TFP.org Venezuela: Chavez and “Syncretic Socialism” A contradictory and ambiguous mix of religion, anarchism, indigenism, communism, and post-Gramscian strategies of the World Social Forum (WSF) 1. In his first speech after the election of December 3, Venezuela’s president-reelect, Hugo Chavez, set the goal for his new mandate while hinting at the obstacles he … Read more
Ecuador’s Dilemma: President-elect Correa to Decide Between “Evo-Chavism” and “Ortega-Lulism?” Ecuador’s President-elect Rafael Correa will be stepping on eggshells to avoid irritating centrists whose votes he managed to secure with a last-minute makeover in the likeness of Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The move gave him the … Read more
Kansans might have thought they had heard everything about the “Little Way” of Saint Thérèse. Many were surprised when attending a lecture given at two venues by TFP member Norman Fulkerson, titled: “Applying the Little Way of Saint Thérèse to Our Fatima Times.” Forty-five people attended a December 7 meeting in Topeka, … Read more
Twenty-five years ago, socialists the world over were talking about a new kind of socialism that they hoped would sweep the world. Buoyed by the 1981 presidential victory of France’s Francois Mitterrand, Socialists everywhere were electrified by a new buzzword: self-management. With this new word in its arsenal, the left thought it … Read more
Lula: A “Useful Moderate” At the Service of Chavez? If Lenin were alive today he might prefer calling someone a “useful moderate” rather than his classic “useful idiot.” This is the role President Lula plays in Latin America today. Whether he is really a moderate is debatable, but there’s no doubt he’s … Read more
The Department of Theater, Arts and Dance of the University of Minnesota is planning to stage a blasphemous play called The Pope and the Witch starting on March 1, 2007. According to The New York Times: “The witch, in nun’s habit, turns up as an aide to the doctor summoned to treat … Read more
What the 2006 Elections Were Not While many discuss what the 2006 elections represented, perhaps it is better to discuss what the elections did not represent. The 2006 elections were not about voter satisfaction. They reflected unrest and uncertainty about the future. The 2006 elections were not only about issues. Voters strongly … Read more
“History, Tradition and Education” was the theme of the Eleventh Foundations of Education Symposium held on November 10 at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. The one-day event was organized by the school’s Prof. G. Daniel Harden who put together an exciting program attended by students, teachers, scholars, officials and concerned citizens. In … Read more
The school year is back in full swing and TFP Student Action is ready to face another season of discussions, protests and events. With this in mind, the group organized an informal weekend event, from November 3-5 for around ten of its closer student friends, to discuss current events from the perspective … Read more
In the continuing debate on same-sex “marriage,” proponents commonly highlight the 1,049 benefits extended by the federal government to couples united in marriage. They claim that such benefits and those of the states should also be extended to homosexual couples. Indeed, this was the reasoning of the Supreme Court judges who ruled … Read more