Monthly Archives: December 2002

December 24, 2002 — Paul Mirengoff

Trunk (and Mrs. Trunk) the

Trunk (and Mrs. Trunk) the role of bloggers is being widely recognized in the Lott affair, it seems. Last night on “Hardball” two panelists mentioned bloggers. I believe Tony Blankley and Christopher Hitchens were the two. »
December 24, 2002 — Scott Johnson

As the photograph Rocket Man

As the photograph Rocket Man posted last night suggests, among the many things for which the Power Line crew are thankful this holiday season is the presidency of George W. Bush. Today Rich Lowry contributes a timely appreciation: “The faith-based presidency.” »
December 24, 2002 — Scott Johnson

Mrs. Trunk submits for your

Mrs. Trunk submits for your consideration Michael Barone’s retrospective on the fall of Trent Lott: “Showing where they stand.” She particularly appreciates his recognition of the role of the bloggers. Diana West also has an important postscript: “Don’t jettison colorblind policy with Lott.” »
December 24, 2002 — John Hinderaker

Thanks to InstaPundit for pointing

Thanks to InstaPundit for pointing out this interesting Samizdata post on the puzzling question: Why does Marxism still exist? The comments are also worthwhile; I particularly enjoyed the exchange between the factory worker and the ex-factory worker. »
December 24, 2002 — John Hinderaker

In “War and the Fickle

In “War and the Fickle Left”, Robert Kagan notes that in some prominent instances, today’s doves were yesterday’s hawks, a change that cannot be explained by philosophy, but only by partisan politics. »
December 23, 2002 — John Hinderaker

I ran across this photo

I ran across this photo and couldn’t resist. Sure, it’s premature, but give him another six years, and who knows? »
December 23, 2002 — Paul Mirengoff

The Washington Post, on an

The Washington Post, on an intriguing power struggle/legal issue in Salt Lake City. The Mormon Church purchased a block of Main Street from Salt Lake City, but the City retained an easement permitting public access to the block. Under the terms of the easement, freedom of speech on the block is severely limited. The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the City could not permit »
December 23, 2002 — John Hinderaker

USA Today reports on a

USA Today reports on a survey of 58 “top economists”; the headline–“Economists Cautiously Optimistic”–sums up the data pretty accurately. The consensus was that unemployment will drop from 6% to 5.7% by the end of 2003 and the Dow will be at 9550, up 12%, by then. Well, I hope so. But the most interesting result to me was that 85% of the economists polled advocated cutting taxes. That seems like »
December 23, 2002 — John Hinderaker

The Washington Times headline says

The Washington Times headline says “France Said Ready to Assist U.S. in Iraq Invasion,” but the story is actually more encouraging than that. “Dozens of countries,” including virtually all of the NATO nations, are lining up to lend support to a possible war in Iraq, according to an unidentified Administration spokesman. Other news reports indicate that the 101st Airborne, 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions are all on their way »
December 23, 2002 — John Hinderaker

The Seattle Times (via Best

The Seattle Times (via Best of the Web) reports that Patty Murray is taking some (but nowhere near enough) heat for her comments in a Washington high school praising Osama bin Laden for building schools, roads and day care facilities–the last of which is particularly astonishing. Murray isn’t really backing off; she says that her remarks were “off the cuff,” but hasn’t disavowed them. Instead, she has criticized what she »
December 23, 2002 — Paul Mirengoff

This editorial by The Washington

This editorial by The Washington Times offers more speculation about the debate within the Bush administration on whether to take a stand against the University of Michigan’s race-based admissions policies in the two pending Supreme Court cases. The Times suggests that the administration’s reluctance to do so may stem in part from the desire to protect the viability of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez as a Supreme Court nominee. The »
December 23, 2002 — Paul Mirengoff

Notwithstanding the comments of Deputy

Notwithstanding the comments of Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz, the word in Israel seems to be that the war with Iraq will be brief. My wife visits her father in Haifa every year, usually during the winter. To plan next year’s visit, she is trying to get a sense of when the war will begin and when it will end. The Israelis expect to be attacked again. But, according to family and »
December 23, 2002 — Paul Mirengoff

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz takes issue with reports in the Washington Post of a split between senior civilian and military leadership over planning for potential war. The Post has said that Wolfowitz is predicting that Saddam will fall almost immediately upon being attacked, whereas military leaders are far less optimistic. In this Post op-ed, Wolfowitz claims that there is no split, and that all concerned recognize that the »
December 22, 2002 — John Hinderaker

Attentive Power Line readers will

Attentive Power Line readers will probably have noticed that I am from South Dakota, and return there periodically. A few weeks ago, I came across a very fine essay called Dakota Thanksgiving by J. Bottum, books and arts editor for the Weekly Standard. Then, just a few days ago, my brother the Rocket Prof called my attention to this equally fine essay by Mr. Bottum, Dakota Christmas. I can’t do »
December 22, 2002 — John Hinderaker

Earlier today, Deacon posted on

Earlier today, Deacon posted on the latest poll showing President Bush with a 66% approval rating, based largely on the fact that 75% consider him a strong leader. President Bush seems to have confirmed the “use it or lose it” approach to political power. Rather than sit on his high approval ratings, he put his influence on the line to help swing November’s election for his party. Having spent a »
December 22, 2002 — John Hinderaker

Debka File has been almost

Debka File has been almost alone in reporting on al Qaeda’s growing collaboration with the Palestinian terrorists. Now Debka covers the attempted assassination of a German diplomat by a combined al Qaeda/al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade operation. According to Debka, “al Qaeda has been badgering Fatah ‘Martyrs’ to start giving value for the money sent them, i.e., to stage terrorist attacks not only against Israelis but also against the Westerners active »
December 22, 2002 — John Hinderaker

Trunk, you’ve always had more

Trunk, you’ve always had more tolerance for popular culture than I have, but everything I read about “Gangs of New York” sounded awful–interminable violence, with the added aggravation of being anti-American. But then, I’m not exactly the acid test. Unless it’s either a kids’ movie or an adaptation of a Jane Austen novel, I’m unlikely to see it. »