Exclusive Quotes from `Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam'
Perhaps the most outstandingly original history of the Vietnam War is Lewis Sorley's A Better War . A Better War describes the US fight in Southeast Asia between 1969 and 1972. The US forces switched then from a big-unit strategy adapted from the Korean experience toward counterinsurgency …
Ontario's Grim Future Gets Grimmer
In my column for the National Post this week, I discuss the consequences of the recent election in Ontario: “Democracy is the theory that the voters know what they want — and deserve to get it, good and hard.” The quote’s usually attributed to H.L. Mencken. Whoever authored it, it …
Getting to No
Watching the President's press conference yesterday was again desperately dispiriting. The President's supporters say he is "framing" a choice for the country: my way or their way. To support that frame, however, the President needs Republicans to say "NO" to his jobs proposals. The surest way to …
Palin: Already Almost Forgotten
"I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets..." - From Sarah Palin's statement announcing her decision not to run for president. Um, probably not. Sarah Palin's political voice had dwindled well before she announced her decision not to run. Now it will sink …
This is What Anonymous Funding Looks Like
Who paid William McKinley's presidential campaign expenses? The short answer is: we have no idea. Prior to the 20th century, and especially prior the 1970s, campaign finance was the darkest secret of American politics. Money was raised in secret, often in very large amounts, and spent in ways …
Forget the Name, How Did Perry's Family Afford Their Property?
Rick Perry's family leased a hunting property that once went by the name of Niggerhead. That doesn't seem very much of a story. The Perry family did not apply the name. They went to some effort to change it after signing the lease in the early 1980s. Yesterday's Washington Post story questions …
Who Wins & Loses in McGuinty's Ontario
In my column for the National Post , I discuss the various political windfalls that have characterized Dalton McGuinty's reign as Premiere of Ontario: Politics is about who gets what, when, and how. Let's apply that famous definition to Dalton McGuinty's Ontario: Who has been getting …
Wow, US Banks Really Hate Debit Cards
One of the really striking differences between daily life in the US and Canada is the all-pervasiveness of debit cards north of the 49th parallel and their comparative absence to the south. On the US side, banks until recently charged retailers a very hefty price for the use of a debit card, …
The Gold Bug Bailout
As some may know, my late mother was a very well-known broadcaster on Canadian radio and TV. Early in her amazing career, she received a call from a company - I believe it was VISA - inviting her to sign up as a commercial spokeswoman. She refused. When she told the story to my father, he asked, …
Who Broke the Government?
In my column for CNN, I explain why government institutions are failing: Under the old rules, there were certain things that political parties did not do -- even though theoretically they could. If one party controlled the Senate and another party controlled the presidency, the Senate party …
The Future of the American City
I like walkable urban centers, so I want to take a hopeful view of this Washington Post report about the future of Tysons Corner. Unfortunately for my belief, the story ends with one of the most foolish quotes I've ever read about the future of the American city, from Joel Garreau, normally a …
Why Canada Can't Win Forever
In my column for the National Post , I ask if Canada is about to face an economic downturn: Is Canada’s luck finally running out? Through three bad economic years, Canada has emerged as an island of relative stability amid the global storm. More Canadians are working today than were …
Huntsman's Chance
The continuing deflation of Rick Perry after yet another fumbling debate performance has opened the most unexpected chapter yet in the GOP 2012 race: Jon Huntsman's emerging challenge to Mitt Romney - from the right. Sound incredible? Take a look at the opening of Jon Huntsman's speech …
Atop Banff's Sulphur Mountain
I am currently in Banff, Alberta, for a conference of business and political leaders. After hiking up Banff's Sulphur Mountain, I got to experience some Alberta-style socialism: if you hike up, the gondola downhill is free.
The Texas Non-Miracle
About all those new jobs created under Gov. Rick Perry... The Center for Immigration Studies reports some facts that should sprinkle a little cold water on over-heated claims for the low-wage/high-immigration Texas economic model. Of jobs created in Texas since 2007, 81 percent were taken …
The Hobgoblin of Little Minds
At the end of the 1980s, the US was hit by a severe financial shock: the Savings & Loan crisis. I'll spare you the antique details of the crisis, but in 1990 the US found itself looking at perhaps $200 billion in federally insured bad loans by the failed S&L industry. The economy slipped …
The Road to Treadmill Serfdom
It's a little hard to tell this story from Chicago without a lot of sarcasm, but I'll try my best. Like a lot of American cities, Chicago faces severe budget problems. One obvious place to look for savings: the health benefits of city employees. Health care for city workers costs Chicago $500 …
"Millions for Defense"
Eli Lake's first piece in em> Newsweek
A Tribute to Laureen Harper
My sister, Senator Linda Frum, had the privilege of introducing Laureen Harper at the Simon Wiesenthal Foundation's "Women of Valor" event in Toronto this week. Linda's words: It is now time – and my great privilege, to present this year’s Simon Wiesenthal Award of Valour to Laureen …