a "confidence building" measure, a first step toward the "comprehensive solution" that President Obama envisions — or at least hopes for.

It's not a treaty, just a "plan of action," though its purpose, at least from the Western perspective, is to induce inaction — to persuade Iran's rulers to halt their development of nuclear weapons. In exchange, America and the West are to stop economically ostracizing Iran. In this first phase, however, the centrifuges will continue to spin, while sanctions pressure is reduced. Small wonder Iran's rulers have been celebrating.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Clifford May

Latest Article from Jeff Stier

Why Won't HHS Approve Crucial Flu Vaccine?

November 27, 2013  •  Politix

The incompetence, dissembling and lack of transparency at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is already well-established. But the degree to which the mess at HHS jeopardizes our health is only beginning to come to light. And it has nothing to do with Obamacare.

As we approach a busy holiday travel season, as cold weather grips much of the nation and as flu season gets into high gear, HHS is failing to make clear their intentions about when they'll green-light the manufacture of a vaccine for the particularly deadly H7N9 strain of avian flu from China.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Jeff Stier

Latest Article from Ilan Berman

The Day The Music Died?
The deal with Iran won't achieve peace, but the opposite.

November 25, 2013  •  National Review Online

The deal hammered out over the weekend between the P5+1 powers and Iran in Geneva should have come as a surprise to no one. The White House's dogged pursuit of some sort of diplomatic breakthrough with Iran, whatever the political and international-security cost, meant that an agreement — no matter how bad — was in the offing, unless the Iranians themselves decided it wasn't in their interest. Even so, the current agreement — which France's foreign minister and countless others have called a fool's bargain — is particularly pernicious, for a number of reasons.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Ilan Berman

Latest Article from Michael Rubin

Iran deal risks creating another North Korea

November 24, 2013  •  CNN Global Public Square

In the early hours of Sunday morning, in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and foreign ministers from Russia, China, and Europe signed a deal to suspend aspects of Iranian nuclear work in exchange for some sanctions relief. "With this first step, we have created the time and the space in order to be able to pursue a comprehensive agreement…to ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon," Kerry told assembled diplomats and journalists.

President Barack Obama was triumphant. "Today, that diplomacy opened up a new path toward a world that is more secure – a future in which we can verify that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and that it cannot build a nuclear weapon."

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Michael Rubin

Latest Article from Soeren Kern

EU Regulations: "Dictatorship of the Bureaucrats"?

November 14, 2013  •  Gatestone Institute

The European Union has quietly approved a ban on large vacuum cleaners in an effort to "re-educate" spendthrift citizens who consume too much energy.

European bureaucrats have also imposed bans or restrictions on thousands of other consumer products, including bananas, clothes dryers, cosmetics, cucumbers, fruit jam, laptop computers, laundry detergents, light bulbs, olive oil, plastic bags, refrigerators, showerheads, television sets, tobacco, toilets, toys, urinals and wine cooling cabinets.

The most recent ban—approved by the European Parliament on October 8—involves chocolate candy cigarettes because they "appeal to minors and consequently form a potential gateway to using tobacco products."

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Soeren Kern

Latest Article from Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

The Druze Militias of Southern Syria

November 13, 2013  •  Syria Comment

Introduction

Compared to how much has been written on the Sunni-Alawite dynamics in the Syrian civil war, little analysis exists on the Druze aspect of the conflict. This study hopes to rectify the deficiency by considering the nature of Druze militias operating in the south of Syria, specifically in Suwayda, Deraa and Damascus governorates where Druze populations are concentrated.

The Principle of Self-Defense

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Latest Article from Soner Cagaptay

Turkey seeks to lock in long-term security

November 9, 2013  •  The Washington Post

Two years ago, I argued in a Post op-ed that Turkey was pivoting toward the United States. This policy has not ushered in what Ankara wanted: American firepower to oust the Assad regime in Syria. And feeling alone, Turkey has started to seek other allies, including Beijing.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Soner Cagaptay

Latest Article from Judith Miller

Now is the time to support Jana Winter

November 8, 2013  •  Fox News

Here we go again.

On Tuesday, Fox News reporter Jana Winter will be back in court, this time in Albany, continuing her fight to avoid jail and protect her confidential sources.

On that day, the New York State Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, will hear her plea to reverse a lower state court ruling which orders her to return to Aurora, Colorado to testify in the trial of James Holmes, the man charged with 166 felony charges, including 24 counts of first degree murder, in the movie theater massacre at a midnight showing of "Batman, The Dark Knight Rises." Twelve died and over 55 were injured in the attack on July 20, 2012.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Judith Miller

Latest Article from Jonathan Schanzer

Is Turkey Abetting Iran?

November 1, 2013  •  The National Interest

David Ignatius of the Washington Post dropped a bomb last month, citing unnamed sources claiming Turkey "disclosed to Iranian intelligence the identities of up to ten Iranians who had been meeting inside Turkey with their Mossad case officers."

U.S. officials reportedly regarded the exposure as an "unfortunate intelligence loss." This is an understatement. "Years of Israeli espionage have been undone," said John Schindler, a former officer at the National Security Agency, noting the impact could be "devastating."

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Jonathan Schanzer

Latest Article from Asaf Romirowsky

AAUP and BDS

November 1, 2013  •  UPI

In 1915, John Dewey of Columbia University and Arthur Lovejoy of Johns Hopkins University came together with other educators to establish the American Association of University Professors, an organization designed to preserve academic freedom and professional values.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles from Asaf Romirowsky