Free Republic

Current Events Glad Bush Is Still AroundPaul Johnson 05.05.08, 12:00 AM ET I don't regard George W. Bush as a lame-duck president. Between now and next January all sorts of challenging and unexpected events may take place. We can rely on President Bush to react promptly and decisively to them.We saw this on Sept. 11. The President was as surprised as everyone else, as we grasped from the dramatic photograph of him taken as he was given the dreadful news at an elementary school. But he buckled down quickly to this unprecedented attack on America, determined that such a treacherous...

An intellectual is someone who thinks ideas matter more than people. If people get in the way of ideas they must be swept aside and, if necessary, put in concentration camps or killed. To intellectuals, individuals as such are not interesting and do not matter. Indeed individualism is a hindrance to the pursuit of ideals in an absolute sense. The individual, with his quirks and quiddities, his mixture of good and bad, intelligence and stupidity, longing for justice but anxiety to promote his own selfish interests, does not fit into a utopian community. Hence utopians, if they are in earnest,...

Heroes: What Great Statesmen Have to Teach Usby Paul Johnson, Historian   PAUL JOHNSON is the author of several bestselling books, including the classic Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties, A History of the American People, A History of Christianity, Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomsky, A History of the Jews, Creators: From Chaucer and Durer to Picasso and Disney, Art: A New History, George Washington: The Founding Father, and most recently, Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including...

One thing history teaches is the transience and futility of power, and the ultimate impotence of those who exercise it. That is the lesson of the current King Tut exhibition. No group of sovereigns ever enjoyed the illusion of power more than the pharaohs of the New Kingdom, especially those of the 18th and 19th dynasties. Rameses II spent much of his 66 years on the throne having immense images of himself displayed everywhere from Luxor to Abu Simbel, and many remain, chipped and crumbling. Nothing else. The point is admirably made in Shelley's sonnet about him, 'Ozymandias'. I once...

Whatever you may think of President George W. Bush and his record, there's no denying him one character trait: courage. He has never been deterred from doing what he believes to be right by fear or nervousness. And courage, as we constantly need remind ourselves, is indispensable to successful statesmanship. It may be that Mr. Bush will need to display a supreme act of courage before leaving the White House: to decide what the U.S. response will be to Iran's efforts to acquire an aggressive nuclear capability. This should not be left for Mr. Bush's successor to deal with early...

America is the reluctant sheriff of a wild world that sometimes seems mired in wrongdoing. The UN has nothing to offer in the way of enforcing laws and dispensing justice, other than spouting pious oratory and initiating feeble missions that usually do more harm than good. NATO plays a limited role, as in Afghanistan, but tends to reflect the timidity (and cowardice) of Continental Europe. Britain and a few other nations such as Australia are willing to follow America's lead but are too weak to act on their own. That leaves the U.S. to shoulder the responsibility. Otherwise — what?...

Contrary to what you learned at college, America from its inception has been a religious country, and was designed to be one. As the greatest foreign observer of America, the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville, noted in his "Democracy in America," "Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power." Or, as the great British historian Paul Johnson has just written: "In [George] Washington's eyes, at least, America was in no sense a secular state," and "the American Revolution was in essence the political...

How long will Darwin continue to repose on his high but perilous pedestal? I am beginning to wonder. Few people doubt the principles of evolution. The question at issue is: are all evolutionary advances achieved exclusively by the process of natural selection? That is the position of the Darwinian fundamentalists, and they cling to their absolutist position with all the unyielding certitude with which Southern Baptists assert the literal truth of the Book of Genesis, or Wahabi Muslims proclaim the need for a universal jihad against ‘the Great Satan’. At a revivalist meeting of Darwinians two or three years ago,...

Current Events Prayer in the White House Paul Johnson, 11.28.05, 12:00 AM ET President Bush has recently stated that he prayed to God for advice on his Iraq policy. Should an American President pray before taking important risks? Is a God-fearing and God-consulting President more desirable than an entirely secular one who is guided purely by expert advice and realpolitik? As Sherlock Holmes would say, "These are deep waters, Watson." Most American Presidents have believed in God and prayed accordingly in moments of crisis. Abraham Lincoln, for instance, was not a regular Christian by most standards, but the record suggests...

Current Events Anti-Americanism Is Racist Envy Paul Johnson, 07.21.03, 12:00 AM ET Anti-Americanism is the prevailing disease of intellectuals today. Like other diseases, it doesn't have to be logical or rational. But, like other diseases, it has a syndrome--a concurrent set of underlying symptoms that are also causes. • First, an unadmitted contempt for democracy. The U.S. is the world's most successful democracy. The right of voters to elect more than 80,000 public officials, the length and thoroughness of electoral campaigns, the pervasiveness of the media and the almost daily reports by opinion polls ensure that government and electorate do...

