 |
|
|
|
||
|
<% printurl = Request.ServerVariables("URL")%>SPEAKING OF SWARTHMORE AND THE NEW YORK TIMES.... [Jonah Goldberg]
I love this headline from a piece in today's Times: "No Big Deal, but Some Dorm Rooms Have Gone Coed." No editorializing there. The gist of the piece is that some homosexual students feel uncomfortable rooming with heterosexual guys so they want to shack up with chicks. And here I thought diversity was everything.
Posted 3:40 PM | [Link]
SLOUCHING TOWARD SWARTHMORE [Jonah Goldberg]
I received the following email in response to my column from a student at Swarthmore College. It speaks for itself:
"I've been reading your NRO column for some time and I couldn't agree more with your latest column on censorship. I am one of a relatively few (this is an understatement) conservative-leaning students at Swarthmore College. I am afraid to tell you that the toothpaste has long been out of the tube here. Recently, a Swarthmore student was arrested by the FBI for possessing pornographic images of pre-pubescent children and soliciting sex from a minor over the internet. And wouldn't you know it but everyone came to his defense, writing letters to the Phoenix (our school paper) that this student posed no threat to the community. One girl, who is a student and has a 5 year old-daughter, responded to these letters by claiming that as a mother, she thought the pedophile posed a grave threat to the community. Well, she was lambasted in private forums as worse than a pedophile because she had chosen (gasp!) not to have an abortion when she was a pregnant teenager. So that about seems to be the consensus here, that a girl who chooses not to have an abortion is worse than a pedophile. Oh well. I suppose this sort of thing happening at Swarthmore won't surprise many, but I was shocked."
Posted 3:34 PM | [Link]
BLAME AUSTRIA [Andrew Stuttaford]
I should have highlighted this before, but one of the people quoted in the New York Times piece notes that "Glocks...are Austrian, but the notion of firing two at once is a movie fantasy". A Corner reader writes to say how he just loves "the idea that a gunman using a Glock - a weapon developed, manufactured and sold by Austrians - is somehow still the result of US influence."
Posted 2:22 PM | [Link]
BLAME THE SECOND AMENDMENT [Andrew Stuttaford]
One other thing to note about that New York Times piece is the way in which the writer tries to turn European concerns over crime into a rehash of this country's firearms controversies. Typical for articles of this genre, a chart is provided comparing homicide levels in Europe with the (far worse) rates in the US. The usual gun control implications are clearly meant to be drawn.
This is to miss the point. Europeans are certainly troubled by the increased incidence of gun-related crime, but the main focus of their alarm is not firearms (or even murders) in particular, but over rising levels of violent assault in general. The sense of insecurity comes not from the thought of being gunned down, but from fears of a burglar with an iron bar or a mugger with a knife. This anxiety is, in fact, well-grounded and Professor John (More Guns, Less Crime) Lott might well be able to explain why. In the meantime, let's just hope, on the next occasion that the New York Times revisits this topic, that the article will be illustrated with a chart comparing the level of all violent crimes on both sides of the Atlantic. It will reveal a more complex picture and deliver a very different message.
Posted 1:58 PM | [Link]
"GENOCIDE BOMBERS": [Rod Dreher] I can understand the frustration with the term "suicide bombers," though it still seems to me preferable to the near-redundant "homicide bombers." Given the extreme Islamofascism of the Palestinian fanatics, who praise Hitler and speak of cleansing Palestine of Jews, it seems to me that Anne Wilson really nails it with her term genocide bombers.
Posted 1:07 PM | [Link]
BLAME AMERICA [Andrew Stuttaford]
There's a bizarre piece in the New York Times today on European reaction to recent violence over there. Some Europeans are, apparently, blaming the United States for their problems, saying that America "exports gun-driven violence as blithely as it does software and Boeings". Well, I suppose that there may be a time when the inhabitants of the continent of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Slobodan Milosevic can lecture America about its "violence", but I don't think that that moment has yet arrived.
Posted 12:52 PM | [Link]
BLAME THE VICTIM [Andrew Stuttaford]
Like most European newspapers, London's leftist Independent runs a story today on Fortuyn's funeral. There's nothing particularly revealing within the report, but its headline is a classic: "Tears for the extremist who upset a land of tolerance"
In some circles, it seems, the assassinated Dutchman is still considered an "extremist". And, by the way, it was not Fortuyn who "upset the land of tolerance", but his murderer.
Posted 12:36 PM | [Link]
YOU THOUGHT I WAS KIDDING? [Jonah Goldberg]
In yesterday's column I wrote that sexual leftists were already committed to demystifying child sexuality. Lo and behold this morning's Washington Post has an article on Judith Levine who believes that the age of consent for minors should be dropped to 12, that the right-wing is hysterical about pedophilia, and that children have the "right" to sexual gratification. From the Post:
"Sex is not ipso facto harmful to minors," Levine writes, "and America's drive to protect kids from sex is protecting them from nothing. Adults owe children not only protection and a schooling in safety but also the entitlement to pleasure."
That is, the adults who teach the sex education courses Levine likes, but not necessarily parents, who don't count for much.
"Laudable protective parental instincts notwithstanding, an intimate consensual sexual relationship, including one between minors, is private business," she states.
Posted 8:43 AM | [Link]
MR. RIGHT (OR, IN THIS CASE, LEFT) [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
He at least sounds like it—if you are Chelsea Clinton. In the Vanity Fair piece on her this month, the one that calls her the new JFK Jr., it is revealed that her boyfriend, fellow Rhodes Scholar Ian Klaus, among many other things (he started a group called "Bears and Cubs" encouraging student athletes to tutor inner-city kids), won an award during his undergraduate years for an essay he wrote "on homophobia in African-American literature." Like Hillary’s, by the way, Ian’s father is a Republican. He couldn’t be more perfect if he were made to order.
Posted 7:41 AM | [Link]
LIMITED DIVERSITY [Dave Kopel]
Gun Week reports that the Montclair, New Jersey, school board appears to be clinging to the legally ridiculous position that its schools can distribute political rally flyers from anti-rights groups such as the "Million" Mom March while refusing to allow the distribution of flyers from pro-rights groups such as Moms for Gun Safety. The New Jersey ACLU says, "This is a typical situation where a school has created a forum for speech, and then discriminated based on the content of the speech." The very first word on the website of the Montclair Board of Education is "diversity," but apparently the celebration of diversity does not go so far as to allow intellectual diversity.
Posted 7:38 AM | [Link]
THANKS, JOHN J. [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
You just saved me flower money.
Posted 7:37 AM | [Link]
ONE MORE SHOPPING DAY: [John J. Miller]
Can't decide what to give for Mother's Day? If you're a daughter, tell Mom you're giving her the "gift of life." If you're a son, well, better not read this story.
Posted 7:33 AM | [Link]
THANKS, NEWT [Robert A. George]
News that former Speaker Newt Gingrich has petitioned the Archdiocese of Atlanta for an annulment, is really sad.
I worked for Newt in the mid-'90s and, like many conservatives, happily went into battle with him. It's also the case that without the odd combination of Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, we probably would never have gotten to a President George W. Bush.
That said, it's understood that marriages end for various reasons and we shouldn't pass judgment when they do. However, it's acknowledged that Newt was unfaithful to Marianne for the last several years of their marriage (of course, during impeachment!!). Fine, move along. But now--at a time when the Catholic Church is in one of its worst periods--for Newt to step forward and ask for an annulment of his second marriage (and his first too, are we to suppose?) is appalling. It's likely that this was pushed at the request of his wife Callista. Perhaps she wants the official sanction of a Church-approved marriage, isn't she aware of everything else going on?
It's embarrassing to the Church, his former supporters, colleagues, and staff.
Posted 7:32 AM | [Link]
HMMM... [John J. Miller]
What's an anti-aircraft missile device doing near a Saudi air base used by the United States?
Posted 7:28 AM | [Link]
UNDAUNTED: [John J. Miller]
Historian Stephan Ambrose has a case of "advanced lung cancer," says the Los Angeles Times. "I'd give anything to have a year," says Ambrose, who has put aside all his projects to complete a book he's calling "A Love Song to America."
Posted 7:16 AM | [Link]
REST STOPS FOR ILLEGALS [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
People really will sue for any reason, no matter how unjustifiable.
Posted 4:49 AM | [Link]
|
|
|
|
||
|
CELEBRITY POLITICIAN MATH: [Rod Dreher] Rudy Giuliani + {Camille Paglia - (1/2 a she-wolverine)} + that Right Said Fred guy = Pim Fortuyn. Eh, Jonah?
Posted 8:47 PM | [Link]
FORTUYN'S FUNERAL [Andrew Stuttaford]
Tens of thousands of mourners were in Rotterdam today for Fortuyn's funeral. The London Times reports that there was anger in the crowd as well as grief. Its correspondent notes that Holland's social democratic government "is being blamed, along with the rest of the political establishment, for demonising Mr Fortuyn and thus triggering the country’s first political assassination in 300 years". Apparently, "politicians attending the ceremony in the cathedral sensed the mood and left by a back door". They are cowards, it would seem, as well as hypocrites.
Posted 8:09 PM | [Link]
GEEK LOVE: [Rod Dreher] Good for Michael Kinsley. He's getting married. (Scroll down for the item).
Posted 4:29 PM | [Link]
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, EH? [Andrew Stuttaford]
Rod, Kathryn, On the question of freedom of religion in Canada, it's worth remembering that a shipment of Rushdie's Satanic Verses was once held up at the border by Canadian customs officials. They were worried that Rushdie's writings might contravene Canada's 'hate speech' laws. After a day or two, it was decided that copies of the book could be let in, but the fact that this could ever have been in the slightest doubt tells you all that you need to know about what Canada's version of PC can mean to freedom of expression, religious or otherwise.
Posted 4:08 PM | [Link]
THE TEST OF THE WEST [Andrew Stuttaford]
Rod, Yes, that's an interesting and provocative piece by Melanie Phillips, but it ignores one absolutely critical fact. Muddled it may be, but the way of the West is what works. The current wave of immigration from North Africa and the Middle East proves the point. Given the choice between remaining in a traditionally devout Islamic society or moving to the supposedly decadent alternative, many of the best and brightest of the Muslim world have clearly decided that it is the West that offers the better opportunities. Last time I looked, not many people were headed in the opposite direction.
