Communism
September 29, 2019 — Scott Johnson
I recently drew the attention of Power Line readers to Professor Gary Saul Morson’s essay “How the great truth dawned.” It leads off the September issue of The New Criterion. Beginning and ending with Solzhenitsyn, it takes up the Gulag, Communism, mass murder, Russian literature, the turn to God and much more. It is a great essay. The New Criterion invited Professor Morson back to deliver its inaugural Circle Lecture
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September 1, 2019 — John Hinderaker
Violence continues in Hong Kong, as the Communist government continues to suppress popular demonstrations against Hong Kong’s loss of independence and freedom. This video gives a graphic sense of what is going on–a police riot. It is hard to disagree with Kyle Kashuv’s observation: “This is what real fascism looks like–the Communist Party of China.” Dear Antifa, This is what real fascism looks like — the Communist Party of China.pic.twitter.com/M1bKWOfViv
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June 26, 2019 — Steven Hayward
You want to know how bad things are for leftists right now? In Berkeley, leftists are so despondent over the Trump Tyranny that they’re even giving up on the Soviet Union. Today, strolling through the streets of Berkeley after my mid-day class ended, I picked up this book on a free book table near a lefty bookstore—free!: Just imagine how bad things must be that you’d part with such a treasure,
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June 24, 2019 — Steven Hayward
Very sad news this evening of the passing of Herbert Meyer, one of the genuine heroes of the Cold War for his service in the CIA under President Reagan. It was Meyer who, in a famous memo to Reagan in November 1983 when things were very tense with our intermediate-range missile deployments in Europe, wrote: “if present trends continue, we are going to win the Cold War.” Over eight vivid
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June 16, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Turner Classic Movies has a show called “Noir Alley.” It airs around midnight on Saturday/Sunday. The show presents movies from the film noir genre. Some are classics, many are quite good, and nearly all are worth watching. Eddie Muller hosts “Noir Alley.” He deserves great credit for presenting these films, some of which he helped restore, to television audiences and at film festivals. Muller also provides useful and sometimes fascinating
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May 6, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post runs a worthwhile account of Bernie Sanders’ 1988 honeymoon in the Soviet Union. The Post claims that this event is “little understood.” However, the article confirms, albeit sheepishly, what I take to be the common understanding of Bernie’s honeymoon: Sanders went because he had an affinity for the Soviet Union and left finding much to admire about it. The Post dances around what is perhaps the most
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April 24, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I wrote about the AP U.S. History textbook By the People that calls President Trump and his core supporters “racists” and suggests that the president is “mentally unstable.” Today, I want to write about James W. Fraser, the author of this egregiously biased left-wing book. Stanley Kurtz blew the whistle on Fraser a year ago. Rereading Stanley’s piece made my blood boil, just as it was simmering down. Fraser
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February 21, 2019 — John Hinderaker
This video of Bernie Sanders in 1985, celebrating the 7th anniversary of the Communist takeover of Nicaragua, is a classic. I knew people who talked like this, but that was in the 1960s and early 1970s. By 1985, almost everyone knew better. But not Bernie Sanders. Video: At the invitation of the communist regime in Nicaragua, @BernieSanders speaks at the 7th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution in 1985, where he
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February 8, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
David French and Jonah Goldberg ask what’s the best Cold War movie ever. French selects “Hunt for Red October.” Goldberg presents this list: 1. “The Lives of Others” 2. “Right Stuff” 3. “Dr. Strangelove” 4. “Fail-Safe” 5. “Red Dawn” 6. “Hunt For Red October” My vote goes to “The Lives of Others”. But now there’s another contender, one I put in second place. It’s a Polish film called, fittingly, “Cold
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January 19, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Lo these many years since the Russian Revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the New York Times is still doing public relations for Communism. The most recent example — I find it almost unbelievable — is Nicholas Kristof’s January 18 Times column “Why Infants May Be More Likely to Die in America Than Cuba” (accessible here on Outline). Kristof writes: Cuba has the Medicare for All that many
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January 1, 2019 — Scott Johnson
As we kick off the new year with our felicitations to readers, I want to recommend some reading, mostly from recent Picks. In case you missed one or the other the first time around, consider this: • Lee Smith, “How should we read the American press? In Arabic” (Tablet). • David Albright, Olli Heinonen, Frank Pabian & Andrew Stricker, “Anatomy of Iran’s Deception and How Iran Benefited” (Foundation for Defense
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December 14, 2018 — Scott Johnson
A friend asked me to recommend a book about Whittaker Chambers as a Christmas gift for her smartly conservative daughter a few years ago. Chambers stands at the center of an incredible drama and several fantastic books that I know of about him. There is still much to be learned from him and his case. I want to revisit and expand the list this year with a little help from
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November 13, 2018 — Scott Johnson
The Claremont Review of Books is of course the flagship publication of the Claremont Institute. I find in every issue an education in the true understanding of politics and statesmanship. It is my favorite magazine. Purchase an annual subscription here for $19.95 and get immediate online access to the whole thing. The Fall 2018 issue of the CRB has just gone to the printer. The editors have given me a
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October 14, 2018 — Steven Hayward
I’ve finished a long review of three new books out about Reagan and two key moments in the Cold War, specifically the “war scare” during the Able Archer exercise in the fall of 1983 when, it was subsequently learned, the Soviet Union went on high alert and possibly (it still isn’t clear) contemplated a pre-emptive first strike of their own, and Reagan’s efforts, through the CIA, to undermine Communism in
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August 28, 2018 — Steven Hayward
So I arrive on campus for the first day of classes yesterday, where I am greeted with this large poster: Just how to think about this? That it is good to see that college folk still have a sense of humor? A “Civil War on the Left” entry? Or opportunity for satire: “In this corner, Tweedledee; in that corner, Tweedledum.” Maybe an occasion to modify an old joke: “The problem
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May 23, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Last week we celebrated the week of Charles — Charles Kesler, Dengler-Dykema Distinguished Professor of Government at Clarmeont McKenna College, editor of the Claremont Review of Books, long-time friend and tutor — for his receipt of one of this year’s Bradley Prize awards along with Allen Guelzo and Jason Riley. I have posted the video of the event below (it is posted here on Vimeo). Charles is a gentleman, scholar,
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May 17, 2018 — Steven Hayward
Sad news today of the passing of Richard Pipes, the great scholar of Soviet affairs and many other subjects. He was the author of many fine books, including especially his large book The Russian Revolution, which is one of the very best accounts of that crucial event. I only met the great professor once or twice very casually, in a large group at some Washington or New York dinner that
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