WHY should a distinguished classical scholar like Victor Davis Hanson provide us with yet another book about the Peloponnesian War? He is in no doubt: he is writing a tract for the times. "Perhaps never," he insists, "has the Peloponnesian War been more relevant to Americans than to us of the present age." This Greek civil war, between Athens and her allies and Sparta and her allies, lasted 27 years, from 431 to 404 B.C., and ended with the capitulation of Athens and its occupation by Sparta. Its interest for Hanson is in comparing Athens to the United States. At...

The Ayatollah of Atheism and Darwin’s Altars By: Paul Johnson The Spectator (UK) August 31, 2005 How long will Darwin continue to repose on his high but perilous pedestal? I am beginning to wonder. Few people doubt the principle of evolution. The question at issue is: are all evolutionary advances achieved exclusively by the process of natural selection? That is the position of the Darwinian fundamentalists, and they cling to their absolutist position with all the unyielding certitude with which Southern Baptists assert the literal truth of the Book of Genesis, or Wahabi Muslims proclaim the need for a universal...

Anti-Americanism is a phenomenon which, though common and ubiquitous, is difficult to explain because it is illogical, irrational, contradictory, and mysteriously primitive. A good deal of it is parroting. And, oddly enough, a parrot has recently emerged in England which may cast light on the subject. This bird had been owned by a long-distance truck driver who emigrated, bequeathing it to a bird sanctuary. There it behaved well; but there were exceptions. In succession, a local mayor, wearing his chain of office, a police inspector, and a female vicar — all visitors to the sanctuary — were subjected to four-letter...

p.746:The history of the media towards Nixon and his administration, which became more and more intense in 1970-72, mingled with the attacks by the new youth culture toward authority of any kind, gave a misleading impression that Nixon was in trouble. It led the Democrats, in 1972, to permit themselves the indulgence of a candidate who was popular with the students and the liberal media, George McGovern of South Dakota. His platform was an immediate and unconditional withdrawal from Viet Nam and an increase in welfare spending. Nixon was delighted. He told his staff:"Here is a situation where the Eastern...

That Europe as an entity is sick and the European Union as an institution is in disorder cannot be denied. But no remedies currently being discussed can possibly remedy matters. What ought to depress partisans of European unity in the aftermath of the rejection of its proposed constitution by France and the Netherlands is not so much the foundering of this ridiculous document as the response of the leadership to the crisis, especially in France and Germany. Jacques Chirac reacted by appointing as prime minister Dominque de Villepin, a frivolous playboy who has never been elected to anything and is...

The fundamental weaknesses of the EU that must be remedied if it is to survive are threefold. First, it has tried to do too much, too quickly and in too much detail. Jean Monnet, architect of the Coal-Steel Pool, the original blueprint for the EU, always said: "Avoid bureaucracy. Guide, do not dictate. Minimal rules." He had been brought up in, and learned to loathe, the Europe of totalitarianism, in which communism, fascism and Nazism competed to impose regulations on every aspect of human existence. He recognized that the totalitarian instinct lies deep in European philosophy and mentality--in Rousseau and...

The intensification of anti-Semitism in the Arab world over the last years and its reappearance in parts of Europe have occasioned a number of thoughtful reflections on the nature and consequences of this phenomenon, but also some misleading analyses based on doubtful premises. It is widely assumed, for example, that anti-Semitism is a form of racism or ethnic xenophobia. This is a legacy of the post-World War II period, when revelations about the horrifying scope of Hitler's "final solution" caused widespread revulsion against all manifestations of group hatred. Since then, racism, in whatever guise it appears, has been identified as...

No need for scientists to be dogmatic about the existence, or not, of God - Paul Johnson It is always a delight when scientists talk sense. The Guardian quotes the gynaecologist Robert Winston saying last week that science and religion are ‘essentially both the same thing’. He denies that science is ‘about certainty, about absolute knowledge, about facts’. The truth, he adds, ‘is that science really is about uncertainty, and I think that religion is also about uncertainty’. This accords with my view. True religion has an element of mystery — greys, shades, shadows and doubts. Absolute religious certitude, of...

Since we have just finished celebrating Pesach and our exodus from Egypt over 3,300 years ago, I thought it might be interesting to look at our impact on the world through the eyes of those who we have impacted! Here are some thoughts for your consideration: "Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can deny the fact that they are, beyond any question, the most formidable and the most remarkable race which has appeared in the world." -- Winston Churchill-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Jew is that sacred being who has brought down from heaven the everlasting...

