Overview for FF Spotlight

Racial Profiling Won't Keep You Safe

Racial profiling against Muslim males is not real security, it is the ILLUSION of security. It may or may not surprise you to learn that as a security professional, I do not endorse the concept of racial profiling. People deplore the security procedures at our airports - "Why does a 100-year-old …

Written by Sean Linnane on Sunday October 24, 2010

Dan Hannan: Our Kind of Tea Partier

British MEP Dan Hannan's new book warns America away from copying European style social democracy, but with evidence and reason not vitriol. It’s worthwhile for those of us who occupy what might be called the dissident liberal remnant of the Republican Party – especially those who hesitate to …

Written by Shawn F Summers on Sunday October 24, 2010

Life After Death: Eastwood Style

Clint Eastwood's new film "Hereafter", starring Matt Damon, deals with an issue never far from our minds: what happens to us after death. This week, Clint Eastwood proves once again that "age ain't nothing but a number", as the 80-year-old filmmaker mounts his nearly annual Oscar-contender film, …

Written by Telly Davidson on Saturday October 23, 2010

The GOP's Electoral Generation Gap

If Republicans cannot connect better to the huge new Millennial generation, next month's success will only be a happy interval before 2012's grim challenges. Republicans are poised to win a big victory in the Nov. 2 U.S. congressional elections. Why? Republicans tell this story: A basically …

Written by David Frum on Saturday October 23, 2010

Confessions of a Terrorist Profiler

Juan Williams’ firing over remarks about Muslim airline passengers may have the perverse effect of worsening airline security. Juan Williams’ firing over remarks about Muslim airline passengers may have the perverse effect of worsening airline security if travelers and airport personnel become …

Written by Danielle Crittenden on Friday October 22, 2010

The Prowl: Winning the Break-Up

When Todd Seavey earlier this week trashed his ex-girlfriend and co-panelist Helen Rittelmeyer on CSPAN2's Book TV, I was strangely sympathetic. When Todd Seavey earlier this week trashed his ex-girlfriend and co-panelist Helen Rittelmeyer on CSPAN2's Book TV, I was strangely sympathetic. For …

Written by Vivian Darkbloom on Friday October 22, 2010

The Fat Diaries: The Homemade KFC Double Down

KFC's new Double Down sandwich (two chicken fillets with bacon and melted cheese) is drawing comparisons with a classic dish: chicken cordon bleu. Time for a taste test. Despite the general outcry, KFC hasn’t pulled back their new Double Down sandwich (two chicken fillets with bacon and …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday October 22, 2010

Help! My Kids Caught Me Lying

David Eddie hears from a parent who's been caught lying... in front of her children. Writing in the Globe and Mail , David Eddie hears from a reader who's been caught lying, in front of her children. The reader writes: Recently, while visiting my son at his university, I was lent a student …

Written by David Eddie on Friday October 22, 2010

Cameron's Cuts Will Spur Britain's Recovery

David Cameron's new UK budget will move the country away from relying on government spending to drive growth and put the focus back on the private sector. The new coalition government in the UK (made up of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats) has had to take the axe to government expenditure in …

Written by David Stevens on Friday October 22, 2010

Bloomberg Touts Mayoral Achievements

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke at Facebook’s Palo Alto headquarters this afternoon on his achievements as mayor and on Washington's missteps. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg addressed staff at Facebook’s Palo Alto headquarters this afternoon, speaking on private philanthropy, his achievements …

Written by Tim Mak on Friday October 22, 2010

Strikes Won't Stop Sarko

Despite a week of labor strikes and protests, French President Sarkozy was able to pass his pension reforms and leave the Socialist Party looking like losers. This week, France has been hit by strikes pushed by the Socialist party and unions in opposition to President Sarkozy’s pension reforms …

Written by Jean Granville on Friday October 22, 2010

Centrists Lead GOP's New York Comeback

GOP businessman Randy Altschuler is just one of a group of fresh-thinking Republicans looking to upset the Democrats in New York. Long Island congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY) is facing a serious challenge this year in the form of businessman Randy Altschuler, a Republican who has a sharp policy …

Written by Tim Mak on Friday October 22, 2010

Popping the Gold Bubble

Americans are stocking up on gold. But does the gold binge make any economic sense? Reader Thomas Simpson writes to quote Warren Buffett: You can take all of the gold that's ever been mined and fill a cube 67 feet in each direction. At current prices for gold, you could buy all of the …

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 21, 2010

Williams' Mistake: Starting a Real Dialogue

The next time someone tells you he wants a conversation about race or poverty or Islam what he really means is “I'll spout the PC line and you agree with me.” Much ink has been and will be spilled over Juan Williams’ firing from NPR after his comments about Muslims. To wit, Williams (author of …

Written by Cheves Ligon on Thursday October 21, 2010

The Williams Hypocrisy

Matt Welch points out the real lesson from Juan Williams' firing: You can be Islamophobic, you just can't publicly admit it. Matt Welch makes a good point : You can be Islamophobic, in the form of refusing to run the most innocuous imaginable political cartoons out of a broad-brush fear …

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 21, 2010

Why the Left's Populism Never Caught On

Since the 1960s, the American left has looked for a liberal who could light a fire against big business and the Pentagon while staying connected to the folks back home. Click here for part 1 of this series. "Progressive populism" has been a dream of the American liberal-left since the …

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 21, 2010

Conservatives Talk Debt, Forget Jobs

At a discussion on the economy sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, panelists focused on the debt, with little to say about the job worries facing most families. On October 20, the Chamber of Commerce sponsored an all-day discussion at the American Enterprise Institute titled “ A Balancing Act: …

Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Thursday October 21, 2010

Gold: A Sucker's Bet

Gold, quite simply, is useless. The gold bubble could last for several more years. But, in time, it will come crashing down. In a recent blogpost , David Frum noted that while gold prices keep falling, the airwaves are still full of ads encouraging people to keep buying gold. Frum’s prediction…

Written by Eli Lehrer on Thursday October 21, 2010

Progressive Populism: Mission Impossible

George Packer raises an interesting question about Obama: Could the president have pushed a progressive populist movement to counter the right-wing populism on display? George Packer offers an interesting report today about the political weakness behind President Obama. (And no I don’t say that …

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 21, 2010

Cameron's Bold Budget

Cameron's Tories have just unveiled budget cuts on a scale which would overawe Ronald Reagan and dazzle Margaret Thatcher. Republicans have been dismissive of David Cameron’s Conservative party. Yet his coalition government has now unveiled a budget with spending cuts beyond anything Republicans …

Written by David Frum on Thursday October 21, 2010