During his playing days on the court, basketball legend Earvin 'Magic' Johnson relished the last two minutes of big playoff games. Usually, those final moments would see Magic single—handedly taking over the ball game with a tough hoop, a sleight of hand pass, or a key rebound. Magic loved... More

American Thinker Exclusive Jimmy Carter has been acting like a grumpy old man this week, casting somewhat shocking aspersions on the fairness and legitimacy of the forthcoming Presidential election in Florida. Maybe his nasty streak has something to do with a quiet but very significant affront... More

Yesterday in Washington DC, the Committee on the Present Danger  and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies organized an outstanding conference on the subject of  World War IV.  When Cliff May, President of FDD, presented Paul Wolfowitz to the audience, he... More

This is the second of a series of excerpts from the so—called Winter Soldier Investigations held in Detroit, Michigan from January 31 through February 2, 1971. The Winter Soldier Investigation was a project of the Vietnam Veterans Against The War. It was primarily funded by Jane Fonda and... More

Dan Rather and CBS News have had a rough couple of weeks coping with the forged Texas Air National Guard document scandal and their subsequent clumsy cover—up.  Richard Thornburgh and Louis Boccardi have been appointed to investigate this mess, but don't expect them to connect the... More

In a more rational world, a mass delusion that gripped millions of citizens of the strongest, richest, and most technologically advanced nation would set off alarm bells in the citadels of culture. The guardians —— thinkers, teachers, writers, print and electronic media ——... More

[Editor's note: The letter which follows has reached me via a number of American military officers. They tell me that it has privately circulated widely in military circles, and is generally regarded as credible by knowledgeable people. The version which appears below has had many... More

On the surface, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's plan to make common cause with the Islamic world looks mostly naive and maybe a little odd. Spain's history is a fierce crucible in the clash of Islam and the West, after all. And then there's the little matter of al Qaeda,... More

[Editor's note: Olivier Guitta scooped the American press last Friday, uncovering information in the Arab newspaper Al Hayat, on Syria's new hostile policy toward Palestinian terror groups operating in Damascus. The following day, Hamas terror master Khalid was targeted and killed in Damascus... More

While John Kerry's younger sister is currently making headlines because of her efforts in Canada, Mexico and even Australia to get out the expatriate vote for her brother, Kerry's older sister has been keeping a lower profile. Indeed, not much has been written about Margaret 'Peggy' Kerry,... More

As the 2004 elections near, a question haunts the Democrats: why will so many lower—income voters 'betray' their brethren and vote for Republicans ? A deracinated descendant of Marxian "class interest" analysis still entices liberal thinkers with its siren song of economic... More

Combat action continued this past week in the area known as the Sunni Triangle, particularly in and around Fallujah.  In the last few weeks, a series of precision air strikes have hit terrorist hide—outs in the city, and ground operations were conducted in small towns around the greater... More

There was no atonement yesterday in Israel for the car bombing in Damascus, which removed senior Hamas official Izz El—Deen Al—Sheikh Khalil. Today, the day after Yom Kippur, the solemn Jewish Day of Atonement, Israeli defense sources confirmed that Israel was responsible for the... More

This is the first of a series of excerpts from the so—called Winter Soldier Investigations held in Detroit, Michigan from January 31 through February 2, 1971. The Winter Soldier Investigation was a project of the Vietnam Veterans Against The War. It was primarily funded by Jane Fonda and... More

Weir thinking about it As American troops fight the battle against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, how can we protect ourselves from the enemy that lives among us? It is often said that we must not become tyrannical concerning the methods we use to keep us safe. For example, we shouldn't detain... More

CBS announced this week it had named Richard Thornburgh and Louis Boccardi to head a panel to investigate what went wrong with the now notorious Sixty Minutes broadcast. Fake memos and the testimony of a Kerry fundraiser with a dubious background (and a constantly changing story) were paired, to... More

On Cuba, John Kerry has flipped and flopped like a wet marlin on a Key Largo yacht, in a desperate bid to win the Miami Cuban exile vote without alienating his Castrophile voter base. Ironically, it was Castro ally Hugo Chavez of Venezuela who first noticed Kerry's dilemma.  After Kerry... More