In both business and politics leadership matters more than does any other personal factor. A country with a first-class leader can punch above its weight class (look at Britain under Margaret Thatcher). Admiration for a company's chairman/ CEO is sure to be reflected in the share price. But what makes a real leader? How can we recognize one? • Moral courage. This matters most. It is the willingness to stick to one's beliefs, to pursue a course of action in the face of overwhelming criticism, great adversity and, not least, the faintheartedness of friends and allies. This kind of courage...

While revisiting the history of the French-Algerian war in 1954, I stumbled on an extensive quote -- at second hand -- from Paul Johnson's Modern Times, which though written before 9/11 provided a valuable key to understanding 'terrorism' as it emerged from the chrysalis of anti-colonialism. Colonialism died in part, Johnson argued, because it provided the demographic basis for its own demise. (Hat tip: FreeRepublic) Algeria was the greatest and in many ways the archetype of all anti-colonial wars. In the 19th century the Europeans won colonial wars because the indigenous peoples had lost the will to resist. In the...

London – The death of John Paul II removes from the world a great force for order and rectitude. He was often presented as a conservative, especially by liberal critics within the church. But this was a misreading of his character and indeed of his record. This great pontiff was essentially a defender, promoter, protector and enhancer of life: life in all its forms, as God created them, but especially human life. He sought to limit, almost to vanishing point, the occasions on which the state, let alone individuals, might legitimately extinguish or frustrate life. He had spent his manhood...

I watch with interest the efforts of American liberals to absorb and learn from the reelection of George W. Bush and from the strength of the GOP's grip on Congress. To me this recalls vividly the revolution that occurred in Britain's Labour Party when Margaret Thatcher swept the board in 1979 and won three elections in a row. Labour's response was to abandon socialism completely, accept Thatcher's privatization of nationalized industries and reform of the trade unions and celebrate these changes by renaming itself "New Labour." As a result of its humility and willingness to learn, Labour has now won...

The death of John Paul II removes from the world a great force for order and rectitude. He was often presented as a conservative, especially by liberal critics within the church. But this was a misreading of his character and indeed of his record. This great pontiff was essentially a defender, promoter, protector and enhancer of life: life in all its forms, as God created them, but especially human life. He sought to limit, almost to vanishing point, the occasions on which the state, let alone individuals, might legitimately extinguish or frustrate life. He had spent his manhood largely under...

The chief accusation against the United Nations used to be: "It's just a debating society." Would that it were! There's something to be said for a global forum in which all peoples can have their say and heads can be counted. Unfortunately the UN has expanded its role and now does everything from "peacekeeping" with multinational troops to administering aid programs and disaster relief. And it does almost everything badly. It's impossible to point to a major operation the UN has undertaken that's been brought to a successful conclusion. Its failures have nothing to do with inexperience, bad luck or...

Why Millions Say, Softly, God Bless America Paul Johnson, 02.28.05, 12:00 AM ET Democracy has many enemies, and the terrorist is only one of them. It also has many hypocritical and humbugging pseudosupporters, which is one of numerous lessons to be drawn from the situation in Iraq. When America--having smashed Iraq's 40-year-old Baathist tyranny and captured its blood-soaked leader, Saddam Hussein--promised to hold democratic elections with all deliberate speed so that Iraqis could decide their own future, the hope and expectation was that democratic nations and peoples the world over would come and help. But that did not happen. With...

Democracy has many enemies, and the terrorist is only one of them. It also has many hypocritical and humbugging pseudosupporters, which is one of numerous lessons to be drawn from the situation in Iraq. When America — having smashed Iraq's 40-year-old Baathist tyranny and captured its blood-soaked leader, Saddam Hussein — promised to hold democratic elections with all deliberate speed so that Iraqis could decide their own future, the hope and expectation was that democratic nations and peoples the world over would come and help. But that did not happen. With the notable exceptions of Australia, Poland and Britain (whose...

An object lesson for us all is the present deplorable state of Germany. It shows what happens when a society is encouraged by its leaders to turn its back on freedom and opt for security at any price. A generation ago Germany, thanks to its great postwar leaders Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Erhard, had an exemplary economy — one of the world's best in quality and performance. It was modeled on America's and put entrepreneurial freedom, hard work and innovation before all other considerations. The Germans turned their backs on their hideous past of violent aggression and became wealthy, proud...

