Author: The Archive (The Archive)

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EDITORrnThomas FlemingrnMANAGING EDITORrnTheodore PappasrnSENIOR EDITOR, BOOKSrnChilton Williamson, Jr.rnASSISTANT EDITORrnMichael WashburnrnART DIRECTORrnAnna Mycek-WodeckirnCONTRIBUTING EDITORSrnHarold O.f. Brown, Katherine Dalton,rnSamuel Francis, George Garrett,rnChristine Haynes, E. Christian Kopff,rnj.O. Tate, Clyde WilsonrnCORRESPONDING EDITORSrnBill Kauffman, William Mills,rnJacob Neusner, ]ohn Shelton Reed,rnMomcilo SelicrnEDITORIAL SECRE’IARYrnLeann DobbsrnPUBLISHERrnAllan C. CarlsonrnPUBLICATION DIRECTORrnGuy C. ReffettrnPRODUCTION SECRETARYrnAnita CandyrnCIRCULATION MANAGERrnRochelle FrankrnA publication of The Rockford Institute,rnEditorial and Advertising Offiecs:rn934...

they attracted not only disillusionedrnSocial Democrats, but also disillusionedrnChristian Democrats. When I readrnGreen Politics by Charlene Spretnak, Irnwas excited by the idea of a populist partyrnwhich could transcend the old and oftenrnempty ideological divisions (divisionsrnwhich are used by the power elite to dividernand conquer the common people).rnWith the advent of the Nader campaign,rnother Greens are...

In the meantime, their pUght has becomerna human rights cause celebre. Inrnthe eourse of an interview in Villejeuf,rnLiberation reported on August 7, Derguyrncharged that the Spanish police had mistreatedrnhim, striking him repeatedly inrnthe face and groin. Derguy’s complaintrnechoes statements made by 83 otherrnBasques in 1995, who said that the policernhad treated them in a fashion...

point of reference) that once the hatedrndespotisms (he meant monarchies)rnvanish and “bourgeois repubhcs” arernproclaimed, the latter’s attention will bernsolely absorbed by trade. Wars will bernabolished as a “waste of resources.” Kantrnenthused indecently when revolutionaryrnterror engulfed France.rnWhat we observe at present is that thernAge of Trade resounds just as muchrnof wars and imperialism as any age...

PERSPECTIVErn >rnThe Evil of Banalityrnby Thomas Flemingrn” I he banality of evil” is one of those vapid and mislead-rnX ing phrases that can churn up a tidal wave in a mudrnpuddle, hi a trivial sense, Nazi bureaucrats were banal enough,rnbut there was a heroic dimension to the evil of Hitler andrnGoering, a delirious striving toward...

not to be outdone, and their schedule promised an array of thernphysically, mentally, and morally impaired: the Brady BillrnBunch, a quadriplegic Superman, Jesse Jackson, Hillary thernCommodities Whiz, and Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, recentlvrnback from an unauthorized trip to Nigeria, where shernsaid she was consoling the dictator’s wife for the loss of a child.rnConsolation could be a...

era! I could support. When I replied “Gene McCarthy,” hernsnorted and said he preferred John Anderson, who “when hernwas bought, stayed bought.”rnThe best we can expect from any politician is that he will regardrnhimself as bought, at least in part, by the voters who electrnhim rather than as a wholly owned subsidiary of his funders.rnThe...

VIEWSrnElection DayrnA Means of State Controlrnby Robert WeissbergrnInterpreting elections is a national spectator sport, offering asrnmany “meanings” as there arc board-certified spin doctors.rnNevertheless, all of these disparate revelations, insights, andrnbrilliant interpretations share a common, unthinking vision:rnelections, despite their divisive, contentious character, exist tornfacilitate citizen power over government. Whether ineptly orrnadeptly, honestly or dishonestly, government is...

authority. Casting the national ballot liberated ordinary citizensrnfrom the influences of competitors—the church, provincialrnnotables, kinfolk, and champions of localism. Electionsrnsoon became essential ceremonies of national civic induction, arnprocess ever-further extended as wars evolved into expensivernmillion-man national crusades.rnModern dictatorships are especially taken with elections,rntypically combined with some form of compulsory voting, asrnmeans of state domination. The...

