After America

by Mark Steyn

  56 Scott Waldman, “State standards tweaks target early learners,” The Albany Times Union, January 13, 2011; available online at http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/State-standards-tweaks-target-early-learners-953033.php.

  57 Lillian G. Katz, “Reading, Writing and Narcissism,” The American Educator, Summer, 1993; available online at http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-07-16/news/1993197146_1_self-esteem-i-am-special-children.

  58 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Student Learning: Attitudes, Engagement and Strategies,” Figure 3.6, p. 134, 2003; available online at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/58/37/33918006.pdf.

  59 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Education at a Glance 2009: OECD Indicators,” Indicator A4, 2009; available online at http://www.oecd.org/document/24/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_43586328_1_1_1_37455,00.html.

  60 Charles Savage, “Scouring Obama’s Past for Clues on Judiciary,” New York Times, May 9, 2009; available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/us/politics/10court.html.

  61 Obama for America, “American Stories, American Solutions,” October 29, 2008; available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtREqAmLsoA.

  62 Paul Bedard, “Help for Obama’s Shack-Living Brother,” US News & World Report, September 10, 2008; available online at http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2008/09/10/help-for-obamas-shack-living-brother.

  63 Remarks made during interview with Cathleen Falsani in Chicago, Illinois, March 27, 2004; available online at http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2008/11/obamas-interview-with-cathleen.html.

  64 Remarks made in video address aired in Berlin, Germany, November 9, 2009; available online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8351471.stm.

  65 Remarks to Planned Parenthood in Washington, D.C., July 17, 2007; available online at http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2007/07/17/4439758-obamaon-judges-supreme-court.

  66 Interview with Paula Zahn, “People in the News,” CNN, April 17, 2004; transcript available online at http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0404/17/pitn.00.html.

  67 Andrew Sullivan, “Goodbye to All That: Why Obama Matters,” The Atlantic Monthly, December, 2007; available online at http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/12/goodbye-to-all-that-why-obama-matters/6445/1/.

  68 “Al Qaeda leader mocks Obama in Web posting,” CNN, November 19, 2008; available online at http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-19/us/obama.alqaeda_1_al-zawahiri-barack-obama-obama-s-muslim?_s=PM:US.

  69 Remarks during a Department of Defense news briefing in Washington, D.C., February 12, 2002; available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtkUO8NpI84.

  70 Remarks during 9/11 anniversary observance in Boston, Massachusetts, September 11, 2007; available online at http://hotair.com/archives/2007/09/11/video-911-was-a-failure-of-human-understanding-says-mass-governor/.

  71 Remarks made on CBS Evening News, May 3, 2010; available online at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/03/eveningnews/main6457014.shtml.

  72 Remarks at a press conference in New York, New York, May 4, 2010; available online at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-03/new-york-city-plansto-deploy-more-cameras-mayor-says.html.

  73 Bobby Cuza, “Bloomberg Repeatedly Defends Mosque By WTC Site,” NY1 News, July 16, 2010; available online at http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/top_stories/122239/bloomberg-repeatedly-defends-mosque-by-wtc-site.

  74 Remarks made in New York, New York, August 3, 2010; available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/nyregion/04mosque.html.

  75 Hendrik Hertzberg, “Zero Grounds,” The New Yorker, August 16, 2010; available online at http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2010/08/16/100816taco_talk_hertzberg.

  76 Vince Veneziani, “Oh Please: CNN Anchors Wonder If Times Square Bombing Suspect Was Stressed From Being Foreclosed On,” Business Insider, May 4, 2010; available online at http://www.businessinsider.com/faisal-shahzadforeclosed-2010-5.

  77 James Gordon Meek, “Times Square bomb plotter Faisal Shahzad mumbles his way through ‘suicide attack’ video,” New York Daily News, July 14, 2010; available online at http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-07-14/news/27069966_1_bombplotter-pakistani-taliban-al-qaeda.

  78 Paul Berman, The Flight of the Intellectuals: The Controversy Over Islamism and the Press (Melville House, 2011).

  79 All headlines available online at http://www.navy.mil/swf/index.asp.

  80 Richard Esposito, Mary-Rose Abraham, and Rhonda Schwartz, “Major Hasan: Soldier of Allah; Many Ties to Jihad Web Sites,” ABCNews.com, November 12, 2009; available online at http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/hasan-multiple-mailaccounts-officials/story?id=9065692.

