The New American articles from April 2002

The New American archives from April 2002

Begging for retaliation. (Letters to the Editor).
April 8, 2002... I am writing with strong objections to points made in the February 25th article by William Norman Grigg entitled "How Best to Achieve Justice?" Mr. Grigg states: "That the murderous aggression against our country justified a military response...

Fruits of Russian reform. (Letters to the Editor).
April 8, 2002... In response to the recent article by William F. Jasper on Vladimir Putin and the war in Chechnya ("Putin: Ally or Terrorist?" February 25th), I wish to congratulate THE NEW AMERICAN on continuing to speak the truth regarding the Soviet-Russian...

Enemies can be useful. (Letters to the Editor).
April 8, 2002... I am writing this letter due to this statement in your Insider Report item from January 14th entitled "EU Defends Terrorists": "... Yasser Arafat, the world's senior terrorist...." While I am not disputing your assertion I find it hard to...

Daniel Pearl: Slain KLA debunker. (Insider Report).(Pearl may have been killed because of a previous article telling the truth about the Kosovo Liberation Army)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... The late Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl became a tragic celebrity when Pakistani terrorists abducted, murdered, and mutilated him. Some commentators have pointed out that Pearl, who held dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship, was...

Don't leave home without it? (Insider Report).(American Express will report to the IRS information on customers who use offshore tax havens to pay bills)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... American Express has worked out an agreement with the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service "to turn over the names of its credit card customers who pay bills through offshore tax havens," reported CNN on March 8th. "Obtaining the...

Mexico for continental integration. (Insider Report).(identification cards, driver's licenses, etc.)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Jorge Casteneda, Mexico's Marxist foreign minister, told Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham that "Mexico wants its North American neighbors to move more quickly towards integration on a continental scale," reported the Canadian...

New "patriotic" watchdog group. (Insider Report).(Americans for Victory Over Terrorism)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Girding to battle those who hate "American ideals of freedom and equality' William Bennett unveiled his new organization, "Americans for Victory Over Terrorism" (AVOT) at a March 12th Washington press conference. Working in alliance with former...

PETA's "animal lovers" fund eco-terrorists. (Insider Report).(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals accused of contributing to militant environmental groups)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has built a public image as a champion for the humane treatment of animals. It is, perhaps, best known for its anti-fur campaigns, in which its activists have taken a high profile,...

A new "Hispanic homeland"? (Insider Report).(prediction of 'Republica del Norte')(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... University of New Mexico professor Charles Truxillo predicts that the current border between the U.S. and Mexico will be supplanted by a new political entity called "Republica del Norte." "Stretching from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico,...

George W. Bush: Internationalist. (Insider Report).(President Bush praises the international coalition that helped win the war in Afghanistan)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... President Bush's March 11th address, which marked the passing of six months from the Black Tuesday attacks, "seemed an attempt to reassure nations unsettled by the unilateralist tone of his State of the Union Address on January 29," observed...

Bin Laden doesn't concern Bush?! (Insider Report).(President Bush claims not to be concerned about Osama bin Laden)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... "Mr. President' inquired a reporter during a September 17th press conference, "the Taliban apparently has refused to hand over Osama bin Laden.... Does this mean that the U.S. is prepared to move militarily?" To which the president replied:...

Is it "only rock 'n' roll"? Far from being just a youthful fad, rock and roll music is a powerful force for subversive cultural, social, and political change. (Cover Story: Music).
April 8, 2002... Johann Sebastian Bach, arguably the greatest composer who ever lived, once said that "the aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. If heed is not paid to this, it is not true...

Changing his tune: Once a fan of rock 'n' roll, Eric Holmberg now sees the threat it poses to American culture. He talked to The New American about his efforts to make these dangers known. (Cover Story: Music).(Interview)
April 8, 2002... Interview of Eric Holmberg The three-video set Hells Bells 2: The Dangers of Rock 'n' Roll is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in learning more about the phenomenon of rock 'n' roll music, and the devastating impact that it has...

Morality of music: Because music primarily communicates emotions, its morality may be judged according to whether the feelings conveyed are positive and noble or negative and base. (Cover Story: Music).
April 8, 2002... It's often said that music is the universal language, a simple truism with many implications. Spoken languages use sets of agreed-upon symbols to express emotions and to reason abstractly. Communication through symbols, the quintessential human...

