Letter From thernArgentariornby Andrei NavrozovrnLocal ColorrnThe promontory of Monte Argentario,rnbillowing on the clothes line of thernTyrrhenian coast of Italy like an Hermesrnshirt held in place by three pins of land,rnis famous for its summer resort towns ofrnPorto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano.rnThe shirt, which has been lost so suddenlyrnby so many here in the recent...

least redistributive overtones of Franco’srnenterprise, based though it is entirely onrnthe power of suggestion, account for thernsecond of the observable consequences Irnmentioned. Ever’one, rich or poor, hasrnsomething to say about him behind hisrnback. T’pically, the rich sav he belongsrnto the mafia, and when I object, pointingrnout that he neither drills holes in people’srncisterns nor sneaks...

VITAL SIGNSrnJOURNALISMrnThe People’s RightrnNot to Knowrnby Edward E. Ericson, Jr.rnWhen Aleksandr Solzhenitsynrnspoke at Harvard University tworndecades ago, one of the most unfathomablernlines in his widely panned commencementrnaddress was his lamentrnabout “the forfeited right of people not tornknow.” This line was buried within hisrnsection charging the press with hasHnessrnand superficiality—and the reporters inrnattendance rushed out to...

the Reform Party is largely centeredrnover the issue of property.rnBut then he said that we agree thatrnwe don’t want this issue decided byrnthe national media or by nationalrnpolihcians. And that, I thought,rnwas a ver}’ profound comment.rnThe things we disagree on do notrnnecessarily have to be decided atrnthe macro level. We can work outrnour own arrangements,...

States that has no parallel in our history.”rnCongress was more direct. In its 1976 report,rn”The Covenant to Establish arnCommonwealth of the Northern MarianarnIslands,” the Senate bluntly stated:rn”The term ‘commonwealth’ is not arnword describing any single kind of politicalrnrelationship or status.” What thisrnmeans in real terms is that, despite therndifferences in the scope of the politicalrnpowers...

fits of the welfare state. As he explainedrnin Statehood is for the Poor (1978):rnIf it were a state, Puerto Ricornwould be absolutely assured ofrnenormous amounts of federal moneyrn—money the island needs in orderrnto come to grips with its manyrnproblems.. .. Puerto Rico’s perrncapita contribution to the federalrntreasurv’, were we a state, wouldrncome to less than...

range. For defense of the home, that’srnwhy we have poHce departments.”rnLikewise, Professor M.L. Friedland ofrnthe University of Toronto, father ofrnCanada’s modern gun legislation, arguedrnthatrna person who wishes to possess arnhandgun should have to give a legitimaternreason. . . . To protect lifernor property .. . should not be arnvalid reason…. Citizens shouldrnrely on the police,...

The Hundredth Meridianrnby Chilton Williamson, Jr.rnSomething in Coloradorn”Hear that,” Dick Mcllhenny said.rnHe removed the headset and handedrnit to me, while holding the Bionic Earrncupped toward the woods.rn”I hear it.”rn”What does it sound like to you?”rn”Footfalls, coming this way. Look atrnthat horse.”rnThe gelding stood at attention behindrnthe trailer, his body rigid and his ears forwardrnwhile the...

ing above the treetops, diffused its lightrnhke a silver gas as far as the black, impenetrablernshadow of the surroundingrnforest.rnThe Bionic Ear magnified our ownrnbreathing and the sounds of sleep fromrnthe tent next door, and after we turned itrnoff and lay awake in the darkness, listening,rnour own ears, aided by the imagination,rnpicked up impulses the electronicrnmodel...

The Nationalist TimesrnThe Nationalist TimesrnTronble In Pandise –rnXntematlonaliita Lamentrnthe Growing Problenu ofrnthe One World DreamrnThe Nationaiist TimesrnRepnbUcan’ControlledrnCongrcaa Has BecomernIndlatlngtil>liable PromrnDemocratsrnThe Nationalist TimesrnTVtrmoil In IndooeaiarnIndicator Of A Shakyrn’Global Economy’rnSubscribe to The Nationalist Times newspaper for the very low introductory raternof only $21 for one year, or $39 for two years.rnThe Nationalist Times . • .rn• Features...