  81 Associated Press, “Clear warning signs, Hasan’s colleagues say,” November 7, 2009; available online at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33753461/ns/us_newstragedy_at_fort_hood/t/clear-warning-signs-hasans-colleagues-say/.

  82 Associated Press, “Some recognized Fort Hood Army psychiatrist was troubled,” November 8, 2009; available online at http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/article1050288.ece.

  83 Barry Rubin, “Why I Murdered 13 American Soldiers at Ford Hood: Nidal Hassan Explains It All To You,” The Rubin Report, November 14, 2009; available online at http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2009/11/why-i-murdered-13-american-soldiers-at.html.

  84 Daniel Zwerdling and Steve Inskeep, “Former Colleagues Say Hasan Was Detached,” NPR, November 10, 2009; available online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120266836.

  85 Philip Sherwell, “Fort Hood shooting: Nidal Malik Hasan ‘said Muslims should rise up’,” The Telegraph, November 6, 2009; available online at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6511591/Fort-Hoodshooting-Nidal-Malik-Hasan-said-Muslims-should-rise-up.html.

  86 Remarks made during an interview with FOX News, November 5, 2009; available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPrT0T3371Q.

  87 Associated Press, “Napolitano Warns Against Anti-Muslim Backlash,” FoxNews. com, November 8, 2009; available online at http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/08/napolitano-warns-anti-muslim-backlash/.

  88 Andrew Bast, “Is Fort Hood a Harbinger? Nidal Malik Hasan May Be a Symptom of a Military on the Brink,” Newsweek, November 6, 2009; available online at http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/the-human-condition/2009/11/06/is-forthood-a-harbinger-nidal-malik-hasan-may-be-a-symptom-of-a-military-on-the-brink.html.

  89 Editorial, “In Plain Sight?” Washington Post, November 12, 2009; available online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111123438.html.

  90 Frank Gaffney, “Connect the Dots on CAIR’s Foreign Funding and Lobbying at CAIRObservatory.org,” BigGovernment.com, April 3, 2010; available online http://biggovernment.com/fgaffney/2010/04/03/connect-the-dots-on-cairsforeign-funding-and-lobbying-at-cairobservatory-org/.

  91 Chris Ayers, “Barack Obama ‘insensitive’ over his handling of Fort Hood shooting,” The Times, November 9, 2009; available online at http://www.timesonline. co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6908849.ece.

  92 Sharon Weinberger, “Fort Hood Shooting Puts Focus on ‘Internal Threat’,” Aol-News. com, August 20, 2010; available online at http://www.aolnews.com/2010/08/20/fort-hood-shooting-prompts-focus-on-internal-threat/ and http://www.defense.gov/news/d20100820FortHoodFollowon.pdf.

  93 Adam Sternbergh, “Up With Grups,” New York, March 26, 2006; available online at http://nymag.com/news/features/16529/.

  94 Remarks made during a town hall in Strongsville, Ohio, March 15, 2010 ; available online at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-health-care-reform-strongsville-ohio.

  95 Tim Craig, “D.C. to begin using more-expensive Trojan condoms in HIV prevention program,” Washington Post, May 21, 2010; available online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/20/AR2010052003980.html.

  96 April Gavaza, “Sweet Baby Jesus,” The Hyacinth Girl, May 22, 2010; available online at http://thehyacinthgirl.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/sweet-ba
by-jesus/.

  97 Kimi Yoshino, “For the ‘funemployed,’ unemployment is welcome,” Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2009; available online at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/lame-funemployment4-2009jun04,0,7581684.story.

  98 Victor Davis Hanson, “Ten Random, Politically Incorrect Thoughts,” Pajamas-Media. com, November 21, 2008; available online at http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/ten-random-politicially-incorrect-thoughts/.

  99 Jessica Reaves, “Gore’s Political ‘Promiscuities’,” Time, November 1, 1999; available online at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,33529,00.html.

  100 Interview with Ross Robertson of Enlightenment, August-October 2008; available online at http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j41/mansfield.asp?page=1.

  101 Remarks at a press conference in Beverly Hills, California, August 8, 2010; available online at http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20408849,00.html.

