I recently got around to buying the 1996 documentary movie Fire On the Mountain, the story of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II and the contributions its members made to America after the war. Why would a bunch of hip filmmakers who show at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival want to... More

I used to enjoy watching Bill O'Reilly on his primetime news/opinion program The O'Reilly Factor. In spite of his somewhat pompous demeanor (now that I think about it, I actually like that in a person) he seemed to be genuinely concerned with being fair to his guests and the subjects of his... More

The web is abuzz with chatter, mostly innumerate and wildly misinformed, about the stolen election. Truly, we have become a global community when an event in Ukraine, where the rightful winner appears to have been cheated, can spark controversy in the United States. Unfortunately, the internet... More

Nobody outside a small circle of internal power actors — party officials and senior military — knows what is going on in North Korea, but something is up. Probably something very big. Although the major press largely ignores these developments, they could be vital to the future success... More

There has been no shortage of articles in the last week on the decline of the NBA.  As a basketball fan with some historical perspective, I found the assault on the league both accurate, and a bit overwrought. There has also been a series of articles in the last two weeks on  ugly events... More

Since writing the widely—published poem "Fightin' Words,"  I've had some emails and posted comments indicating the belief that I'm just another rightwing, media—hating nutcase with an ax to grind. Actually, I'm more of a moderately conservative nut case and I'm not against the... More

I waited far too long to see Sideways, the latest film of Alexander Payne (the director of Citizen Ruth, Election, and About Schmidt). It is so good that I am kicking myself for having procrastinated.а Gratification for the mind, the eye, the heart, and the sense of humor, unnecessarily... More

Critics like to give Hollywood a hard time for debasing American culture. While some flotsam does make it into theaters, I think moviemakers can pack an astonishing amount of wisdom into their products when they put their minds to it. Look no farther than the current sensation over The Incredibles,... More

He's won. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has succeeded in cutting taxes. In Italy. The captain of his nation's ship, who had gripped the helm and vowed to hurl his entire balking government over the side if they refused to stand with him, took a tremendous risk. But last night,... More

One would expect that in light of their recent Election Day trouncing, Democrat lefties — many of them secular humanists and disgruntled advocates of Christian abolition —  might at least extend a feigned olive branch of understanding to those fanatical, pious, 'born—again'... More

I was surprised last year when several Christians mentioned to me a secret conspiracy to control the world.  They relayed to me that the leaders of this coup called themselves Illuminati, a powerful group of wealthy and corrupt Jewish leaders.  I was astonished as they described the... More

Amid monstrous electoral turmoil in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin decided to hold a press conference today in Moscow, with none other than Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. The purpose was to, uhhh, congratulate him on recall referendum victory. And no less than four months after it happened. But don't... More

The liberals now have a new cause: outrage that Republican voters and their President would consider that the 'Death of History' has risen from its grave. This coincides nicely with their previous sore point, outrage that voters in Jesusland believe one certain religious leader has done the same... More

Victory At Yorktown:  The Campaign That Won The Revolution by Richard M. Ketchum, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 350 pages.  Index, maps, Notes, Principal Character bios.  $27.50. 'A surprising number of these men had six years of punishing, bloody warfare behind them; six years... More

An open letter to Europe, by Herbert E. Meyer, which we published on November 11, has provoked an outpouring of response from Europeans. It has been widely featured on websites in Europe, and has been reprinted in a number of European newspapers. Thus, we have received a large volume of response... More

In some locales, school children are told by their teachers that they must not mention God if they speak in class listing those things for which they are thankful. Elsewhere, the ACLU and other groups continue their battle to expunge all trace of religion from the public sphere. As we prepare to... More

Weir thinking about it Once again, that leftist values—destroying institution known as the American Civil Liberties Union has won another battle in its ongoing campaign against the Boy Scouts of America, an organization whose offense is to require its members to publicly profess a belief in... More

David Stern's decision to suspend Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest for the remainder of the season in response to his vicious assault on fans in the Friday night contest against the Pistons is a courageous and correct verdict.  Commissioner Stern should be commended by all of us who care for... More