Lie, cheat, twist, slant, forge —— whatever it takes. Bush must be stopped.   So today's Democrats seem to believe. Law professor Susan Estrich —— her law school ethics classes apparently but a distant memory —— expressed the sentiment when she offered... More

I hope all my conspiracy theory—loving readers will put on their tinfoil helmets before they read any further. Their brains may explode and ruin a perfectly good computer monitor if they don't, once they absorb the information contained below. The Media Fund, headed by Harold Ickes, and... More

The Baehr Essentials The national polls show varying leads for President Bush at the moment, with most in the 3—5% range, and a few suggesting a bigger lead. But the state surveys are telling a more consistent story, with Bush holding a solid and growing lead. This is not surprising,... More

With virtually no attention from the major American media, France and a number of Arab regimes have joined with the Bush Administration, to bring pressure on Syria to step back from its occupation of Lebanon, and behave itself by halting its acquiensence to support for terror attacks in Iraq. While... More

[Unless otherwise noted the following posts are from the Yahoo Group 'Texas Democrat 2.' Sections have been rendered in boldface for emphasis] Aug 10 From:  BBurkett16@a... Date:  Tue Aug 10, 2004  8:41 am Subject:  Re: [TexasDemocrat2] Chairman Soechting Speaks His Mind About... More

An examination of the timeline of publicly—reported events leading up to the Rathergate scandal raises some interesting questions about possible as—yet unrevealed collusion among Bill Burkett, members of the national press corps, and the Kerry campaign. Someone other than CBS and... More

Rathergate has opened wide the floodgates for conspiracy theorists. No less a figure than the chairman of the oldest political party in the world, Terry McAuliffe, is sticking by his guns, claiming that Rathergate is, or least could be, a product of the Vast Republican Conspiracy. McAuliffe's... More

It will come as a complete shock to most readers that Credo quia absurdum est ['because it is absurd, it is to be believed"] did not originate with Dan Rather and the sophists at CBS News.  Aristotle and Tertullian beat them to it.  According to Rather's breathtaking philosophical... More

September 1st is recognized by Amnesty International as the 'International Day in Remembrance of the Massacre of Political Prisoners' in light of the massacre of political prisoners in Iran in 1988. In the span of several months, thousands of political prisoners in what is now known as 'The 1988... More

Today at the opening of the General Assembly of the United Nations, President Bush pronounced one of his most important foreign policy speeches. Here is, I think, the bomb in the speech: '...for too long, many nations — including my own —  tolerated, even excused oppression in the... More

About two years ago, an acquaintance of mine, a retired Army colonel, Middle East expert and Arab specialist reported after returning from Baghdad that the shops were full, commodities plentiful, satellite dishes were mushrooming, Iraqis were watching American TV shows, and that Arab music flowed... More

If President Bush is such a pariah in the eyes of the world, as liberals insist, why does someone like President Hugo Chavez crave his respect? Chavez is the leftist, populist, Castro—worshipping Venezuelan president, who survived an Aug. 15 recall referendum with unexpectedly high numbers... More

There are certainly many points of contention between Democrats and Republicans, but perhaps none as stark—and misunderstood—as the issue of taxes. Both sides have bombarded the public with their arguments, but the Democrats, aided by their liberal mainstream media allies, have crafted... More

Terrorists from the Tawhid and Jihad groups aligned with Jordanian—born terror leader Abu Musab Zarqawi have been responsible this past week for a series of car bombings and the kidnapping of three 'foreign' construction workers.  The two Americans and one Briton support operations at... More

Unless someone has hacked the Security and Exchange Commission's website, it would appear that Viacom's Chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone chose to sell almost $12 million worth of stock in the midst of the Rathergate scandal roiling its wholly—owned subsidiary, CBS. A copy of the SEC's Form 4... More

For three years now after 9/11, many Westerners curious about Islam have walked softly around it and skipped over some of its customs. For example, all of us have heard of cutting off the hands of thieves and hitting wives. But are these punishments rumors or facts? It is time now to critically... More

The Los Angeles Times, with an assist from CBS News, once again earns the prize for most imaginative leftist political rationalization. Alert readers will remember the vicious attempts of the LAT to slander Governor Schwartzenegger as a groper prior to his election in the recall campaign, passed... More

