Monthly Archives: July 2006

More evidence that the ABA should not be taken seriously

Earlier this week, an ABA panel issued a report (available through this link) that sharply criticized the Bush administration’s use of “signing statements.” The signing statement is a device that has been used off-and-on throughout most of our history, and frequently by President Clinton, whereby the president when signing a bill into law puts his gloss on the legislation. That gloss might include the president’s understanding of what he is »

Unpopular and Unnecessary

This USA Today/Galllup poll says that 66% of respondents disapproved of President Bush’s veto of the bill that expands federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. No surprise there–this bill was a political trap. As a substantive matter, it has virtually zero significance. For President Bush to use the first veto of his administration on a measure that had symbolic importance only was, in my view, a big mistake. It »

Defender of the Jews

So Howard Dean called the Iraqi prime minister an “anti-Semite” yesterday as a result of his failure to condemn Hezbollah. Somewhat closer to Dean’s jurisdiction as chairman of the Democratic Party, ranking Democratic Congressmen including John Dingell, John Conyers, Nick Rahall, