R. Emmett Tyrrell

WASHINGTON — The progressives — once called liberals — have a new target to hate. He is Elon Musk. By the way, the progressives have become very complacent about their targets for hatred. They hate Musk today, but it cannot be only because he is the richest man in the world. There is a tremendous competition to be the richest man in the world, and what I would have thought makes this…

WASHINGTON -- The holiday season commences: Thanksgiving Day, and all the jokes about turkeys; Christmas Day, and all the gifts we give and receive; and finally New Year's Day, and all the bowl games, more food, more drink, leftover turkey and Pepto Bismol! Then finally, back to normalcy, knowing we shall do it all again next year. There is nothing like the holiday season when it comes to…

Let us consider those angry Americans who make an issue over which public toilet they will use -- and, for that matter, which locker room and personal pronoun they prefer, etc., etc. These Americans do not believe that their choice of the toilet should be a matter of personal hygiene. Rather, they see it as a constitutional matter that ought to be brought before the Supreme Court. It probably…

WASHINGTON -- The left-wingers of our great country are steadily expanding the legalization of marijuana. This is a quarrel that I can save for a later date. But the do-gooders of the land are renewing their struggle against demon rum, and unless the relaxed, easygoing Americano resists the do-gooders, they will find themselves fighting Prohibition all over again. How ironic. America is about…

WASHINGTON -- Whatever happened to the Russian Army? For that matter, whatever happened to the Russian Air Force or the Russian Navy whose flagship is now at the bottom of the Black Sea? The answer is nothing. Nothing has happened to the Russian military for 50 years, and President Vladimir Putin should have thought twice before heaving his armed forces into war.

WASHINGTON -- I have always thought that there was something very odd about this COVID pandemic. From start to finish, it has been entoiled in claims of politics. The Democrats murmured against what dark doings President Donald Trump was up to at the pandemic's outset. Then, when the Democrats took power in Washington, the Republicans began to murmur against what dark doings the Democrats were…

WASHINGTON -- The enormous outpouring of affection for Queen Elizabeth II has recently demonstrated to the world that monarchy is not dead. Now attention will turn to King Charles III, and we shall see how he will do. As I intimated last week, I think he will do very well. I said his initial speech to his subjects and to the world was “brilliant.”

WASHINGTON -- I met King Charles III when he was but the prince of Wales on the evening of Nov. 2, 2005. I was the guest of President George W. Bush, and he invited me to the White House perhaps to demonstrate to the future British King that though Great Britain had a much older Spectator, America had its own Spectator, and it was read in the White House. His wife, Laura,…

WASHINGTON -- Back in the days when George H.W. Bush resided in the White House, he told me rather cryptically that I would be getting an invitation to the White House. A few days later I had luncheon with his head of the CIA, Bob Gates, one of the brightest lights that I have ever known in government. Bob wasted no time getting down to business. He told me of his concern that the Russians,…

WASHINGTON – Have you been following the massacres in America? It would be difficult to miss them. By the time I finish this column, and you have read it, maybe another 20 Americans will have succumbed to mass murder. There is, in a country composed of a mix of practical people and idealists, the urgent felt need to do something to end the killing. We are today stuck on the idea of gathering…

WASHINGTON -- There are some 400 million guns in private hands in America. Possibly I exaggerate. Let us say there are only 350 million guns in private hands in America. That still means there are more guns than citizens in America. It is going to take a lot of cops to gather those weapons up. The next time you hear a progressive urging the defunding of police, show him or her these figures.…

WASHINGTON -- In the good old days, when the liberals flourished, they undertook many grand designs. Some actually worked, for instance, the interstate highway system that now girdles America. The Cold War was another liberal idea. It worked, at least at first, before the liberals went wobbly and the conservatives and independents had to come in and finish the liberals' work for them. Of…

Last week, the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that outlawed state anti-abortion laws and federalized an issue that, for all but the last 50 years of our history, was decided by the states. Critics falsely claim that Roe “legalized” abortion, when pre-1973 abortion was legal in the states where a majority of the population resided. It is now falsely…

WASHINGTON — Take a break from the news. From the stories of war in Ukraine, slaughter of schoolchildren in Texas and mayhem against minorities in Buffalo, New York. Turn your attentions at least temporarily to consider Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, celebrating her 70th year on the throne. Did you see those gorgeous pictures of the royal family across the front page of most of the…