Over the past two decades, the War on Drugs has become one of the most controversial federal programs. In its zeal to rid our country of potentially life-destroying substances, the drug war has dramatically increased our incarceration rates and contributed to the rise of powerful drug gangs, while largely failing to decrease drug abuse.Now it […]

In a move widely seen as an attempt to subvert the Ukrainian opposition, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for “exceeding her authority” while she was in power. From the Financial Times: In a verdict whose severity shocked thousands of her supporters protesting outside the courtroom, the judge also […]

The global financial hurricane has hit China. Declining investor confidence in Chinese banks forced the government to buy bank stock in order to maintain stability. Rapid inflation, a growing housing bubble, and increasing integration with the global economic market mean that China can’t escape the global crisis. From the Wall Street Journal: China’s sovereign-wealth fund […]

Stock markets have staged huge rallies since late last week on hopes that France and Germany were close to working out a deal that would finally put the euro crisis behind us.  But this morning European stocks are once again down as the euphoria wears off. Some of last week’s optimism was justified, since at […]

Either a lot of Democrats have been slandering millions of American voters as racist, or the Tea Party hasn’t gotten the word that Herman Cain is African American.  That is the only conclusion that can be drawn after a slew of recent polls shows that Cain is picking up the ‘teavangelical’ vote as former favorites […]

The usual grumblings attend the day on which we commemorate the most famous illegal immigrant in the history of the Americas, an undocumented wanderer from Spain who brought plagues, fire and the sword from the Old World to the New.Columbus Day is our most confused holiday celebration, one in which the public understanding of the […]

The next day or two could see some light posting on the site; the Mead clan and its affiliates and allies are gathering in Virginia to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of the Venerable Mead and the Grand Matriarch.  Their descendants (including the first of what looks to be a great host of great-grandchildren) are […]

There is a flaming contradiction at the heart of President Obama’s Afghan war policy that threatens his strategy for safe withdrawal; the latest news from Pakistan suggests that the President now recognizes that something basic has to change.Many readers find their eyes glazing over when it comes to yet more bad news from Pakistan, the […]

Youth unemployment in Europe and the US; child labor in Asia, Africa and Latin America.We live in a crazy world.Global slowdowns reduce employment for adults, but they can open “opportunities” for cheaper child labor.  And in hard economic times, many poor parents need the income their kids can bring in — and don’t have the […]

For the past year, the debt crisis has monopolized Europe’s attention to the extent that many forgot the EU did anything besides argue about debt levels. Apparently many in Europe feel the same way, as efforts to bolster its relationships along its Eastern periphery — once a central focus of EU policy — have been […]