World

It was hard not to think of President Trump as the Queen of England delivered one of the most moving speeches imaginable in this difficult coronavirus-plagued time.

The 93-year-old Elizabeth II did it to perfection.

One can critique the limits of freedom and excesses of libertarianism without echoing the nihilism of totalitarians.

The post Adrian Vermeule’s Moral Madness appeared first on The American Conservative.

The coronavirus pandemic is bringing out the best in people — and the bad and the ugly.

The best is coming from front line responders, medical personnel and many others who put themselves at risk to save lives.

America faces an existential threat from the COVID-19 virus, but our response is made needlessly more difficult because a partisan media has weaponized the virus as a cudgel against the president. Instead of a rallying point for America, our fight against the pandemic has become a political football.

Just a few weeks ago, America's economy was chugging along, high school seniors were prepping for graduation, fitness clubs were rolling out their spring specials and Americans were starting to discuss their summer travel plans.

Now? Now it's a different world.

A brave new world.

He put Men before the Mission. That the brass removed him and killed his Navy career calls into question their own judgment.

The post Captain Crozier Was Right, And His Sailors Knew It appeared first on The American Conservative.

The novel coronavirus and the resulting quarantine have revealed just how much deference we give to the automobile (or to be precise, parked automobiles) in Washington, D.C., to the detriment of nearly every single form of transportation — pedestrians, drivers, cyclists and bus riders.

Liquor stores are deemed essential across country, but we may be ignoring the darker implications of that decision.

The post The Corona Cocktail Hour: Are We Paying Too High a Price? appeared first on The American Conservative.

The possible coronavirus cure is said to be pending government approval. But physicians have a way around that.

The post No, the FDA Can’t Stop Doctors From Prescribing Chloroquine appeared first on The American Conservative.

Now is the time to offer sanctions relief to safeguard against instability, and perhaps make an opening for peace.

The post The Coronavirus Could Spark a Nuclear Meltdown in North Korea appeared first on The American Conservative.

As in life, in politics you should be careful what you ask for.

Some Democrat politicians appear hellbent on turning the 2020 election into a referendum on the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.

The Coronacrisis deepens with ghastly jobs numbers. In taking his next steps, the president must use his bully instincts for good.

The post A Heinous Jobs Report, and Trump’s Path Forward appeared first on The American Conservative.

One of the questions being asked by pollsters about President Trump is whether he will ever be able to achieve a 50 percent job approval rating.

Let’s set the record straight: The leftist media bias against Liberty University and President Jerry Falwell Jr. is hypocritical, but it’s also dangerous.

While the coronavirus pandemic rages on, it touches and alters nearly every part of American society — and while many of us take for granted our ability to socially distance and stay home to avoid getting sick, our detained populations face an entirely different set of challenges.

The coronavirus has exposed an awful crisis of priorities: we fund overseas wars before domestic health.

The post The Afghan Air Force Gets More Money Than Infectious Disease Prevention appeared first on The American Conservative.

Even with a cease-fire on the horizon it may never recover, thanks to the stupefying Western support for the Kingdom.

The post Yemen is Shattered and the U.S. Helped the Saudis Break It appeared first on The American Conservative.

A series of cross burnings 30 years ago led the residents of Dubuque, Iowa, to ask, "Why do we hate?" In the lead-up to the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses, L.A. Times reporter Tyrone Beason traveled to Dubuque, Iowa, to find out whether its efforts to confront racism and inequality are working, and what the rest of the country can learn from its example.

“If the provisions of the Constitution be not upheld when they pinch as well as when they comfort, they may as well be abandoned.”
— Justice George Sutherland (1862-1942)

Rather leading during crisis, it's parroting Chinese government talking points and presenting unusable data.

The post The World Health Organization is Out of Control  appeared first on The American Conservative.

In this time of lockdown and social distancing, it is surprising to find that there are some beneficial revelations reminding us about the real nature of the world, and the impact of people around us.

Some have suggested certain Americans aren't qualified to tell the stories of our Middle East wars. Nonsense.

The post Don’t Play Identity Politics Games With Veterans appeared first on The American Conservative.

If you haven't already noticed, here are some reasons why our civil liberties are among the threats posed by COVID-19 and why we mustn't squander them.

His new authoritarian policies are worrying those who had up to now defended his conservative-nationalist approach.

The post Is Viktor Orbán Using the Pandemic to Impose Dictatorial Rule? appeared first on The American Conservative.

President Trump has single-handedly thrust a mostly unknown politician into the spotlight — and she might just wind up being Joseph R. Biden's running mate, bashing him relentlessly until Nov. 3.

It’s been over a century since so many people have been informed about the spread of a contagious disease. Concepts such as herd immunity, social distancing and how airborne pathogens are spread have become the centerpiece of numerous blogs, articles and conversations.

The economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a record surge in the number of people applying to CalFresh, the state's food stamp program.

The congressional battle over the coronavirus relief bill is over. Efforts to federalize American elections, including by mandatory vote-by-mail and forced early voting, failed. Those who sought to preserve state control over elections won.  

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went on "State of the Union" on CNN and railed against President Donald Trump for — her word — fiddling around while people died of the new coronavirus.

The only fiddler here is Pelosi.

We're reliant on experts to tell us truths too complex to work out. When did we stop living on a human scale?

The post Everyone Does What They’re Told, But No One Knows Why appeared first on The American Conservative.

Coming soon to a parking lot near you — a hospital. Federal and state officials are rushing to create temporary medical centers to help patients during the pandemic.

MADRID — Mass testing is more than ever a necessity at this stage of COVID-19’s outbreak. But would you trust a testing kit with a 30 percent accuracy rate only? If America launched mass testing on these terms, would you feel safer?

Never Trumpers are trying to position him as the next head of the Resistance. That can only end badly.

The post Anthony Fauci is a Doctor, Not a Dragon Slayer appeared first on The American Conservative.

Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter has pulled a surprise attack on the National Symphony Orchestra's 96 musicians.

She gave them a one-week notice. After April 3, the musicians won't see a paycheck till the Wuhan virus emergency ends and the Kennedy Center reopens for business.

Back when America was marked by cottage industries, people worked in their homes or on their land, coordinating with neighbors to produce goods and services.

Here's what our writers and editors are reading this week.

The post TAC Bookshelf: Rediscovering the Classics Under Quarantine appeared first on The American Conservative.

The famously hands-on pol now has to compete at a distance, while the President stands astride the ship of state.

The post Has Biden’s COVID-Era Campaign Gone Cold? appeared first on The American Conservative.

Did Donald Trump blow the coronavirus crisis? My Never Trumper friends keep telling me that he was wrong from the git-go, that he called the disease a “hoax,” that he refused to act quickly, that he failed to follow the science, etc, ad nauseam.

Wayne Gretzky would not be impressed with America's feckless response to the coronavirus.

Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player in history, is reputed to have skated to where the puck was going — not where it was.

If crisis is a means by which Democrats achieve their political ends — and it is; just think of their famous "never let a crisis go to waste" playbook — then imagine what coronavirus means to the globalists.

What a dizzying opportunity for them to achieve massive goals.

In recent days, a stark distinction between two groups of Orthodox Jews made national news. Rabbi Hershel Schachter, the dean of Yeshiva University’s rabbinical seminary, was unequivocal in stating that religious communal gatherings, such as prayer services and study groups, should be suspended due to the coronavirus threat. 

Don’t look now, but powerful forces are maneuvering to subject our daughters to the draft. It’s part of the ongoing exploitation of the current crisis. More about this below.  

Deliberately shocking the system under normal conditions would have been key to surviving the crisis. Here's how.

The post Why Didn’t We Test Our Trade’s ‘Antifragility’ Before COVID-19? appeared first on The American Conservative.

If you're looking for a silver lining in the dark cloud that is the COVID-19 outbreak, you might want to consider Taiwan's extraordinary response to this increasingly dangerous pandemic.

As the China-originated coronavirus reminds us, truth and democracy must always prevail over lies and authoritarianism.