Posted 3:38 PM | [Link]
CRIMES OF PASSION [Andrew Stuttaford]
The BBC's website includes a brief profile of the man accused of Fortuyn's killing. The alleged murderer is described as a "passionate" animal rights activist. The use of that vaguely benign-sounding adjective is a pretty good example of the values of the EU's center-left establishment. Fortuyn is routinely described as an "extremist", but the man who gunned him down is, however, merely "passionate".
Posted 2:50 PM | [Link]
FYI [Jonah Goldberg]
The Goldberg File is in Kathryn's capable hands. It is one of those rare G-Files I write that I actually like. This usually means everyone else will think it stinks. In the meantime, I'm off to take Cosmo on patrol. He's gotten word that squirrel elements are re-forming in the hills of Battery Kemble park, possibly as a precursor to a counter-strike on our interests. Wish us well. This could get ugly without air support.
Posted 2:15 PM | [Link]
NORTHERN EXPOSURE [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Rod, whether there is freedom of religion in Canada is often a relevant question. For years, EWTN, the Catholic TV and radio network that spans the globe, was banned from its borders because religious material is too controversial for the Canadian government's liking (Church of the Nativity terrorists, you'll remember from yesterday's invite from the prime minister aren't though). In fact, up until a legal victory last year, EWTN could be heard just about anywhere in the world--we're talking shortwave radio signals sneaking into China, remote parts of Africa, you name it--but not in Cuba, or Canada. Nice company.
Posted 1:32 PM | [Link]
THANK GOD FOR THE FIRST AMENDMENT: [Rod Dreher] The case of Pim Fortuyn, who campaigned to get rid of the blanket non-discrimination amendment to the Dutch Constitution so a robust public debate about crime and immigration could take place in the Netherlands should remind us Yanks why we're blessed to have a First Amendment. Fortuyn was openly gay, but he respected personal liberty, saying he'd rather live in a society in which Muslim imams are free to call gays "pigs," as one did, than live in one in which free speech was banned. It's true for religious freedom as well. Comes word from Canada that a court has just ordered a Catholic school there to let a student take his boyfriend to the prom. Catholic schools are funded by the state, but it doesn't appear that that's the cause of this ruling. The kid sued under Ontario's human-rights statute, which presumably applies to all institutions in Canada, whether or not they receive public money. What's next? The Canadian state telling the Catholic Church that it must allow women priests, or face judicial sanction? Is there such a thing as religious freedom in Canada?
Posted 1:11 PM | [Link]
DON’T COME AROUND HERE [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
A class at Berkeley encourages conservatives not to bother taking it: "The Politics and Poetics of Palestinian Resistance," states in its course description that "conservative thinkers are encouraged to seek other sections," according to a Daily Cal article reprinted on the Drudge Report.
Posted 1:06 PM | [Link]
LOVELY ZITA: [John J. Miller]
The Miami Herald has taken notice of English First's Jim Boulet calling for a boycott of Miami until the local government re-hires Zita Wilensky, who was allegedly dismissed from her job for not speaking Spanish. Boulet's activism, says the Herald, has "flooded Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas' office with letters and e-mails." Yesterday, Penelas wrote to the county manager and said if Wilensky was in fact fired for not speaking Spanish, she should be re-hired and compensated for lost time. Boulet has written a useful summary and analysis of the controversy here.
Posted 12:53 PM | [Link]
WHERE THE BOYS ARE [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Nick Schulz, who is always worth reading, gives a plug to Jonah’s better half today over at techcentralstation. For another plug of Jessica Gavora’s new book, check out my piece on the track kids at Bowling Green who just lost their team thanks to Title IX (To learn more, or to help them fundraise, their parents are selling "Save BG Track" t-shirts here). And for the definitive Title IX resource, and all-around good read, go ahead and buy Tilting the Playing Field.
Posted 12:30 PM | [Link]
I’M SLIGHTLY DISTURBED [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
That the first place I found the lyrics to "Staying Alive" was on the NIH website.
Posted 12:28 PM | [Link]
FOR THE RECORD [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
The Bee Gees rock.
Posted 12:27 PM | [Link]
IF YOUR COMPLAINT IS… [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
…about the Naif Obaid piece on the Saudis, just search for any other piece NRO has had on the Saudis.
Posted 12:08 PM | [Link]
AROUND NRO [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
For all those writing in to complain about the Susan Konig piece up today, here’s a pro-Indian Point website to help balance the scales.
Posted 12:05 PM | [Link]
EXCELLENT PIECE.... [Jonah Goldberg]
On Pim Fortuyn by a Dutch guy. Turns out -- shockingly enough -- that about 80% of the Dutch media is hard left.
Posted 11:49 AM | [Link]
MY BAD [Rich Lowry]
Actually, that wasn't Bernie Goldberg on the media, but Jonah Goldberg on eating bad clams. Here's the link.
Posted 11:37 AM | [Link]
BERNIE GOLDBERG ON THE MEDIA (I DON'T HAVE LINK) [Rich Lowry]
My dog just walked up to me and said "You can tell by the way I use my walk I'm a woman's man with no time to talk." He then turned around and left the room.
Posted 11:35 AM | [Link]
VATICAN RADIO ON CATHOLIC BLOGGING: [Rod Dreher] Catholic blogging has become so big in America now that even the Vatican has taken notice. Vatican Radio has a story out now about the phenomenon. They talked to Catholic blogging stars like Amy Welborn, Mark Shea, Kathy Shaidle, and Emily Stimpson. They got a couple of comments from me as well. Here's the streaming audio link.
Posted 11:28 AM | [Link]
OH WAIT, IT WASN'T THE CLAMS... [Jonah Goldberg]
Cosmo just came back and asked me, "Where's your soulmate Jonah?" And I realized it must have been the merciless peppers of Quetzlzacatenango, grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum. I put them on my pizza.
Posted 11:23 AM | [Link]
I THINK I ATE SOME BAD CLAMS... [Jonah Goldberg]
My dog just walked up to me and said "You can tell by the way I use my walk I'm a woman's man with no time to talk." He then turned around and left the room.
Posted 11:14 AM | [Link]
PIM HIJACKED LIBERALISM?: [Rod Dreher] Here's a provocative essay on the meaning of Pim Fortuyn, and his murder. Melanie Phillips says Fortuyn, the libertarian libertine who correctly identified Islam as a grave threat to Western values, embodied "the profound confusion of the West." She argues that classical liberalism cannot be divorced from self-restraint, and that the kind of libertinism Fortuyn represented, and fought for, inevitably opens the door for more extreme creeds. Citing Samuel Huntington (a Fortuyn favorite), Phillips writes, "Islam is again on the march, and the threat it poses is hugely enhanced by the decay of the West from within through moral decline, political disunity, and cultural suicide." All the West appears to be in a neo-Weimar stage. And we know what comes after that.
Posted 9:00 AM | [Link]
HITCH ON BROCK [Jonah Goldberg]
Christopher Hitchens writes in his piece on David Brock:
"Etiquette requires that I mention a very rude description of myself, concentrating on the grossly physical, which includes the assertion that I am unwashed as well as unkempt. Those who know me will confirm that while I may not be tidy, I am so clean you could eat your dinner off me. Perhaps I did not want to put Mr. Brock to the labor of proving this. At any rate, I am relieved to find I am not his type. However, I forgive him this sophomoric passage because its empty hatred was so obviously feigned after the event, and because it describes me as five years younger than I am."
Posted 8:54 AM | [Link]
IL DUCE UPDATE: [John J. Miller]
The Los Angeles Times says Mussolini is making a comeback in Italy.
Posted 6:32 AM | [Link]
COMMISSIONER KIRSANOW: [John J. Miller]
An appeals court has ordered the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to seat Peter Kirsanow as a rightful commissioner. After President Bush nominated Kirsanow last fall, the liberals who control the commission refused to recognize his appointment, claiming the tenure of the woman he was supposed to succeed had not expired. This decision appears to settle the matter legally, though there's no telling what commission chair Mary Frances Berry, a committed leftist, will do next. Here's the ruling. Here's the Washington Post story.
Posted 5:54 AM | [Link]
|
|
|
|
||
|
A SUFI PROPHECY: [Rod Dreher] This is eerie. A website by and for Sufi Muslims features the following prophecy, attributed to Muhammad, which the Sufis interpret as predicting the advent of Wahhabism, the violent and puritanical form of Islam practiced and preached worldwide by the Saudis: "A people that recite the Qu'ran will come out of the East, but it will not go past their throats. Every time a generation of them is cut down another one will come until the last one finds itself on the side of the Antichrist." Another passage has the Prophet refusing to bless the land that, centuries later, would become the birthplace of Wahhabism, because, in Muhammad's words, from that place would come "the epoch of Satan." Hmm. Put this one in the Red Heifer File. That Sufi webpage on the Wahhabis is here.
Posted 11:15 PM | [Link]
LEFT UNSAID [Andrew Stuttaford]
There's a good example of the boneheadedness of the European left in Thursday's Guardian. Written by Martin Jacques, a prominent British leftist intellectual, the article is the usual litany of hysteria, hatred of the West, moral preening and rote anti-Americanism. To understand its more subtle bias, however, check out this passage:
"Europe...has always been as much the cradle of barbarism as civilization, of racism and ethnic cleansing as well as the Renaissance and democracy. Racism and fascism are part of its history and therefore always incipient in its present."
Well, even assuming that is true, there is a curious omission from this rogues' gallery. If we are talking about Europe's contributions to mass murder, why no mention of communism? It was, after all, a European ideology responsible for the death of tens of millions across the globe. Perhaps Mr. Jacques, the former editor of Marxism Today, feels that putting old Karl's creed in such an unflattering context might raise some rather awkward questions.
Posted 9:18 PM | [Link]
MY BAD [Jonah Goldberg]
That Ted Olson thing is a Mary Kate and Ashley Olson thing. Check it out at their site.
Posted 5:06 PM | [Link]
TED OLSON ON BULLIES (I DON'T HAVE A LINK) [Jonah Goldberg]
It’s not always nice to deal with the class meanie, but there is hope! We take the bully by the horns and show you how to cope when you’re getting picked on!
Posted 5:03 PM | [Link]
MY BAD [Rich Lowry]
That Dennis Miller thing is a Larry Miller thing. Check it out at Standard site.
