Global
The Kennedy Half Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy
by Larry J. Sabato
Unless you have been living in a cave or missed the surfeit of books that were published, you know that last November 22 was the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Even the most diehard Kennedy acolyte must wonder if there is anything new left to say about the president or his family; at least two generations of Americans have no living memory of him or his short administration. Yet fifty years later JFK still has a tremendous hold on the American psyche, and each anniversary of his murder finds scholars and pundits puzzling over how and why this president, who only served for one thousand days, still captures our imaginations so.
If war were inevitable, there would be little point in trying to end it. If war were inevitable, a moral case might be made for trying to lessen its damage while it continued. And numerous parochial cases could be made for being prepared to win inevitable wars for this side or that side.
Critics of internet and computer voting have an axiom: the election is never over until the cybervote comes in. Now there is a Spanish-based company planning to count U.S. overseas and military votes from Europe. It also has the technology to manufacture, manipulate and rig the vote count. Welcome to the world of Scytl. This spooky new world is held together through a complex assortment of interlocking directorships and investment deals.
The dangers to free and fair elections posed by electronic voting are well documented. Partisan goals can be achieved through the subversion of the central tabulation via an attack on the voting network. Wealthy politicians or their friends can invest in and own the voting machine manufacturers. The manufacturers themselves can be openly partisan. The threat to the universal franchise posed by the intelligence community controlling the manufacture of voting equipment from design and development to sales and integration outweighs all previous dangers.
There’s a new X-Men movie out, the excellent Days of Future Past, and that means it’s time for the Fake Geek Boys to phone in filler about the X-Men characters they remember from the 90s cartoon. But here at the Free Press mutants are serious business, so instead of the Top 10 Most Overrated X-Men, I present to you: The Top 10 X-Men Who Are Better Than the Alive’s Top 10 X-Men.
10. Longshot
Engineered in another dimension to be the ultimate fighting performer, Longshot also has the power of Luck on his side. Every thrown knife hits its target and every lady (and man so inclined) swoons for him. It helps that he’s a naïve and likable guy.
9. Colossus
Piotr Rasputin is the classic big guy with a heart of gold—and skin of organic steel. The big Russian softie is a capable fighter and one-half of the classic Fastball Special, but he’d rather be painting.
8. Magik
