Given that the trial has been closed to both the public and press, it is difficult to know what exactly has been going on in the trial of Youssouf Fofana and the other members of his so-called “Gang of Barbarians.” As discussed in my earlier FF report here, Fofana and twenty six co-defendants are on   more

The New York Times ran an irritating piece about a new trend at American business schools. It appears that b-school students are pledging to behave ethically when they’re launched into the waiting arms of the world’s companies, many of which will presumably still be struggling to survive by the time these little geniuses arrive to   more

I have just returned from the nominating convention of the Republican Party of Virginia. The Virginia Republicans long ago united around Attorney General Bob McDonnell for Governor. He is going to give whoever is the Democratic nominee fits. There were contested races for Lt. Governor, Party Chairman, and especially Attorney General. I’m pleased to report that Ken Cuccinelli, a   more

So suggests a letter writer to Andrew Sullivan, here
I can attest first-hand that Ted Olson has been involved with this issue for a long time. I remember a spirited conversation on this subject just before he went into the Bush administration as solicitor general, over dinner at the Caucus Room restaurant in the year 2000.   more

My weekend column for the National Post sees human hope in those glowing green monkeys.  more

Genetically engineer monkeys to make them glow green? It’s always cool when actual scientists do what 11-year-old boys think scientists do. Next thing, the marmoset monkey team will produce a working starship for Starfleet Command.
The Japanese team got their results by encoding a fluorescent green protein (derived from glowing jellyfish) into a virus. The virus   more

Michael Kinsley goes over the top with this one:
It’s clear that the one paralyzing fact about Sonia Sotomayor, to Republicans, is the color of her skin. If she weren’t Latino, they would be in full revenge-for-Clarence-Thomas mode. Instead, they are in an agony of indecision, with GOP strategists openly warning: Support the Latina or   more

New contributor Crystal Wright yesterday posted a debut piece here at FF explaining why she now regrets her vote for Barack Obama in November 2008. A healthy political movement and political party enthusiastically welcomes new supporters. And unless those new supporters are just emerging from infancy, there is only one place to find them: among   more

Let’s start with this one:  Earl Warren, the 14th Chief Justice of the United States, who, despite his whiteness, rather famously ended racial segregation in the schools.  As for the richness of his life experiences, it may be that this father of six and children of immigrants didn’t have time for many — given that   more

This weekend, delegates to the Republican Party of Virginia convention have two important decisions to make: who will be the nominee for Attorney General, and who will serve the remainder of the term as Chairman of the RPV. We’ve had a very healthy AG debate, and I’d be comfortable with any of the candidates.
For Chairman, however, the   more

A series of recent rulings handed down by the Israeli Supreme Court challenge the rights of Jews to exercise an exclusive claim over any land in the State of Israel. The Court’s rulings fundamentally threaten Israel’s Jewish identity.
A recent article in Azure Journal by Joel H. Golovensky, and Ariel Gilboa argues powerfully that such   more

Nate Silver asks, “Can the Republicans win back the White House in 2012 or 2016 while losing further ground among Latinos?”  I don’t know about 2012 and 2016, but I can give my best estimates for 2008.  I’ll show you what we found, then give some brief discussion.
Here’s how Obama did among Hispanics in   more

From a Jerusalem Post article on Abbas expecting Obama to eventually pressure Netanyahu out of office:

Abbas intends to remain passive, he told the paper. “I will wait for Hamas to accept international commitments. I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements… Until then, in the West Bank we have a good reality . . . the people   more

Whatever the merits of her judicial philosophy, the life story of Sonia Sotomayor is one that the left quite often assures us simply does not exist.
She was an ethnic female born into inner-city poverty in the 1950’s. Diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of eight, she was raised by her mother,   more

A friend of mine, the mother of a son, confronted me with some photographs of my daughter and some of her girl friends, at a church camp. All the girls were posing, pouty looks on their faces, in their underwear, like Victoria’s Secret models. Evidently, the pictures had been inadvertently left at the boy’s house   more

On January 20, the Obama White House launched its blog with this proclamation: “President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise.” 
So far, the president’s website is falling short.
Its slides and videos are quite pretty, but if you are seeking   more

“Snake Eaters” is a military slang term for Army Special Force (a.k.a. “Green Berets”), and YES we DO eat snakes. This is part of our survival training, although I have slayed and eaten snake in the field to supplement the rations, and because basically, snake tastes good.
I have encountered snakes (and eaten them) throughout my   more

“Will Higher Education be the Next Bubble to Burst?” So asks a recent op-ed in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The question is powerful. Data points:

Over the past quarter-century, the average cost of higher education has risen at a rate four times faster than inflation—twice as fast as the cost of   more

Admittedly, I was one of the moderate conservatives who was wooed by Obama during his PR campaign to become the country’s next president. Sadly, even though I was still unsure of my vote until the week before the election, I know better now. I truly had no idea he would turn out to be the   more

Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The President insisted that Israel make “difficult steps” including clearing the way for a Palestinian state. However, Obama appears to be turning a blind eye to the fact that there does not exist a Palestinian political faction capable of state-building, so long   more