[A down home message for Dan Rather in the colorful Texas idiom he so loves] Y'all know what we all been thinkin' out here in Texas, Dan, since you started all this foolishness? We think y'all been whizzin' down our necks an' tellin' us it's rain for so long that you boys done got to believin'... More

American Thinker exclusive Mary Mapes, producer of the Rathergate fiasco, soon may have federal law enforcement officials knocking on her door, if a press story today holds water. In what could be another blow to the already scandal ridden Dan Rather and CBS News, Joe Flint of the Wall Street... More

Martin Indyk served two stints as US Ambassador to Israel during the Clinton Administration.   He is one of the individuals that the Kerry campaign has identified as part of its Middle East advisory team, and many think he will return to a significant government job in the diplomatic... More

The Baehr Essentials The wheels are flying off the Kerry campaign. In August, the Swift Boat Veterans' attack softened Kerry up. The Republican Convention then reinforced the contrast between President Bush as a strong leader, and John Kerry as somebody who can't make up his mind.  And now for... More

Anger, the most toxic of emotions, has poisoned the American left and much of the Democratic Party. To the astonishment of many level—headed political professionals, the Kerry campaign is unable to let go of its charges that George Bush's Air National Guard service was deficient, even as CBS... More

Every once in a while, a new word enters the popular American lexicon and enjoys its richly—deserved 15 minutes of fame, before receding into the dark recesses of the public consciousness, never to make an appearance again. We are fortunate to be graced with just such a word now:... More

The third anniversary of the deadliest enemy attack on US soil has come and gone, the memory once again fading. It is important to take stock of what we have learned from that fateful day. The lessons are clear and the enemy is open about its identity, aims and agenda. The US and its allies are... More

CBS's performance of September 15, 2004 was bizarre. First, they put—off for more than six hours the promised issuance of a statement. Then the Tiffany network released a puzzling vague promise ('we believe we should redouble our efforts to answer those questions, so that's what we are... More

The importance of John Kerry's Silver Star to his political career cannot be overstated. Without the medal, it is fairly safe to say, we would have probably never heard of him. Kerry used his Silver Star to run for Congress (unsuccessfully) as a returning war hero in his first political campaign.... More

Since it was announced that Professor Tariq Ramadan, a so—called moderate Muslim scholar, had his visa revoked on the advice of the Department of Homeland Security, an outpouring of outraged reactions rained down. Ramadan was supposed to start teaching at Notre Dame in September. If you did... More

John F. Kerry has already demonstrated a frightening level of incompetence as an executive. Regardless of any agreement or disagreement American voters may have with him on the issues, his demonstrated inability to handle the complexities of a presidential campaign ought to preclude voting for him.... More

MSM — Main—Stream Media — in the guise of CBS has received some heavy body blows over the past few days. However, the incessant, gleeful handclapping by conservatives at the well—publicized faux pas of Mr. Rather & Co. is, in my humble opinion, a bit overdone and... More

CBS is being judged, albeit not in a docket, but rather in the court of public opinion. A well—established legal doctrine throws light on the extent of its troubles, and expands the dimensions of the Rathergate scandal. As the implications begin to sink in, CBS's defenses will weaken even... More

The so—called assault weapons ban expired on Monday, ending with a fizzle, not a bang.  The Republicans did not let the proposal to extend the ban come to a vote and, if I'm correct, the Democrats will not be reloading.  While there was a time when they would bang the drum... More

The small band of terrorists thought that things were going their way.  They had even succeeded in convincing a portion of middle class citizens that they were fighting for a just representation in their country's political process.  This was a significant gain for their cause, because... More

Apparently, reports last week that Saddam's number two man, Izzat Ibrahim Al—Douri, was captured were incorrect.  US forces stated that they did not have him in custody, and Iraqi security forces said they were awaiting testing on confirmation of the detainee's identity. ... More

Claims that America is engaged in a total war against terrorism are greatly exaggerated. President Bush cannot selectively fight some terrorists, while ignoring or even supporting other kinds of terrorists, and still claim to be fighting a War on Terror. Bush cannot declare that we oppose all who... More

With the media's latest iteration of President Bush's National Guard story, Lt. Col. Bill Burkett has once again managed to insert himself into the news. This article from the September 12th issue of Newsweek is typical of the latest crop: NEWSWEEK: A Principal Source for Network's Bush National... More