And another thing English marches on in the age of Bush and Blair Paul Johnson I see that some commentators suggest the newly elected Bush should hasten to make it up with Europe. Why should he? What weight does Europe (excluding Britain) carry in the world today? Less and less. I suspect that by the end of Bush's second term the pattern of the future will be emerging, a triumvirate of three great power groups: India, China and the English-speaking world. By 2050 India will have 1,628 million people, China will have 1,393 million and America, with by far the...

The French educational world is convulsed by a report on the future of its school system. A commission headed by education expert Claude Thélot has recommended that the teaching of English be mandatory in all French schools and that it be accorded the same importance as the French language and mathematics. The commission takes the position that English is now the "language of international communication" and that French young people must be taught to speak and write it fluently. Another report on the level of knowledge of English attained by youngsters in eight European countries gives France the lowest rating,...

Warning - this post contains blunt descriptions of the realities of a particularly brutal and ugly war. There are parts of it that are not for delicate sensibilities or for the faint of heart. I put this at the start of the piece instead of at the end, as is customary for poster's comments, so that those who want to spare themselves such things know to steer clear before they read it. I post it anyway because I think the lessons of this history are very important to understanding many currents in contemporary politics. Including terrorism as a political method,...

The great issue in the 2004 election—it seems to me as an Englishman—is, How seriously does the United States take its role as a world leader, and how far will it make sacrifices, and risk unpopularity, to discharge this duty with success and honor? In short, this is an election of the greatest significance, for Americans and all the rest of us. It will redefine what kind of a country the United States is, and how far the rest of the world can rely upon her to preserve the general safety and protect our civilization. When George W. Bush was...

Dennis Prager interviewed historian Paul Johnson yesterday. Johnson said a number of interesting things. Below are the highlights, to the best of my recollection. Most of Europe wants Kerry elected because they do not like Bush because of his strong stands on the issues that favor America. They think Kerry will be a weak president for America. European democracies are weak because intellectuals run them and intellectuals care more about ideas than they do about people. The intellectual elites of Europe want to stay on top and can't do that unless they weaken democracy. This explains the fact that they...

Human beings can be characterized as creatures with a capacity to worry. Anxieties expand automatically to occupy the time and nervous energy we instinctively make available for worry. Yet when we have real, urgent and potentially devastating reasons for anxiety, all lesser and artificial concerns disappear. In Britain during World War II, when the country was in actual danger of being conquered and people were in constant fear of being blown to bits by German bombs, the incidence of psychiatric disorders (as recorded in doctors' offices) fell almost to zero. Cases of suicide or attempted suicide were rare. But with...

CAMPAIGN 2004 High Stakes Quite simply, Kerry must be stopped; and Bush must win PAUL JOHNSON The great issue in the 2004 election — it seems to me as an Englishman — is, How seriously does the United States take its role as a world leader, and how far will it make sacrifices, and risk unpopularity, to discharge this duty with success and honor? In short, this is an election of the greatest significance, for Americans and all the rest of us. It will redefine what kind of a country the United States is, and how far the rest of...

Last summer, with France on his mind, the British historian Paul Johnson graced the pages of Forbes Magazine with this trenchant observation: "Anti-Americanism is racist envy." [1] Lest anyone miss the point, the best-selling author quickly rephrased it in more accessible language: "France is not a democracy." His novel insight could hardly be dismissed as mere anti-Frenchism for the simple reason that the word does not exist. In fact, neither does anti-Polishism, anti-Spanishism, or even anti-Vaticanism. (Each one googles in the single digits—the modern definition of nonexistence.) With over 115,000 Google hits, anti-Americanism stands alone: a living testament to...

Here is one Englishman's view of the U.S. presidential election. I've been following them for more than half a century, always taking sides. I backed Truman in 1948, in gratitude for his magnificent backing of Europe's freedom, and Kennedy in 1960 because, as a Catholic, I wanted the taboo on a Catholic in the White House broken. In recent years I've backed Republicans simply because I feel safer with one as President and in charge of the West's defenses. This feeling has never been stronger than it's been since President Bush, in contrast to the careless and frivolous Bill Clinton,...

Here is one Englishman's view of the U.S. presidential election. I've been following them for more than half a century, always taking sides. I backed Truman in 1948, in gratitude for his magnificent backing of Europe's freedom, and Kennedy in 1960 because, as a Catholic, I wanted the taboo on a Catholic in the White House broken. In recent years I've backed Republicans simply because I feel safer with one as President and in charge of the West's defenses. This feeling has never been stronger than it's been since President Bush, in contrast to the careless and frivolous Bill Clinton,...

