Donald B. Hawthorne
The editors at National Review remember Solzhenitsyn, who died yesterday: Born in 1918, Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn became the voice and conscience of the Russian people. There was no greater or more effective foe of Communism, or of totalitarianism in general. His Gulag Archipelago was a crushing blow to the Soviet Union — after its publication…
Tony Snow died today, at age 53, of cancer. We remember his family in our prayers as we pay tribute to the memory of a wonderful man. Some tributes: Cal Thomas Byron York Shannen Coffin Kathryn Jean Lopez Michelle Malkin Fox News Several selections from Snow’s writings about Reagan, Parting Thoughts on the Ultimate Sacrifice,…
Once again, in celebration of America’s birthday, here are excerpted gems from previous postings about our beloved country – brought together in one posting: President Calvin Coolidge gave a powerful speech in 1926 on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. If you want to rediscover some of the majesty of the principles underlying…
A recent post, Lessons for Rhode Island from Silicon Valley: An historical reflection on an actual innovation economy, discussed what made Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial culture so unique and what some of its economic growth policy lessons are for Rhode Island. In the latest edition of The Weekly Standard, Thomas Hazlett has written about the book,…
Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there! Thanks for all you do, for the important contributions you make everywhere. At this time every year, National Review has several articles about Dads. Here are this year’s selections: Hail the Male: Fathers, sons, and ghosts of feminism past Fathers: Good, Bad, and Divine – “Thanks…
With the economic crisis in Rhode Island, there is much talk (e.g., my recent post and Ian Donnis) about what it will take to generate real change and economic growth in the state. Leonard Lardaro, professor of economics at URI, offers his thoughts in a ProJo editorial Only RI Cure: Cut spending and taxes, where…
Today is a day full of sad memories, offering an opportunity to reflect on what once was and what it teaches us today. It was 40 years ago today that Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, the night he won the California Democratic Party primary. I lived in Southern California at that time…
Moving beyond the world of over-reactions and political drama, has anyone actually read President Bush’s speech to the Israeli Knesset? …We gather to mark a momentous occasion. Sixty years ago in Tel Aviv, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel’s independence, founded on the “natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate.” What…
In Israel for the 60th anniversary celebration of its founding, President George W. Bush gave a speech in the Knesset, saying these words: Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along . . . We have heard this…
While RI politicians continue to avoid dealing constructively and aggressively with the structural problems underlying the state’s financial crisis, some of our neighbors in Massachusetts are heading in the completely opposite direction. Yes, in the state formerly known as Taxachusetts, a band of activist citizens are pushing for a statewide vote to eliminate the state…