Free Republic

Movies can sometimes be something of a Rorschach test in terms of how one views the world. Like Rorschach tests, they can sometimes leave an observer scratching their heads. As an example, my top 10 movies are probably, in no particular order, Gladiator, Tombstone, Braveheart, LA Confidential, Valley Girl, (The original masterpiece with Deborah Foreman and Nicolas Cage, not that terrible remake!) Lost in Translation, Galaxy Quest, Trading Places, Love Actually and maybe Titanic. I’m not sure what that list says about me, particularly the inclusion of Valley Girl, but I’m sure some psychiatrist somewhere could say there’s something to...

Four people were indicted Thursday in an alleged kickback scheme that?s at the core of the debate over the firing of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. Former state Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon, Toby Martinez, Raul Parra and Sandra Mata Martinez all face charges. The U.S. attorney?s office in Albuquerque says Marc Schiff, Ken Schultz and Manuel Guara had already entered guilty pleas in the case. Investigators say the kickbacks were related to the construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse in Albuquerque. Iglesias believes he was fired as the federal prosecutor for New Mexico for resisting pressure from Senator...

Wrong Time for Patriotism By Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard There could hardly be a less appropriate time for a London staging of Aaron Sorkin's devoutly patriotic American courtroom thriller, A Few Good Men. The famous film version, based on Sorkin's original play, with Jack Nicholson artfully stealing the thunder from Tom Cruise in the last reel, seductively beat the drum for the US military. I am afraid that watching the stage version now, though, is like being drenched in American cultural whitewash. Sorkin delivers a soothing message about America's ability to hang on to justice and control its armed...

The vicious circle of weakness dominating European thought is countered by the virtuous circle of strength that George W. Bush has expressed. I am not a European. Lee Harris argued, "The world changed on Sunday," March 14, with the Spanish elections, but the real problem is that Europe failed to change. If Europe cannot rouse itself to fight back, after it has been attacked on its own soil, we may conclude that the cowardice we saw after 9-11 was not merely the expression of anti-Americanism and opportunism, but of a deeper paralysis, which is now in its terminal stage. And...

I am not a Spaniard. Somewhere, on March 12, I saw the headline, "We are All Spaniards Now." It was an allusion to the Le Monde headline from 9/12, "We are All Americans Now."As we now know, that initial French (and German) sympathy for America was short-lived. In no time flat, the Old Europe of France and Germany sought to appease Islamism, and while claiming to be our allies, to betray us at every step of the way.Not so, the Spaniards. The 1,300 troops they sent to Iraq were largely a symbolic matter, but the symbolism was powerful.After 911, when...