Profiling Done Right
My column in The Week offers some suggestions. My column in The Week offers some suggestions.Meet the Next Senator from North Dakota
North Dakota's current governor, John Hoeven, boasts an 87% approval rating and is proving that quiet governance not revolution is what voters want. Sporting Saddam Hussein-style approval ratings, the next senator from North Dakota is current governor John Hoeven. A traditional Midwestern …The New Front in the War on Terror
One benefit (if one dare call it that) of the underwear bomber’s failed attempt to blow up an American airliner over Detroit, is that it has drawn attention to Yemen as a training ground for al-Qaeda terrorists. One benefit (if one dare call it that) of the underwear bomber’s failed attempt to …Learning From the Mistakes of Past GOP Reformers
Geoffrey Kabaservice’s The Guardians also offers a harsh challenge to those of us who want to develop a more modern Republicanism. The men profiled in his book tried to do it too – and failed miserably. Henry Kissinger is reported to have mused that if he could ever have wished for an …Jill Biden: Not Educated on School Vouchers
The Second Lady admitted yesterday that she had not been following the D.C. school vouchers program. This despite her role as an advocate for the Obama administration on education issues, her Ph.D. in education, and her year-long residence in a city where this is perhaps the biggest issue in local …Pawlenty Fights to Save State Budget Cuts
Last week, a judge placed an injunction on many of Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty's cuts to the state budget. While his critics have painted the ruling as a setback, the fight to preserve the budget cuts could boost his credentials amongst conservatives. Last summer, facing a $2.7 billion …Bad Times = Big Government?
Michael Barone makes the interesting observation that President Obama seems to have assumed Americans would be more supportive of big government policies in tough economic times. If Obama did carry this assumption, he was heading for trouble. Michael Barone offers a thought-provoking observati…Neo Mug
In the new Atlantic I champion the half-forgotten, half-despised Mugwumps of 120 years ago. This may seem really, really far off the beaten path, but in the new Atlantic I champion the half-forgotten, half-despised Mugwumps of 120 years ago. Twenty-first-century America abounds in …Don't Count on a High-Minded Slugfest
John Guardiano is right that we should use the 2010 GOP primaries to encourage an intelligent conversation on the party's future. But as the attacks on Mark Kirk in the Illinois Senate race sadly show, most primary fights won't be civil debates about policy. It's difficult to dispute anything …No Army Marches into Battle Alone
Independent military contractors are nothing new. No army in history has ever marched one step without private enterprise providing everything from boots and uniforms to meals and weaponry. Although not new by any means, the privatization of the military was foreseen as early as …
The Prairies and the Pampas
Monday's CNN.com column draws some American lessons from Canada and Argentina. Monday's CNN.com column draws some American lessons from Canada and Argentina. Latin America is a marvelous place to be rich. A decade ago, I lived in Peru for a month on an assignment. My hosts assigned me an …Pakistan’s Trauma – and Revenge
India's swift military victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war devastated the country: Pakistan lost half of its territory and a majority of its citizens. The defeat would also lead to one of the 21st century's most pressing security challenges. This is the tenth installment in Kapil Komireddi’s …Don't Just React to Threats, Identify Them
As well as developing technology to detect weapons and explosives in luggage, the time is long overdue to develop what could be called “terrorist profiling.” That is, training people to recognize and identify suspicious individuals who might be a threat. With lineups and delays approaching …Do Jews Hate Palin?
In the January Commentary , contributor Jennifer Rubin promises to explain “why Jews hate Palin”. If Jews do in fact disapprove of Sarah Palin more than other people do it is because she often seems to divide her fellow-Americans into first class and second class citizens, real Americans and …Getting the States Into Fighting Shape
Many states face severe fiscal challenges in the years ahead and will be forced to make tough choices on spending to balance their budgets. As David Frum notes , a lot of states face severe fiscal challenges for many years to come. Many of the biggest budget items for states—Medicaid, bond …America's Shadow Warriors
The seven CIA officers murdered this week in Afghanistan will never have their names revealed or receive the public gratitude they deserve. On Wednesday December 30 th , seven CIA officials were murdered and others were critically wounded at the Camp Chapman base in the eastern Khost province of …2010: The Year of the GOP?
The harsh recession and the Obama administration's overreach have created big opportunities for Republican gains in the coming year's elections. A very happy new year from all of us at FrumForum to our readers, friends and (yes!) critics: We've completed 11 remarkable months on the site: lively …A Squalid Memorial
This afternoon, while on a family holiday in Buenos Aires, my son and I went to pay our respects to the dead at the site of the terrible bombing of the city's Jewish community center in 1994. In Buenos Aires on family holiday. This afternoon my son and I walked over to pay our respects to the dead …