Posted 3:21 PM | [Link]
DENNIS MILLER ON THE MIDEAST (I DON’T HAVE A LINK): [Rich Lowry]
The Palestinians want their own country. There's just one thing about that: there are no Palestinians. It's a made up word.
Israel was called Palestine for two thousand years. Like "Wiccan," "Palestinian" sounds ancient but is really a modern invention.
Before the Israelis won the land in war, Gaza was owned by Egypt, and there were no "Palestinians" then, and the West Bank was owned by Jordan, and there were no "Palestinians" then. As soon as the Jews took over and started growing oranges as big as basketballs, what do you know: say hello to the "Palestinians," weeping for their deep bond with their lost "land" and "nation."
So for the sake of honesty, let's not use the word "Palestinian" any more to describe these delightful folks, who dance for joy at our deaths until someone points out they're being taped. Instead, let's call them what they are: "Other Arabs Accomplish Anything In Life And Would Rather Wrap Themselves In The Seductive Melodrama Of Eternal Struggle And Death." I know that's a bit unwieldy to expect to see on CNN.
How about this, then: "Adjacent Jew-Haters."
Okay, so the Adjacent Jew-Haters want their own country. Oops, just one more thing. No, they don't. They could've had their own country any time in the past thirty years, especially two years ago at Camp David. But if you have your own country, you have to have traffic lights and garbage trucks and Chambers of Commerce, and, worse, you actually have to figure out some way to make a living. That's no fun. No, they want what all the other Jew-Haters in the region want: Israel.
They also want a big pile of dead Jews, of course…
Posted 3:01 PM | [Link]
LIFTING THE CUBA EMBARGO [Andrew Stuttaford]
The Wall Street Journal is calling on the administration to lift the embargo on Castro's Cuba. The Journal is, of course, no supporter of the Communist regime, but claims that "ending the travel ban and embargo will make it harder for the post-Castro era to be controlled by the same gang of thugs." Leaving aside the fact that Cuba has yet, alas, to reach the post-Castro era, the Journal's advice ignores the fact that lifting the embargo would have the opposite effect to what the newspaper would like to see. The flow of dollars would boost the regime, both economically and politically, and would also send a dismal message to Havana's dissident community.
As the Journal notes, the US trades with China. Well, last time I looked, that country was still run by a "gang of thugs." There is no reason to think that Cuba would be any different. The embargo should stay.
Posted 2:03 PM | [Link]
SEE HOW THEY TOLERATE [Andrew Stuttaford]
There's an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal today on the gradual relaxation of restrictions on the political activities of supposedly “moderate” Islamists within “Saudi” Arabia. That's typical of our Saudi “friends.” When they extend toleration it is only in the direction of those who advocate less freedom rather than more.
Posted 2:00 PM | [Link]
GAY-MARRIAGE NEWS [Stanley Kurtz]
Important news from Massachusetts. Yesterday in Boston, Judge Thomas Connolly rejected a suit that would have imposed gay marriage on Massachusetts (and perhaps the entire country) by judicial fiat. This case was very much like the one that forced civil unions on Vermont, except that this suit demanded full gay marriage, not simply civil unions. Despite the good news, Bill Duncan, acting director of the Marriage Law Project, warned that the decision could still be reversed on appeal. This case is critically important to the gay marriage battle, because it represents the most likely route by which gay marriage could be imposed upon the country as a whole. Once even a single state legalizes full gay marriage, the Defense of Marriage Act would quickly come under constitutional challenge by those claiming that the Equal Protection and Full Faith and Credit clauses force recognition of any state’s marriages on the entire country. A full-scale national culture war would ensue. This is why it’s so important to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment. For now, however, the Boston suit has been rejected. Just don’t count on this issue going away.
Posted 1:57 PM | [Link]
WHERE PIM CAME FROM: [Rod Dreher] Liberal, tolerant Holland (as well as Belgium) is not only suffering from anti-social Muslim violence, it's a hotbed for Islamic terrorist activity, according to this must-read report.
Posted 1:53 PM | [Link]
ID CHIPS INJECTED INTO HUMANS: [Rod Dreher] I don't know about you, but this stuff unnerves me. What happens should this become mandatory, all in the name of protecting us against, let's say, "terrorism" by making everybody trackable? What happens to those who refuse?
Posted 1:48 PM | [Link]
THE MYSTERY DEEPENS: [Rod Dreher] A Minneapolis TV station is reporting that police are going to return to St. John's Abbey to investigate leads in a 12-year-old unsolved disappearance of a small boy. The child went missing three miles from the Benedictine abbey. His mother claims that information leading back to the abbey was not properly followed up on. The station reports the new abbot has promised to make all the personnel files available to investigators. Yesterday, it was reported that investigators are looking at a particular monk living in the abbey in connection with the 1974 murder of adolescent sisters who had earlier been on an outing with him to a camp in the woods.
Posted 1:38 PM | [Link]
BENNETT V. CHOMSKY [Stanley Kurtz]
The liberal media knock on Bill Bennett’s great new book, Why We Fight: Moral Clarity and the War on Terrorism, has been that it’s unnecessary. Why attack the blame America first crowd when no one is blaming America for this war? Yet now it turns out that Noam Chomsky’s book on 9/11 has become a national best seller. Chomsky’s book, which has sold 160,000 copies, made five national best seller lists, and been translated into dozens of languages, is selling especially well on college campuses. And as I reported yesterday, Chomsky is now leading a movement, gaining steam on college campuses, to force universities to divest in companies that do business with Israel. What an irony after all the liberal claims that Bennett is fighting an anti-war Left that doesn’t exist, Chomsky’s book, which calls America “a leading terrorist state,” should be outselling Bennett’s. Bennett appeared on CNN today and challenged Chomsky to a televised debate on the war. Well Noam? Put up or shut up.
Posted 1:30 PM | [Link]
BACK AT YA ON FOOTBALL [Jonah Goldberg]
I’m getting a surprising amount of email from readers "siding" with the feminists against college football. I agree that college football could use some reform. But, let me be clear: the feminists are lying when they say the issue is about football. The reason these men’s teams are being eliminated is because of gender quota schemes imposed through a perverse interpretation of Title IX. For example, Marquette University’s wrestling team was just eliminated because of Title IX not because of "budget pressures." The University needed to have "proportional" ratios between male and female athletes; it didn't need dollars used by football. How do we know this? Well, two reasons: 1) Because the Marquette wrestling team has not been funded by the University – not one penny – since 1992. 2) Because Marquette doesn’t even have a NCAA football team. Similarly, Providence College baseball was eliminated after its best season ever, even though Providence college doesn’t have a football team either. In Florida, there is no collegiate wrestling anywhere in the state. This is because schools are afraid of Title IX lawsuits. The feminists are eager to say this is all about football because they hate football. Meanwhile, the NCAA and fat college football and basketball programs have allowed hundreds of unprofitable men’s sports to disappear because they figure they’re safe. The football guys may be cynical, selfish and spoiled but the feminists are lying.
Posted 1:06 PM | [Link]
THIS IS A POTENTIALLY… [Rich Lowry]
…important new theory for why Jason Giambi may be hitting only .280, fwd’ed by e-mail: “the usually sage Joe Torre needs to let Jason Giambi grow back his facial hair. The goatee-less Giambi seems, Samson-like, a mere shadow of his former self. The hairy Giambi hitting stats v. the hairless Giambi hitting stats should be argument enough to override Mr. Torre's clubhouse decorum codes. Baseball fans and players alike share superstition, but I think Giambi's troubles are rooted less in the superstitious aspect of his having been forced to shave than in his own apparent loss of self-confidence, undercut, if you will, by the razor blade.”
Posted 1:05 PM | [Link]
PLAYING THE VICTIM [Andrew Stuttaford]
The New York Times is reporting that some Dutch environmentalists are worried that a "hate campaign" may be "building up" against them in the wake of Pim Fortuyn's killing by (it seems) one of their number. Trying to claim victim status in the wake of an opponent's murder must represent a low point even by the dismal standards of environmentalist rhetoric. Under the circumstances, a period of silence might be a more appropriate response.
Posted 1:00 PM | [Link]
MORE MOUSSAOUIS AMONG US? [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
As part of a student-via fraud-ring bust (58 arrested in 13 states), feds seize from one Virginia home: a Federal Aviation Administration flight manual; an aerial view of the Pentagon; a Rolodex with the locations of oil refineries; a date book that contained the Sept. 11 entry that said, "Trackd the World Trade Center or the Pentagon trackd for the plaen"; a book identifying commercial airliners; photos of people posing inside and outside the World Trade Center; and videos titled "Incredible Air Disasters" and "Incredible Water Disasters."
Posted 11:56 AM | [Link]
SALLY'S NO RACIST [Jonathan Adler]
. . . but she staunchly defends racial "profiling" in medicine -- and in the pages of the New York Times, no less! This is a provocative article. I'll be curious to see how people respond
Posted 11:17 AM | [Link]
NOMINATIONS HISTORY [Jonathan Adler]
Today the Senate Judiciary committee is holding a hearing to demonstrate that Republicans stalled or mistreated many of Clinton's judicial nominees. As Terry Eastland notes, the senators are likely to spend the hearing sparring over numbers and percentages. What is unlikely, however, is that Republicans will point out that stalling judicial nominations of the opposite party was a tactic perfected in the 1980s and early 1990s by a Democratic Senate. We all remember the Bork nomination battle, but many forget the Senate's treatment of lower court nominees during the same period. During the Reagan Administration, the Democrats slowed confirmations to a glacial pace once they retook control of the chamber, in the hopes that Bush would lose in 1988. This often involved manufacturing "concerns" over nominees to justify the delay. This occurred again at the end of Bush's term. Indeed, one of the president's nominees -- Terrence Boyle -- was originally nominated by Bush's father, but never confirmed. If Senate Democrats want to review the record, Republicans should be happy to provide a history lesson. The question is whether they will.
Posted 11:16 AM | [Link]
SEAL THE NORTHERN BORDERS! [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Totally unprompted, Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien yesterday invited the Church of the Nativity terrorists to take refuge in Canada. And they wonder why we blame them...
