Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness Ukraine has ossified into something like the modern version of the horrific Battle of Verdun, fought 108 years ago on the 1916 Western Front of World War I. That meat grinder cost France and Germany some 700,000 dead and wounded. The nightmare ended ten months later, after the heroic French… Continue reading The Ukrainian Verdun
The Mythologies of the Middle East: Part Two
Victor Davis Hanson The Myth of “Proportionality” As a general rule, in the long history of war, victory is found only by being disproportionate in the use of force. That is a truism so banal as to need little elaboration. When both sides are “proportionate” in their ability to harm their opponents, the result is… Continue reading The Mythologies of the Middle East: Part Two
The Mythologies of the Middle East: Part One
Victor Davis Hanson Hamas Is an Aberration Without Popular Support? After the forced removal of all Israelis from Gaza in 2005, and the Western-sanctioned election of 2006 that led to Hamas taking power, there has not been a single election. The Middle East rule of “one election, one time” has been in effect for over… Continue reading The Mythologies of the Middle East: Part One
Gearing Up for ‘Biden’ Versus Trump: Not If, But When and How to Replace Biden
Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness President Joe Biden is declining at a geometric, not an arithmetic, rate. His cognitive challenges are multifaceted. His gait is shaky. His daily use of stairs now risks the chance of a tenure-ending fall. Even when he sticks to the teleprompter, he so slurs his speech, mispronounces words, and glides… Continue reading Gearing Up for ‘Biden’ Versus Trump: Not If, But When and How to Replace Biden
Angry Reader 03-01-2024
From an Angry Reader: Mr. Hansen Normally, I appreciate your insight and political commentary. However, this recent column leaves a LOT to be desired in the intellectual honesty department. First, you refer to the border wall not being built, apparently trying to imply that Trump was opposed at every turn by Congress. The facts are… Continue reading Angry Reader 03-01-2024
American Paralysis and Decline
Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness “We can bear neither our diseases nor their remedies.” So shrugged the ancient historian Livy (59 B.C.- A.D. 17) of the long decline of Roman national character that, in his age, finally ended the Roman Republic. Like a patient whose medicine proves worse than the disease, Livy lamented that the… Continue reading American Paralysis and Decline
Ode to a Collapsing Barn. Part Five
Victor Davis Hanson The American barn was a symbol, its profile a stark reminder that rural America was healthy and raised families as well as food. The old wisdom of my grandfather echoes as the job nears completion, and I begin to get an inkling of what the finished barn will look like: “You can… Continue reading Ode to a Collapsing Barn. Part Five
Ode to a Collapsing Barn. Part Four
Victor Davis Hanson In the end, I said “Ok, let’s do it”—just as the latest torrential storm hit (so much for the tired warning that the “drought is not over” as we receive two back-to-back near-record years of rain and snow). Over the last two weeks, all sorts of lumber and materials arrived. Manlifts were… Continue reading Ode to a Collapsing Barn. Part Four
Russia! Russia! Forever: An Anatomy of a Left-wing Obsession
Collusion about Collusion The more candidate Trump in 2016 trolled the Clinton campaign (e.g., “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press”), the more the irate left bought into hysterical conspiracy theories. Finally, the left became… Continue reading Russia! Russia! Forever: An Anatomy of a Left-wing Obsession
Ode to a Collapsing Barn. Part Three
Victor Davis Hanson So, 150 years after the barn’s birth, the last month’s California storms started to flop up the roof sheets again. In one gusty hour, I saw the roofline sway and the barn itself shake. Another far more skilled and imaginative roofer came out who two years ago had saved some of the… Continue reading Ode to a Collapsing Barn. Part Three