THE STORY O F LAWrnExpanded Second EditionrnBy John M. ZanernForeword, annotations, and bibliographies by Charles J. Reid, Jr.rnWritten for the layman as well as the attorney. The Story ofrnLaw is the only complete outline history of the law everrnpublished. “It is,” too, noted journalist William Allen White ofrnthe original edition, “the sort of book that...

EDITORrnThomas FlemingrnMANAGING EDITORrnTheodore PappasrnSENIOR EDITOR, BOOKSrnChilton Williamson, ]r.rnASSISTANT EDITORrnScott P. RichertrnART DIRECTORrnAnna Mycek-WodeckirnCONTRIBUTING EDITORSrnHarold O.]. Brown, KatherinernDalton, Samuel Francis,rnGeorge Garrett, Paul Gottfried,rn}.0. Tate, Michael Washburn,rnClyde WilsonrnCORRESPONDING EDITORSrnBill Kauffman, William Mills,rn]acoh Neusner, Srdja TrifkovicrnEDITORIAL SECRETARYrnLeann DobbsrnPUBLISHERrnThe Rockford InstituternPUBLICATION DIRECTORrnGuy C. ReffettrnCIRCULATION MANAGERrnCindy LinkrnA publication of The Rockford Institute.rnEditorial and Advertising Offices:rn928 North Main Street, Rockford, IL...

Thank you for running serious reviews ofrnPat Buchanan’s The Great Betrayal. Unhkerna lot of conservatives, he cares aboutrnpeople harmed by economic dislocations.rnAnd no true conservative shouldrnhave any problem with getting rid of thernWTO and NAFTA bureaucracies,rnwhich don’t enact free trade but imposern”managed trade” through thousands ofrnpages of new regulations.rnHowever, Buchanan’s ideas boil downrnto swapping a...

compete. American companies dominaternthe marketplace. No protective tariffrnneeded here.rnConcerning Raimondo’s general oppositionrnto tariffs, however, some sacrificernhas to be made to bring back lost industries.rnWhat is paying a few morerndollars compared to the sacrifice soldiersrnmake for their country? But free-tradersrnare no longer interested in their country;rnonly prices and profits count with them.rnLanguage, history, customs, tradihons,rnancestry, religion—these...

tives in America) reiterated his oppositionrnto national preference—and to anyrnidea of French nationhood—declaringrnin a televised speech: “I do not see anyrnmotives compatible with our humanist,rndemocratic, and republican principlesrnthat would allow us not to give foreignersrnthe same rights that we give to thernFrench.” The good news from France isrnthat although President Chirac continuesrnto sell out his...

Reconciliation Commission releasedrnthe three men convicted for the murder.rnAccording to the judges who granted thernmen amnesty, “at that moment, to [thernkillers]. Amy Biehl was a representativernof the white community.”rnThe release of a child’s murderersrnmust be a bitter pill for any parent tornswallow. Yet Mr. and Mrs. Biehl havernmade quite a show of their willingness tornaccept...

But for those of us living in the countryside,rnin a state we love for its patchwork ofrnsmall family farms, it sounds like not justrnthe end of an era, but the end of thernworld.rn—Katherine DaltonrnEPICYCLES:rn• Phasing Out Guns: In August, PresidentrnClinton announced that the federalrngovernment would begin to implementrn”phase two” of the Brady Bill,rnrequiring background checks...

PERSPECTIVErnMob Rulesrnby Thomas FlemingrnWilliam Jefferson Clinton may some day be hailed as thernsecond father of his country, or rather as the abusivernstepfather. His seemingly deliberate efforts to disgrace his administrationrnand disgust the people have convinced a significantrnnumber of clear-headed citizens of the truth of Acton’srnmaxim that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Perhaps asrnmuch as a fourth...

of what their governments do—the high taxes and burdensomernregulations—or fail to do, when the streets are unswept or therngarbage is not picked up, but only anarchists complain whenrnthe state fulfills its primary obligation to defend the nation fromrnpredators, both foreign and domestic—the general defense andrndomestic tranquility promised by the American Constitution.rnToo often, however, the agencies...

creased centralization of power that had taken place during therncentury and a half between the settlement of Jamestown andrnthe systematic corruphon perfected by Robert Walpole andrnpassed on to the third German George. Hardly was the ink dryrnat Yorktown, however, than Anglophile schemers like AlexanderrnHamilton began plotting measures by which the infant republicsrncould be sold off,...