[Editor's Note: The American Thinker believes in calling things by their proper names. Euphemism is a tool of misrepresentation and ultimately of control, stripping away accurate and evocative connotations, and substituting false associations. George Orwell wrote eloquently of the political... More

Did you know that before the basketball season, Indiana Pacer Ron Artest changed his jersey number to 91, the same number Dennis Rodman wore for the Chicago Bulls? Last season Artest wore 23, the number Michael Jordan wore for the Bulls. The change was telling. Early Sunday evening, National... More

The center of strength and love in my life is my family.  Pat and I had our kids early in our married life and now our three wonderful daughters have children of their own, and better yet...they all live close by.  When we get together for dinner or other events, I find myself listening... More

Recent history has seen the emergence on the world stage of two transnational groups which have committed, aided and abetted terror worldwide: Osama Bin Laden's al Qaeda and Kofi Annan's United Nations. Because the UN has been cloaked with an aura of legitimacy it should not enjoy, it has been... More

For the past few days, the die—hard internet conspiracy theorists, desperate to cling to some thread of reasoning that will reassure them that Kerry actually won — that Bush stole the 2004 election —  have been touting a 'study' released by some sociology students at the... More

Never before did a wartime President, in the heat of a hard—fought re—election campaign, have to contend with such a massive and unbalanced onslaught of negative press coverage as George W. Bush.  The media treatment was not only slanted to the left, but much of it was plainly... More

The CIA and its coterie of leak—recipient journalists have seriously damaged the public's understanding of the terror dangers we face. Now that the public's attention finally has turned to the threat of Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities, it is vital that everyone understand how a clever... More

Pundits have cast around for the reasons behind President Bush's remarkable victory. Some have seized on moral values, or a poorly run Democratic campaign, even Kerry's personality. One cause mostly overlooked in the mainstream media is a small group of Vietnam veterans, a bunch of political... More

The shooting incident inside a mosque during Operation Dawn in Fallujah merits all the attention it has been getting. But consideration of the matter should not blind us to other important aspects of the operation deserving of our attention: the immediate and longer—range results. As to the... More

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has always been deeply valued as a friend to the us in the U.S. for his unwavering support in the war on terror. He's also Europe's staunchest defender of Israel, and seeks to help Israel not only on security matters but economic matters, too,... More

Our competitive American nature makes it difficult to be out of first place in the world for long. But that's where we have been in education and we're doing something about it legislatively. One of the hallmarks of the new national 'No Child Left Behind' legislation, written to improve education,... More

Weir thinking about it   If the Democrats learned anything from the presidential election of 2004 it is that they cannot repudiate the religious community in America and still expect to win. Although the extremist wing of their party will probably never cease to refer to conservative... More

The extended post—election public despair of disappointed Democrats has been nearly as remarkable as the Republican victory, its supposed proximate cause. Therapists, anxious to keep their couches warm, have rushed in to make up a self—serving syndrome for their clients to overcome,... More

As I watched the French and Egyptian military  honor guards escort the body of the Egyptian, Abdel—Rahman Abdel—Raouf Arafat al—Qudwa al—Husseini, better known as Yasser Arafat,  back to his Cairo funeral and Ramallah burial, I was saddened at the reverence given... More

George Bush will, he says, be spending some political capital on revamping the tax code. Let us hope he pursues this goal with the same iron determination he has shown in transforming Iraq. Simply stated, the federal tax code is a scandal that puts the lie to any legitimate claim of personal... More

Last week in this space there appeared a suggestion that New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd leave the island of Manhattan and take a tour around the country so that she could try and figure out how the supremely stupid, arrogant, demolisher of the extra—Constitutional "wall" between... More

Our civilization is suffering what could be called a cultural death by a thousand cuts. The open sores are ubiquitous, but what happens to irk me at this moment is that quite some time ago I learned that my birth date is not what my parents always told me it was.  Moreover, no one else's is... More