The post Why I’m Nominating a Hong Kong Freedom Fighter for the Nobel appeared first on The American Conservative.

Progressives want is budget-busting structural change, but the stimulus is a temporary measure to keep the economy afloat.

The post Sorry AOC, COVID-19 is Not an Excuse for Economic Revolution appeared first on The American Conservative.

Jeff Luhnow was a McKinsey Man who did whatever he could to rob baseball of its joy. Thank goodness he's gone.

The post Rejoicing Over the Fall of the Houston Astros’ Cheating Architect appeared first on The American Conservative.

It's called "gallows humor," defined by dictionary.com as "grim and ironic humor in a desperate or hopeless situation."

Like the kind of joke a guy might say with a rope around his neck back in the Wild West: "Man, I hate Mondays."

As public health becomes the highest priority, big government steps into the chaos.

The post With Coronavirus Comes the Hobbesian Leviathan appeared first on The American Conservative.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick drew sharp retorts. 'No one should be talking about social Darwinism for the sake of the stock market,' New York's governor said.

The global economy is again in the grip of a financial crisis and economic contraction of unknown depth and duration.

In 2008, reckless behavior in financial markets — subprime mortgage lending — undid the real economy, whereas this time the equivalent of a natural disaster is panicking investors and businesses.

A journalist from Langosco is not optimistic: “Unfortunately, there are still people who don’t stay home."

The post Italy’s Health Care is in Triage, as the EU Sits on Its Hands appeared first on The American Conservative.

The longtime publisher and booster of TAC built a colorful network of friends and allies who shared his unerring devotion to freedom.

The post Remembering Jon Basil Utley: Our Champion and Yours appeared first on The American Conservative.

Every pandemic has a silver lining. In this one we have finally determined without any doubt that regular White House press briefings no longer serve any useful purpose and should never be resumed.

The current gathered press is entirely unworthy of them.

Policymakers and central banks can cushion the crisis's blow, but they must act wisely.

The post No to Wasteful Coronavirus Stimulus, Yes to Social Insurance appeared first on The American Conservative.

'Please, Lord, help me get one more. Help me get one more."

This was the prayer of World War II Army medic Pfc. Desmond Doss as he risked his life time and time again to rescue 75 wounded men on the bloody battlefield of Hacksaw Ridge.

Here's what our writers and editors are reading this week.

The post TAC Bookshelf: James Howard Kunstler’s ‘Long Emergency’ appeared first on The American Conservative.

No U.S. president has been analyzed, researched and written about more than Abraham Lincoln. More than 16,000 books have focused on the 16th occupant of the White House. The number of scholarly articles, editorials, book reviews and columns could easily fill an entire reading room, too.

But our leaders have to step up and make sure deep-rooted reactions don't turn into something destructive.

The post The Great Recession Destroyed My Life. Fear Over the Coronavirus Won’t appeared first on The American Conservative.

Bernie Sanders may have missed his chance to finally head the Democratic ticket, but he still holds considerable clout.

Which is why Joe Biden was busy wooing the Vermont socialist’s supporters this past week. “Senator Sanders and I may disagree on tactics,” he said. “But we share a common vision.”

The pandemic is putting a real strain on the U.S. postal service, which must balance duty with public health.

The post Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor…Coronavirus? appeared first on The American Conservative.

Shortages of ventilators, masks and other medical supplies have been a persistent weak link in U.S. disaster preparedness. For two decades, expert warnings have largely gone unheeded.

To paraphrase a former White House chief of staff, "Never let a pandemic go to waste."

Ex-President Obama's top policy enforcer offered his glint of wisdom at the height of the 2008 economic catastrophe that the U.S. is still digging out of today.

The home goods superstore, often situated in the ruins of old strip malls, is like an algorithmic fever dream.

The post America: ‘At Home’ With Absurd Consumer Excess appeared first on The American Conservative.

"Stupid is as stupid does," as author Winston Groom's Forrest Grump said.

As Americans were doing their best to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump was sending mixed messages this past week.

Party bosses used to stabilize primaries and keep hyperpartisanship at bay. No longer.

The post America Needs Stronger Political Parties appeared first on The American Conservative.

