Monthly Archives: February 2003

February 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Tony Blair Stands Up to the Pope

Pope John Paul II was one of the heroes of the final struggle against Communism, such an important leader that the Russians tried to have him assassinated. But in the ensuing years, he has been disappointing. Yesterday he met with Tony Blair. Contrary to the usual custom, the Vatican double-crossed Blair by releasing a transcript of the meeting. The Pope’s side of the conversation, as reported by the Daily Telegraph, »
February 22, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Not Ramsey Clark, but close enough

The other day, reflecting on the presidential candidacies of Carol Moseley-Braun and Dennis Kucinich, I wondered whether Ramsey Clark would be next. This Washington Post article suggests that, instead, it might be Gary (“Where’s the beef”) Hart. Even without Hart, the Democrats already have eight announced candidates. The record is nine, set in 1976 by the Democrats. With more than a year to go until the New Hampshire primary, that »
February 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Bush unleashes the Jacquesbot

As usual, Mark Steyn has got it figured out: “Bush unleashes the Jacquesbot.” »
February 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Orville Freeman, RIP

Orville Freeman was a model student athlete. He was the backup quarterback on a couple of Bernie Bierman’s nationally renowned Universityof Minnesota football teams. He was a college debate champion with his debate partner Hubert Humphrey as an impoverished student at the university in the late 1930’s. He was a bona fide war hero. He left law school at the university to enlist in the Marines on December 8, 1941. »
February 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

President’s Poll Numbers Dropping

The latest poll data collected by Real Clear Politics show a sudden and sharp decline in President Bush’s approval ratings. The drop is consistent in polling beginning on February 10, and presumably represents a delayed reaction to weeks of antiwar protests, press criticism and attacks by Democrats. The Harris poll done between February 12 and February 16 shows only a 6 point positive margin; I haven’t checked, but assume this »
February 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Slick Willie Douglas

This book review by Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner of the first scholarly biography of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas is terrific, and the book itself sounds like a must-read: “The anti-hero.” Let us all strive to live our lives so that it will not be said of us after our deaths that “[f]or at least a decade before he was felled in 1974 by the massive stroke that »
February 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Intelligence wars

For the past several years I have read the review/essays of Thomas Powers on issues related to cloak and dagger intelligence in the New York Review of Books. I have no expertise whatsoever on the subject and therefore no way of evaluating Powers except in the context of my respect for the pioneering books of historians like Ronald Radosh and Allen Weinstein that definitively settled certain Cold War controversies. I »
February 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

More on murder in Minneapolis

The third suspect in the murder of Eric Pearson — triggerman Maynard Cross — was apprehended yesterday. The Star Tribune story on his apprehension mentions for the first time that Cross and 18-year-old codefendant Anthony Hayes had been identified as known Crips members by the Minnesota Gang Stike Force, a fact relegated to page B9 in the paper’s hard copy: “Last suspect in convenience store death is arrested.” »
February 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Professor of murder

The Weekly Standard has collected its pieces on University of South Florida professor of murder Sami Al-Arian under the heading “Who is Sami Al-Arian?” One of the excellent Standard pieces is David Tell’s March 2002 demolition of New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof’s defense of the professor from the charge that he supported terrorism: “The Times and Sami Al-Arian.” This morning’s Washington Times carries a good editorial on Al-Arian’s indictment »
February 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

The madness of King Jacques

We somehow missed Mark Steyn’s Thursday National Post column: “M. le President’s imperiousness.” »
February 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

I remembered it was Washington’s birthday today only because my youngest daughter came home from kindergarten with a tricorner hat. She goes to a public school, too. »
February 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Lies, Damned Lies, and Polls

Actually, I like polls. You can learn a lot from them. But increasingly, you can’t trust what people–even the pollsters themselves–say about polls. You have to read the raw data for yourself. A case in point is recent polling by the Pew Research Center, which was called to our attention by reader Gene Allen. As reported by the Associated Press, the Pew data show that “the number of people who »
February 21, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

More Excuses for the Estrada Filibuster

In a piece called “They Started It,” E.J. Dionne attempts to apologize for the Democratic filibuster of the Estrada nomination. Dionne does not deny that Estrada deserves to be confirmed, but claims that the Democrats have no choice but to oppose him because the Repubicans “started it” when they failed to confirm certain Clinton judicial nominees. For the party that brought us “borking” and the Thomas confirmation hearings to claim »
February 21, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

For France, Iraq is not the issue

Charles Krauthammer explains what France is really up to in the debate about Iraq. For France, the issue is not Iraq. To be sure, France has contracts and loans that it wishes to protect. But, as Krauthammer explains, “the lengths to which France has gone to oppose the United States show that the stakes are much higher. France is reaching to become not only the leading power in Europe. but »
February 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

“One Enemy, One War, One Outcome”

Hugh Hewitt pointed us to this fine article by Victor Davis Hanson in National Review. Hanson views our current struggle against Islamofascism in the light of historical precedents like the Peloponnesian War and World War II: “Taking on all at once Germany, Japan, and Italy »
February 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Progress in Saudi Arabia?

Haaretz correspondent Daniel Sobelman says things are changing in Saudi Arabia. Really. Well, we hope he’s right. I suppose having 150,000 allied troops in the region helps sharpen the princes’ thinking. »
February 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Falling Into Place in the Gulf

Turkey appears to have fallen back into line, and, one day after Don Rumsfeld’s announcement that U.S. and British forces are ready to attack at any time, “Iraq’s Vice-President said in a broadcast interview that Iraq was ready for dialogue with the United States if Washington dropped its invasion plans.” Meanwhile, Iraqi-Americans support the liberation of their country. »