The battle over the word "marriage" when applied to relationships between people of the same sex is semantic dispute, but one with enormous importance. Unfortunately, the public debate has been less than clear about the stakes. Herewith a "debate" constructed from two views of the matter. A good... More

Their faces are becoming more familiar to us now. Young men, grown old beyond their years, their faces framed in Kevlar helmets and desert pattern camouflage covers, appear in magazines and newspapers routinely now.  Running through rubble and streets choked with discarded, blackened cars and... More

The Central Intelligence Agency, far from supporting the War on Terror, became an obstacle to the inplementation of the policies of the United States government. At last, this situation may be corrected. In Bush v. the Beltway, Laurie Mylroie detailed the sabotage of the Bush Administration... More

The death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has brought forth all the shopworn bromides about the critical opportunity now ahead, to finally forge a lasting peace and a two state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. Arafat's death has not changed any of the underlying dynamics that... More

The reported appointment of Condoleeza Rice to the job of Secretary of State is yet another signal that President Bush plans fundamental changes in the way the government of the United States operates. The Department of State, like the Central Intelligence Agency, has long marched to its own... More

Election exit polls showed that twenty—two percent of voters ranked "moral values" as the most important issue, above terrorism and the economy. Nearly 80 percent of that group voted for George Bush. As the dust settles in the aftermath of his decisive victory, people are still talking about... More

On July 9, 1999, six days of student—led uprising shook the foundations of Iran's ruling fundamentalist regime.  If not suppressed, the uprising, which quickly spread to nearly two—dozen other cities, had the potential of sweeping the theocracy from power. With the blessing of... More

The Clinton Presidential Center and Library opens this week in Little Rock. Like him or not, we must admit that William Jefferson Clinton leaves a powerful legacy, one that vastly expands the ability of political leaders to misbehave and remain in office. One of the most embarrassing but in... More

In the wake of the Democrats' unexpectedly widespread, far—reaching loss in the recent election, many strategists and operatives in their party have come to the conclusion that what the Democrats need to do in order to regain power is to stress their recognition and appreciation of the role... More

Holding a solid conservative view on the world certainly infringes on my ability to be congenial. I can't help but approach the multitude of decisions and obligations presented in everyday life from a deductive point of view. It's a simple remedy really. Recognize a difficulty. Identify the... More

In its heyday, the CIA was famous for mucking around in the affairs of banana republics, manipulating this, toppling that, and in best cases, achieving the political aims (usually leaders, actually) that the President of the U.S. sought. Iran, Philippines and Guatemala in the 1940s and 1950s were... More

A glittering constellation of populist inquiries into what defines 'moral values' illuminates the black velvet canvas of ideological debate like never before.  A starry alignment, of sorts, occurred recently when Alan Simpson, the folksy former senator from Wyoming, paid a visit to Bill... More

Islamic terrorism may eventually be defeated in its large manifestations, like the one we saw on 9/11, but built into earliest Islam is an ultimate goal of religious world domoination, whether carried out by violent or peaceful means, as seen in the Quran, the Hadith (the record of the deeds and... More

Our long national nightmare is nearly over. No, I don't mean the terrorism nightmare. The other nightmare. The daily unrelenting media coverage of Scott Peterson's murder of his cute, perpetually smiling, very pregnant wife Laci, and their unborn child Conner. Don't get me wrong. This was a... More

No, I'm not referring to Barbara Streisand, Alec Baldwin, Bruce Springsteen, nor the rest of the Hollywood glitterati in the twilight of their careers as entertainers.  I'm referring to the death of the Democratic Party. Its hysterical mouthpieces, the likes of Maureen Dowd, Paul Krugman, Jane... More

The Last Battle of Vietnam It never occurred to me, ever before,That our Navy would win the Vietnam War.When they took to their boats in this year of elections,With the mission of making some major correctionsI shared their belief, John should not be elected,And their view overdue, truth should be... More

A quiet terrorist victory, one which has completely escaped the notice of the mainstream press, is affecting your life. It has significance in both practical and symbolic terms. In the short run there is little we can do about it. But in the long run the factors propelling the terrorists' triumph... More

