Monthly Archives: November 2003

November 22, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

We’re number 14!

Everton 2 Wolverhampton 0, in a match we totally dominated. Wolves (just promoted after years in the wilderness) replace us in the drop zone. In fact, there are suddenly six teams below us. »
November 22, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Neither Camelot nor Cabaret

Christopher Hitchens is “glad to find that the Kennedy drama and the Kennedy cult is falling away into nothingness.” Before it fades away entirely, though, Hitchens does a number on the Kennedy presidency. There’s a fair amount of truth, I think, in Hitchens’ assessment, but in the end it is too harsh. Let’s look at the big picture. Kennedy, with a massive assist from Lyndon Johnson, advanced the ball domestically. »
November 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

A report (and a question) from Afghanistan

Our source on the ground in Afghanistan is a reserve Army major (called to duty from his home in Minneapolis) whom we are inordinately proud to claim as a Power Line reader. Here is today’s report: “The 10th Mountain Division is the active duty Army command running the operation here in Afghanistan. The 10th Mountain’s home station is at Fort Drum, NY. It was announced over the public address system »
November 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Thoughts on Technology

Charles Krauthammer and Michelle Malkin write about technology. Krauthammer stayed home to watch the final game of the Garry Kasparov versus X3D Fritz chess match. He found reasons for optimism in the fact that Kasparov played silicon’s best to a draw: “We assume that as computers get better, they are going to pull away from us, beating us more and more easily, particularly in such circumscribed logical exercises as chess. »
November 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Importing price controls

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, for whom we have frequently expressed support and admiration, continues to play a demagogic role to the hilt on the subject of reimportation of price-controlled American pharmaceutical products from Canada. Pawlenty took a star turn testifying on Thursday at a senate hearing before a group of hams including John McCain and Barbara Boxer. Yesterday’s St. Paul Pioneer Press really catches the flavor of the hearing: “Drug »
November 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

A better novelist than president

Max Byrd reviews first-time novelist Jimmy Carter’s novel of the Revolutionary War in tomorrow’s Sunday Times Book Review: “‘The Hornet’s Nest’: Founding Bubbas.” The book is 465 pages long, and Byrd notes Carter’s lament that his editors compelled him to cut it down to that size. Byrd nevertheless expresses enthusisasm for the novel that appears sincere, although it does read a little tongue-in-cheek: “There is something very congenial in Carter’s »
November 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Post Mortem from the U.K.

I haven’t seen much notable commentary from the British press on the conclusion of President Bush’s visit; relatively few seem to have appreciated his brilliant speech outlining a fundamental change in our policy toward the Arab world. For non-snarky commentary, we have this editorial from the Telegraph, which concludes: “What the visit lacked in arresting visual imagery, it made up for in the symbolism of the American President being in »
November 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Forty Years of Conspiracy Theories

Today is the fortieth anniversary of the John Kennedy assassination, and I’m more tired than ever of the annual trip down memory lane. When the September 11 attacks occurred, they were widely compared in their psychological impact to Kennedy’s murder. The comparison was ridiculous–the terrorist attacks were 1,000 times more significant–but it reflected a typical boomer self-absorption. Many people of our generation will never let go of the assassination as »
November 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Relics of barbarism

The Weekly Standard’s cover story is by Maggie Gallagher on the Massachusetts Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision: “Massachusetts vs. marriage.” The article effectively addresses the argument that the “benefits” of marriage should be extended to homosexual couples as a matter of fairness or right: “The couples most likely to secure legal benefits from marriage are those in prototypically traditional marriages. That is because most of what can be described as »
November 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Dhimmitude in the EU

The sober Financial Times reports that the European Union’s racism watchdog has shelved a report on anti-semitism because the study concluded Muslims and pro-Palestinian groups were behind many of the incidents it examined. Expanding a theme we explored yesterday, Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs calls the Eurocrats “Euro-dhimmis.” The Times has obtained a copy of the report, but does not quote from it. Instead, it instructively quotes one of »
November 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Power Line Encounters a Slight Legal Problem

You may have noticed a change in our site’s appearance: the icon that accompanies Deacon’s name in the “About Us” section at the upper left side of our main page is new. Until now, Deacon’s icon has been Wake Forest’s “Demon Deacon.” This results from the fact that while a rocket and a big trunk are easily iconized, it is not so simple to show a deacon with an instantly »
November 21, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Another reason why I love (hate) English soccer

RELEGATION also known as THE DROP. Each year the bottom three teams in England’s Premier League are sent down to the division below, trading places in with three teams from that division. The process is similar for all four professional divisions. One team from the bottom division is actually cast out of professional football into what we would call semi-pro status. Relegation is the most devastating experience a sports fan »
November 21, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Meet the Portland Seven (Squad of Death)

When I spoke at the National Lawyers Guild panel on the PATRIOT Act last month, I referred to the fact that the government had rounded up terrorist cells from Portland to Buffalo thanks to the Act. This observation was met with derision in front of that particular crowd, but the government’s actions appear to have prevented some serious mayhem on American soil. Here is a blood-curdling report based on surveillance »
November 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

“Jerusalem Day”

The Ayatollah Khomeini inaugurated an Arab “Jerusalem Day” on which Middle Eastern Muslims show their support for the Palestinians. Middle East Online reports on today’s festivities in Iran: “Hundreds of thousands of Iranians protested against Israel here on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, marking Jerusalem Day….The demonstrators, including families, ferried in to central Tehran by thousands of buses and private cars, chanted slogans against Israel, »
November 21, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Dhimmitude in France, Part II

Andrew Sullivan provides two disturbing glimpses into the growing beast of world-wide anti-semitism. First, Sullivan received this e-mail: “About two years ago my nephew traveled to Syria with a group from the German university where he studies. Since he looks German, speaks German, and was with a German organization, he ‘passed’ for German on the trip. He also speaks good Arabic, and talked to many Syrians. He was shocked by »
November 21, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Emmylou live in Manchester

Norman Geras is the proprietor of the excellent Normblog, a reasonable Marxist, a British friend of America, a fine person, and a knowledgeable fan of Emmylou Harris. He has been running a recap of Emmylou’s recorded musical output in anticipation of seeing her live in Manchester. Emmylou always performs live with incredibly hot musicians, and her current group is no exception. It goes under the name “Spyboy,” and she has »
November 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Arrests Made in Turkey

Turkish authorities have arrested seven suspects in the recent bombings there. Several governments have warned their citizens against travel to Turkish cities, based on intelligence reports of possible further attacks. The biographies of those implicated in the bombings are typical, and illustrate the international nature of the terrorist threat. The AP relates that one of the bombers in Thursday’s attack “traveled to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Oct. »