The iPINIONS Journal

Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.

© Copyright 2005-2024 (Images appear pursuant to 17 U.S.C. sec 107)
You are here: Home / Archives for 2011

Archives for 2011

Obama will be reelected in landslide

Friday, December 30, 2011 at 6:49 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

My support for him is as strong as ever and, despite all of the kvetching by progressives and demonizing by conservatives, I predict he’ll be reelected in a Reagan-style landslide. (In support of Obama: my abiding … HOPE, The iPINIONS Journal, August 12, 2011) First and foremost I think Obama should be reelected based solely… Read more.

And the Republican nominee is…

Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 6:29 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Even before Trump, Pawlenty, Bachmann, Perry, Cain, Gingrich, Paul, and Romney turned the Republican nomination process into a political version of the biggest loser, here is what I predicted would be the end result: He may not send a thrill up and down the spine of the Tea Partiers and religious (anti-Mormon) nuts who comprise the base, but… Read more.

The other reason North Koreans were wailing in the streets

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 7:09 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Given that North Koreans know their national suffering will only continue under Kim’s son and successor, Kim Jong-un, it may be that they are wailing not just Kim’s death but their cursed fate as well. (Kim Jong-il, dictator of the hermit kingdom, is dead, December 20, 2011) Related commentaries: Kim Jong-il … is dead Read more.

Václav Havel, Czech playwright who helped defeat communism, is dead

Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 6:44 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

[F]rankly, when I began commenting on the deaths of famous people four years ago, the last thing I wanted was to contribute to our culture’s perverse fascination with celebrities. In fact, I only began this feature as a lark to propagate the superstition that the deaths of  famous people come in threes. (Post mortem on… Read more.

Kim Jong-il, dictator of the hermit kingdom of North Korea, is dead

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 6:38 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Yesterday the world was treated to curious images of people wailing in the streets of North Korea upon hearing the news that Kim Jong-il, the man who had served more as jailer than leader for the past 17 years, had died of a sudden heart attack. Instead of sympathy, though, their public display of grief evoked… Read more.

Kim Jong-il, dictator of the ‘hermit kingdom’ of North Korea, is dead

Monday, December 19, 2011 at 10:35 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

To all who are wondering with indignation how an entire nation can demonstrate such outpouring of grief for a man who was not so much their leader as their jailer, I urge you to google the term ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. Of course, one could be forgiven the suspicion that this mass demonstration of grief is just… Read more.

Christopher Hitchens, archetypal polemicist, is dead

Monday, December 19, 2011 at 6:49 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

[I]t is my pleasure to introduce you to my favorite columnist, Christopher Hitchens, a regular contributor to such prestigious publications as The Atlantic, The Nation, Vanity Fair, Slate, and World Affairs. For it is he who has written the definitive article that puts this latest Washington farce into proper perspective. (Although, truth be told, his… Read more.