First-time jobless claims for the week ending Saturday jumped by 70,000, or about one-third, from just the prior week.

The Great Mississippi Flood of '27 and the Depression led to a massive political realignment in America. This could too.

The post We May Never Be the Same Once This Virus is Through With Us appeared first on The American Conservative.

Forget that President Trump brought us record-low unemployment and a growing economy.

It's over. Gone.

The Donald's re-election now depends completely on earning an "A" for Wuhan-virus leadership.

Trillions of dollars in global debt could default, and the economic cleanup from COVID-19 could take many years.

The post Will Trump Defuse the Coming Debt Deflation Bomb? appeared first on The American Conservative.

Over the years, many observers have become disenchanted with the United Nations. Setting up international organizations to bring countries together for discussing and dealing with common concerns is an intuitively good idea. Unfortunately, like an unsupervised kindergarten class, the U.N. and many other international organizations have gotten off track.

Well done to Taiwan for its response so far to the coronavirus outbreak — so too Hong Kong and Singapore. Taiwan has even managed to cope despite not being a member of the World Health Organization (WHO). 

For most of early 2019, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden — the declared custodian of liberalism who would continue the Obama glory years — seemed unstoppable.

Cops are giving curiously muddled messages as to why this 21-year-old Marylander was shot while he was sleeping.

The post The Mystery Deepens Over the Pre-Dawn Police Killing of Duncan Lemp appeared first on The American Conservative.

What should Joe Biden do now? Three things: be presidential, reach out to Bernie Sanders' supporters, and campaign the way Reagan did.

As the death toll climbs, we're reminded again why walls matter and why the grasshopper, in the end, died.

The post The Coronavirus, Ants, and Our Hard Right-Wing Reality appeared first on The American Conservative.

Americans who attend church are more likely to donate to charity than anyone else--but fewer people are regularly going.

The post When We Need It Most, ‘Losing Our Religion’ Means Less Giving appeared first on The American Conservative.

Last week, when people in America used to leave their homes (remember that?), I was finishing up a big household project and stopped off at Lowe's (every project I do requires at least 17 trips to the hardware store).

Joe Biden has made it clear: The first thing he would do if elected president is “repeal those Trump tax cuts.” Bernie is even worse: Repeal the tax reform legislation and impose a wealth tax. America would say goodbye for good to President Trump’s blue-collar boom.

The Pentagon makes one sane proposal to shift troops off the continent and the brass roils with resistance.

The post Surprise! The Army is Now Using ISIS as an Excuse to Stay in Africa appeared first on The American Conservative.

Socialism-loving millennials, look and take note: The clearing of store shelves, the closing of retail, the shuttering of restaurants and nightclubs and bars — these are the outcomes of mass response to the global pandemic called coronavirus.

But they're also what befalls when socialism takes over.

States and localities have considerable DIY authority — and well they should, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If your local schools need textbooks, they shouldn't wait to get permission from state or federal bureaucrats.

Ditto toilet paper, which is being hoarded during this COVID-19 scare.

The Democrats' nomination horror flick "Weekend at Bernie's" has turned into an even dumber horror movie: "Grumpy Old Men."

Amid mounting sanctions aimed at crippling Moscow's economy, Putin seems resolved to do the same to Trump's re-election.

The post Russia Strikes Back Where It Hurts: American Oil appeared first on The American Conservative.

A friend tweeted from Ireland (in time for St. Patrick’s Day), blaming President Trump for the major decline in the value of stocks. This same friend credited Barack Obama’s economic policies when the Dow Jones Industrial Averages approached 30,000.

The popularity of his 'Fast & Furious' franchise reflects how masculinity has managed to thrive in Hollywood.

The post Vin Diesel: Populist Action Hero in an Unmanly World appeared first on The American Conservative.

A reformed Army officer's exchange with a disillusioned active duty soul in need turns thoughtful.

The post Should I Get Out of the Military? appeared first on The American Conservative.

"Lisbon is no more, but they dance in Paris," Voltaire wrote after an earthquake in 1755 killed tens of thousands in the Portuguese city.