G R E A T T O P I C S – G R E A T I S S U E Srniv^^sssrnREBUILDING OUR SCHOOLS—Septemberrn1998—Thomas Fleming argues that it takes a villagernto educate a child, Joyce B. Haws documents thernjudicial takeover of public schools, Rep. Greg Kazarnexamines the Michigan model of school-funding,rnand Lisa Graham Keegan...

giance to ethnic and family bonds than the liberated managersrnand bureaucrats of transnational firms. Nevertheless, the samernhistorical pattern that brought American society under the controlrnof managerial elites in state and economy can be perceivedrnweaving its way through organized crime, and looking at thernmanagerial revolution as it triumphed among the mobstersrnhelps us see ourselves and what...

representative from New Jersey. The council would be a regionalrnbody, intended to keep the peace in the New York-NewrnJersey area. Nationally, there would be a “Commission” composedrnof members from the major “families” around the country,rnand while the Commission would refrain from interferencernin local families’ businesses, no one could be executed withoutrnits approval. Moreover, Luciano ordered...

vive and advance within its ranks are likely to be less treacherousrnand to retain more allegiance to ethnic, community, andrnsocial bonds than managers in the law-abiding firms. Nevertheless,rnthe Commission system inaugurated by Luciano andrnLansky did reduce internecine wars, vendettas, and unauthorizedrnassassinations among the gangs for a generation. Corporaternmanagement and manipulation of markets became thernmain pillar...

a real head ease and I have just one question for Mr. Foxy. Ifrngambhng is so corrupt, then how come the states are sponsoringrnlotteries and all the people are flocking to the casinos? Answerrnme that one, Mr. Smarty Pants!rnI ill )onnes’ Hep-Cats, Narcs, and Pipe Dreams: A History ofrnI America’s Romance With Illegal Drugs {1996)...

on the lam from Dewey back in the 1930’s. Hot Springsrnwas connected. You ever heard of anybody from HotrnSprings?rnAcouple more small vodkas and I realized that Bugsy is important,rnall right, though perhaps not exactly as James Tobackrnand Barry Levinson and Warren Beatty presented him.rnThey didn’t go far enough. He stands for several notable Americanrnimpulses besides...

part of the normal evolution of organized crime groups.”rnMeanwhile, several of La Cosa Nostra’s old haunts, mainly thernsocial clubs along the infamous Mulberry Street in Little Italy,rnhave shut down or become trendy shops and restaurants.rnDespite the decline of the old-line guard and the rise of newrnMob bosses and underlings more committed to self-interestrnthan to old...

200 members and the Bonanno and Lucchese families withrnonly about 100 members each.rnGravano, who himself was targeted for prosecution in thernCastellano killing, showed in court that he had direct access tornGotti, knowledge of the family’s illegal business dealings, andrnfirsthand information on Gotti’s achvities. Facing life in prisonrnfor his reputed connection to the Castellano-Bilotti murders,rnthe mobster-turned-informant...

outside the barbed wire of the camps.rnIvankov’s patrons included the notorious “Mongol,” GennadirnKorkov, the Georgian vor v zakone Otari Kvantrishvilirn(Kvantrishvili was the Bugsy Siegel of Soviet/FSU gangdom,rnand his opulent funeral in 1994—which attracted luminariesrnfrom business and polidcs, as well as from gangland—mightrnhave made Johnny Torrio blush with envy), and VyacheslavrnSliva, with whom the Yaponchik had...

