After being cheerleaders for authoritarianism for so long, some Republicans are starting to move a little in the other direction. Kentuckian Rand Paul is their spokesman.
Category: Ideas
Self-determination in the South Atlantic
The Falkland Islanders want to stay British; Britain still seems happy to have them. So does anyone else get to have a say in this?
The problem isn’t loyalty, but citizenship
The problem in the Ben Zygier/Prisoner X case, and potentially in many others, is the way the state demands a certain sort of loyalty – "allegiance" – of its citizens.
What Wilders means
The sponsors of Geert Wilders are being reticent about the details of his speaking engagements, but there's little doubt that his views strike a chord with many Australians.
A new angle on Israel’s dilemma
A comparison with the fate of the Germans in central Europe after the Second World War offers a new understanding of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
State of the Union (and state of the media)
This year's State of the Union address provides little evidence that Barack Obama is bent on a radical transformation of America. But it does expose a major limitation of the mainstream media.
Why Lincoln matters
Spielberg's Lincoln is a great political drama. It also has a message for the modern Republican Party: one day they will have to choose whether they are the party of Lincoln or the party of the Confederacy.
More about Obama’s liberalism
Barack Obama keeps saying he's not a big-government liberal, but the right doesn't believe him. Now a big-government liberal says the same thing.
A theological view of nuclear weapons
Iran stresses the importance of Ayatollah Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons. Should we take him seriously?
Progressive? liberal? socialist? Where is Obama coming from?
Obama's second inaugural seems to have reinforced the narrative that he's a believer in big government. Here's why we should be sceptical about that.
The World is Not Enough 