<p>RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The head of slain American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr., who was kidnapped and decapitated by militants in Saudi Arabia last month, was found by security forces during a raid that targeted the Saudi al-Qaida chief. Two militants were killed, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.</p>

A California company has found a way to profit from the recent beheadings of Paul Johnson and Kim Sun-Il.  By providing material support for al-Qaeda and terrorism, traffic to their hosted sites has exploded exponentially.  (Key provisions in the 'Patriot Act' against providing material support for terrorism w.r.t. the internet were nullified last month by a Federal Court in Idaho).  Free web server companies obtain revenue through increased bandwidth. The FBI has been contacted. A spokesperson for the FBI disputes alegations that the government is keeping the sites on online (perhaps for monitoring or tracking IP information, etc.). "Free Speech"...

<p>SICK footage of Muslim children re-enacting the barbaric beheading of hostages in Iraq has been put on Abu Hamza’s website.</p> <p>The film starts with a masked boy of about nine menacingly brandishing a wooden sword as he screams demands into the camera.</p>

Paul Johnson is a leading writer, author and historian in Britain. He was once a radical left-wing journalist in Britain. He converted to the Right under Margaret Thatcher and became the leading intellectual to support the conservative cause in Britain in his bestselling books and columns. A staunch supporter of the United States, he tells NewsMax that George W Bush is America’s New Thatcher and warns of growing anti-Americanism in Europe. London – “Hillary Clinton - she’s awful!” “ Prince Charles – he’ll be a terrible King!” “ Bush Senior – a very weak President!” “ Margaret Thatcher – a...

<p>Parents worried because their children receive a steady diet of politically correct propaganda in schools and colleges often ask for suggestions of things they should get for their children to read, in hopes of deprogramming them.</p> <p>Summer is a good time to let young people know that what they have been told in class is not the only side of the story or the only way to look at the world.</p>

This time the visitors are discussing the murder of Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia. Most of the posts came from Saudis of course, the rest came from Egyptians, Iraqis, Jordanians and from people in the Emirates. What caught my attention here was the total absence of comments from Syrians and Palestinians who used to flood the forum with their posts!! The majority of comments showed frank condemnation and shock but I selected posts that reflect varying points of view and I have to mention that the positive/negative posts ratio you’re going to find below is a little bit less than...

Muqrin was killed with two associates on Friday An ex-Saudi policeman has become leader of the al-Qaeda militant group in Saudi Arabia, according to media reports from the troubled kingdom. Saleh al-Oufi, 38, will take over from Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, who was killed by police on Friday. Saudi security forces have been hunting al-Qaeda members in Riyadh, following the execution of a US hostage. Saudi analysts say the new leader will be a formidable foe as he been a key figure in the group since 1985. Al-Qaeda is believed to have been behind the abduction and beheading of US defence...

How we Americans react to the horrible murder of Paul Johnson by al-Qaeda extremists will tell us a great deal about ourselves.  We need to discover whether we are truly determined to stop terrorists or merely appease them, pushing the real fight down the road for another generation.         The most common reaction was disbelief, but anyone who was surprised simply doesn't understand the enemy.  Why is it such a shock that murderous extremists would kill one man, when they glory in committing mass murder nearly every day?  Did anyone really think that prayer vigils and news footage of neighbors lighting candles...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Demonstrating what some would classify as the strongest support to date by a Muslim nation - for the U.S. in the War on Terror, Saudi police forces took swift action this weekend to bring about justice in the beheading of American Paul Johnson. According to reports, the Saudi's made 12 arrests as more than 15,000 security forces were deployed to find the body of Johnson as well as those involved in the slaying. Saudi sercurity forces shot and killed the suspected leader of Al Qaeda in the Saudi kingdom but the bounty of their search...

Millions in this country believe that the Muslims of the world are on the warpath against the West in an attempt to destroy the Judaeo-Christian way of life. The tabloids, certain cable TV networks and a number of Christian evangelist groups have played a major role in spreading this myth There is no shortage of people in America who believe that the United Nations is a vast, and sinister organisation set up with the express purpose of taking over their country. If someone were to tell them that the United States played the leading role in the establishment of the...

RE: Johnson's killers; Who are these people? I see that they’re the product of fanaticism that was fed and upgraded by dictatorships in the Muslim world; they are a mutant generation that came as a result of this unholy marriage between retarded religious institutions and brutal dictatorships.

Michael Savage has a video, photos of Paul Johnson's beheading at this site. I suspect the Alphabet News will think it is too graphic to show to We the People, but frankly, we HAVE to know our enemies. The Truth will set you free.