The Other Rodriguez

Breaking News

August 7, 2013

Mornin' Jolters,

The news of late has been all about the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, but there's another Rodriguez more deserving of our attention, as our Jay Nordlinger points out. Felix Rodriguez is a freedom fighter and the man who captured Che Guevara. Read more about this hero and his unique life here.

Yesterday, the military finally began the court-martial of Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who murdered 14 innocents at Ft. Hood in 2009. The White House has claimed this act of terrorism was "workplace violence." Michelle Malkin reminds us of three facts that have been forgotten since the shooting.

This week, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, bought the Washington Post. Putting aside the questions about the future of the paper itself, what does the sale of the newspaper mean to the media elite in Washington? Michael Walsh has the story.

Edward Snowden is in the process of putting down stakes in Russia (doesn't quite have the same allure as the American frontier, does it?). With the Russians and the Chinese both anxious to get their hands on the information Snowden possesses, where is the possibly the safest place for him to be — safest as in safest for the United States? Right here at home, free from prosecution, argues Robert Zubrin.

And, Jonah Goldberg examines the myth of the GOP's isolationism. Isolationism, in American history, has been bipartisan, and the isolationist tendencies of today's libertarian Republicans and yesterday's Old Right are vastly overrated. There's a debate to be had on America's foreign policy, but bandying about the term "isolationism" isn't likely to be productive or solve our current problems around the globe.

We have a bunch more on NRO today, including articles on Wendy Davis (yes, the Texas state senator whose rant lead to this), the failure of school choice, and of course, Obamacare. So, check it, and the Corner, out.

Now Jim's second reason to love modern politics and D.C.:

Something Worth Loving About Washington, Part Two: A City of Transplants.

Perhaps cities of transplants aren't as rare as they used to be, as we become a more transient culture.

But if there are large chunks of the country you may never get the chance to visit, the next best thing is to have a friend from there. There are people born and bred in the Washington area, but they're surprisingly hard to find. My old post-college crowd featured a Californian, a Texan, a Pittsburgher, a Philadelphian, an upstate New Yorker, a Canadian, a South Dakotan, two Floridians (one upstate, one Miami) and two New Jerseyans. It's amazing we could all understand each other.

If you go to a bar on a Sunday afternoon in the D.C. area, you will find a section of Redskins fans — but then you'll also find almost every other team represented, depending upon the size of the establishment. You see somebody with your team's jersey, you start talking, and you've made a friend. Sure, you're not from around here, but neither is everyone else. Washington is pretty welcoming of outsiders because most of us were outsiders.

The same is true for college football, baseball, college basketball — everybody comes here with their hometown loyalties, and it's instant, easy conversation starter.

To read more, visit www.nationalreview.com

Why not forward this to a friend? Encourage them to sign up for NR's great free newsletters here.

Save 75%... Subscribe to National Review magazine today and get 75% off the newsstand price. Click here for the print edition or here for the digital.

National Review also makes a great gift! Click here to send a full-year of NR Digital or here to send the print edition to family, friends, and fellow conservatives.