Blogosphere analysis of the Killian documents to date has focused on the typography of the documents and whether they adhere to military style. This article examines what formatting commands the typist used to create the document and what this says about his skills. I used to teach word processing... More

A long time ago, in a galaxy that seems truly far away, a suburban Detroit mother got ready to take her two youngsters — a boy of seven and a girl of five — over to the city. The year was 1980 and the Republican National Convention was being held in Detroit. The woman was taking the... More

This Sunday the History Channel will air a program on the War of 1812, titled First Invasion. The War of 1812, a.k.a. 'Mr. Madison's War,' was fought essentially over maritime disputes between Britain and America.  Impressment of American seamen by the British Navy was the proximate... More

Here is the text of the the May 1972 memo that is purportedly from Bush's Texas Air National Guard commander, Lt. Colonel Jerry Killian: 111th Fighter Interceptor SquadronP.O. Box 34567Houston, Texas 77034 04 May 1972 MEMORANDUM FOR 1st Lt. George W. Bush, 5000 Longmont .8, Houston, Texas... More

Dan Rather is a mediocrity who is the CBS anchor today because on one horrible day he happened to be in the right place at the right time. Rather was in Dallas working for a local CBS affiliate on 11/22/63. When Kennedy was assassinated, he became CBS' point person the rest of the weekend, when the... More

On the anniversary of 9/11 it is useful to remember that John Kerry has not always been against the unilateral use of American force. It would seem he only opposes such use of American force when it is a matter of our interests or our national security. For when it came to restoring to power a... More

CBS aired it.  Dan Rather was the reporter.  The program attempted to damage the reputation of a commander—in—chief.  Are we talking about Wednesday's 60 Minutes?  No, we're talking about a CBS Reports program The Uncounted Enemy:  A Vietnam Deception,... More

Three years ago tomorrow, the awe—inspiring towers of the World Trade Center collapsed, following a completely unanticipated mode of attack. Today, the once proud tower of CBS News threatens to collapse under an attack clearly unanticipated by Dan Rather and his editorial colleagues, who... More

The Baehr Essentials The Democrats have all but formally written—off the entire South, except for Florida, as well as a few other states once considered prime pickup opportunities. The ad buys for the next month by the Kerry campaign and the DNC do not include a dollar for ads in Missouri,... More

Six months ago, it seemed that you could not open a newspaper or magazine or turn on a television without hearing mentioned the impending release of Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of the Christ. Now, with the release of the film on DVD, we can expect another publicity campaign —... More

Scientists know that claims of imminent cures of disease using embryonic stem cells are junk science, whereas progress in adult stem cell research has been nothing short of spectacular. It is unfortunate that the mainstream media have exaggerated the prospects for embryonic stem cell research while... More

It is all coming home to roost for John F. Kerry. He now has so many different positions on record that any time he makes a forceful declaration or proposes a policy initiative, a contradictory quotation or, worse, a video clip, can be found, reinforcing his image as a feckless flip—flopping... More

Zell Miller's in for it now: he's made Jimmy Carter angry.  In an open letter  printed in the Atlanta Journal—Constitution, Carter accuses Miller of betraying the trust of every Georgia Democrat since Reconstruction: You seem to have forgotten that loyal Democrats elected you... More

Organization behaviorists have reduced the psychology of change to a mathematical equation. According to Michael Beer of the Harvard Business School, change is a function of dissatisfaction (D) multiplied by the vision of a new order (V) times leadership (L) which must be greater than resistance (... More

President Dwight Eisenhower's departing message upon leaving office famously included a warning about a new phenomenon in the American political economy: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military... More

Several weeks back, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman warned that the Presidential election might be stolen in Florida. This year, he warned, unlike the Presidential race in 2000, the election might be stolen even without help from the Supreme Court. The fraud would be perpetrated... More

An American Thinker Exclusive    must credit americanthinker.com By now you've probably heard that John F. Kerry attended a meeting of his Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) group in Kansas City in November 1971, where they considered a proposal to murder top governmental... More

The Baehr EssentialsA food fight has broken out among a few political pundits as to the validity of recent polls by Time  and Newsweek  which appear to show a large growing lead for President Bush. The two surveys, conducted during the GOP convention or shortly thereafter, each show Bush... More

