Are the chickens coming home to roost in America? Are we witnessing the fulfilment of a two hundred year old prediction by John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers and the 2nd President of the USA? “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” (Letter […]
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From murderers to heroes
(This is the first of a three-part series on Iván Héjjas the leader of the Ragged Guard) A conference has just ended in Kecskemét called “Of the brave and heroic,” a tribute to the Ragged Guard...
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Nicholas (Miklós) Nyaradi – from banker to anti-Communist crusader
As part of our series on lesser known Hungarian Americans we introduce Nicholas Nyaradi or Miklós Nyáradi (Scheidl) the Hungarian banker and politician who became a significant voice in the anti-Communist...
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Leaving Las Vegas — Orbán Lobbyist Richard Grenell leads Anti-Biden Conspiracy Theorists in America
Without identifying himself, in spite of repeated questions from reporters, one of Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán’s top US lobbyists, Richard Grenell, held a press conference this week in Las Vegas...
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Géza Szőcs has died
Géza Szőcs, poet and former Secretary of State for Culture in the early years of the Orbán government, has died at age 67 from COVID-19. Whenever I read his name I am reminded of Elie Wiesel’s...
Recently in the spotlight
Antonia Eliason, Mississippi’s first Democratic Socialist candidate has Hungarian roots
Antonia Eliason is the Democratic candidate in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District. Since 2013 Ms. Eliason has been a professor at the University of Mississippi, School of Law. She is the state’s first ever Democratic Socialist candidate focusing on environmental justice, universal healthcare and workers’ rights. I called her on the phone because I discovered in her CV that she speaks […]
Rep. Marcy Kaptur co-chair of the Hungarian American Caucus is favored to be re-elected
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur is a Democrat and she is representing Ohio’s 9th Congressional District. The 74-years-old politician has served in Congress longer than any other woman in history. Her congressional career started in 1983 and in November she has a good chance to be re-elected for another 2-year term. Her Republican challenger is 48-year-old Rob Weber, a lawyer, a West […]
Hungarian-born Agnes Gibboney is running for US Congress in California
A 66-year-old Republican, Agnes Gibboney is running for the Congressional seat in District 31, Rancho Cucamonga, California. Gibboney is an Angel Mom who supports President Trump and has appeared with the President on several occasions. (Angel Moms: a group of mothers whose child was killed by an undocumented immigrant.) Gibboney speaks Hungarian and travelled to Budapest to appear on Zsolt […]
Trianon Conference at the University of Toronto
On October 15, 2020 the University of Toronto, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy organized a Zoom conference entitled European Conflicted Heritage: New Reflections on the Treaty of Trianon 100 Years in Perspective (1920-2020). According to the brief description the Treaty of Trianon was signed 100 years ago yet its impact is still being felt by Hungarian minorities and the diaspora alike. […]
President Trump called me in the kitchen…and other tales
Namedropping, exaggerating influence and political connections are hallmarks of Hungarian foreign policy. Let’s face it, Hungary is a small country with less than 10 million people; it is one of the poorest countries in the European Union with a GDP close to Cincinnati’s. Hungary’s political gravitas and strategic importance are insignificant. (And please don’t be offended.) Yet, according to its […]
The last will be first — Fr. Pierangelo Paternieri’s homily at Our Lady of Hungary Parish
Our Lady of Hungary Parish in Montreal, which currently does not have its own Hungarian-speaking pastor, is being served by visiting priests from the Archdiocese of Montreal. As a sign of the diversity of Canada’s second largest city, clergy of different backgrounds have celebrated Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Hungary Parish since the church’s reopening in July, following the […]
Orbán’s attempt at blackmail
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is blackmailing the rest of the European Union, but MEPs and EU leaders must call his bluff to hold up the COVID-19 recovery fund if rule of law criteria are included. This may be the EU’s last chance to crack down on his rogue regime. Orbán is threatening to withhold Hungary’s agreement to the EU’s […]
Monument to the Terror: Red or White?
A statue of Imre Nagy was erected on the southeast corner of Kossuth Square in 1996, to commemorate the 1956 Revolution he led as the Communist leader of his country and for which he gave his life. He is standing on a bridge looking towards the Parliament building. That bronze sculpture stood there until the fall of 2018 when Viktor […]
Viktor Orbán – the Coolest Hungarian
Blikk is a popular Hungarian language tabloid and Prime Minister Orbán recently gave them an “exclusive” interview about the importance of wearing the mask. Hungary has a serious uptick in Covid19 infections. “I always have a couple masks in the car and in the office, these are medical grade,” he explained. Orbán says that the masks are inconvenient and uncomfortable […]
Artist Revolt Against Orbán
For the last few days an unprecedented strike has taken place in the center of Budapest. 600 students and faculty of the University of Theater and Film (SZFE) have joined forces to oppose the government’s “privatization” of the University. They have taken to the street, resolved not to allow the newly appointed head of the University to enter. The man […]