but who now owe their prestige and income to elective office.rnLet the most ambitious attend endless dull committee meetings.rnThe very existence of this electoral opportunity, apartrnfrom bodies enrolled, is critical—the prospect of a few wellpaidrnprestigious sinecures, like playing for the NBA, can workrnwonders on millions.rnThis relationship between rising electoral involvement andrnthe demise of 1960’s-style revolutionary...

most likely land the person in jail. Dan Giroux, the Buehananrncampaign coordinator for southwest Ohio, accompanied by hisrnattorney, was refused permission to observe the count byrnHamilton County Board of Elections Director Bruce Taylorrn(Republican). Why?rnIn a rare but superb news story on the evening of the 1988rnpresidential election, Dan Rather of CBS Evening News hadrnthis exchange...

election with checks and balances. No one could possibly rig itrnfrom a central location.rnAt the end of caucus night the major networks reported thatrnDole had indeed edged out Buchanan (who was supposed tornreceive only 12 percent of the vote according to the polls beingrnpublished by all four major TV networks only three days eariicr)rn26 to...

the polls closed in Arizona that “their exit polls” showed thatrnDole would definitely come in third, and that it was betweenrnForbes and Buchanan for first place. But then some computerrnmagic occurred, and Buchanan, we are told, was in a distantrnthird, hi fact, all four of the major TV networks called the primaryrnelection wrong based on...

ing, or politicians and government in general.rnOne of the most dramatie examples of NOTA encouragingrndemocratic reform occurred in the former Marxist-Leninist nationsrnof Eastern Europe, hi March 1989, semifree elections forrnthe Congress of People’s Deputies were held in the SovietrnL’nion for the first time since the Russian Revolution. Morernthan 90 percent of the candidates -were members...

that a binding NOTA “would pass handily in the nearly tworndozen states that have the initiative and referendum” process.rn”Elected officials are totally frightened of ‘none of the above.’rnIt’s a powerful tool. Can you believe how insulting it is to bernbeaten by ‘none of the above?'”rnCalifornia Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (Democrat-SanrnMateo) believes that NOTA “allows voters to...

of others.rnProblems in determining and implementing the sense of thernmajority increase progressively with the number of decisionsrnthe government makes. It is doubtful if there is any majorityrnsense of the people in regard to most of the vast legislation, expenditure,rnand regulation that now comes out of Washington,rnnor even any public opinion at all. The more things...

conservative South Carolina, the motor vehicle employees werernbusy (under federal mandate) registering to vote a considerablernnumber of Asians and Hispanics—whether citizens or not,rnwho knows?rnIt was not thus at the founding of the American Republic.rnGeorge Washington and John Adams received the suffragesrnof their fellow citizens in much different fashion. Most electionsrnwere indirect except those for the...

The 1824 election saw a crisis that may have meaning forrnours soon to come. With the Virginia dynasty at an end, therernwere now four presidential candidates, and the Electoral Collegernhad registered no majority. The politicians’ machinationsrnthen kicked into gear—Henry Clay on behalf of John QuincyrnAdams, Martin Van Buren and various other sleazy operatorsrnfor General Jackson,...

British and American ElectionsrnA Comparative Lookrnby Jeremy BlackrnIn June 1996, the funding of British poHtics came to frontpagernprominence with a controversy over the funding of po-rnUtical opposition to greater integration within the EuropeanrnUnion. This opposition, organized by Bill Cash, a backbenchrn(i.e., nonoffice-holding) Tory MP, was offered funds by SirrnJames Goldsmith, a very wealthy Anglo-French entrepreneurrnmostly...

by the fact that two of the four major British channels, BBClrnand BBC2, do not carry any advertising. Thus the party politicalrnbroadcasts are treated not as advertisements, but as publicrninterest items. This status affects their content, hi contrast tornpolitical advertisements on American television, their Britishrncounterparts arc concerned to praise, not to attack. However,rnnewspaper advertisements are...

new and expand our sense of community.rnCommandment I: The future is not something we inherit, butrnsomething we create. Too many Americans believe that God isrnan American who will watch over us no matter how hedonistic,rnselfish, myopic, or inefficient we become. This is a dangerousrnhubris. No great nation in history has ever withstood the ravagesrnof time....

Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentrically,rnand what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerancernand pluralism to hold us together.”rnThis is not enough. We must be more than a diverse peoplernliving in the same place and sharing only a standard of living. Inrnshort, “diversity” is only an asset if it...

symphony orchestra.rnThe street preachers argued that their First Amendmentrnrights overrode the interest of the community, and that streetrnpreachers could not judge what volume was too high under therndictates of the ordinance. The City Council replied that “thernvitality of a nation’s cities and towns depends upon the abilityrnof local government to enact reasonable laws which promoternthe...

mc was that it came thrusting inrnwhere I did not want ‘ou. ‘I’hcrnidea is the thing with me. It wouldrnseem soft for instance to look inrnmy life for the sentiments in thern”Death of the Hired Man.”rnThere’s nothing to it believe me.rn. .. The objective idea is all I ecrrncared about. Most of my ideas occurrnin...

jcct’s whole intellectual life is set aside asrnirrelevant by Meyers, who seems to sharernthe common belief that since Frost was arnpoet, not a philosopher, no considerationrnshould be given to his abilities as arnthinker.rnYet Frost’s intellectual genius, farrngreater than that of most poets, shouldrnbe obvious. Certainly he was not arnphilosopher in the sense that Plato, Aristotle,rnor...

many an uncounted mile, is the Countryrnof Lost Borders. . . . This is the nature ofrnthat country. There are hills, rounded,rnblunt, burned, squeezed up out of chaos,rnchrome and vermilion painted, aspiringrnto the snow-line. Between the hills liernhigh level-looking plains full of intolerablernsun glare, or narrow valleys drownedrnin a blue haze.”rnAustin and the Argentinean poet...

Principalities & Powersrnbv Samuel FrancisrnSuicide of the RightrnAfter spending several weeks in deeprnhugger-mugger at the Repubhcan Partyrnplatform committee this sunmier, thernleaders of the right wing of the GOPrnemerged triumphant. Their deeplyrnbeloved and totally useless Human LifernAmendment was reaffirmed. The obnoxiousrnstatement of “tolerance” for thernopinions of those who disagree withrnthe amendment was excised. Languagernabout immigration, fair...

rection of the representative leader of arnpolitical persuasion and faction that hasrnno tangible popular support outside thernBeltway was a calculated kick in the groinrnto the right by the party’s leadership, arnkick to which the right, after its platformrntriumph, was unable to respond with thernonly weapon it had left, the threat of secessionrnfrom the party; and...

CORRESPONDENCErnLetter FromrnVermontrnby Arthur F. McGrath IIIrnThe Town MeetingrnAn annual Vermont tradition occurs onrnthe first Tuesday of March: Town Meeting.rnIt is actualK” a state holida}’; manyrnbusinesses and all schools and state officesrnclose for the day. This year, as eycryrnyear since I returned from the MarinernCorps, I make the trek from graduaterncollege to home to participate. While...

priated for streetlights. The sum wasrn$2,000. At first it may not seem hkernmuch to argue about, but there havernbeen $50 items in the town budgetrnwhieh have eaused heated debate. Thernuneharitable might say that fights arernaKvays the bitterest when the stakes arernthe lowest. I would respond by sayingrnthat at least here the voters get to sayrnhow...

