David Frum's Blog, page 184

Tea Party: The Most Unpopular Group in America

Last time we checked, the Tea Party scored lower than any group except Muslims and atheists. This time ... Muslims and atheists have pulled ahead, and the Tea Party ranks dead last.

Persian Fire Helped Birth Democracy

This is the third of a four-part review of Tom Holland's Persian Fire and Rubicon. Read part one here and part two here.

David's Bookclub: Persian Fire and Rubicon (Part 2 of 4)

(This is part two of a four part review of author Tom Holland's books Persian Fire and Rubicon. Read part one here.)

David's Bookclub: Persian Fire and Rubicon

Necessary Preface: After my Book Club entry on Tom Holland's most recent book, In the Shadow of the Sword, Tom and I struck up a Twitter correspondence. He read and said generous things about Patriots. Now I'm back writing about him. Are we log-rolling? I can only answer that if I had not sincerely enjoyed and learned from both Persian Fire and Rubicon, it would be very easy to preserve a tactful silence. But I did, very much so, and it seems unfair in the opposite direction to omit...

We Gave a Member of an Egyptian Terrorist Group a Visa?

In the wake of the Cairo attacks, some old questions gain new relevance. I don't think we ever did get an answer to the question earlier this summer:

Why the Absolutist Rage, Islamists?

Koplow (at this point, I'm assuming you know Michael Koplow is the author of the wonderful Ottomans and Zionists blog) wonders why radical Islamists feel compelled to assail the actions of outsiders, as opposed to merely policing the ummah.

Why did Ambassador Stevens Die, ctd?

The BBC reports that America's Benghazi Consulate was woefully ill-equipped to handle Tuesday's attack.

Why the Rush to Blame the Jews?

Ari Kohen is dismayed by the rush to finger Jews and Israelis for the controversial fim, "Innocence of Muslims," especially considering that the film's creator was neither Jewish nor Israeli.

Fat Boys Can't Win Wars

It was obviously idiotic for Dr. Oz, in his interview of Michelle Obama on Wednesday, to describe obesity as America's "number one national security threat."

The Obama Administration's Invisible Hand

Sam Stein profiles Jack Lew, the White House Chief of Staff, for the Huffington Post. In one passage, Stein recounts the difficulty observers have in labeling the quietly powerful figure.