A heartfelt post by Chuck Adkins at The Populist. As one can see, 9/11 had a different impact on different people. Chuck’s personal life was transformed after that fateful day, on which so many things changed for so many people. Directly and indirectly.

Bob Herbert writes for the New York Times: I must have hit a nerve. While in Las Vegas last week, I interviewed the mayor, Oscar Goodman, who enthusiastically explained how legalizing prostitution and creating a series of “magnificent brothels” could be a boon to his city’s development. Vegas is already a paradise for pimps, johns and perverts, and I accused the mayor in a column of setting the tone “for the systematic, institutionalized degradation” of women. Mr. Goodman...

School Choice: The Findings by Herbert J. Walberg deals with one of the most controversial subjects (with regards to education) today. Emotions run high whenever and wherever school choice and its potential possible effects are mentioned. Pro-choice experts and citizens often argue that the government should have no right to determine what school children attend. Anti-choice experts and citizens often claim that abolishing the current system and letting schools compete will result in de fact segregation...

I am 100% total and permanent disabled. I was in Yusufiyah Iraq in Sunni Triangle of death. I was in multiple explosions. I have Traumatic Brain Damage. I earned several purple hearts for my troubles. I am sick of congressmen and senators walking over the blood of Soldiers. If you would burn the world down with these Copyrighted poems and let the world know how us soldiers feel. Most soldiers that I talk to I would say 98% feel this way. God Bless you Forrest Langley Ps. I cant function well but...

To read my opinion of the testimony of General Petraeus and ambassador Crocker please click here. To sum it up: a sober assessment, both men seemed to be honest; they mentioned the problems but also expressed believe that progress has been made (slowly but surely); all in all a good, realistic assessment of the situation on the ground. It seems to me that people cannot easily dismiss what the two had to say. In the post, I also respond to the ridiculous, over-the-top advertisement placed by MoveOn...

Lately there havve been some attacks on Hillary Clinton. The main line of attack these days: she says she’s experienced, but she’s not as experienced as she likes to pretend she is. Obama even went so far as to say that he wonders since when “First Lady” is considered experience for a presidential candidate. Republicans have basically adopted the same line of attack and we can expect these attacks coming from both Clinton’s Democratic and Republican enemies to...

My latest article for Pajamas Media is up. The subject of the post: recent developments in Europe (the Right has been successful and is likely be even more successful in the coming years) and the effect this will have on the American-European relationship and on how Europeans think about America and Americans in general. Furthermore I wonder whether Europe may be less anti-American than some suggest. An excerpt: Although the American-European relationship is likely to improve in the coming years,...

In a new post at The Gazette I argue that Rudolph Giuliani and Hillary Clinton are mirror-images of each other. Some of the similarities between the two frontrunners: They’re authoritarian They’re secretive They’re from New York / Representing New York They’re foreign policy hawks They’re small (short) They shouldn’t be loved by the base of their respective party, but they are doing well in the polls nonetheless They hold different views than the base They’re...

Jessica Schneider is editor at Monsters and Critics (section books), where she recently started a book club. This month’s pick is Native Son by Richard Wright. Native Son is one of those books everyone should have read. If you have not done so yet, be sure to do so this month. More importantly though, you can also send questions about the book to Jessica. She will then select the best questions and… the people who asked / sent them will receive a free copy of the book. Of course, this...

A great read at Radio Netherlands: an interview with progressive Malaysian Muslim thinker Farish Noor. Noor believes that “the moral principles of the Koran are valid for eternity, but that verses such as those calling for the discrimination of women and corporal punishment are no longer valid and have to be understood in their historical context.” When he came back to Europe / the Netherlands (after five years), he was shocked by what he saw. He explained: “this country has changed...

The Roman Catholic Church in San Diego has agreed to pay almost $200 million (198) “to settle 144 claims of sexual abuse by clergy.” This is not the first time that an American Roman Catholic Church agrees to pay off victims of abuse: earlier this year, the Church in LA agreed to “a record $660m deal to settle 508 abuse cases, some going back to the 1940s.” On average, the San Diego victims will receive $1.4 million, which gives you a good idea of how many people were abused....

