Monthly Archives: December 2002

While driving this afternoon I

While driving this afternoon I listened to a liberal talk show on Minnesota’s biggest radio station, a longtime DFL bastion. The host agreed with a caller that John Ashcroft had murdered Mel Carnahan (while Carnahan was “way ahead” in the polls–not true, of course). The host then pulled out a list of liberal politicians who had died under “suspicious circumstances” (i.e, plane crashes), which the host attributed to “right wing »

I tend to be a

I tend to be a pessimist, Rocket Man, and that can get kind of frightening in the world we live in now. So, in order to avoid spoiling anyone’s New Year’s celebration, I’ll abstain from making any predictions. Except for this safe but sad one — expect even more cynicism and dishonesty from the Democrats in 2003. »

Apropos of Deacon’s anecdote about

Apropos of Deacon’s anecdote about George Romney below, the comedian Mort Sahl used to joke that Romney didn’t need to be brainwashed; in his case, a light rinse would suffice. »

In this Washington Post op-ed

In this Washington Post op-ed piece, Sandy Berger and Robert Gallucci, who helped formulate our failed policy towards North Korea, try to fill the void of advice that Rocket Man referred to when commenting about today’s Washington Post report on North Korea. Unfortunately, the Berger-Gallucci piece ends up illustrating why so few of the Administration’s critics are willing to offer advice. The two former Clinton aides start with the proposition »

Daniel Pipes has an educational

Daniel Pipes has an educational column on the “religion of peace” that goes a long way to explain the war we are in: “What is jihad?” »

Happy New Year to all

Happy New Year to all of our readers from the Power Line gang, and best wishes for the coming year. We haven’t yet posted any predictions for 2003; I’m not sure I have any to offer, but if Trunk or Deacon wants to prognosticate a little, now’s the time! »

Rocket Man, another possible explanation

Rocket Man, another possible explanation for Mary Sue Coleman’s quote is that she is a liberal racist. Certainly, a non-liberal who spoke in such racial-determinist terms would be accused of racism. Indeed, Coleman’s quote sounds like a better-dressed version of the statement by the president of Rutgers University, who was condemned, but forgiven, when he basically said that preferences are necessary because African-American kids just can’t cut it. What strikes »

The always-helpful Kofi Annan says

The always-helpful Kofi Annan says that he sees no justification for military action in Iraq: “[The inspectors] are able to do their work in an unimpeded manner. And therefore, I don’t see an argument for military action now.” Someday I hope to understand how this whole inspection regime ever made any sense. »

Good Lord, that is one

Good Lord, that is one of the most astonishing quotes I’ve ever read! The color of your skin determines where you live, where you go to work, and whom you work with?? Since when? And this woman is President of the University of Michigan. Sometimes I think that academics have collectively taken leave of their senses. How you can be a president of a major university, while exhibiting such a »

Our faithful reader Gary Larson

Our faithful reader Gary Larson points out that this morning’s Star Tribune carries a distillation of academia’s higher wisdom on the desirability of racial discrimination. University of Michigan president Mary Coleman explains why the university essentially places black applicants in a category separate from white applicants for admissions purposes: “The color of your skin determines so many important things about your life experience — where you live, where you go »

Diana West’s retrospective on 2002

Diana West’s retrospective on 2002 is my favorite of the several I have read: “Questions for reflection on 2002.” And in its own way, Rich Lowry’s column today performs a similarly valuable service, with roughly equal bite: “Fur hats and other war on terror outrages.” »

My reaction to the Washington

My reaction to the Washington Post article on North Korea was similar to yours, Rocket Man. The Post’s experts provided nothing resembling a solution to the mess that President Bush inherited from his predecessor. In assessing the efficacy of the Adminstration’s announced policy, one must define what success means. The announced policy is not likely to cause North Korea to disarm. But it might succeed in the same way that »

The Washington Post consults experts

The Washington Post consults experts who conclude that the Administration’s announced policy toward North Korea of containment through multilateral efforts to exert economic pressure is doomed to failure. This is because 1) other countries, especially China, will not cooperate, and 2) in any event, North Korea is already desperately poor, but Kim Jong’s hold on power shows no sign of weakening. The article is interesting mostly for its account of »

The Washington Post reports, in

The Washington Post reports, in this extremely interesting article, on American efforts to prevent terrorism in the murky world of maritime shipping. Al Qaeda is currently believed to own 15 or more freighters that sail internationally on unknown missions. A number of al Qaeda maritime plots have been uncovered, and officials have worked to plug gaping holes in our port security. But the difficulty of identifying terrorists in an industry »

Mona Charen, in the Washington

Mona Charen, in the Washington Times, examines the efforts of the Democrats to “get to President Bush’s right on homeland security.” She finds these efforts laughable. The Democrats, it seems, want the toughest homeland security measures possible, as long as they offend no civil servant, civil libertarian, pro-immigration lobby, or trial lawyer. Moreover, as Charen notes, even if the Democrats could overcome all of these constraints, “they would remain handicapped »

Jackson Diehl of the Washington

Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post offers a powerful rebuttal to the claim that the Bush administration’s “imperialist” bent brought on unnecessary crises in Iraq and North Korea. Most of the rebuttal consists of the answer by an unnamed senior adminstration official to David Broder’s specious question — why has Bush come to embrace “an almost imperial role” for the United States. Jackson concludes that the conflicts that will shape »

Debka File is reporting that

Debka File is reporting that Syria’s President Assad, who recently visited London, took away from a meeting with Tony Blair the terms of President Bush’s final ultimatum to Saddam Hussein. Assad reportedly delivered these terms to Saddam last week. The proposed terms include full disclosure by Saddam of weapons of mass destruction; a temporary suspension of American war preparations; and guarantee of safe passage for Saddam and his family to »