Monthly Archives: June 2005

Survey Has Luttig on Top

Tom Bevan and John McIntyre of Real Clear Politics have conducted a survey of “some of the top Supreme Court watchers and legal minds in the country” on who is likely to be the next Supreme Court nominee. Survey results are reported here. No quantitative data, but Michael Luttig finished “just barely ahead” of John Roberts, with Michael McConnell “a very close third.” Tom notes that the survey was conducted »

Blog the Live 8 Concerts!

This is a fantastic opportunity for enterprising bloggers who can respond on short notice. Bob Geldof and the Live 8 crew are making available backstage passes for a limited number of bloggers to attend, and blog about, all of the upcoming Live 8 concerts. If you are interested in attending either the Philadelphia concert or the London concert–both Saturday night, July 2–send us an email ASAP at [email protected]. Here is »

Bono Praises Bush

This is U2’s Bono on Meet the Press yesterday: Well, I think [President Bush has] done an incredible job, his administration, on AIDS. And 250,000 Africans are on antiviral drugs. They literally owe their lives to America. In one year that’s being done. »

Fever pitch fouled off

The Supreme Court finished its business for the term today with no announcement of any retirements. That doesn’t mean that no one will retire. Such announcements need not be made in open Court and, as I understand it, they typically aren’t. In the Ten Commandments cases, the Court upheld an order striking down a display of the religious document on the wall of courthouses in two Kentucky counties. But it »

Fever pitch

Today could be the day that one or more Supreme Court Justice announces his or her retirement. Speculation about whether this will, in fact, be that day is reaching a fever pitch in Washington, as is speculation about the identity of President Bush’s nominee in the event of a vacancy. Jan Crawford Greenberg of the Chicago Tribune speculates that the two finalists are Michael Luttig and John Roberts. That’s great »

White elephant on Turtle Bay

John devoted one of his Daily Standard columns to the white elepaht the United Nations had planned for its expansion on Turtle Bay: “Trouble at Turtle Bay.” Plans for the white elephant appear to have run into insuperable obstacles. Today’s New York Sun runs an excellent editorial related to the subject: “Plan B.” The Sun editorial first invites the UN to leave New York. It then considers the larger issues »

The Lincoln Bedroom

The summer issue of the Claremont Review of Books has not yet been published, but the editors have posted the review’s symposium on C.A. Tripp’s The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln: “The Lincoln bedroom.” Among the participants are Allan Guelzo and Michael Burlingame. »

The ulterior purposes of the shrillest critics

On June 21 the Minneapolis Star Tribune editorially endorsed Senator Dick Durbin’s condemnation of the American detention operation at Guantanamo Bay: “Durbin’s message/U.S. must end prisoner abuse.” According to the Star Tribune, the United States is guilty of “outrageous violations of international law and human rights” at Guantanamo. According to the Star Tribune, the American military has created a “hellhole” at Guantanamo. As is the custom at the Star Tribune, »

The only story that stood out

in the media outlets to which I was paying attention during my vacation last week — the Boston Globe and the cable news channels — concerned Karl Rove’s description of the difference between the liberal and reactions to 9/11. I agree with John’s take — Rove provided “a pretty accurate, if slightly hyperbolic, characterization of the opposing camps.” As applied to liberal politicians, Rove’s description was a bit ungenerous. Most »

Oops, Never Mind

The Democrats’ anti-military PR offensive is petering out. A bipartisan group of Congressmen is touring Guantanamo Bay; several readers pointed out this inadvertently humorous account: During a tour of the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists on Saturday, House Republicans and Democrats, including one who has advocated closing the facility, said the United States has made progress in improving conditions and protecting detainees’ rights. “The Guantanamo we saw today is not »

A blast from the past and an omen for the future?

Yesterday, President Bush devoted his radio address to the situation in Iraq. Zbigniew Brzezinski responded on behalf of the Democrats, opining that the war has been conducted with “tactical and strategic incompetence.” Brzezinski added that “patriotism and love of country does (sic) not demand endless sacrifice on the part of our troops in a war justified by slogans.” I haven’t found a transcript of his statement so I don’t know »

The elite eight

Slate provides profiles of eight leading prospects for the next Supreme Court vacancy: Michael Luttig, John Roberts, Emilio Garza, Michael McConnell, Alberto Gonzales, J. Harvie Wilkinson, Edith Brown Clement, and Samuel Alito. With the exception of Gonzales, all of these candidates strike me as good or excellent choices. For what it’s worth, Luttig is my first choice, given his age (only 51) and long record as a solidly conservative judge. »

Great moments in baseball history

Reader Paul Malingowski writes: Why can’t we have one symbol, one sacred symbol which represents all that have been done by past patriots and is being done now, by current patriots? I can still recall a moment back in 1966 where I was lying in mud, dirty, tired, wishing I could be home, anywhere but here in the worst way and I saw my flag. I cannot describe for you »

There’s something about Proud Mary

I found an excuse to refer to John Fogerty and his Creedence Clearwater Revival song “Proud Mary” a couple weeks ago in connection with the headline on a New York Post column by Mac Owens. I referred to the song as “great,” which was too much for John Hinderaker. He entered a brief dissent: Familiar, yes. Beloved by bands who play at wedding receptions, yes. Less annoying in CCR’s original »

What is to be done?

Several readers (and one caller) have asked what is to be done in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision of last week. When it comes to the protection of constitutional rights properly understood, the courts are generally speaking our last line of defense. The 5-4 breakdown of the vote on the decision highlights the importance of President Bush’s standing fast in the judicial wars and of his nominating »

Meet the Cristofaros

Jeff Jacoby catches up with one of the New London families whose house is subject to the condemnation proceeding affirmed by the Supreme Court last week: “Eminent injustice in New London?” »

When conduct is hate speech

Mark Steyn’s Chicago Sun-Times column opposes the proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting flag burning: “Don’t worry, Old Glory can take the heat.” I think the Supreme Court decision striking down laws prohibiting flag burning on First Amendment grounds was mistaken, but that case wouldn’t be at the top of my list of mistaken Supreme Court decisions to be oveturned by constitutional amendment. It wouldn’t even be at the top of my »