Posted 11:15 AM | [Link]
INSTAPUNDIT COMES CLEAN [Jonah Goldberg]
Glenn Reynolds says his tone about Mickey Kaus's move was entirely tongue in cheek. I believe him. Part of my problem was I'd read some emails taking the whole thing more seriously than it deserved -- and hadn't had my coffee yet -- when I first scanned through Glenn's voluminous posts on the subject. So, I hereby retract my tone but, of course, not the substace of my earlier anti-blogosphere post.
Posted 10:49 AM | [Link]
THE WAR ON FOOTBALL RAGES ON [Jonah Goldberg]
Both the New York Times and The Washington Post have long stories about the 30th anniversary of Title IX. Bizarrely, they do not mention Jessica Gavora’s book, Tilting the Playing Field. What they do mention is the notion being pushed by Title IX feminists that the locus of evil in the modern world is college football. As my wife discusses in her book, the ultimate goal of these feminists groups is to eliminate or at least diminish the clout of collegiate football. They deceitfully claim that there would be no need to eliminate hundreds of men’s sports teams across the country if men’s football could just be whittled back to, say, an intramural sport. From the Times:
"It's not Title IX's fault, it's chicken college presidents and athletic directors who won't bite the bullet on the irresponsible spending of their football programs," said Donna Lopiano, the executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation and the former women's athletic director at the University of Texas. "Their football programs are better funded than most professional sports. Football is pitting the victims against the victims. Until they wise up, men's minor sports will be crying the blues as football keeps laughing to the bank."
In other words, these feminists are content to continue destroying men’s gymnastics, wrestling, swimming and baseball just to send a message to football.
Posted 10:42 AM | [Link]
LEO ROARS [Jonah Goldberg]
In case you missed it, John Leo calls NRO "an indispensable site" in his latest column.
Posted 9:15 AM | [Link]
"SCUM" VERSUS "EVIL DOERS" [Jonah Goldberg]
No, that isn't the caption for a photo of the Rutgers sociology department. President Putin yesterday said the terrorist attack on a parade "was committed by scum who hold nothing sacred." I don't know, I real do like president Bush's phrase, Evil Doers, even though it often sounds like "Evil Dewars." But there's something to be said for calling your enemies scum.
Posted 9:10 AM | [Link]
FOR THE RECORD [Jonah Goldberg]
Yes, I do recognize there's more than a little tongue-in-cheekiness to Glenn Reynolds' treatment of the whole Kaus thing. But, as the Italian proverb goes, the most serious things are often said in jest.
Posted 9:02 AM | [Link]
THE BLOGOSHPERE SWOONS [Jonah Goldberg]
The world of blogs is shaken to its core by the news that Mickey Kaus has agreed to bring his blog "in-house" over at Slate. Rarely in the history of humanity have so many smart people made such a big deal out of something so inconsequential. No offense to Mickey Kaus who runs a great site or to Andrew Sullivan and Glenn Reynolds, who seem to think this is a Video-Killed-the-Radio-Star moment, but who cares? Reynolds, a devout free-marketer no less, sounds like an aging hippy railing against Kaus’s "sell-out" to a "soulless monopolistic corporation." Come on! Blogging is a good and useful format, but ultimately it’s just a twenty-first century form of a newspaper column with some interesting bells and whistles. Kaus is going to take money from a – tighten your sphincters everyone! – magazine to write a column he’d be writing anyway! Earth to Blogosphere: get over yourselves. Writing is supposed to be about persuading the most people possible. If Mickey can reach a wider audience through Bill Gates’s megaphone, you should be happy for him. If he’d built a new microchip and a corporation bought it, you’d all be applauding or yawning not leaping to your fainting-couches.
Posted 8:41 AM | [Link]
THE POLL IS BACK [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
If you forgot to tell the San Fran Chronicle whatcha think of Ward Connerly's Racial Privacy Initiative, go there now. See, Jonah, they are beautiful people there.
Posted 7:18 AM | [Link]
BOYCOTT MIAMI? [John J. Miller]
"How can we get Zita Wilensky, the 16-year Miami-Dade (FL) government employee who was fired for failing to learn to speak Spanish, her job back?" asks Jim Boulet of English First. He proposes a boycott. If you're not willing to go that far--or not in a position to "boycott" a place you weren't intending to visit anytime soon--Boulet also posts information on how to contact government officials who might be able to help Wilensky get her job back.
Posted 4:15 AM | [Link]
|
|
|
|
||
|
OZZY WETS HIS PANTS: [Rod Dreher] A reader who linked through The Corner to ex-MTV veejay Adam Curry's Pim Fortuyn writings found some neat stuff on his site: a few of Curry's tell-all behind-the-scenes stories from his MTV years. Here's one about the time Ozzy Osbourne wet his pants on a flight to Russia.
Posted 6:02 PM | [Link]
COWARDLY PANSIES! [Jonah Goldberg]
John you just beat me to the post. I cannot believe thoses guys would just take down the poll like that. They buy my syndicated column (albeit infrequently) so I know there are brilliant, insightful, handsome people somewhere in that organization. But this is ridiculous. It’s inconceivable that they would take down the poll if the Nation had linked to it and the results went overwhelmingly the other way. If they took it down because too many participated, then that’s really, really, shameful. Perhaps – dare I say it – they should eat SPAM! No, no. I could not condone such a thing.
Posted 4:49 PM | [Link]
THEY TOOK DOWN THE POLL! [John J. Miller]
The San Francisco Chronicle has removed its web poll on Ward Connerly's Racial Privacy Initiative--apparently because too many people were showing their support for it. All day long, readers could voice their approval or disgust with Connerly's proposed ballot initiative here. Last night, 59 percent of the respondents were in favor. The last time I was able to check today, the level of support was 83 percent, no doubt because many readers of The Corner visited the site. As I've said all along, these sorts of polls are scientifically meaningless--but they're worth winning. Now that we have in fact won--overwhelmingly, I might add--the Chronicle wants to wish us away.
Posted 4:39 PM | [Link]
VIENNA GONE TOO [Jonathan Adler]
When the Bush administration announced its rejection of the International Criminal Court, it also renounced the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. This is very significant, though it has been largely overlooked in the press coverage. The Vienna Convention is a sort of uber-treaty -- it is the treaty that defines the framework for treaty obligations. Among other things, the Vienna convention obligates nations to refrain from any actions which could undermine a treaty that has been signed, but not yet been ratified, by that nation. Thus, under the convention, the United States is obligated to support the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol by other nations because President Clinton signed it. This obligation exists under the Vienna Convention even though Kyoto was never submitted for ratification and the U.S. Senate made clear it would reject the treaty. By rejecting the Vienna Convention too, the Administration has made clear that a President, acting alone, cannot impose such obligations on the United States.
Posted 4:34 PM | [Link]
FORTUYN KILLED OVER FUR? [Jonathan Adler]
According to one report, the suspect in custody for Pim Fortuyn's murder "is a vegan animal rights activist who fights against fur and factory farming. He may have taken issue with Fortuyn's plans to lift an incoming ban on fur farming in the Netherlands." Moreover, the suspect is a member of Milieu Offensief ("Environmental Offensive"), an extreme environmentalist organization already linked to the murder of another public official.
Posted 4:22 PM | [Link]
SECOND MISREAD [Dave Kopel]
Media coverage of the Department of Justice's position on the Second Amendment has been grossly misleading about Second Amendment precedent. First of all, the theory that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right only became a formal DOJ position under the Nixon administration. Many other Attorneys General (including President Reagan's) have recognized the Second Amendment as an individual right. Second, despite what Lyle Deniston and other mis-reporters claim, the 1939 Miller case does not hold that Second Amendment rights belong exclusively to militia members. Unmentioned in the Old Media articles is the fact that in the last 20 years, all six Supreme Court opinions (including concurrences and dissents) which mention the Second Amendment treat the Amendment as guaranteeing an individual right. (Spencer v. Kemna; Muscarello v. U.S.; Printz v. U.S.; Albright v. Oliver; Planned Parenthood v. Casey; U. S. v. Verdugo-Urquidez.)
Posted 4:20 PM | [Link]
ONWARD AND UPWARD: [John J. Miller]
This is like the Los Angeles Lakers playing a middle-school basketball team. The Connerly poll is at 83 percent. Let's run this thing up! Vote for Connerly's Racial Privacy Initiative here.
Posted 3:45 PM | [Link]
WHATEVER WORKS? [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
In Uganda, the government is seeking to curb the spread of AIDS by offering young people “rewards” for remaining virgins until adulthood. What they have to look forward for abstaining: For the men, cows. For the women: refrigerators and stoves.
Posted 3:30 PM | [Link]
CARDINAL LAW'S DEPOSITION TODAY: [Rod Dreher] Here's a complete transcript.
Posted 2:56 PM | [Link]
PIM'S PLATFORM IN ENGLISH: [Rod Dreher] Man, that didn't take long. Reader Brian Hoffman sends a link along, courtesy of the site of Rory "Angry Clam" Miller. Thanks guys. Now, reader, check this out and see if it sounds like right-wing extremism to you: "Positions of List Pim Fortuyn."
Posted 2:49 PM | [Link]
PEGGY NOONAN'S MARVELOUS COLUMN ON OZZY [Mike Potemra]
In today's New York Sun, she has a wonderful defense-on the front page, no less!-of the Osbournes. She puts her finger on the popularity of the show, and also on what's so terrific about America: "For all their weirdness, imperfection, and eccentricity, they experience themselves as a family . . . (they) care for each other, put up with each other, and laugh a lot. . . . They are, for me at least, an inspiration. We're all weird, we're all imperfect, and the most interesting of us tend toward eccentricity. We're all walking awkwardly toward something better. We're all trying to reach grace." I was never a great fan of Ozzy's music, but I agree with Noonan that he and his family, in their offbeat way, symbolize the opportunities for openness, love, and regeneration that are possible in a truly free society like our own. Her column contains more truth than all of the combined 5,000 or so op-eds I've read-from both Left and Right-about how doomed and decadent we Americans are.
Posted 2:11 PM | [Link]
THEY REPORT, THEY DECIDE: [Rod Dreher] Check out this paragraph from an Agence France-Presse report, carried by Yahoo News and linked on Drudge: "In next week's poll, [Pim Fortuyn's] anti-immigrant platform had been expected to win 20 of the 150 seats up for election, an unprecedented showing for an extremist right-wing platform in this traditionally open-minded country." This is a sterling example of what Amsterdam-based blogger Adam Curry (yes, that Adam Curry, our old MTV friend from the '80s) has rightly termed "The Big Lie" about Fortuyn, courtesy of the left-wing establishment media. A Dutch journalist colleague who works for an American newspaper told me this morning, "Pim Fortuyn was a libertarian, but nobody in Europe knows what a libertarian is." If anybody knows where I can find a link to Fortuyn's platform in English, send it to me at rdreher@nationalreview.com, and I'll post it. You deserve to read it for yourself and see if it sounds remotely like an "extreme right" document.
