by Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society Apart from celebratory statements applauding what looks like to us democratic “people’s revolutions” against tyrannous autocrats, the uprisings sweeping across the Muslim Middle East have created great uncertainty for policy-makers as they try to calculate a response. Share This
The Fog of Revolution Read More »
by Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society The post-mortem revelations of Osama bin Laden’s daily habits have confirmed the orthodox narrative about the al-Qaeda chief. Share This
The Fellow Travelers of Jihadism Read More »
by Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society In his classic essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell identified a “lack of precision” as the besetting sin of politicized writing, either through incompetence or indifference as to whether “words mean anything or not.” Share This
Imprecise Language Breeds Dangerous Policy Read More »
by Bruce S. Thornton City Journal “We offer unlimited opportunities to help students achieve their goals,”declares the California State University system on its homepage. Share This
by Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society The death of Osama bin Laden has some symbolic value, particularly for the United States. A great power exercises influence not just through its military and economic assets, but through its prestige. Share This
Bin Laden Is Dead, But Our Delusions Live On Read More »
by Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society As usual, the mainstream media are getting wrong the significance of President Obama’s release of his actual birth certificate. Share This
The Unexamined President and His Media Enablers Read More »
by Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society Just when you think California can’t get any wackier, the state legislature steps up and proves you wrong. Share This
California Abandons History for Melodrama Read More »
Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society The outbreak of protests and rebellion throughout the Middle East have quickly generated an orthodox narrative: When people suffering under brutal autocrats and dictators have finally risen up to satisfy the innate human longing for freedom and democracy, we should support these aspirations on moral grounds. Share This
Foreign Policy Charity Should Start at Home Read More »
by Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society Citizen control of the military is one of the most important foundations of political freedom. Rather than an instrument of a powerful autocrat or king, the army in a republic serves the collective interests, security, and policies of the state as determined by the citizens through the
Memo to the General: Free Speech Doesn’t Kill People, Jihadists Kill People Read More »
by Bruce S. Thornton Advancing a Free Society One of Broadway’s big hits this season is the musical The Book of Mormon, a creation of the scatological geniuses behind the cartoon South Park. As one would expect, the show is “blasphemous, scurrilous and more foul-mouthed than David Mamet on a blue streak,” as the New York Times put it,
Running Scared of Islam Read More »