Sometimes it seems that when it comes to international relations Russian president Vladimir Putin might be the only head of state who is capable of any rational proposals. His recent negotiating positions conveyed initially by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybakov to step back from the brink of war between his country and the United States... Read More

Now let me get this straight. A nation bullies and harasses a much smaller neighbor which eventually leads that neighbor to strike back with largely home-made weapons. The larger and more powerful country, armed with state of the art killing machines, attacks its basically unarmed opponent and kills hundreds of civilians, including a large number... Read More

They’ve been popping up all over the state during the senate campaign this year, even in neighborhoods no one would dream of as hotbeds of support for the Democratic Party—those black-and-white signs with one large print four letter word in the middle: BETO. The signs are everywhere and yours truly has heard more than one... Read More

The self-righteousness and smugness of Ted Cruz in refusing to endorse Donald Trump, then walking off stage in Cleveland, smirking amidst the boos, takes the mind back in time. At the Cow Palace in San Francisco in July of 1964, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, having been defeated by Barry Goldwater, took the podium to introduce a... Read More

Everyone sees what they want to see in the candidates for president. A recent survey on their foreign policies rated them with letter grades, but “foreign policy� is itself a bit of an elusive concept and the results tended to favor what the authors considered to be important. In my opinion the issue is actually... Read More

If you follow the 2016 Republican presidential campaign, as I have tried to do without constant accompanying headaches and serious stomach upset, you will have seen or heard the latest installment(s) of what has become a unhinged food fight, involving all three of the remaining candidates, as well as various GOP "gray eminences" standing in... Read More

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might just have a solution for dealing with the recent bombing attacks in Western Europe. The countries involved should follow Israeli practice and demolish the homes of those accused of carrying out terrorist acts, thereby punishing whole families and making the consequences of misbehavior more severe. He might have also... Read More

Updated, 4/6/16. See below! The 2016 U.S. presidential race has brought out a serious whirlwind of events, the likes of which haven't been seen in a long time, if ever. Despite my own expectations for a boring campaign, this election cycle has been anything but. Most significant to this excitement has been the rise of... Read More

Recently, I was asked by a friend who likes Ted Cruz, why I support Donald Trump and not the Texas senator among the Republican candidates running for president. In partial response to that question, let me set down briefly my thoughts. I think it is important to begin with a review of some essential history,... Read More

It’s a sign of Conservatism Inc.’s desperation that they are turning to Ted Cruz to stop Donald Trump. With Jeb! a joke, Christie floundering, Carson cratering, and Rubio’s “momentum� looking like wishful thinking by the consultants, even “Establishment� Republicans recognize they may need Ted Cruz, the Texas Senator who has been the bête noire of... Read More

When Republican Presidential contender Senator Ted Cruz announced his intention to run before a packed audience at Liberty University in Lynchburg Virginia, the one line in his speech that drew the most applause was “Instead of a president who boycotts Prime Minister Netanyahu, imagine a president who stands unapologetically with the nation of Israel.� I... Read More