The New York Times says that Zell Miller is President Bush's 'new best friend.'   The Georgia Senator's speech, Richard W. Stephenson writes, has 'touched a chord among voters of all stripes by voicing doubts about Mr. Kerry's record on national security issues.'   Voicing doubts? ... More

One day when I was just a wee lad, I and the rest of my grade school class received some very sage advice about how to balance our rights against those of our fellow man.  Our teacher stood with arms outstretched and said, 'You have a right to hold out your arms like this and spin around as... More

If anyone studies the Quran objectively, he or she will be struck by the verses that differ widely from cherished Biblical passages and one significant historical fact. Normally, these differences should not pose any problems, provided they remain in the realm of abstract theology. However, as... More

As Battle Blog goes up on the web, there has been no confirmation that Saddam's number two man, Izzat Ibrahim Al—Douri has, in fact, been captured.  The Multi—National Forces—Iraq (MNF—I) has stated that he is not under US control, but Iraqi security forces maintain... More

When I was growing up in the Minnesota of the 1950s and 60s, the state was a proud bastion of national Democratic politics, producing Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy, Orville Freeman, and a host of lesser—known names active nationally, but in non—elective offices. But... More

The left wingers on the op—ed page of the New York Times are becoming unhinged.   Frank Rich today joins Paul Krugman in articulating conspiracy theories to explain the success of the political movement backing President Bush. You see, in Rich's view, a campaign has been... More

The Associated Press, a powerful worldwide news source owned by its member daily newspapers, has perpetrated a vile and slanderous lie about President Bush and his supporters, and been caught read—handed. The smoking gun exists safe and sound in the cache memory of countless blog sites. The... More

Great is a misunderstood and often misused word. It's bandied about far too casually, and people, places, and events are described as great when in actuality, they are really nothing more than ordinary. The Merriam—Webster dictionary has eleven entries for its meaning. Number nine is clearly... More

Judging by his appearance on The Daily Show Friday night, Chris Matthews still doesn't understand why his treatment of Senator Zell Miller, and his earlier roasting of Michelle Malkin offended so many people. Matthews told Daily Show host Jon Stewart that he was only doing his job as a journalist... More

Things are looking bright for President George W. Bush as the hugely successful Republican National Convention closed with his well—crafted and superbly—delivered speech. Sen. John F. Kerry and his campaign are retreating under the scrutiny of the devastating ads and literature produced... More

The terms most often used to describe the armed followers of the renegade Shia leader Muqtada al—Sadr have varied depending upon who is doing the reporting.  The major wire services seem to prefer the term 'insurgent,' possibly to convey some noble quality to Sadr's band as they battle... More

Weir Thinking about it After former NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani and Senator John McCain spoke at the Republican convention, one MSNBC commentator, with a frown on her face, said: 'Well, it looks like we're going to be bombarded with patriotism for the rest of the week.' None of the others in the... More

Television news, the dominant source of political information for Americans, was transformed Tuesday night. A death knell for broadcast network news has pealed its initial toll. For the first time in history, coverage of an important news event by a cable news network drew more viewers than any of... More

As is now well known to everyone except those in the news media, John Kerry and other representatives of his group, the Vietnam Veterans Against The War (VVAW), met with the North Vietnamese and Vietcong peace delegations numerous times circa 1970—72, both in Paris and Hanoi. The VVAW was so... More

If I asked some of my countrymen what the most pressing issues facing the America of the twenty—first century were, I would get a multitude of different answers.  Terrorism might be number one on the list and, indeed, it certainly deserves a prominent position.  But I very much... More

Viewership of the Republican National Convention on cable news has swung decisively toward Fox News Channel, according to ratings figures published on Drudge today. Monday night, FNC pulled over three times as many viewers as CNN, and over four times as many as MSNBC. [update:] Tuesday, the... More

In an op—ed piece in the Washington Post dated August 28, 2004, Paul Donnelly is very upset that the 'peaceful moderate' Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan was denied entry to the US. In fact, Ramadan was supposed to start teaching last week as Henry Luce Professor at Notre Dame's Joan B. Kroc... More

Last weekend's kidnapping of two French journalists by Iraqis protesting Jacques Chirac's government's head scarf ban caught many Frenchmen napping. Nothing unusual about that, except the French had hoped their opposition to the War in Iraq, and their continued and blatant mooning of the Bush... More