  102 Elizabeth Marquardt, Norval D. Glenn, and Karen Clark, “My Daddy’s Name is Donor: New Study of Young Adults Conceived Through Sperm Donation,” Institute for American Values, 2010; available online at http://www.familyscholars.org/assets/Donor_FINAL.pdf.

  103 Kristin Boehm, “Alexis Stewart Continues Fertility Treatments,” People, October 9, 2007; available online at http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20151378,00.html.

  104 Mark Dagostino, “My Struggle to Have a Baby,” People, August 13, 2007; available online at http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20059186,00.html.

  105 John F. Harris and Beth Frerking, “Clinton aides: Palin treatment sexist,” Politico, September 3, 2008; available online at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13129.html.

  106 Cherry Norton, “Maternal instinct ‘is extinct for one woman in five’,” The Independent , October 27, 1999; available online at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/maternal-instinct-is-extinct-for-one-woman-infive-743042.html.

  107 Christina Hoff Summers, The War Against Boys (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001).

  108 Interview with Ross Robertson of Enlightenment, August-October 2008; available online at http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j41/mansfield.asp?page=1.

  109 Dennis Cauchon, “Women Gain as Men Lose Jobs,” USA Today, September 3, 2009; available online at http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-09-02-womenwork_N.htm.

  110 Sara Murray, “Grads Head to College In Record Numbers,” Wall Street Journal, April 28, 2010; available online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703832204575210244203411342.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond.

  111 National Center for Education Statistics, “Digest of Education Statistics 2009,” Table 275, p. 400, April 2010; http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010013.pdf.

  112 George F. Will, “The Basement Boys,” Newsweek, March 8, 2010; available online at http://www.newsweek.com/2010/03/07/the-basement-boys.html.

  113 Ibid.

  114 Keturah Gray, “Quarterlife Crisis Hits Many in Late 20s,” ABC News, April 21, 2005; available online at http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Careers/story?id=688240&page=1.

  115 George F. Will, “The Basement Boys,” Newsweek.

  116 Kay Hymowitz, “Child-Man in the Promised Land,” City Journal, Winter 2008; available online at http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_1_single_young_men.html.

  117 Ibid.

  118 Ibid.

  119 Peg Tyre, “Bringing Up Adultolescents,” Newsweek, March 25, 2002; available online at http://www.newsweek.com/2002/03/24/bringing-up-adultolescents.html and http://www.hyper-parenting.com/newsweek5.htm.

  120 Tom W. Smith, “The Emerging 21st Century American Family,” National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, November 24, 1999; available online at http://cloud9.norc.uchicago.edu/dlib/sc-42.htm.

  121 Gary Cross, Men To Boys: The Making Of Modern Immaturity (Columbia University Press, 2010).

  122 Jenny Hope, “Concern as sperm count falls,” Daily Mail, (no date given); available online at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-205209/Concern-spermcount-falls.html.

  123 Liz Hunt, “Sperm count drops 25% in younger men,” The Independent, February 23, 1996; available online at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sperm-countdrops-25-in-younger-men-1320456.html.

  124 Lester Haines, “Swedish lesbians suck sperm banks dry,” The Register, July 24, 2009; available online at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/24/swedish_shortage/.

  125 “Hero students leap into river to save drowning woman...as police officers refuse to help,” Daily Mail, May 12, 2010; available online at http://www.dailymail. co.uk/news/article-1277480/3-students-leap-River-Clyde-save-drowningwoman-police-REFUSE.html.

  126 Richard Savill and Andy Bloxham, “Police unable to save girl from icy river because of health and safety,” The Telegraph, February 13, 2010; available online at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7224051/Police-unable-tosave-girl-from-icy-river-because-of-health-and-safety.html.

  127 “Police defend drowning death case,” BBC, September 21, 2007; available online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7006412.stm.

  128 David Lister, “Fireman faces punishment for risking his life in rescue,” The Times, March 26, 2007; available online at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1567322.ece.

  129 Melanie Reid, “Firefighters left woman in mine shaft for six hours due to ‘health and safety concerns’,” The Times, March 3, 2010; available online at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7047101.ece.

  130 Edecio Martinez, “Seattle Bus Tunnel Beating: 15-Year-Old Girl Viciously Attacked, Guards Watched,” Associated Press, February 12, 2010; available online at http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-6197753-504083.html.