Can America be saved? Patrick Buchanan expresses virtually no hope in The Death of the West. The John Birch Society holds a contrary point of view. (Cultural Currents).
April 8, 2002... Pat Buchanan's new book, The Death of the West, has scaled the heights of the New York Times Best-Seller List. Its subtitle "How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization" captures the book's main theme,...

Fighting for the family: Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is again fighting for biblical principles, this time to prevent homosexual adoption from destroying the traditional family. (Cultural Currents).
April 8, 2002... On February 15th, Alabama's Supreme Court released its decision in Exparte H.H., a controversial child custody case involving a couple who divorced in 1992 when they were living in Los Angeles. They were identified in the decision only by the...

Good conscience. (The Goodness of America).(lost money returned)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... Jarvarious Jones and Oscar Carter, both 13, are 6th graders at Greco Middle School in north Tampa, Florida, The two friends were on their way to school on February 13th when they noticed a soiled paper bag in the street near their bus stop....

Friends indeed. (The Goodness of America).(dog attack)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... On January 20th in Panama City, Florida, 14-year-old Josh Schulte was walking to the home of a friend, Brian Wasmer, when a large dog suddenly emerged from a ditch and attacked him. The 125-pound bull mastiff grabbed his forearm and bit down so...

Standards. (The Goodness of America).(Stan Musial requested pay cut)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... During his 22 years as a St. Louis Cardinal (1941-1944, 1946-1963), Stan "The Man" Musial batted more than .300 in 17 seasons, captured seven National League batting titles, was voted Most Valuable Player three times, and played in 24 AllStar...

Putin's personality cult: The real Vladimir Putin -- career KGB officer and figurehead for a vast criminal collective -- is disguised by the Kremlin myth of his popularity as a pro-Western national hero of Russia. (Russia).
April 8, 2002... The common notion that Communism is dead badly needs clarification," insists ex-KGB major Victor Sheymov, who defected to the United States in 1980. "The important part here is the definition of Communism. It cannot be viewed simply as a...

Putin: Prophet or provocateur?; Did Putin and his KGB comrades arrange the 1999 al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in Russia? If so, is the KGB also complicit in al-Qaeda's September 11th attacks? (Russia).(Vladimir Putin)
April 8, 2002... In retrospect, the scenario seems chillingly prophetic. Imagine "ordinary New Yorkers or Washingtonians, asleep in their homes," wrote the author of a November 14, 1999 New York Times essay. "Then, in a flash, hundreds perish in explosions at...

Junk science 101: Junk Science Judo by Steven Milloy is a primer in the art of identifying counterfeit science, and enables the reader to detect the statistical malpractice rampant in today's news media.
April 8, 2002... Junk Science Judo: Self-Defense Against Health Scares & Scams, by Steven J. Milloy, Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 2001, 216 pages, hardbound, $18.95. Junk Science Judo is a rare gem of a book; reading it should be a prerequisite to...

Critter control. (Exercising the Right).(reckless endangerment case)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... On January 8th, a skunk wandered into the gymnasium of Anderson Elementary School in Grimes County, Texas. School officials called sheriff's deputies and animal control officers, hoping that they could get rid of the noxious critter, but when...

Christmastime break-in. (Exercising the Right).(self-defense case)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... James Edward Hill Jr., 31, is an employment counselor in Durham, North Carolina. He and his new bride were married in November of last year. Shortly after midnight on the day before Christmas, he heard an intruder attempting to break into their...

Home defense allowed. (Exercising the Right).(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... At around 9:45 p.m. on January 19th, Natalie Jackson, 26, and companions Anita Jackson (no relation), 24, and Michael Hayes, 29, went to the home of David and Channel Seabrook in Jacksonville, Florida, to resume a dispute that had erupted at...

Drug-seeking thugs shot. (Exercising the Right).(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... At around 7:00 p.m. on February 4th, a husband and wife, identified only as "in their 50s," were relaxing in the living room of their home in northern Modesto, California, when two armed thugs burst in through the front door. According to...

Skeptical Environmentalist makes greens see red. (Correction, Please!).(Bjorn Lomborg)
April 8, 2002... ITEM: Bjorn Lomborg, author of a book called The Skeptical Environmentalist, claims "that the planet is in far healthier shape than most greens maintain." Lomborg's book has brought him "worldwide obloquy" by those greens, reports The...