To a friend who has cancer.

The Gazette co-blogger Pieter Dorsman published a post recently about Bush telling Robert Draper that if he would’ve continued to drink as much as he did, he wouldn’t have been able to make the difficult decision he had to made (with regards to the Iraq War). Pieter rightfully pointed out that Winston Churchill drank a lot but still was able to make good decisions. The great Andrew Sullivan linked to Pieter’s post, so it got quite some hits and comments (from people who normally...

Madeleine L’Engle, author of many books, among which “Wrinkle in Time,” has died. She was 88 years old and lived, careerwise at least, a blessed and long life. All in all, L’Engle authored more than 60 books, “including fantasies, poetry and memoirs, often highlighting spiritual themes and her Christian faith.” Asked about her status as a children’s books author, she explained: “In my dreams, I never have an age. I never write for any age group in...

Fred Thompson called Osama Bin Laden a “symbol” and not so much a threat to America. To be exact, Thompson said: “Bin Laden is more symbolism than anything else. I think it demonstrates to people once again that we’re in a global war.” Obviously, Thompson drew the ire of other GOP candidates, waiting to score some cheap points. John McCain: “He’s more than a symbol. He’s motivating and recruiting using the internet as we speak. He’s a threat....

The Wall Street Journal reports that for the first time in four years U.S. employment fell “on steep drops in construction and manufacturing payrolls.” This suggests “that the housing recession is starting to grip the broader economy.” There is more bad news: ” Previous reports were revised sharply lower. July job growth was revised down to 68,000 from 92,000. June gains were revised to 69,000 from 126,000. The 44,000 monthly average job gain for the past three months...

The Times (London) reports that almost half of Britain’s mosques “are under the control of a hardline Islamic sect whose leading preacher loathes Western values and has called on Muslims to ’shed blood’ for Allah.” ” Riyadh ul Haq, who supports armed jihad and preaches contempt for Jews, Christians and Hindus, is in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi sect in Britain. The ultra-conservative movement, which gave birth to the Taleban in Afghanistan,...

Why isn’t Ron Paul taken more seriously and… is there a coordinated attack going on against the Congressman from Texas? The impression I get is that Paul doesn’t count that many supporters, but that those who do support him are incredibly passionate. That’s the main difference between Paul and every other Republican candidate. Most Republicans are lukewarm about every candidate, including the candidate they support. The only one who’s truly different in that regard is...

A fascinating post over at the Bosphorus Watch about Abdullah’s Gül interpretation of secularism and about whether or not the military and secular elite should allow Gül to pursue some, mild, reforms. Should women be allowed to wear head-scarves in public buildings?

Seemingly, we should all post – as if it’s the latest Star Wars movie – that there’ll be a new Bin Laden video aired on 9/11. So therefore this post. New video coming up the 11th of September.

Brent Budowsky has some questions for General David Petraeus. I wonder whether those questions – which need to be asked indeed – will be addressed. H/t Carolyne.

Ed Morrissey believes that the Democrats have begun a character-assassination campaign to discredit General Petraeus. Ed takes a closer look at what’s going on at Heading Right.

A debate between Ezra Klein, Megan McArdle and Matt Yglesias. Tyler Cowen, meanwhile, wonders how influential supply-side economics is these days. Tyler’s conclusion: not much.

According to The Trail, it just might. Pete Abel seems to agree. Tobin Harshaw has a good round-up related to yesterday’s debate.

China has decided to build production plants in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir (Turkey’s three largest cities) and Mersin. The good news? Perhaps they’ll produce toys without poisonous amounts of led in them. The other good news? It’s great for Turkey(’s economy). I’ve often said that if I had a lot of money, I’d invest in Turkey. Labor’s cheap, people are hardworking.