The headlines reporting Giorgia Meloni likely becoming the Italian prime minister after her Brothers of Italy party won the largest share of seats in parliament missed more than originality. “Italy Election Results Set Up First Far-Right Government Since Mussolini” (Washington…
Perhaps the biggest lie told in the last 100 years on this planet is the one about fascism. Specifically, that fascism is a “far-right” phenomenon. It’s never been a particularly convincing lie. Not when all of the self-avowed fascists who…
Sometimes liberal elites cannot disguise their anti-Catholic attitudes. We all remember California Sen. Dianne Feinstein expressing concern at Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing that “the dogma lives loudly” in her, meaning Barrett’s devout Catholicism apparently poses a danger to…
Almost everything is broken in Italy, except the pizzas, which they serve you whole so that you can break them. I find it hard to write about the country responsible for both the boot and Tuscany, because my Mediterranean soul…
The Italian elections prompted by the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi might produce the first Western European right-wing populist government in modern history. Brought on by a government crisis, polling suggests that the right-wing Brothers of Italy and League…
Weit offen die Totenkammern sind Und schön bemalt vom Sonnenschein… Wide open are the chambers of the dead And beautifully painted with sunshine… – Georg Trakl, “Im Herbst” (1913) I Set aside, for a moment at least, the insensitive materialism…
About my love for Armenians. I grew up in Brooklyn, in mostly ethnically Jewish neighborhoods. There were kosher restaurants galore; Irv’s Knishery in Canarsie was my favorite. There was Tina’s Bake Shop, who made the best chocolate cream pie ever….
A coercive vaccine mandate came into effect in Italy on Friday, prompting nationwide protests and acts of civil disobedience. The policy requires all Italian workers to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, provide proof of a recent recovery, or receive several…
We Brits used to snigger at how few Americans had passports. Apparently, in 1990, passport ownership among Americans stood at just 4 percent. It’s grown massively since then, of course, but even now less than half of all U.S. citizens…