American foreign policy or national securityrnaims. Yet the assimilation of diversernpopulations, to the extent that it reallyrnoccurred, made America and itsrnpeople what they are today, as Johnsonrnpoints out. “I do not acknowledge thernexistence of hyphenated Americans, orrnNative Americans or any other qualifiedrnkind,” he writes. “They are all Americansrnto me: black, white, red, brown, yellow,rnthrown together...

public schoolboys there were, appalledrnby the number of earnest, working-classrnyouths whose humorless faces betokenedrnyoung men on the make.” It was equallyrnsobering to learn that few of hisrncontemporaries at university “had everrnheard of Evelyn Waugh, let alone readrnBrideshead.” But of course. The ambitiousrnworking-class youths had not yetrntaken to television in those days, and itrnwas not until...

of the South. For more than 20 years, hernhas been writing book reviews and literar)’rncriticism of all kinds for a variety’ ofrnnewspapers, journals, and literary magazines.rnThis new collection, focusedrnstrictly on contemporary poetr’ and consistingrnprimarily of a sequence of chroniclernreviews of more than 80 books,rnshould justly call attention to Chappell’srnachievements as critic, one whom wernmost urgently...

CORRESPONDENCErnLetter From Londonrnby Andrei NavrozovrnThe Skinny on the PulpsrnIn the days before my life became a perpetualrnholiday, there was always the pairrnof inquisitive Italians across the tablernwho wanted to know why I had chosen tornlive in London. They saw I was a writer,rnand an unambitious one at that; why notrnlive in Italy? They saw I...

song and legend is all alone, he is at bestrna poweriess eccentric and at worst an unwittingrnagent provocateur; but if, like thernEnglishman I met that afternoon in London,rnhe is one of many, he is a vital signrnof his culture and a microcosm of what itrnoffers the newcomer. My point is thatrnthe misconceived, ultimately self-destructivernwar for...

the Union of American HebrewrnCongregations, and the synagoguernis reserved for the Torah. Are yournnow saying that the Children’s DefensernFund and its pohcies are ourrnTorah?rnIn reply, the rabbi invited the congregantrnto his office for Torah lessons, whichrnwould explain why Mrs. Edelman indeedrnwas the right choice for Reformrnicon of the year.rnAt issue once more is the politicizationrnof...

VITAL SIGNSrnCRIMErnThe Zebra Killingsrnby James P. LubinskasrnAs President Clinton’s Dialogue onrnRace draws to a close, his panel willrnbe offering a final report on how to remedyrnthe evils of racism in America. Givenrnthe members of the hand-picked panel,rnit can be said with certainty that thernracism to be remedied will be whiternracism and only white racism. But...

neighbors. Howard quotes from manon-rnthe-street interviews conducted byrnthe San Francisco Examiner in 1974.rnAmong the responses by blacks were: “1rndon’t feel comfortable with all the policernaround. But then, I never have felt safernaround them.” A young housewife stated,rn”I’m really glad that the police arernconcerned for a change. 1 just wonder ifrnthey’d be as much concerned if...

trates one more thing we have in common:rnneither of us has been elected tornanything. So what the heck—bring onrnthe New York Times.rnOn second thought, never mind. Arncloser look at our respective backgroundsrnreveals at least one important differencernbetween me and Mrs. Clinton: she has arngenerational identity. My birth year wasrn1944, meaning that I am technically toornold...

that they are spooked. And the morernspooked they become, the less incHnedrnthey are to shut up. Their contradictions,rntheir collective mood swings, theirrninsistent protestations of self-approval,rntheir incessant self-analysis combinedrnwith an underdeveloped ability to processrn—a\ of it indicates a kind of collectivernbefuddlement. It was inevitable.rnThis most self-referential of generationsrnhas arrived at midlife with virtually norncontext in which...