  131 “Gunman massacres 14 women,” CBC, December 6, 1989; available online at http://archives.cbc.ca/society/crime_justice/topics/398/.

  132 Ingrid Peritz,“Are we ready to relive the Montreal massacre?” The Globe and Mail, January 30, 2009; available online at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/are-we-ready-to-relive-the-montreal-massacre/article969167/singlepage/.

  133 “Titanic hero apology cuts no ice,” The Herald, April 16, 1998; available online at http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/titanic-hero-apologycuts-no-ice-film-executive-s-visit-too-little-too-late-1.346954.

  134 Accident Investigation Board of Finland, “MV Estonia,” December 1997; available online at http://www.onnettomuustutkinta.fi/en/Etusivu/Tutkintaselostukset/Vesiliikenne/MVEstonia.

  135 James O. Jackson, Ulla Plon, and Bruce van Voorst, “The Cruel Sea,” Time, October 10, 1994; available online at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981585-2,00.html.

  136 “Montreal Massacre movie depicts killer as non-bearded non-Muslim for some wacky reason,” FiveFeetOfFury.com, February 15, 2009, http://www.fivefeetofury.com/2009/02/7951/.

  137 Paul Belien, “The Rape of Europe,” The Brussels Journal, October 25, 2006; available online at http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1609.

  Chapter Five

  1 Arnold J. Toynbee, The Prospects of Western Civilization (New York: Columbia University Press, 1949).

  2 “Britain makes final WW2 lend-lease payment,” InTheNews.co.uk, December 29, 2006; available online at http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/news/finance/britain-makes-final-ww2-lend-lease-payment-$1034891.htm.

  3 Remarks to the House of Commons, London, England, November 10, 1942; available online at http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/EndoBegn.html.

  4 Daniel Hannan, “Happy Independence Day to all my American readers: keep the torch of British liberty aflame!” The Telegraph, July 4, 2010; available online at http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100046044/happyindependence-day-to-all-my-american-readers-keep-the-torch-of-british-liberty-aflame/.

  5 “China ‘will be the world’s biggest economy by 2027’,” The London Evening Standard November 17, 2009; available online at http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23770626-china-will-be-the-worlds-biggest-economyby-2027.do.


  6 Rich Miller and Simon Kennedy, “Lawrence SummersG-20 Plans to End ‘Financial Balance of Terror’ After Summit,” Bloomberg News, September 27, 2009; available online at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aVpPMKLa50rc.

  7 Ben Arnoldy, “China warships dock in Burma, rattling rival naval power India,” The Christian-Science Monitor, August 30, 2010; available online at http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0830/China-warships-dockin-Burma-rattling-rival-naval-power-India.

  8 David Leonhardt, “The Real Problem With China,” New York Times, January 11, 2011; available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/business/economy/12leonhardt.html.

  9 William Matthews, “Chinese Cyber Attacks On Rise: U.S. Report,” Defense News, November 20, 2010; available online at http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3830559.

  10 Francis Harris, “Beijing secretly fires lasers to disable US satellites,” The Telegraph, September 26, 2006; available online at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1529864/Beijing-secretly-fires-lasers-to-disable-US-satellites.html.

  11 Paul Danahar, “Taliban ‘getting Chinese arms’,” BBC, September 3, 2007; available online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6975934.stm.

  12 Shaun Waterman, “China aids N. Korea, Iran with nuke advances,” The Washington Times, May 17, 2011; available online at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/17/beijing-aiding-north-korea-and-iran-with-nuke-adva/.

  13 Ibid.

  14 Gordon G. Chang, “China’s Illicit Nuclear Transfers to Iran,” Hudson New York, April 12, 2010; available online at http://www.hudson-ny.org/1141/chinas-illicitnuclear-transfers-to-iran.

  15 Sam Jones, “Geert Wilders anti-Islam film gets House of Lords screening,” The Guardian, March 5, 2010; available online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/05/geert-wilders-house-of-lords.

  16 Remarks made to the House of Lords in London, England, March 5, 2010; available online at http://www.geertwilders.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1662&Itemid=1.

  17 Tim Shipman, “Barack Obama sends bust of Winston Churchill on its way back to Britain,” The Telegraph, February 14, 2009; available online at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/4623148/Barack-Obama-sendsbust-of-Winston-Churchill-on-its-way-back-to-Britain.html.