Monthly Archives: September 2005

September 26, 2005 — John Hinderaker

The Last Word on Geraldo

In tomorrow’s corrections section, the New York Times throws in the towel on its slander of Geraldo Rivera–sort of. If you haven’t followed this controversy, I won’t try recap it, other than by quoting the offending paragraph in the Times story by serial offender Alessandra Stanley: Some reporters helped stranded victims because no police officers or rescue workers were around. (Fox’s Geraldo Rivera did his rivals one better: yesterday, he »
September 26, 2005 — Scott Johnson

O what a tangled mesh we weave

We keep waiting for Karl Rove’s minions in the media world to give us a call and offer us a book contract on the inside story of “The Sixty-First Minute.” We figure he owes us after we so dutifully followed his orders and played our role in exposing the fraudulent 60 Minutes II story with which CBS sought to tip the campaign last fall. No such luck for us. The »
September 26, 2005 — Paul Mirengoff

Who ya gonna call?

I confess to being amused by the internet pork-busters campaign. It’s not that eliminating pork is a bad thing. But some of the pork-busters seem to feel that they are trying to save the House and Senate Republicans from themselves. I suspect it’s more accurate to say that pork-busting presents the scenario most likely to lead to the Republicans losing control of Congress. It’s a cliche of our politics that »
September 26, 2005 — Paul Mirengoff

The Washington Post’s squeeze play

The Washington Post editorial page has been pretty sensible when it comes to President Bush’s judicial nominees. It backed the confirmation of John Roberts, and supported some of Bush’s controversial court of appeals nominees, including Miguel Estrada. Now apparently it wants to put any credibility it has gained to use in preventing the Supreme Court from becoming more conservative. Hence today’s editorial, in which the Post signals that it will »
September 26, 2005 — John Hinderaker

A Couple More Bite the Dust

In Iraq, al Qaeda’s number two man, Abu Azzam, has been killed in a shootout in a raid on a Baghdad house. No word yet on what information may have been recovered in the raid. Being an al Qaeda leader in Iraq isn’t yet quite as unhealthy as it is in Saudi Arabia, but it’s getting close. In Spain, a court sentenced a Syrian terrorist to 27 years in prison »
September 26, 2005 — John Hinderaker

Sheehan Arrested at White House

Cindy Sheehan topped off her weekend of media hype by getting herself arrested; she, along with several dozen other anti-American protesters, sat down on the sidewalk and refused to move. I may be wrong about this, but I don’t think it is wise for Sheehan to go out of her way to cultivate associations between her anti-war protest and similar events in the 1960s. I really don’t think that images »
September 26, 2005 — John Hinderaker

Getting the Message?

Bill Frist’s chief budget aide said today that federal spending on Hurricane Katrina reconstruction and relief may total only $100 billion, not the $200 billion that has been widely reported: At a conference on Katrina reconstruction, [Bill] Hoagland said an estimate frequently cited on Capitol Hill that federal recovery costs would hit $200 billion “has no basis in analysis.” He warned that Congress, which in six days this month approved »
September 26, 2005 — John Hinderaker

Wyoming Democrats Seek Distance from National Party

Judging from most news reports, you would think that the Republicans are everywhere in retreat, and the increasing radicalism of the Democratic Party is free of any consequences. Every now and then, however, reality intrudes. As it did on Saturday in Wyoming: State Democrats should distance themselves from liberal national party leaders whose agenda frequently differs from Wyoming, Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal told state party members at a meeting attended »
September 26, 2005 — John Hinderaker

It’s Time to Investigate the Press

With the passage of time, it has become apparent that most of the “evidence” on the basis of which the Democrats launched their hysterical post-Katrina attack on the Bush administration was wrong. As the facts come into focus, the dominant question that emerges is: how could the mainstream media have done such a poor job in reporting on Hurricane Katrina? Here’s the latest: The lurid reports of widespread criminality in »
September 26, 2005 — Scott Johnson

“From Palestine to New Orleans”

Don’t miss Byron York’s look at the moonbats on parade in Washington over the weekend: “Inside the antiwar demo.” York begins backstage with Ramsey Clark and finds some comic relief with Cynthia McKinney at the microphone: When Georgia Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney spoke to the crowd, she began by declaring that “a cruel wind blows across America.” By that, she meant not a hurricane, but a wind that began “in »
September 26, 2005 — Scott Johnson

Lawsuits have consequences

Our omniscient friends at RealClearPolitics somehow missed this excellent column by law professor David Shoenbrod from today’s Wall Street Journal, although I’m sure it will make their evening update: “The lawsuit that sank New Orleans.” (Thanks to reader M.J. Yore.) »
September 26, 2005 — Scott Johnson

Brave hearts

Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten remembers the fifty-fifth anniversary of the landing at Inchon with the help of a couple of local heroes: “America’s forgotten war shouldn’t be.” Let us also note the Medal of Honor bestowed on Tibor Rubin last week for “extraordinary heroism during the period from July 23, 1950, to April 20, 1953, while serving as a rifleman with Company I, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division »
September 25, 2005 — John Hinderaker

Good News from Poland

Two center-right parties have gained a majority in Poland’s parliamentary elections, tossing out the ex-Communists who have presided over a 17% unemployment rate and a succession of scandals: Exit polls showed Polish voters ousted the nation’s scandal-prone government of ex-communists in parliamentary elections Sunday, giving a broad majority to two center-right parties that have promised tax cuts and clean government. Projections based on exit polls by state television showed the »
September 25, 2005 — Paul Mirengoff

Much ado about Frist

Senate Majority Leader Frist sold all of the stock in his family’s hospital corporation about two weeks before it issued a disappointing earnings report and the price fell dramatically. This news has given rise to a great outcry, mostly by leftist bloggers. But before reaching any conclusions as to misconduct or guilt, it’s always useful to know something about the area of law in question, not to mention the facts. »
September 25, 2005 — John Hinderaker

More Moonbattery

Mike Freeland attended yesterday’s anti-American protest in Washington and took some great photos, including a number of Communist banners. You can view them here. »
September 25, 2005 — Scott Johnson

Contra Iran

Michael Ledeen’s most recent NRO column provides an alarming round-up of news and his own cogent analysis of the problem that will not go away: “Iran bubbles over.” It’s a must-read. »
September 25, 2005 — Scott Johnson

Murderapolis: The descent

My colleague Peter Swanson recalls the cold-blooded 1992 murder of Minneapolis police officer Jerry Haaf and provides material for reflection on the evolution of Murderapolis: “Murders, gangs and the truth.” »