Posted 2:10 PM | [Link]
80 PERCENT! [John J. Miller]
Jonah, the San Francisco Chronicle poll on Ward Connerly's initiative just hit 80 percent in favor--something tells me you're the guy who put it over the top. (Others may push it even higher; to show your support for Connerly, one of the leading lights behind Prop. 209 six years ago, go here). I agree completely with your characterization of the poll. And let's not forget it's posted right next to a stupid opinion column attacking it. There's nothing remotely scientific about what they're doing. Still, let's win this thing big time.
Posted 1:03 PM | [Link]
EAGLE-EYED READER [Jonah Goldberg]
A reader took a gander over at the Columbia Journalism Review website and sent me this note. He makes a great point:
"You should take a closer look at the CJR website. They have a piece called the World's Worst Places to be a Journalist.. Their introduction says that the West Bank tops the list, blaming Israel for oppressing reporters. Below it, they list the details, and get around at the end to admitting that the Palestinians do it too. Then they list Columbia and Afghanistan, where they report the murder of 29 and 8 reporters, respectively. That the Israelis haven't actually shot any reporters doesn't seem to matter."
Posted 12:10 PM | [Link]
LOADED CONNERLY POLL [Jonah Goldberg]
John - I just cast my vote at the Connerly poll you linked. Support for Connerly is now 79%. But I must say the question is more than a little annoying. The choices are between "Yes, government should be race-blind," "No, the effect is to hurt minorities," Or, lamely, "Mercy, not another divisive election."
Here's my problem: I know that Connerly believes that a ban on race preferences would be good for blacks and other minorities in the long run. So do I. But, the question assumes that if race-blindedness "hurt" minorities it would therefor not be desirable and therefor deserving of a "no" vote. People need to understand that something can "hurt" some boutique racial or ethnic group in the short run and still be the right thing to do. Indeed, affirmative action in fact does hurt some minorities -- Asians and Jews come to mind -- just not the fashionable ones. There are all sorts of government policies which disproportionately affect one group or another because of the differences between one group and another. Also, I should note, there's nothing wrong with "divisive elections." They're supposed to be divisive in a democracy. I know you know all this though.
Posted 11:46 AM | [Link]
CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS:: [Rod Dreher] Blogger Kathy Shaidle links to this appalling story about the Saudis publicly flogging the hell out of three Ethiopian Christians who had been imprisoned for practicing their religion, and who had the nerve to smuggle a letter out of jail letting the world know of their maltreatment. Aren't you sick of reading stories like this, knowing that our government is still kissy-kissy with these desert rats? Where is the American version of Pim Fortuyn: a leading politician who has the guts to tell the truth about Islam and its deadly threat to Western civilization? This political correctness has to end.
Posted 11:46 AM | [Link]
MISSING THE POINT? [Andrew Stuttaford]
Much of the media coverage in the aftermath of Fortuyn's death has been focussed on a Europe supposedly menaced by 'right-wing extremists', despite the fact that it remains highly questionable, to say the least, that the murdered Dutchman belonged within that category. We know now, however, that an 'environmental activist' has been charged with the crime. Can we now expect media reports on the killing to be dominated by the threat to European liberty posed by extreme environmentalism? I'm not holding my breath.
Posted 11:44 AM | [Link]
DOES ANYONE SUBSCRIBE TO CJR? [Jonah Goldberg]
The new issue of the Columbia Journalism Review is supposed to have a profile on National Review Online. But their website just says "coming soon" and mentions yours truly. If anyone out there has a copy, drop me a line and let me know what it says. Thanks.
Posted 11:26 AM | [Link]
WAR PATH: [John J. Miller]
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has published an op-ed of mine on Indian team names, in response to an attempt by certain California politicians to ban the practice in their state. And here's an interesting article appearing in the Washington City Paper on the possibility of the Washington Redskins changing their name to the Warriors.
Posted 11:15 AM | [Link]
A WINDOW FOR CAMPUS LEFTIES [Stanley Kurtz]
The campus Left has started a movement to push for divestment in companies that sell weapons to Israel. A petition calling for divestment has gathered a number of faculty signatures at Harvard and MIT, and a divestment teach in featuring MIT linguistics professor Noam Chomsky has just been held. This could become the movement of choice for those searching for an opening against the war on terror.
Posted 10:38 AM | [Link]
SECOND AMENDMENT VICTORIES [Dave Kopel]
Indiana and Ohio congressional primary elections yielded a bipartisan pair of pro-rights victories. In the third district, incumbent Republican Mark Souder, who has been a pro-Second Amendment leader in Congress, easily turned back a challenge from former Fort Wayne mayor Paul Helmke. Souder won by approximately a margin of 5-3. In the 1998 Senate race, Helmke lost 64-35 to generally pro-gun Democrat Evan Bayh. As governor, Bayh had signed legisation restricting abusive antigun lawsuits. In Ohio, felony-challenged Democratic incumbent Jim Trafficant was put in district with incumbent Democrat Tom Sawyer. Trafficant elected to run as an independent. Antigun incumbent Sawyer won only 28% in the primary, losing to pro-rights state Senator Tim Ryan, who won 41%. In both races, the NRA contacted is members and other gun rights supporters, such as licensed hunters and concealed handgun permit holders in Indiana.
Posted 8:53 AM | [Link]
REVOLUTION AT THE BALLOT BOX?: [Rod Dreher] It's hard to know from this side of the ocean what exactly is going on, but it sounds like Pim Fortuyn's murder could be the catalyst for overturning the elitist, out-of-touch Eurocratic political order in Holland (and that would be a great thing, especially if it spread throughout the EU). Dutch NRO reader Stacey Trooster writes to us: "I just heard on the news this morning that 25,000 expatriates who had already cast their votes and sent them to the Netherlands want to change their vote. Dutch government offices are being flooded by phone calls from Dutch people living elsewhere. This could be an exciting, surprising and mostly unpredictable election, for once."
Posted 8:52 AM | [Link]
74 PERCENT! [John J. Miller]
Support for Connerly's initiative continues to grow at the San Francisco Chronicle web poll. Vote here! Vote now!
Posted 8:20 AM | [Link]
WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT COLONIALISM: [John J. Miller]
A very good article on colonialism, by Dinesh D'Souza.
Posted 8:11 AM | [Link]
GOOD NEWS [Jonah Goldberg]
My wife's talk at the National Press Club was a success. There was a great turnout. Though there were no flying monkeys (probably a good thing), there was a feminist antagonist who tried to trip-up the Fair Jessica, but the interloper was soundly thrashed. C-Span was there, so all of you who seem so curious about what a woman dumb enough to get involved with me looks like will get your chance soon enough. I don't know when they'll broadcast it, but I will let you know. Meanwhile, you can still buy her book.
Posted 7:47 AM | [Link]
THE DOG THAT DIDN'T BARK.... [Jonah Goldberg]
Why on earth didn't anyone from the press ask Bush or Sharon about the latest massacre bombing at yesterday's joint-press conference? I can understand why Bush and Sharon wouldn't want to mention an event which complicates things for both men. But why wouldn't the AP ask for comment from the two leaders about a major breaking news story that could once again scuttle the "peace process"? Very odd.
Posted 7:35 AM | [Link]
IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED.... [Jonah Goldberg]
My partial take on the assasination of Pim Fortuyn.
Posted 7:21 AM | [Link]
THE CASE FOR "MASSACRE-BOMBERS" [Jonah Goldberg]
I know this is an old argument by now, but….Instead of the clunky "homicide bombers" or the historically slanderous "Kamikaze-Bombers," how about massacre-bombers. The definition of massacre is to kill indiscriminately and wantonly without concern for civilians or anyone else (which is the basic reason why Jenin wasn’t a massacre). So a massacre-bomber is someone who kills so indiscriminately that he kills himself in the process. The suicide is incidental. After all, no one doubts that if Hamas could inflict the same damage on Israelis, they’d be perfectly happy if the bombers got out alive. So the
Posted 6:46 AM | [Link]
IF ONLY WE HAD TANKS... [Jonah Goldberg]
The most annoying argument made by apologists for these massacre-bombers is the one which begins with something like, "the Palestinians don't have American-made tanks and helicopters, 'suicide bombers' are the only weapons the Palestinians have...." The reason this argument is so annoying is threefold.
First, the explicit assumption in this formulation is that if indeed the Palestinians had helicopters and tanks, they would in fact use them. In other words, to make this argument is to concede that the Palestinians are at war with Israel which would put all of the peace rhetoric in a very different light.
Which leads to the second issue. Nobody who makes the "the Palestinians don't have tanks" argument will ever concede the logic of their assertion. If you say to them, "So if they had tanks they'd use them? That doesn't really sound like a desire for peace." You get eye-rolls as if you just don't get it.
And, lastly, contrary to what this argument implies and the assertions of countless Arafat apologists, the Israeli military was not designed nor intended to be aimed at the Palestinians. It was designed to fight wars with actual nations which, several times in the past, tried to destroy Israel. To suggest that the Israeli military is a weapon intended for the Palestinians is a form of moral equivalence. It assumes that Israeli weapons were intended for murder just like Palestinian bomber belts. And that's a lie.
Posted 6:38 AM | [Link]
TAKE COMFORT [Dave Kopel]
According to a report from NewsMax.com, Dick Morris predicts that "Hillary Will Be America's Next President," winning the 2008 election. Don't worry though. In 1998, Morris predicted that Hillary would never really run for Senate from New York, and was just feigning interest in order to run for Senate from Illinois later. During the 1998 campaign, Morris repeatedly predicted that Mrs. Clinton would lose the New York race. Morris also claimed that John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, John Edwards, and Al Gore would "run, and they'll lose." Morris added, "And it's very hard once you lose a presidential race to run again and be successful." Really? George Bush 41, Ronald Reagan (twice), Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Grover Cleveland, Andrew Jackson, and Thomas Jefferson all ran for President, lost, and later won.