The death of PLO terrorist leader Yassar Arafat has brought out the predictable fawning obituaries in the media that, at best, attempt to portray Arafat's life in a neutral fashion, rather than as the world's terror master.  Some  of these accounts at least mention his terrorist... More

Now the dust has settled and all is quiet on the election front, save wailing and the gnashing of teeth in regions that are now blue in more ways than one.  Yes, in many respects, life has resumed its usual rhythms.  The Hollywood left can return to the therapist's couch and their Zoloft,... More

Hi.  Are you nuts? Forgive me for being so blunt, but your reaction to our reelection of President Bush has been so outrageous that I'm wondering if you have quite literally lost your minds.  One of Britain's largest newspapers ran a headline asking 'How Can 59 Million Americans Be So... More

On this Veteran's Day, it would be an appropriate time to say thank you to Bob Dole.  Most recently he served as National Chairman of the National World War II Memorial, war in which his heroism resulted in grave life—changing wounds. But the just—concluded campaign demonstrates... More

Dedicated to the true warriors of B Company, 1/69th Armor, who let me call 2nd Platoon home for 4 months during my tour in Vietnam. 'We were riding into it.  I could just make out the misty silhouettes of ships at sea.  Jets flew overhead. All were part of the combined operation.  I... More

The media has been full of reports of Arafat's illness and numerous articles on his role as leader of the Palestinians. What else is there to add? Some important matters are being noted, but others are left unsaid. Note the contrast when the media refers to Yasser Arafat and to Ariel Sharon. Arafat... More

In a bizarre manner, Arlen Specter actually did an enormous favor to conservatives and pro—Constitution forces last week. Essentially stating that pro—life court nominees need not apply, he brought to the forefront a subject about which conservatives have given up far too much ground... More

Isn't the op—ed page of the New York Times just the best? The other day, its star columnist, sudden camera—hog, and world's oldest gossipy high schooler, Maureen Dowd, weighed in with her take on the results of the presidential election: The president got re—elected by... More

A political axiom holds that you can't beat something with nothing. The Democratic Party, however, keeps trying. In the final days of the 2000 campaign, Democrat operatives and their media accomplices broke the story of George W. Bush's 1976 DUI conviction. What made it a 'story' is not entirely... More

While the Democratic Party continues to try and pick its collective self off of the canvass following the knockout punch delivered on November 2, the finger pointing and expletives are flying and the party is in shambles. For the victors, though, it's not too unseemly to take the advice of... More

When my legal colleague who was a Milwaukee native started chuckling upon hearing my Election Day poll assignment, I figured that any desire I had for action would not be disappointed.  I'd been late signing up as a Lawyer for Bush — such an oxymoron, but there are buttons to prove it!... More

Many trees will die to provide a palate for commentators to analyze the Republican victory on November 2nd.  Almost all of those trees will have died in vain. The single most important thing that occurred in 2004 will escape discussion by the majority of commentators because they are beholden... More

The weird ease with which the Iraqi army and regime fell last year, combined with the stubbornness of the subsequent insurgency, has occasioned lively debate in national security circles. Here's one hypothesis: The Iraqi dictator, taking his cue from Islamic history, deliberately lured the... More

Fingers are pointing, recriminations flying, and intellectual elitism is in full flood within their party and among their yapping media lapdogs, as Democrats try to determine what went wrong.Listening to and reading the liberal pundits quickly reveals that most of them still don't get it. The... More

'We have one country, one Constitution... and no limit to the greatness of America,' said George W. Bush.  Not a bad start to begin his second term, by reciting the creed of his decisive majority on Tuesday. This election was about the triumph of self—reliant minds asserting their shared... More

The Gurus of What's In Wonder if They're Out of Touch   —New York Times headline, November 6, 2004 Our media elites and their coastal comrades need help. It has finally started to dawn on them that they don't understand the average citizen of Middle America. So I am volunteering to... More

