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Immigration is shaking things up in Britain, Europe and the U.S.

As British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces calls to resign for his appointment of Epstein-tied Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, one is struck by the sudden instability of British governments. In the 28 years between 1979 and 2007, Britain had only three prime ministers, while in the 19 years since 2007, it has had seven, and may soon have eight. Only one of those, David Cameron, carried his party to a re-election victory, and he resigned a year after being beaten in the Brexit referendum. It’s not just leaders who have stumbled. Even historically long-lasting ...

Self-inflicted wounds can be just as deadly

On the night of Sept. 21, 1788, Austrian hussars scouting for the Ottoman Army stumbled upon gypsies who offered them schnapps. The Austrians got drunk, encountered part of their infantry, refused to share the alcohol and a fight broke out. One soldier fired his gun; the rest of the army presumed the Ottomans were attacking and the Austrian General of Artillery thought the Ottoman cavalry was upon them. He ordered the artillery to fire. The Battle of Karansabas would go down in history as the world’s worst friendly fire incident. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, so demoralized from ...

Democrats have an opportunity — if they can take it

President Donald Trump’s approval rating is sinking and gasping for air. His average net approval stands at -13.7, which is lower than Joe Biden’s was at this point in his term. This matters beyond cosmic justice: The president’s approval rating is the best predictor of midterm election outcomes. When it falls below 50%, his party tends to lose seats, as in the 1982, 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 elections. So the Democratic Party, written off as dead by some a few months ago, stands poised for victory in November. That’s good, but not good enough. The stakes are so high ...

Who are Jeffries and Schumer to complain about Trump’s video?

On President Donald Trump’s social media platform, someone in the administration — the White House offered different versions of how this happened — posted a 62-second cartoon video set to the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” This was posted on a Thursday night and, following cries of “racism,” was removed by noon the following day. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the reaction “fake outrage.” Trump said: “I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of picture people don’t like. I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it. I just, I looked ...

Impressions From A Maiden Excursion To Turkiye

The Shale Crescent USA Team is part of a U.S. Commercial Services Roadshow to Turkiye. Lynnda and I along with SCUSA President, Nathan Lord arrived in Istanbul last Sunday. We were in three Turkish cities for Roadshow events meeting with companies interested in investing in the USA. The week started in Istanbul, Turkiye’s largest city. Most Turks guess the actual number of people in Istanbul to be in excess of 20 million people and still growing. Homes and businesses take up almost every available space. Not much green space. There are buildings as far as the eye can see. Not high rise ...

Does The United States Still Have A Constitution?

Legal scholars have many lenses through which to examine the Constitution. Lawyers need to master about 150 Supreme Court decisions in order to have a sufficient understanding of the government. But most of what lawyers have studied is theory -- how the Constitution is supposed to work, as opposed to how it actually does work. This “supposed to” versus “actually does” conundrum is often called the formal versus the functional. Formally, the United States still has a Constitution. We still have the three branches of government. Congress still has the House of Representatives and ...