Posted 6:27 AM | [Link]
INSPIRED [Dave Kopel]
"I say today Israel will not surrender to blackmail ... he who rises up to kill us, we will pre-empt it and kill him first," announced Prime Minister Sharon in Washington, before returning to Israel. His words were a direct echo of the Talmud (Rabbinic commentary on the Torah), which says, "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first." (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 72a.) Sharon concluded: "Israel will fight, Israel will triumph and when victory prevails, Israel will make peace."
Posted 6:25 AM | [Link]
KAREN FINLEY, CALL YOUR OFFICE [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Franko B, an Italian in London, is an attraction at a London arts festival. Naked, he cuts himself in the stomach area and shows off the wound. This, is his art. And it goes on for six hours. And it’s all part of a festival funded with public dollars.
Posted 5:05 AM | [Link]
NATURALLY [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
On the same day as sixteen innocent Israelis are murdered in a pool hall, the United Nations votes to chastise Israel.
Posted 4:53 AM | [Link]
VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN: [John J. Miller]
The good news is Connerly's initiative is now polling 71 percent on the Chronicle site. The bad news is the link I posted earlier isn't working for everyone. Try this one. Vote Connerly!
Posted 4:16 AM | [Link]
IMMORAL: [Rod Dreher] I loved Ariel Sharon's fiery speech tonight, in the wake of the latest suicide bombing, promising to kill terrorists. I have a feeling he's going to make good on that. Splendid. I tell you what, I've had about enough of the U.S. Government's whining about the "peace process." At some point, does it not become positively immoral to tell a democratic nation that it ought not to defend itself? Come on, Mr. President, you know better than this. Leave Israel alone, and let her defend herself properly from Islamic terror. America, thank God, is not France. Let's quit acting like it.
Posted 12:14 AM | [Link]
|
|
|
|
||
|
VOTE FOR CONNERLY: [John J. Miller]
Internet polls are stupid, but it's still good to win them. The San Francisco Chronicle is currently running a web poll on Ward Connerly's Racial Privacy Initiative, right next to an editorial denouncing it (bias, anyone?). At the time of this posting, 59 percent were on Connerly's side. C'mon NROers--let's run up that number.
Posted 9:01 PM | [Link]
RE: EVEN WORSE: [Rod Dreher] That reminds me, Andrew, of the incident during the 2000 GOP primaries in Iowa, involving the gay sex columnist who went undercover to join the volunteer staff of Gary Bauer's campaign. He had the flu, and hung out in the campaign office after everybody left so he could infect the place. He said he licked doorknobs and coffee-cup rims, and spread his infected saliva all over the office, all in an effort to make religious conservative Bauer too sick to compete. How do we know this? Because he wrote it all up in a delightful little article in Salon, which thought this low-level bioterrorism was hilarious. It didn't occur to the columnist or his Salon editors that one or more of the Bauer volunteers might have had their immune systems compromised, and might have died from the prank. Who cares if the targets are right-wingers, correct?
Posted 8:51 PM | [Link]
PATTEN'S POSTURING [Andrew Stuttaford]
EU bureaucrat Chris Patten has a nauseating piece in today's Washington Post. The article is filled with big words (pustulation?) and petty ideas. Andrew Sullivan takes it apart on his website. One additional point worth noting is Patten's smug reference to the "outbreak of arson attacks against African-American churches" in the US. While the US has, disgracefully, seen far too many such attacks in its history, the recent "outbreak" to which the EU Commissioner is presumably referring has long since been known to have been exaggerated. Mr. Patten, a failed politician in his homeland, is obviously no better at doing research than he is at winning votes.
Posted 5:44 PM | [Link]
EVEN WORSE THAN IT SEEMED [Andrew Stuttaford]
Rod, you make a good point about the failure to take action against those who recently threw food at Pim Fortuyn, but this particular moment in Dutch democracy was even worse than you may have thought. The food thrown at Fortuyn was, in fact, saturated with urine. Today's New York Times mentions this assault, but its report blandly refers to 'three cakes' being hurled at Mr. Fortuyn. No further detail is given. This makes the whole incident sound like a food fight out of Animal House, whereas it was, in reality, a sign of a much deeper intolerance, a hatred of dissent which now appears to have manifested itself in murder.
Posted 4:37 PM | [Link]
FORTUYN FORETOLD: [Rod Dreher] According to Best of the Web Today, Pim Fortuyn had this to say to the BBC about his safety, and the threats against him: "There is no protection from government. The prime minister has made the atmosphere in this country against me. He has said I was a racist. He don't give me any protection, nothing. ...I have said until the 15th [of May, election day] when I am killed or wounded then you are responsible because you gave me no protection." No wonder Adam Curry is so angry with Dutch politicians crying crocodile tears over Fortuyn's murder.
Posted 4:35 PM | [Link]
ANOTHER SUICIDE BOMBING [Jonah Goldberg]
At least ten, maybe more killed. Here's another chance for Arafat to denounce terror, which we know means so much.
Posted 4:21 PM | [Link]
CREDIT WHERE DUE [Jonah Goldberg]
A couple readers have taken me to task for not noting that Steve Ditko was given a co-creator credit in the Spider-Man movie. I confess I missed that, perhaps because I was inhaling too much popcorn. Some readers suggested I failed to mention this because Ditko was a disciple of Ayn Rand. I confess I didn't know that either. While it's very interesting, I don't think you could possibly make the case that Spider-Man was a Randian figure. I will have to ponder who would make the best Randian Super-Hero (but I won't ponder it much, because such a topic constitutes geekdom cubed). Still, off the top of my head, I would have to say the only Randian characters in the Marvel Universe who come to mind are the world-devouring Galactus or the celestial stand-patter, the Watcher.
Somewhere, someone very pale just spit Diet Coke on his computer screen in a blind rage. Anyway, if you want to read more about Steve Ditko this is a very useful article.
Posted 4:10 PM | [Link]
ADAM CURRY'S WEBLOG: [Rod Dreher] Former MTV veejay Adam Curry has his own weblog. He lives in Amsterdam, backed Pim Fortuyn, and has useful updates and commentary, in English and Dutch. Curry is particularly peeved at the lazy media for painting Fortuyn as a "far right" candidate, and is cheesed off at the Dutch politicians who lambasted Fortuyn as an extremist now saying what a fine fellow he was. Any Americans interested in the important Fortuyn events have to follow it through blogs, it seems. The American media seems to have decided this assassination is a non-story.
Posted 3:46 PM | [Link]
CATHOLIC CHUTZPAH: [Rod Dreher] This is even more nervy than the shirtless priest on Bourbon Street. The Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and his auxiliary bishop, Reginald Cawcutt, have seen fit to issue a statement about the sex scandal in the American Church. They remind the Cape Town faithful that most priests are good men. Well, yes. But: Bishop Cawcutt was the poster priest a couple of years back for St. Sebastian's Angels, a gay priest webring that featured homoerotic pornography and smutty commentary. Among Cawcutt's posts were his wishes that Pope John Paul II would die, and that someone would poison Cardinal Ratzinger. Roman Catholic Faithful discovered the site, and privately tried to get American cardinals to do something about it. When RCF was ignored, it posted pages from St. Sebastian's Angels on its own site. There was a minor scandal, some of the priests were disciplined, but Bishop Cawcutt remains in place. Message: a bishop of the Church, in other words, is free to participate in a pornographic website, and call for the death of the Pope and a prominent cardinal -- because nothing will happen to him. RCF has reposted the vile St. Sebastian pages in light of the current crisis. If you have a strong stomach -- no kidding, this is rough stuff -- take a look, and see what it's possible to get away with under the current regime.
Posted 2:57 PM | [Link]
HOW DO YOU SAY "D'OH" IN LATIN?: [Rod Dreher] The Smoking Gun has the photograph (scroll down a smidge) of that closeted gay priest shirtless in the French Quarter at Mardi Gras. The image appeared in a book about Mardi Gras, and when the priest was recognized the other day, he was forced to resign from his south Louisiana parish.
Posted 2:19 PM | [Link]
POSTCARD FROM EUROPE: [Rod Dreher] An American living in Europe writes to NRO: "The one thing that really strikes me about the murder of Pim Fortuyn is the pictures they have been showing on all the news channels. The one where he is having food thrown at him at a press conference. Whatever happened to those folks? Were they arrested? Was anything done to them? How can the Dutch Left be so shocked by the violent death of a politician when they ignored (or cheered) the first steps of leaving debate and argument behind? ... You cannot imagine what it is like here. Le Pen inspires marches, not debate (Chirac wouldn't allow that to happen). Berlusconi's labour advisor is himself gunned down. Has the left become so bankrupt that they cannot even enter the arena of ideas? After all, Le Pen isn't that hard to argue with, is he? The sad thing is, what is the life of politics in Europe is the life of academia in the United States. How long before our politics degrades to this level?"
Posted 2:15 PM | [Link]
ICK [Jonah Goldberg]
A reader makes a good point about my review today:
"One question though, if spider-man's web spinning ability comes with his spider-powers, wouldn't the webbing come from a different portion of his anatomy than his wrists?"
Posted 2:10 PM | [Link]
FORTUYN'S KILLER IDENTIFIED: [Rod Dreher] Reports now say that Pim Fortuyn's suspected murderer is a Dutch animal-rights/environmental activist. The story is here. The group Animal Freedom has disavowed the suspect, identified as Volkert van der Graaf, but published
this past statement by him. NRO reader Michiel Visser says this about the group: "I found multiple negative stories about Pim Fortuyn and his list on their website. Two years prior to the elections, they waged a lawsuit against a prominent Dutch agricultural leader, Wien van den Brink, who is placed No. 20 on the List Pim Fortuyn. Pim Fortuyn was of the Bjorn Lomborg school, skeptical of the claims of the environmental movement and highly critical of its policy proposals."
