The American Spectator

July 2009 - August 2009

Note From the Publisher

• Portrait of an Artist

  Alfred S. Regnery

Freedom Watch

• Exclusive: Grand Inquisitor Endorses Obama Health Plan

  Michigan congressman discovers President Obama is channeling Dostoevsky. From our new July-August issue.

  Thaddeus G. McCotter

The Continuing Crisis

• The Continuing Crisis

  R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

On the Prowl

• On the Prowl

  The Prowler

Features

• Hanging Out With the Repo Man

  He's smart, he's funny, and he "steals" cars legally. (He's also the best friend you never knew you had.) Our July-August issue's cover story.

  Andrew B. Wilson

• Will the Next Press Be Capitalist?

  It will if freedom remains on the American agenda. From our July-August issue.

  Austin Bay

• The Matter With Myths

  If conservatives don't counter them, government-run health care will be here to stay.

  Philip Klein

The Right Prescription

• Downgrading American Medical Care

  An American plan to help the uninsured, restore Medicare's fiscal soundness, and preserve medical excellence.

  Betsy McCaughey

London Calling

• The Joy of Portraiture

  Paul Johnson

The Pursuit of Knowledge

• Facing Torture

  The debate over the use of torture has taken a new and disturbing turn.

  Roger Scruton

Among the Intellectualoids

• The Strip Club

  Literary exhibitionism on full frontal -- or at least parental -- display.

  Judy Bachrach

Capitol Ideas

• Perilous Path for Obama

  Tom Bethell

Political Hay

• Center Stage

  Republican primary voters must decide whether to play it moderately safe. From the July-August issue.

  W. James Antle, III

Presswatch

• Tea Hee

  James Taranto

Letter From Paris

• Still Standing Tall

  Did you hear the one about the lady who married the Eiffel Tower?

  Joseph A. Harriss

Politics

• Cowards on Race

  John H. Fund

The Hell-Hole Spectator

• Uneducating the Islamic World

   A growing inability to compete in the "geography of ideas."

  Ilan Berman

High Spirits

• From Winchester to Westminster

  Jonathan Aitken

Ben Stein's Diary

• Liberty Weekend

  Off to meet the chancellor of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell, Jr. From our July-August issue.

  Ben Stein

Conservative Tastes

• The Triumph of Fantasy

  Yet fantasy is not always harmless, as the summer blockbuster schedule confirms. From our July-August issue.

  James Bowman

Books in Review

• The Permanent Crisis

  The one and only Continuinig Crisis -- Bob Tyrrell's monthly "ironic amalgamations," as Bill Buckley called them --  is now available in this new collection lovingly compiled and edited by Louis Hatchett.

  John R. Coyne, Jr.

• Overlords of World War II

  Andrew Roberts' Masters and Commanders is the best kind of history, faithful to the past yet relevant to the present.

  James Piereson

• Suicide of the West

  It is also known as World War One, as in Norman Stone's short history.

  Paul Beston

• It Was a Very Good Year

  There are two things that make Alistair Horne's Kissinger: 1973 very special. One is the author.

  Mark Falcoff

• The Prince of Philadelphia

  Joe Queenan's Closing Time: A Memoir is without a doubt his finest book.

  Jeremy Lott

The Slaughterhouse

• How Our Best and Brightest Think

  Could it be that our “best” universities’ humanities departments are filled with pretentious poseurs? From our July-August issue.

  Angelo M. Codevilla

Current Wisdom

• Current Wisdom

  Assorted Jackasses

Public Nuisances

• The ACLU Talks Too Much/Chimp Change

  R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.

Last Call

• Walk Hard

  Getting along has its charms.

  Wlady Pleszczynski