Monthly Archives: March 2006

March 27, 2006 — Paul Mirengoff

The blogosphere’s loss. . .

is dead-tree journalism’s gain. Mark Tapscott, the proprietor of the outstanding blog Tapscott’s Copy Desk, is returning to print journalism. He will be taking over as as editorial page editor of The Washington Examiner and will also serve as a member of the Examiner’s national editorial board. Mark’s not done as a blogger yet, though. Here he points us to a survey showing a large increase in the number of »
March 27, 2006 — Paul Mirengoff

Let’s hear it for the Patriots

I’ve been watching the NCAA basketball tournament since the early 1960s, but have become less of a fan over the years. In order to maximize revenue and interest among casual fans, the NCAA has gone to a bloated 64 team format. Thus, every year the field consists of dozens of teams (fifth place teams in big conferences, third place teams in “mid-majors”) that have spent the year proving they do »
March 27, 2006 — John Hinderaker

Do the Math

At Blog of the Week Big Lizards, Dafydd ab Hugh meticulously dissects an Associated Press dispatch on another “day of violence” in Iraq that quite literally didn’t add up. The AP’s report, read no doubt by millions of Americans, cast a cloud of unknowing over the day’s events. Dafydd found answers to his questions, but not through the Associated Press. »
March 27, 2006 — Scott Johnson

Put out more flags

Mickey Kaus notes something odd in the Los Angeles Times coverage of the march of the illegals this past weekend: That propagandistic LAT story on Saturday’s big demonstration, the one that mentioned the presence of Mexican flags only in the tenth paragraph, has now been amended and updated–to eliminate any reference to Mexican flags at all! The story now also contains the following: In contrast to demonstrations 12 years ago »
March 27, 2006 — Scott Johnson

The Leader and the Led

Eli Lake reports in today’s New York Sun on the Columbia University conference on democracy in Libya that featured a televised address from Colonel Gadhafi. The conference was was co-sponsored by al-Fatah University, an institution whose Tripoli campus was previously distinguished by its history in the late 1970s and 1980s of publicly hanging student dissidents. Lake also reports that the conference was co-sponsored by “the international green book center,” an »
March 27, 2006 — Scott Johnson

Three women of valor

Last week we noted Evan Maloney’s report on Natalie Healy’s visit to New Haven to protest the attendance of Taliban Man at Yale. Mrs. Healy’s son Dan was a Navy SEAL who was killed last year while serving in Afghanistan when the Taliban blew up his helicopter. In his OpinionJournal column this morning, John Fund tells the story of Afghanhistan’s 27-year-old female legislator Malalai Joya. Ms. Joya spoke at Yale »
March 26, 2006 — atticus

“The Biggest Thing Happening In the World”

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has an excellent profile of federal prosecutor Cliff Wardlaw, who spent 11 months in Iraq, helping to establish that country’s judiciary after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. He hasn’t put the experience behind him: He trained judges, checked courthouse security, examined prison conditions and worked to steer the Iraqi judiciary to an independent body, one separate from the country’s political leadership. Since his return, his life »
March 26, 2006 — John Hinderaker

Blog of the Week: Big Lizards

Dafydd ab Hugh must have been one of the first people outside our immediate families to read Power Line. We got to know him long ago, and have often reproduced his very perceptive emails to us, as well as noting his comments on other sites. It was clear for a long time that Dafydd needed his own site, and we kept hearing that he was working on it. Finally, it »
March 26, 2006 — Scott Johnson

March of the illegals

I can’t think of many things more likely to increase support for enforcing existing immigration law than the march of the illegals that took place in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States yesterday. At No Left Turns, Peter Schramm asks us to meditate on the meaning of American citizenship via papers by Matt Spalding, Charles Kesler and James Ceaser. To these I would add Ed Erler’s writings on »
March 26, 2006 — Scott Johnson

While Europe Slept

I’ve been reading and enjoying Claire Berlinski’s alarming, well-written new book Menace in Europe: Why the Continent’s Crisis is America’s Too. London Times contributor Clive Davis reviews Berlinski’s book together with Bruce Bawer’s book on the same subject in today’s Washington Times: “Extremism in Europe, and questions of what’s next.” Davis more or less praises Bawer’s book and pans Berlinski’s, while providing this qualification as to both: What worries me »
March 26, 2006 — Scott Johnson

Ambassador Ayalon speaks

Glenn Reynolds and Dr. Helen asked Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon most of the questions I would have wanted to ask him about Hamastan, the European Union, Iranian nuclear weapons and the prospects for another Osirak-style raid, and American attitudes toward Israel. Israel does not send the B team to speak on its behalf in the United States; Ambassador Ayalon is both informative and interesting. The Podcast »
March 26, 2006 — John Hinderaker

Crushing of Dissent In Belarus

Blog of the Week Gateway Pundit has photos of “democracy babes” getting clubbed in Belarus, with links to much more. »
March 26, 2006 — John Hinderaker

Abdul Rahman Freed

Abdul Rahman, the Christian who faced possible execution in Afghanistan because of his conversion from Islam, has been freed by the Afghan court amid international pressure, some of which, at least, was generated by conservative bloggers. The case against Rahman was dismissed due to “problems with the evidence,” and it may yet be re-filed. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of freedom of religion, but a relief nevertheless. Via Power Line »
March 26, 2006 — John Hinderaker

Gateway Pundit Scoops the Press

The Pentagon has reported, based on documents captured in Iraq, that Russia’s military leaked American war plans, which they had acquired through espionage, to Saddam’s government shortly before the start of the war in 2003. Russia denies it. Blog of the Week Gateway Pundit has the most complete roundup on the issue I’ve seen, including translated excerpts of reports from the Russian press, and photographs from Russian sources that, to »
March 25, 2006 — John Hinderaker

Abramoff Has Nothing on Delay

Robert Novak reports that Jack Abramoff has told friends that he has no derogatory information about former Majority Leader Tom DeLay: Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has advised friends that he has no derogatory information about former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and is not implicating him as part of his plea bargain with federal prosecutors. Abramoff’s guilty plea on fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy charges requires him to provide evidence »
March 25, 2006 — Paul Mirengoff

Are there more where that Republican scalp came from?

On Thursday, Michigan court of appeals judge Henry Saad withdrew his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Saad was one of the nominees left stranded by the gang of 14 deal. It was always understood that the deal might produce some “casualties” — Lindsey Graham said so at the time. Indeed, no president is likely to get every judicial nominee approved, even when his party »
March 25, 2006 — John Hinderaker

Podcast of Michael Barone on the Northern Alliance

We had a terrific conversation with Michael Barone on our radio show today. It was followed by a series of great calls from people around the country who had been listening on our web stream. To keep it short and simple, however, I limited the podcast to our interview with Barone. You can listen to it here. Check it out, and get Michael’s predictions for November’s election. »