Christine Willett

An American Carol: Film Review

David Zucker’s “An American Carol” is a goofy, over the top and occasionally risqué comedy in the tradition of his previous film genre parodies “Airplane” and “Top Secret!” The plot revolves around the efforts of documentary film producer Michael Malone (read Michael Moore) to abolish Fourth of July as a holiday. Malone’s rationale being Americans should not celebrate the birthday of an oppressive, racist, sexist, warmongering nation. To convince Malone of the error of his PC pieties, the ghosts of Presidents John F. Kennedy and George Washington, General George Patton and the Angel of Death (played by country music artist Trace Adkins) visit him à la the spirits in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Economics and Foreign Policy

“If a financial institution has business operations in the United States, hires people in the United States, if they are clogged with illiquid assets, they have the same impact on the American people as any other institution.”  With this statement, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson provided European and Canadian financial institutions the possibility of an infusion of American taxpayer dollars as part of the proposed $700 billion Wall Street Bail Out Plan.  This aspect of the plan highlights the close ties between economic and foreign policy issues.

The foreign policy gorilla in the economic room…

Governors, Foreign Policy and Modern American History

“I can see Russia from my house.” So spoke comedienne Tina Fey impersonating Governor Sarah Palin in a recent Saturday Night Live skit poking fun at the Governor’s foreign policy acumen among other perceived foibles. This skit reflects the actual criticism of Governor Palin’s foreign policy credentials by the Obama campaign and various political and media pundits. Much of this disparagement is based on the extent of her political experience – Mayor of a small Alaskan city and Governor of a state with a population of approximately 670,000 (according to the US Census Bureau estimate of 2006). Do they have a point? Just how important is wider foreign policy experience to a person who would be the proverbial “heartbeat…