Journalist Greg Palast says that John Kerry won the election. If all the votes cast for Kerry in Ohio and New Mexico had been properly counted, writes Palast, Bush would have been the one giving the concession speech on Wednesday. To make his case, Palast mixes insinuation, anecdote and... More

Swift Justice Bold John sailed forth in his faux scow,Till the Swiftees fired across his bow;And legions of irate attorneys,Could not defend Cambodian journeys,Nor stories of his fabled hat,So voters sensed they smelled a rat.And while the networks denied them prime,The Swiftees surely got their... More

A few short takes on the election results. The Economy:  The economy was not the pre—eminent issue in the campaign.  The jobs report out on Friday showed 337,000 new jobs were created in October, and over a hundred thousand jobs were added to the original job creation totals... More

In the aftermath of this historic election we ought to examine the important role the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth played in defeating John Kerry; how and why they sank his campaign yacht. John Kerry had made his Vietnam service as a Swiftboat commander the centerpiece of his presidential... More

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley had some interesting things to say yesterday. He seems to be quite disaffected by the National Democratic Party. He noted that it has become a party of insiders and wealthy contributors (i.e., the Clintonistas). He even deigned to admit the Republicans were more... More

Following the remarkable victory in virtually every important respect by Republicans Tuesday night, many of the people I've talked to on the right are now saying that it's time to show liberals how conservatives win an election... by being forgiving and gracious in victory. We need unity now, they... More

The people have spoken. President Bush's convincing victory, supplemented by a fortified Republican majority in both houses of Congress, unmistakably reveals that America is making the kind of progress abhorrent to reactionary  'progressives,' and is trending conservative. The magnitude of... More

Oddly enough, Sen. John Kerry's classiest move during this presidential campaign came when he finally did the very thing that probably lost him the election — be all things to all people. Kerry kept his commitment to his supporters to make sure there was no way he could have contested the... More

The Butterfly Effect is a well—known anecdote that describes how presumably insignificant occurrences can have a profound influence on seemingly unrelated events. As it's told, a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world can set off a chain reaction that results in a cataclysmic... More

It is amusing to scan the left wing pundits and read their sorry ruminations on the election results. William Saletan of Slate thinks that Bush won because he is simple (and so are you, stupid Americans). Bush is a very simple man. You may think that makes him a bad president, as I do, but lots of... More

President Bush has won a convincing re—election in terms of the popular vote. His margin is in the millions, and he has won an absolute majority, something Bill Clinton never did. The Electoral College total, absent provisional ballots, also appears to have given him a win. Those Democrats... More

Just about everything that could be said about today's election has already been proclaimed repetitively. But one imponderable remains: the last minute voting booth thoughts and reflections of citizens choosing a war time leader for a nation under continuous threat of attack. The ritual of going... More

It is Election Day and Americans are still trying to figure out John F. Kerry.  Perhaps a little history will help.  The human story is replete with men who are like one another, so much so that in the First Century A. D. the Greek historian Plutarch wrote a work he called Parallel... More

Sometimes it seems that levelheaded Democrats have gone the way of dinosaurs. Like those vanished creatures, we see the likes of the politically extinct on the History Channel or PBS from time to time. Black—and—white images of Wilson, Roosevelt, and Kennedy stirring the nation to... More

The Baehr Essentials We are four years on from the near—tied election of 2000.  But at least in terms of Presidential politics, things have not changed very much.  It is, in fact, quite possible that every state will vote the same way in 2004 as it did in 2000.  If this occurs,... More

Sometimes an entire political campaign can be encapsulated in one big question.  The trick is to figure out what this question is, and to ask it so clearly, and so often, that no voter in the country can pretend that he or she didn't hear it.  If you get it right, the question answers... More

Although I am not a resident of your state, I am a Democrat. My parents and grandparents were also Democrats. As a Democrat, I am very concerned about the filibusters that you, as Senate Minority Leader, led against President Bush's federal court nominations of Miguel Estrada, Justice Janice Rogers... More