John's Recommended Articles

Putin's police arrest Garry Kasparov and peaceful democrats.
"Peaceful protest is not a right accorded the subjects of Vladimir Putin's Russia. The violent clashes between riot police and pro-democracy demonstrators in Moscow and St. Petersburg over the weekend are business as usual for the master of the Kremlin."

NASA's Mission to the Moon: How We'll Go Back — and Stay This Time - Popular Mechanics: "With the iconic Space Shuttle nearing retirement, the pressure is on NASA to design a new manned vehicle — one that will deliver us safely to the lunar surface by 2020 before building a lasting lunar base. From ensuring a safe launch to getting the vehicle back on the ground, here's an inside look at some of the toughest challenges Orion's engineers are now confronting."

Leadership sometimes means bucking public opinion.
"The Senator replied that he'd 'rather lose a campaign than lose a war.'"

Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Global Warming.
"A warmer climate could prove to be more beneficial than the one we have now. Much of the alarm over climate change is based on ignorance of what is normal for weather and climate.
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Is there any point in pretending that CO2 increases will be catastrophic? Or could they be modest and on balance beneficial?
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Moreover, actions taken thus far to reduce emissions have already had negative consequences without improving our ability to adapt to climate change. An emphasis on ethanol, for instance, has led to angry protests against corn-price increases in Mexico, and forest clearing and habitat destruction in Southeast Asia. Carbon caps are likely to lead to increased prices, as well as corruption associated with permit trading. (Enron was a leading lobbyist for Kyoto because it had hoped to capitalize on emissions trading.) The alleged solutions have more potential for catastrophe than the putative problem. The conclusion of the late climate scientist Roger Revelle—Al Gore's supposed mentor—is worth pondering: the evidence for global warming thus far doesn't warrant any action unless it is justifiable on grounds that have nothing to do with climate."

OpinionJournal Did Nancy Pelosi commit a felony when she went to Syria?
"The U.S. is in the midst of two wars authorized by Congress. For Ms. Pelosi to flout the Constitution in these circumstances is not only shortsighted; it may well be a felony, as the Logan Act has been part of our criminal law for more than two centuries. Perhaps it is time to enforce the law."

Prime Minister Pelosi and Secretary of State Lantos undermine U.S. foreign policy--and maybe their own party.:
"So this is Democratic foreign policy: Assure our enemies that they can ignore a President who still has 21 months to serve; and wash their hands of Baghdad and of their own guilt for voting to let Mr. Bush go to war. No doubt Democrats think the President's low job approval, and public unhappiness with the war, gives them a kind of political immunity. But we wonder.

Once we leave Iraq, America's enemies will still reside in the Mideast; and they will be stronger if we leave behind a failed government and bloodbath in Iraq. Mr. Bush's successor will have to contain the damage, and that person could even be a Democrat. But by reverting to their Vietnam message of retreat and by blaming Mr. Bush for all the world's ills, Democrats on Capitol Hill may once again convince voters that they can't be trusted with the White House in a dangerous world. "

Mitt Romney's Got the Right Stuff for 2008

Editor note: I'm not yet ready to say Mitt is my candidate, but I sure don't see much that I object to either... This article is long, but has lots of background info on the guy.