Another great train robbery. (Correction, Please!).(Amtrak)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... ITEM: Senator Ernest Hollings, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced "legislation authorizing $4.6 billion a year for Amtrak as a first step toward a revitalized passenger rail system," reported the Washington Post for March...

Bill Clinton: Rich with irony. (Correction, Please!).(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... ITEM: At a speaking engagement in Melbourne, Australia, former U.S. President Bill Clinton "vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to help redistribute the world's wealth," reported The Age (Australia) for February 27th. CORRECTION: Of...

Clinton gets off lightly. (The Last Word).(Bill Clinton)(Brief Article)
April 8, 2002... On March 6th, the Office of the Independent Counsel appointed to investigate Bill Clinton's involvement in the failed Whitewater enterprise filed a 237-page report barely mentioning either that real estate debacle or the Madison Savings and...

Let the music play!(Letter to the Editor)
April 22, 2002... I found Steve Bonta's article "Is It Only Rock 'n' Roll?" (April 8th issue) not fitting for such a fine publication as THE NEW AMERICAN. Now 48 years old, a Christian, a believer in the Constitution, and an avid Bircher, I remember my...

Hobson's choice for voters.(Letter to the Editor)
April 22, 2002... William Norman Grigg's nifty assessment of the Council on Foreign Relations in THE NEW AMERICAN ("The CFR Political Cartel," March 25 issue) further exposes their rather recent "coming out" to public scrutiny. Whether the public appreciates...

Foreign aid to Israel.(Letter to the Editor)
April 22, 2002... In his letter "Guns, Governments and Terror" in the March 25, 2002 issue of THE NEW AMERICAN, David Eisenberg says that "the Iranian shipment of 50 tons of arms and explosives to the terrorist PLO" may have been paid for "with money supplied by...

U.S. blackmails Serbia -- again. (Insider Report).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... The April 1st London Guardian reported: "Serbia issued arrest warrants yesterday for its president... and three other former aides to Slobodan Milosevic, hours before the US deadline for it to cooperate with the Hague war crimes tribunal or...

Return of the Red Brigades. (Insider Report).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... On March 20th, two men shot Italian economist Marco Biagi in front of his home in Bologna. A few hours later, a statement claiming responsibility for the assassination was posted on the Internet. The document bore the name of a group familiar...

Yugoslavia disintegrates. (Insider Report).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... The precarious federation of republics that made up Yugoslavia was reduced to Serbia and Montenegro as a result of years of fierce civil wars. Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and the fiercely divided Bosnia-Herzegovina achieved complete...

Bush's assault on political speech. (Insider Report).(signing the McCain-Feingold/Shays-Meehan bill)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... In a "stealth signing" held at the White House on March 27th, President Bush signed a "campaign finance reform" measure passed by Congress earlier this year. Some congressional sponsors of the McCain-Feingold/Shays-Meehan legislation complained...

Congress vs. free speech. (Insider Report).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... In his March 27th commentary, liberal Washington Post columnist Robert J. Samuelson reproduced some of the most candid admissions by congressional campaign "reformers" that they were seeking to constrict political speech: * "This bill......

New UN police powers in the Balkans. (Insider Report).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... "United Nations police in Kosovo are being given new powers in an attempt to crack down on organized crime," reported the BBC on March 19th. Michael Steiner, head of the UN civilian police (CivPol) contingent in the Serbian province, signed a...

CFR confidentiality snafu. (Insider Report).(Council on Foreign Relations)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) publishes an annual report containing a detailed financial statement and membership roster. However, in keeping with its longstanding policy, the Council conducts its most important business secretly. ...

Bosnian terrorist threat. (Insider Report).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... The U.S. embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia, was closed to the public on March 20th following an intelligence report that al-Qaeda terrorists had decided that "in Sarajevo something will happen to Americans similar to New York last September," a...

Russia: Still brokering terrorism. (Insider Report).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... In January, Israeli commandos seized the Palestinian cargo vessel Karine A carrying 50 tons of Iranian arms bound for PLO terrorists (see "PLO: Protected Lethal Organization" in our February 11th issue). At the time of the seizure, a State...

March madness in Monterrey: Billed as a conference to help the world's poor, the UN's Monterrey summit was not just about money, taxation, debt, or even development. It was also about power. (Cover Story: United Nations).
April 22, 2002... In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's classic poem, "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner," a seaman tells of the catastrophes that befall his ship after he kills an albatross. Eventually his superstitious shipmates, dying of starvation and thirst, blame...

