Monthly Archives: December 2002

Victor Davis Hanson comprehensively surveys

Victor Davis Hanson comprehensively surveys the changes already wrought by 9/11 as well as those to be wrought by American power over the next few months: “Iraqi aftershocks.” It is quite a ride, with a stirring conclusion that will get no quarrel from us: “[P]erhaps the queerest phenomenon of all was where real wisdom was to be found in our hour of greatest need…[Not from those who should have been »

France is reporting that it

France is reporting that it has rounded up a group of Islamic terrorists who were planning attacks on the Russian embassy in Paris and other Russian interests in France. Of particular interest is that the terrorists who have been identified are non-Chechans with links to al Qaeda. This appears to confirm several important points: first, the unity between Chechan terrorists and the Islamofascists generally; and second, the lack of any »

Listen if you can: The

Listen if you can: The Twin Cities’ best radio station by far is KFAI radio. Its drive-time lineup of rhythm and blues, blues, soul, and American pop shows provides a daily education in American music if not America. Typical of its inspired programming is its incredible 15-hour Hank Williams (Senior) special beginning at 6:00 am tomorrow morning. You can listen to the station FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD through its »

Breaking news in Israel over

Breaking news in Israel over the past month has included reports of an incredible scandal under the heading of “The Ginnosar File,” by journalist Ben Caspit. The report concerns the involvement of a former high-ranking General Security Service official and personal advisor to several Israeli prime ministers in managing Palestinian Authority funds for commissions, while paying kickbacks to well-known individuals. The Middle East Media Research Institute has translated the original »

To follow up on the

To follow up on the blog below, here’s Cal Thomas, in the Washington Times, on why the kinds of concessions to the Palestinians that Ha’aretz says Sharon is contemplating should not be offered. Whether part of the Barak/Clinton “peace process” or a potential Sharon/Bush “road map,” this approach is, as Thomas concludes, the path “not to peace but to destruction.” »

When last I blogged about

When last I blogged about the upcoming elections in Israel, Ariel Sharon seemed destined to crush his soft-line Labor Party opponent. The smart money still seems to be on a fairly comfortable Sharon victory, but major scandals within his Likud Party have created some uncertainty. Here, the Israeli newpaper Ha’aretz wonders whether there could be a surprise. With polls suggesting that up to a quarter of the electorate is undecided, »

Rocket Man, I’m not aware

Rocket Man, I’m not aware of a host of talented young writers on the left, although such a cadre could well escape my notice. The New Republic always seems to have some talented 20-something writers. I don’t follow them closely, but my impression is that, as a group, they realize there is something wrong with the Democrats, but know they don’t want to be Republicans, and haven’t a clue as »

John Podhoretz has a useful

John Podhoretz has a useful recap on the North Korea mess, and how we got here, in this morning’s New York Post: “Crazy Korea ‘cures.'” »

Trunk, that Michelle Malkin column

Trunk, that Michelle Malkin column you linked to isn’t just a homer, it’s a grand slam. One fact in the column astonished me: Joel Mowbray is only 26 years old. The lovely Ms. Malkin is herself not much older. One more thing we can be grateful for this holiday season is the emergence of a new generation of tough, aggressive, and staunchly conservative journalists–a group of which Mowbray and Malkin »

Daniel Pipes finds reason for

Daniel Pipes finds reason for optimism in the fact that, for the first time in human history, the triumvirate of peace, democracy and free markets are recognized almost world-wide and stand without serious competition in the world of ideas. The chief exception–and, as Pipes acknowledges, a very serious one–is the Muslim world. But compared to the intellectual climate of even thirty years ago, it is hard to avoid agreeing with »

Michelle Malkin has her own

Michelle Malkin has her own nominee for Whistleblower of the Year, and you won’t find his mug on the cover of Time magazine. Michelle modestly avoids any mention of her own bombshell stories this year, but she stands shoulder to shoulder with her own nominee as this year’s most valuable reporters–by a country mile. »

One of our reader’s, Casey

One of our reader’s, Casey Abell, makes the insightful point that Patty Murray could become a victim of what the Weekly Standard calls the “liberal cocoon.” Mr. Abell suggests that Murray “may well mistake the mainstream media’s acceptance of her moronic remarks for the voice of the voters.” If so, she may continue to make “idiotic and repulsive remarks in the future.” Thus, “if the Republicans put up a strong »

Former White House Counsel and

Former White House Counsel and leading conservative lawyer Boyden Gray, in the Washington Times, suggests three domestic initiatives for the Republican Party to focus on. They are: (1) school choice (largely an issue to be pursued at the state and local levels, with assistance from the White House bully pulpit), (2) enactment of a market-based, privately run prescription drug benefit, and (3) reform of the selection and confirmation process for »

George Will on how President

George Will on how President Bush, through the appointment process, is restoring seriousness to the National Endowment for the Humanities and National Endowment for the Arts. Whether taxpayer dollars should support either of these outfits is a matter of debate. I’m fine with both in theory. But reading Will’s account of the two endowments during the Clinton years suggests to me that their potential for mischief may exceed their potential »

We need to catch up

We need to catch up with Mark Steyn’s most recent columns: “One nightmarish lot: Scrood at every turn,” “Sheila’s seasonal song registry,” “Did anyone notice a code was breached?,” “Kissinger, Law, Lott: Gone, gone, going,” and “A billion here, a billion there…” »

John Fund has a terrific

John Fund has a terrific column about Governor Jeb Bush’s use of the Internet for political purposes: “World Wide Jeb.” The column omits any mention of bloggers, but now that we know Governor Bush reads his e-mail, we will do our best to enlist him among our Power Line crew of readers. »

The Washington Post has a

The Washington Post has a long and interesting article on the ongoing interrogation of captured al Qaeda operatives. It is generally encouraging: “The picture that emerges is of a brass-knuckled quest for information, often in concert with allies of dubious human rights reputation, in which the traditional lines between right and wrong, legal and inhumane, are evolving and blurred.” The Post quotes a former head of the CIA Counterterrorist Center: »