MGM was producing an anti-Reconstructionrnfilm, White complained tornLowell Mellett, director of the Bureaurnof Motion Pictures of the Office of WarrnInformadon. The OWI, a propagandarnagency created by one of FDR’s executivernorders, requested a copy of thernscreenplay from Louis B. Mayer. Mayerrncomplied, piously assuring WalterrnWhite that “I live and breathe the air ofrnfreedom and I want it...

a period of about six years (1349-1354).rnIt is among the leading law systems of thernworld. Defeated by the Ottoman Turksrnin the famous Battle of Kosovo in 1389,rnSerbia soon thereafter fell under Turkishrncolonial rule, and remained so until itsrnresurrection in the 19th century.rnIn Serbia’s heyday, the Serbs and thernfew Albanians among them lived in harmonyrnunder similar...

him if the Albanians had turned in theirrnguns. He said, yes, they had each turnedrnin a gun —out of the nine or ten thatrneach one of them possessed.rnWith the beginning of the war, Itahanrnforces came to Albania and subsequentlyrnto Kosovo to help establish a Greater Albania.rnBulgarian forces claimed parts ofrnKosovo and Macedonia. The result:rnfrom 1941-1945,...

When her son came to investigate, hernfound her sitting on a stump outside. Hernwas forced to take legal action over two orrnthree years, and he won. But when arnmilitiaman came to carry out the order ofrnthe court, the Albanian said that he had arnmachine gun and warned, “Whoever approachesrnwill be mowed down!” Thisrnprompted Ljubicic to...

ing local sovereignty and the economicrnwell-being of each. Under that proposal,rnKosovo would be one region and Metohijarnanother, even though until 1945rnMetohija was part of Montenegro, andrn60 percent of its properties were ownedrnby the Serbian Orthodox Church. Thisrnproposal seems to have little support.rnA third proposal would divide Yugoslaviarninto three federal units—Serbia,rnMontenegro, and Kosovo. This proposalrnseems to...

to tack on another 600,000 people whornmay be willing, but are not able, to work.rnThen there are those Americans who arernwilling and able to work, and are notrn(yet) incarcerated, but who are still preventedrnfrom working.rn”Ameritech set to ax 5,000 jobs,” readrnan Associated Press headline on April 15.rn”Intel to slash workforce by four percent,”rnscreamed an 11-inch...

surd. Its title could be “Perversion ofrnDemocracy.”rn”Perversion of the Individual” couldrnbe the title of the next act. Fortune 500rnexecutives often become corrupted withrnWall Street’s money and start to engagernin self-dealing, to the tune of tens or hundredsrnof millions of dollars (each). Enterrninsider trading . . . the ultimate WallrnStreet/Big Business Nirvana.rnIt goes like this. A...

population growth stops sooner.rnEast Germany’s experience with reunificationrnsuggests that the fertility raterncan fall below one child per woman.rnLive births declined 46 percent betweenrn1989 and 1991, a drop which NicholasrnEberstadt attributes to “enormous dislocationsrnin the economy.” By 1994, thernfertility rate was .77 births per woman,rndown 50.9 percent in five years due tornthe combined effects of a...

the early states had estabhshed churches,rnand even the federal Constitution —rnwhich sought scrupulously not to favorrnparticular religious establishments orrnsectarian creeds—contained several referencesrnto our shared Christian heritage.rnThe First Amendment, which guaranteedrnfreedom of religion and forbadernCongress from legislating “an establishmentrnof religion,” was not—as most nowrnwrongly believe—an attempt to create arn”Godless Constitution” or a secular society.rnIn fact, the...

state-imposed term limits for congressionalrnrepresentatives; the prohibitionrnon state-sponsored male-only militaryrnacademies; and the prohibition on statesrnoutlawing preferential treatment for homosexuals.rnThe plethora of court-imposedrnrestrictions on what states can do,rncoupled with the federal courts’ increasinglyrnpermissive reading of the CommercernClause to allow federal regulationrnof almost all state economic, educational,rncultural, or political activity, led tornsuch a weakening of state sovereigntyrnthat...

incorporation decisions betrayed our essentialrnbelief in dual sovereignty andrnwrongly reduced state citizens’ rights tornself-government. Remarkably, some legalrnhistorians have even suggested a reexaminationrnof the conditions underrnwhich the Reconstruction amendmentsrnwere passed. These amendments—thern13th, 14th, and 15th, dealing with slavery,rnthe franchise, and the exercise ofrncontract and property rights by the newrnfreedmen—were, as most Southernersrn(but only a few law...