New push for global taxes: A renewed drive for global taxation threatens to accomplish the UN's goal of an international revenue service that would collect taxes from every person on the planet. (Cover Story: United Nations).
April 22, 2002... Perhaps it was an unintended irony, but the subject of global taxation -- one of the main attractions at the UN's Monterrey summit -- came at the worst possible time for those of us staring April 15th in the face. Americans and most other...

Signs of the times. (At a Glance).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Professional politicians and pundits typically sing the praises of the UN, but grassroots Americans are playing a different tune. Every day many thousands of motorists view this billboard, located south of Phoenix on Interstate 10. In...

Second Amendment Sisters. (Making a Difference).(gun rights group)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... The grassroots self-defense advocacy organization Second Amendment Sisters (SAS) was formed in December 1999 to counter ideologically the anti-gun Million Mom March sideshow in the nation's capital on Mother's Day 2000, and to raise awareness...

"Zero tolerance" travesty. (Making a Difference).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Patrick Bryant, 16, is a junior at Palatine High School in Palatine, Illinois. He hopes to become a Marine some day, so developed an interest in guns. His mother, Mary, says, "I don't see anything wrong with that," but some school officials...

Homeschoolers pass the torch: Meet three homeschooled Generation X couples who have learned how to succeed and who intend to pass on this legacy by teaching their own children at home. (Education).
April 22, 2002... Leave it to the National Education Association to be behind the times. Every year at their annual convention, they craft a lame resolution that denounces home educators. According to last year's Resolution B-69, "home schooling programs cannot...

Shopper bags terrorist. (Exercising the Right).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... The Israeli community of Efrat is located in Gush Etzion, a block of Jewish communities in Judea, south of Bethlehem. On February 22nd, a Palestinian laborer wearing a belt packed with explosives entered Efrat and detonated a bomb in a shopping...

Forgivable transgression. (Exercising the Right).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... In another terrorist incident, at around 2:15 a.m. on March 5th a gunman armed with an M-16 rifle opened fire at the Seafood Market disco, an all-night restaurant in Tel Aviv, then entered the establishment and continued the assault, eventually...

Consequences. (Exercising the Right).(Derrick Lemell Breedlove; college bound kid killed; life of crime revealed)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... Derrick Lemell Breedlove, 17, a senior this year at Dundalk High School in Dundalk, Maryland, had earned a football scholarship to attend Hampton University in Virginia this fall. His coach recalls the 6-foot 2-inch, 251-pound tight end and...

Restaurant robbers foiled. (Exercising the Right).(in Little Rock, Arkansas)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... On March 1st in Little Rock, Arkansas, two armed gunmen entered Sim's Bar-B-Que at around 8:00 p.m. and announced a robbery. According to investigators, as reported by KARK-TV on March 3rd, "the owner pulled a gun out from behind the counter...

Integrity at work: Many Americans seek fulfillment by working for material wealth, but only those who find a work worth doing -- and do it well -- gain integrity and true happiness. (First Principles).
April 22, 2002... There comes a time when only the audacity of a parable and a symbol can make the fact live as a truth. Therefore, to realize the integrity of man in relation to his work, let me dare to fashion a parable to be my symbol. There was once a...

The giveaway gang. (Correction, Please!).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... ITEM: The global poverty debate "may delay a solution for the 'pre-eminent moral and humanitarian challenge of our age,' in the words of a United Nations panel...," reported the New York Times for March 18th. "Britain and the World Bank want...

Overheated imaginations. (Correction, Please!).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... ITEM: The break-up of an ice shelf in the Antarctic was treated as more proof of "global warming" on ABC's Good Morning America for March 20th: "The rapid collapse of a massive Antarctic ice shelf has scientists wondering if global warming is...

Bosnian bunco game. (Correction, Please!).(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... ITEM: A piece in the Wall Street Journal for March 15th, entitled "Anti-Terrorism Requires Nation Building," calls for indefinite U.S. peacekeeping operations in the Balkans. Journal editorial writer Matthew Kaminski quotes an American general,...

The sultans of smut. (The Last Word).(community moral standards)(Brief Article)
April 22, 2002... At the time of its 1953 release, the Doris Day musical By the Light of the Silvery Moon earned nostalgic chuckles for its depiction of Milburn, a mythical World War I-era Indiana town. So foreign are the Midwestern manners and mores displayed...