Welcome to PoliGazette, the right-of-center news and opinion site. On this frontpage you can read the latest essays, original reports and comprehensive analyses. For the blog, which is updated throughout the day, go here.

INTERNATIONAL

“Russia’s Perspective“
PoliGazette takes a look at the Russia / U.S. crisis from a Russian perspective. Much has been written in recent weeks from a Georgian and Western perspective, but commentators all too often forget to explain that Russia’s invasion did not, from its own perspective, come out of the blue.
Michael van der Galien explains that Russia’s invasion of neighboring Georgia was a reaction to America crawling to Russia’s borders; former Soviet Republics are increasinly democratizing and the United States is a strong proponent of having many of them join NATO, the alliance created to contain Russia.

“The Comeback of Extremists in Turkey“
Reporting from Istanbul, Turkey, Michael van der Galien notices that the landscape has changed considerably in only one year time; where few Turkish women covered themselves up completely in 2007, one can now see many women dressed entirely in black, covering everything except for their eyes.
Quite some of those women are from Iran. They are not citizens of Turkey; they only visit it during summer break. In Iran, television is censored to an unimaginable degree, but the Iranian leaders allow their subjects to watch some foreign shows, many of which from Turkey. These women watch the shows, are interested in what Turkey really looks like, get on a plane, and find out for themselves what a secular Muslim state can look like.
Others, however, are Turkish. The Justice and Development Party’s (AK Parti) power seems to change Turkey rather rapidly.

NATIONAL

“Obama and Free Speech”
PoliGazette takes a closer look at efforts by the Obama campaign and its supporters to stifle critics using mob tactics and even the power of the state. These efforts are beginning to raise serious concerns about what the stature of free speech would be under an Obama administration. Even for those who are generally sympathetic to Obama’s campaign, this is a matter for dread. Even if Obama himself is not directly involved in efforts for ideological repression, the kind of people who would be empowered in an Obama administration are increasingly showing exposing their draconian plans for stifling dissent.
 

“Misreading the Culture Wars“
Many anti-conservatives think they have found a winner with their continuing casting of 17-year-old Bristol Palin, daughter of Governor Sarah Palin, as the dispositive indicator of “hypocrisy” on the part of social conservatives. To them, if any social conservative OR any member of his or her family or group of friends is anything less than morally perfect, then that is proof of “hypocrisy” to be trumpeted from the rooftops with an assured smugness that only those who actually DO believe themselves to be morally perfect can muster.
Jason Steck, managing editor, explains that the problem with the above is that in their rush to preen themselves and hate conservatives (yet again), they read social conservatives exactly wrong.

“Libertarians for Palin“
Although Sarah Palin is often depicted as a staunch social conservative, who is independent - almost a maverick - on other issues, one could certainly defend the thesis that she is the best running mate, or nominee for the presidency even, libertarians have had in decades.
She is a social conservative, without being aggressive about. She is a Christian conservative, but not one who condemns others to hellfire if they do not live according to her values, let alone to punishment by the government. She is a supporter of the free market, and is willing to take on the establishment standing in the way of private citizens trying to improve their lives. When it comes to health care and education too, she is someone libertarians could support.