Posted 1:58 PM | [Link]
SWISS MILITIA IN WWII [Dave Kopel]
Secret Passages, currently showing on the History Channel, includes an important portion on Switzerland during World War II. The overall theme of the series is underground tunnels and hiding places, which in the case of Switzerland emphasizes the military bunkers in the Alps. This one-hour segment of the series includes fascinating portions on several European countries, with about ten minutes on Switzerland. Interspersed with commentary by Stephen Halbrook and a Swiss military historian, the documentary shows numerous still photographs of Swiss troops in training and being reviewed by General Guisan as well as excellent original film footage of Swiss Alpine soldiers on maneuvers. Some of the pictures in the documentary come from Halbrook's book Target Switzerland, which details how the Swiss system of militia and defensive preparedness deterred a Nazi invasion during World War II. Nothing like this has ever before been televised in the United States. It also includes footage of Hitler meeting with his general staff and emphasizes the dissuasive effect of Swiss military strategy. This theme includes the rifle in every home and a sniper behind every rock. Check historychannel.com for this week's scheduled showing. A copy of the videotape is available from historychannel.com. Specify "Secret Passages: Episode 5."
Posted 1:37 PM | [Link]
THE SAT [Stanley Kurtz]
Heather MacDonald weighs in on the coming destruction of the SAT. The interesting thing about MacDonald’s piece is her gaming out of how the new, achievement oriented test will be vulnerable to attack by the quota meisters, once the SAT as a test of aptitude is well and dead.
Posted 10:43 AM | [Link]
ACTUALLY... [Jonah Goldberg]
It appears you can get to the review on the web. Here it is.
Posted 10:02 AM | [Link]
FYI [Jonah Goldberg]
My review of Rich Blow's tiresome tome on JFK Jr. is in today's Wall Street Journal. Alas, it's not on the web.
Posted 8:17 AM | [Link]
JENIN BS CONT'D [Jonah Goldberg]
An outstanding piece in today's Washington Post on how the US was responsible for plenty of Jenins in the past and how there may be many more Jenins in America's future.
Posted 8:00 AM | [Link]
INSTAPUNDIT, FOR THE RECORD [Jonah Goldberg]
Glenn Reynolds, the host, sponsor, author whatever of the uber-blog, Instapundit asked me to do him a favor the other day. Many critics charge that bloggers fake or at least pad their web traffic claims. In order to prove his own veracity Reynolds asked me, as a disinterested party, to review his server-stats and report the results. I immediately did the first part and reviewed his stats, but it’s taken me a few days to report the results, because I’ve been so busy. So: Instapundit gets about 250,000 page views a week. He did get 77,677 PVs yesterday (a record) and he has racked up just shy of 4 million page views in the last 6 months.
Now, of course, Reynolds could have spent the last few weeks creating a Potemkin stat-counter just so he could dupe me into reporting these numbers. But since he posts 49,000 items a day, we know he doesn’t have the time for that.
Posted 7:35 AM | [Link]
BW SOCIAL CLUB: [John J. Miller]
Cuba has bioweapons, according to John Bolton of the State Department.
Posted 5:24 AM | [Link]
NO HABLA ESPANOL: [John J. Miller]
Miami-Dade County has fired a woman for refusing to learn Spanish, reports a Florida TV station. Jim Boulet of English First is posting updates on the story here, and he's organizing a campaign on behalf of the employee, who had been working for the county for 16 years.
Posted 5:09 AM | [Link]
APPEASERS: [John J. Miller]
The European Union has just put out its list of terrorist organizations, and two groups are conspicuously missing: FARC and ELN, both of Colombia. FARC, in fact, is the largest terrorist outfit in the Western hemisphere. Steve Johnson and John Hulsman of the Heritage Foundation call this "the latest example of the EU yielding to instincts of appeasement when confronted by a security threat."
Posted 4:57 AM | [Link]
LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE DEMS [Robert A. George]
As much as it pains me to say this, I think I have to give it to the Democrats today. The DNC released a statement after the Republican National Committee announced that they were now in the business of Spanish-language TV programs. That's right, the GOP is now doing monthly infomercials!
"Abriendo Caminos (Forging New Paths) will inform the Hispanic community about important political issues and Bush Administration initiatives that directly affect their lives."
The Dems response: "The extent to which Republicans pander to Latinos never ceases to amaze me. First, the GOP announced they would teach their members to speak Spanish so they could better communicate their disastrous record with the Hispanic community--in two languages.
Now, rather than address the most pressing needs of the Hispanic community like education, health care, jobs, and immigration and offer concrete actions--Republicans have opted to condense their version of Hispanic outreach to a mere 30 minutes a month--coming to select markets near you."
The boilerplate stuff aside, McAuliffe is exactly right on this one. But the problem isn't that the Republicans pander--it's that they do it so poorly!. I can't wait until somebody cuts a rap record and they pitch it to BET.
Posted 4:37 AM | [Link]
|
|
|
|
||
|
MEANWHILE, IN BOSTON...: [Rod Dreher] Fr. Paul Shanley returned to town, wearing a bulletproof vestment, I mean vest, and lo, the Archdiocese found even more Shanley documents. And, look for Cardinal Law to be in court this Wednesday; the judge in the Geoghan case is worried His Eminence may skip town, and ordered him deposed ASAP.
Posted 11:38 PM | [Link]
THE NEED FOR DEBATE [Andrew Stuttaford]
There is plenty in Tuesday's European papers about the Fortuyn murder. One line in an article in the London Independent is, probably unintentionally, highly revealing. Commenting on the current political scene, the writer notes that, "In the Netherlands, as in much of Europe, it [is] increasingly acceptable to question immigration".
Whatever one might think about immigration policy, it must, surely, always be "acceptable" to question it. The fact that, as that sentence shows, this has not been the case is a major source of Europe's current restlessness. The EU's establishment politicians may disagree, but free societies are about open debate. That's how they work. Fortuyn understood this. It was part of his appeal. Speaking to journalists last month, he explained that, "in a real democracy, you can size each other up and tell each other exactly what you're thinking. My only demand is that you not be able to incite violence."
Fortuyn succeeded in the first but, sadly, through no fault of his own, he may have failed in the second.
Posted 8:14 PM | [Link]
DID THIS MAKE PIM AN ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOT?: [Rod Dreher] Here is Pim Fortuyn's official policy on Muslim immigrants and others who don't conform to Dutch social standards: "Large groups in the community are lagging behind in social and cultural terms. These groups often originate from countries which did not participate in the Judeo-Christian-humanist developments which have been taking place in Europe for centuries. These shortfalls in development are highly regrettable, as they result in a divide in society and form a threat to the functioning of our large cities. This must be tackled vigorously, on the one hand by paying extra attention to housing, schools and cultural education for these groups, but on the other by requiring these groups to make a maximum effort themselves. Cultural developments which are diametrically opposed to the desired integration and emancipation, such as arranged marriages, honour revenge and female circumcision, must be fought by means of legislation and public information. Discrimination against women in fundamentalist Islamic circles is particularly unacceptable. In a democratic society like ours, all citizens have the same rights and obligations, irrespective of race, gender, beliefs and nature. There is a division of Church and State in the Netherlands, and therefore also of mosque and state. Thanks to the division of powers (the executive, legislative and judiciary powers), citizens can develop themselves in relative freedom. Our hard-fought freedoms are worth protecting against increasing fundamentalism. We must carry out a study into whether the introduction of a social and military service for boys and girls of eighteen years of age or older can contribute to integration."
Posted 5:03 PM | [Link]
DUTCH COPS NAB WHITE GUY: [Rod Dreher] BBC quotes Dutch police saying the suspect they have arrested in the Fortuyn assassination is a white Dutch male.
Posted 4:54 PM | [Link]
EXACTLY RIGHT, ANDREW: [Rod Dreher] The corrupt European political establishment is beyond shame. Fortuyn was an instant success because he challenged the elitist Eurocratic status quo of his country's political system. I've talked to average Dutchmen who said they wouldn't have voted for Fortuyn, but were glad he was around because it forced the parties they support to get off their duffs and pay attention to the concerns of the common people. "The media are painting him as far right-wing," said a friend in Haarlem, "but you should talk to the public and some politicians and you'll find a more balanced viewpoint." That friend just e-mailed to say the latest TV reports there there say police now have four suspects in custody, as well as the apparent gunman. It's starting to look like a conspiracy. But who?
Posted 3:39 PM | [Link]
EUROSPEAK [Andrew Stuttaford]
EU potentate (and Belgian foreign minister) Louis Michel is using the occasion of Pim Fortuyn's murder
to deliver a familiar lecture. Describing the situation as "dangerous," Michel has (Reuters reports) called for
"democratic parties...to campaign in a very cautious way, and in a balanced and serene way to try to orientate the debate towards democratic values." Translated out of the benign-sounding eurospeak, what this means is that politicians should avoid discussing any issues that risk upsetting the elite's center-left consensus. If Michel actually had any words of regret for the iconoclastic Fortuyn, they were not included in the report.
Posted 3:15 PM | [Link]
THE LATEST FROM HOLLAND [Andrew Stuttaford]
Dutch newswire ANP is reporting that a suspect has been detained in the Fortuyn shooting.
Posted 2:14 PM | [Link]
A CRITICAL DISTINCTION: [Rod Dreher] A reader of my essay on the film The Mission writes: "I am uncomfortable with the way you have formulated your argument in this column. In what sense have the bishops made illegitimate and un-Christian demands of us, which must be resisted, come what may? They have not bound us to take any action or refrain from any action. I believe your argument conflates the obligation of obedience to the bishops with solidarity with them. We are obliged to be obedient unless our consciences are pushed to the breaking point. But criticizing and condemning bishops' actions is not disobedience. It is virtue, when warranted, as it is in this case. The conservative reaction to the scandals includes nothing that could be judged as disobedient, yet you seem to be sounding a rallying cry for us to resist their authority." That's a very smart point, and I'm grateful to the reader for making it. I should clarify: in The Mission, what made the cardinal's order illegitimate was not that it violated the conscience of the Jesuits, but that it was so clearly un-Christian, and unfaithful to the Church's teaching. The reader is right, I think, to note that the American bishops in our present case haven't ordered the faithful to do anything contrary to the teaching of the Church regarding this scandal; I should have made it clearer in my piece that I was talking mostly about solidarity with the bishops, not obedience (though it may come to that, God forbid). I thank the reader again for the clarification.