VITAL SIGNSrnPOLITICSrnMailer, Breslin,rnThompson,rnand Sternrnby Jesse WalkerrnThere has never been an electionrnconducted above the local levelrnin which one single ballot determinedrnthe outcome. And even if there were, Irndoubt it would matter. Suppose yourncould cast the deciding vote in a contestrnbetween Bill Clinton and Bob Dole.rnCan you honestly say that you wouldrnbother?rnVisiting the polls is more a...

very system that made the accumulationrnof those milhons possible. Places likernHarvard are still thought of as staid, conservativerninstitutions by much of therngeneral populace (and by aged alumni),rnbut Harvard also produced the Unabomber,rnwith help from Berkeley andrnMontana. The Ivy League has become arnstrange and wealthy ideological playground,rnand people concerned with preservingrncivilization (such as, say, TimrnForbes, editor...

that most important of choices, the marriagerndecision. It was once axiomaticrnthat, since Similia simili gaudet, the wisestrncourse was for hke to marry like, forrnthe background of your spouse to resemblernyour own to foster a harmonious, empatheticrnmarriage. The widespread violationrnof this common-sense axiom inrnrecent decades is surely one of the reasonsrnfor our extremely high divorce rates.rnYet...

Eisner Empire wields still more unholyrnglobal power to turn its fantasies into ourrnrealities. Lock up your sons and daughters.rnMarian Kester Coombs writes fromrnCrofton, Maryland.rnPASTIMESrnToy Storyrnby Alan Pell Crav^’foidrnAs federal cannon boom from thernsmoky ridge to the west, a rebel footrnsoldier darts through underbrush, scramblesrnover a fence and crouches warily behindrna tree. Raising his rifle to...

The Hundredth Meridianrnby Chilton Williamson, Jr.rnThe Perfect LifernIt is possibly a good thing that more writersrnare not sportsmen and outdoorsmen.rnThe relationship between art and sport isrna complexly curious one, since a case canrnbe made for a sporting element in writingrnthat is, of course, wholly cerebralrn(though not necessarily noncompetitivernand nonviolent). In writing, as in thernnonliterary arts,...

when drunk, used to beg Hemingwav torntell him if his work were not “awfullysuburban”).rnTen vcars ago, I gave uprnreading the hunting magazines when itrnoccurred to me that taking an eight-byeightrnbull elk is intrinsically of no greaterrnimport than shooting a spike unless ofrncourse you happen to be a professionalrnhunter, in which ease you probably havernscant interest...

transactionrnNew and Recent Books on Family and PolicyrnTHE SWEDISH EXPERIMENTrnIN FAMILY POLITICSrnTHE MYRDALS AND THE INTERWARrnPOPULATION CRISISrnAllan CarlsonrnThis devastating account of the work ofrnGunnar and Alva Myrdal portrays how twornyoung scholars used the power of ideas tornhelp engineer a new domestic order in Sweden.rnIt offers the general reader remarkablerninsight into the nature of Scandinavian socialrnlife,...

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EDITORrnThomas FlemingrnMANAGING EDITORrnTheodore PappasrnSENIOR EDITOR, BOOKSrnChilton Williamson, Jr.rnASSISTANT EDITORrnMichael WashburnrnART DIRECTORrnAnna Mycek-WodeckirnCONTRIBUTING EDITORSrnHarold O./. Brown, Katherine Dalton,rnSamuel Francis, George Garrett,rnChristine Haynes, E. Christian Kopff,rn].0. Tate, Clyde WilsonrnCORRESPONDING EDITORSrnBill Kauffman, William Mills,rnJacob Neusner, John Shelton Reed,rnMomcilo SelicrnEDITORIAL SECRETARYrnLeann DobbsrnPUBLISHERrnAllan C. CarlsonrnPIIBLICATION DIRECTORrnGuy C. ReffettrnPRODUCTION SECRETARYrnAnita CandyrnCIRCULATION MANAGERrnRochelle FrankrnA publication of The Rockford Institute.rnEditorial and Advertising Offices;rn934...

have ever been important, the secret isrnwell-kept; it might as well not meet.rnOnce money passes from nationalrntreasuries into the hands of the EuropeanrnCommission, one must abandonrnall hope of seeing anything but fantasyrnaccounting. The most recent audit confirmedrnall our worst fears. European justicerngoes from strength to strength—^becausernnational supreme courts have beenrnmade subject to it. As a...