Posted 1:38 PM | [Link]
FORTUYN IS DEAD: OFFICIAL: [Rod Dreher] Pim Fortuyn is dead, and the Netherlands are in shock. I've been on the phone with Dutch friends and colleagues, and they are absolutely stricken by this violent act. It's not that they were Fortuyn supporters (though some were); it's that they cannot believe that famously tolerant and liberal Holland has become a place where a man can be shot dead for voicing his opinion. They warn not to believe the inevitable press accounts that Fortuyn is "hard-right"; he is, but only by Dutch standards ("I don't think he would have been considered on the right at all in America," said one Dutch colleague, who knows American politics). Fortuyn was not remotely a Le Pen figure, and was in fact an Andrew Sullivan-style gay libertarian. And he did much good for the moribund Dutch political system, if only by blasting away the taboo from the discussion of Holland's immigration problem. This political murder will set off an earthquake that will go beyond Holland's borders, particularly if his killer turns out to have been an immigrant. Watch this situation closely.
Posted 1:20 PM | [Link]
PIM FORTUYN ASSASSINATED?: [Rod Dreher] Reports coming in that conservative, anti-immigrant Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn has been shot in the head. Sketchy reports suggest that he may have died, but this hasn't been confirmed. Whatever the case, this will be a bombshell to the Netherlands' political world, which is benignly socialist. No word yet on who the attacker might have been, but if it turns out to have been one of Holland's peace-loving Muslims, Fortuyn's point about the need to stop accepting all these unassimilable immigrants will have been made far more forcefully than he ever could have hoped.
Posted 11:57 AM | [Link]
"THE CATHOLIC TALIBAN": [Rod Dreher] The Left, as we know, finds it hard to criticize those with whom it disbelieves without accusing them of fascism and racism. Latest example: Catholics faithful to the Church's teachings criticize (in the book Goodbye, Good Men and elsewhere) the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown (Pa.) for hiring a pro-gay psychologist to screen candidates for the seminary. The shrink responds by calling Catholics who actually believe what the Church teaches "the Catholic Taliban", and likening them to anti-Semites. And the diocesan spokesman defends this guy!
Posted 11:35 AM | [Link]
BUY ISRAELI [Dave Kopel]
The Israeli economy is reeling from the terrorist campaign. So consider buying and flying an Israeli flag made in Israel--or other products made by the nation in the vanguard of the war on terrorism.
Posted 10:33 AM | [Link]
CLOSED SHOP [Stanley Kurtz]
With all the legitimate optimism that comes with the explosive growth of the conservative web, it’s useful to remind ourselves just how bad the situation on America’s campuses really is. However much the Internet has permitted an end-run around the liberal powers that be, the campus is still, for the overwhelming part, a closed intellectual shop. Two pieces from the front lines, one by Christina Hoff Sommers, and one by David Horowitz make this sad but all-too-true point. How many times do we have to say this? Until it is no longer true. I am still awestruck by the courage and persistence of people like Sommers and Horowitz, who so regularly walk into the lion’s den.
Posted 10:01 AM | [Link]
THAT'LL TEACH HIM [Jonathan Adler]
As if us law professor-types don't teach our students to be sufficiently litigious, a law school is suing one of its own students because of this website.
Posted 9:29 AM | [Link]
THE WAY IT IS FOR WOMEN [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Feminists hated Danielle Crittenden for arguing (in her book What Our Mothers Didn’t Tell Us) that early marriage might be a good idea for women--rather than career first, only to realize too late that they’ve passed up one of the best joys life has to offer. Instead of emphasizing to young women that they have this perfectly valid choice, however, intelligent people are constantly reaching for newer, more easily available technologies that will make later motherhood possible for greater numbers of women. A new egg-bank opening up in California is the occasion for this piece in the Sacramento Bee. Women in their twenties now rejoice that they can save their eggs for later. Yes, what a relief! I’ll freeze my eggs, have my career, and maybe, if the preservation and implantation all works, be able to chase after kids--with or without a husband--when I am in my 50s?! Seems like women are just getting fed new lies and empty promises. And perhaps it won’t be until their teenagers have to care for their elderly parents that they’ll realize it.
Posted 9:28 AM | [Link]
FESSING UP [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Okay, so maybe there’s no limo. I heard he's getting reimbursed for a cab ride while he was in Las Vegas though.
Posted 9:24 AM | [Link]
SPIDER-MAN [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Of course, if Jonah were willing to surrender his limo and driver so that NRO could hire a secretary to hound down publicists for preview tickets, he wouldn't have to see the movie after the thousands who did this weekend.
Posted 9:23 AM | [Link]
FR. WILSON: "WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE...": [Rod Dreher] Some well-meaning person at Priests for Life sent a mass-mailing out to Catholic priests promising to fight for them against the purported Catholic-bashers keeping this scandal going. Tough Brooklyn priest Father Joe Wilson sends this blistering response.
Posted 8:40 AM | [Link]
HERE'S MY PLAN [Jonah Goldberg]
There will be no G-File today so that I can go see Spider-Man and get some other things done (go to Max Boot's Panel at the American Enterprise Institute; shop for a birthday present for my wife; shave my back etc). I will write about the movie, comic books etc. tomorrow as part of our Spiderific -- though admittedly tardy -- NRO-spidey package. Also, in case you're curious, my review of Richard Blow's
Posted 8:35 AM | [Link]
COLORADO COLOR [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
A libertarian candidate for Senate in Colorado says incumbent Wayne Allard should be tried for treason and hung when found guilty. Actually, he thinks that of everyone in Congress: "Wayne Allard voted for the Patriot Act. That violates the Constitution seven or eight different ways. You could take almost any legislation over the last 100 years and say the same thing."
Posted 7:58 AM | [Link]
DAMN MEDIA [Dave Kopel]
My latest Rocky Mountain News/Denver Post column looks at skewed and hysterical media coverage of Dutch conservative/libertarian political leader Pim Fortuyn and of immigration control advocate Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado).
Posted 7:48 AM | [Link]
DAMN EUROPEANS [Dave Kopel]
Mark Steyn, writing for The Spectator, argues that Europe is much more violent and mean-spirited than America. Among his many excellent observations:
It’s gradually beginning to dawn on US Europhiles that the Continent has done everything the American Left has wanted for years and it doesn’t seem to be working out. Thanks to Erfurt and Nanterre, you’re currently outpacing the Yanks at high-scoring gun massacres. At the last attempted US massacre, at the Appalachian School of Law in West Virginia, there was a gun-totin’ student [two, in fact] on hand to pin down the would-be mass murderer until the cops arrived. But in Europe—"a gun-control utopia," as the Los Angeles Times sees it--there’s no one to stop the corpses piling up.
Posted 7:46 AM | [Link]
MORE JENIN LIES [Dave Kopel]
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles reports on a visit to Jenin by CNN and Los Angeles Times journalists, both apparently determined to create a "stench of death" against Israel.
Posted 7:31 AM | [Link]
|
|
|
|
||
|
CHIRAC ON A ROLL? [Andrew Stuttaford]
If this evening's IPSOS poll is any sign, Chirac may not have much in the way of coat-tails. According to this survey, 49 percent of voters have confidence in their (just re-elected) president, while 48 percent do not. 44 percent are now saying that they will vote for the right in the legislative elections, against 41 percent for the left.
Posted 5:24 PM | [Link]
LE PEN LOSES [Andrew Stuttaford]
John, The polls continue to report a landslide. The latest reveal that Chirac has won with some 82 percent of the vote, leaving no room for Le Pen to claim any sort of success (there had been suggestions that a tally of, say, 25 percent might have represented a 'moral' victory for the extremist leader). The next step in the saga will be legislative elections in June. Will Chirac be able to build on today's victory to secure a center-right majority, or will the left, energized by two weeks of political street theater, succeed in retaining control of the legislature, thereby dooming France to an another uneasy period of 'cohabitation'?
Posted 4:44 PM | [Link]
CHIRAC WINS BIG: [John J. Miller]
His margin of victory is more than 4-to-1, according to exit polls.
Posted 4:20 PM | [Link]
WE TOLD YOU SO: [Rod Dreher] Surprise, surprise: the Jerusalem Post quotes two unnamed Christian clerics, one a high-ranking churchman involved in the Bethlehem standoff negotiations, saying that Christian leaders are covering up the truth about what's happening at the Church of the Nativity. It truly is a hostage situation, exactly as NRO reported weeks ago, and Christian leaders won't be honest because they're afraid of Islamic militants. Said one of the priests, based in Bethlehem: "We [Christians] are a small minority with little rights left, so it's obvious you have to be cautious with what you say. But I would have preferred silence rather than saying that everything is okay. We are worse than cowards, we are lying."
Posted 2:21 PM | [Link]
OUR MESSAGE TO MUSLIMS [Andrew Stuttaford]
There's a thought-provoking piece by Thomas Friedman in today's New York Times. Amongst Friedman's points is the idea that "America needs to make a much bigger investment in public diplomacy in the Muslim world, and vigorously challenge what is published there." He's right, of course. Many Islamic countries are gerontocracies, collapsing economies run by failing regimes without an ounce of moral or democratic legitimacy, fertile territory, especially with their young under-employed populations, for revolutionary upheaval. The problem is that the only change currently on offer comes from the Islamic extreme. The US needs to be arguing that there is an alternative to the theocratic dead-end. It will do so with much more conviction if it starts loosening ties to the Saudi regime, a tyranny that only differs from the Taliban in the amount of dollars that it has to throw around.
Posted 12:49 PM | [Link]
KANGAROO K-O [Andrew Stuttaford]
That's good news about the International Court, John. Set up by unelected international bureaucrats and supported by various Third World tyrannies, the proposed 'court' is nothing than more than another device to attack the US and its citizens. A court that is based neither on law, nor fairness, nor consent is not a court, but a lynch mob. America should have nothing to do with it.
Posted 12:11 PM | [Link]
CAMPAIGN 'REFORM' HEAVEN [Andrew Stuttaford]
Almost every French newspaper has endorsed Chirac over Le Pen, That's perfectly understandable, and, indeed, quite right. However, it is worth noting that French election law bans the candidates themselves from campaigning in the day before the vote. This is McCainia taken to its logical conclusion: everybody silenced except for a media then free to set the agenda all on its own, and when the media speaks with one voice, that's not much of a democracy.
Posted 11:42 AM | [Link]
UNSIGNED: [John J. Miller]
The New York Times reports that the Bush administration tomorrow will back out of a treaty to set up an international criminal court.
Posted 4:57 AM | [Link]
THE DERBY: [John J. Miller]
There's something appropriate, this year, about a horse called War Emblem winning the Kentucky Derby, and second place going to Proud Citizen.
Posted 4:54 AM | [Link]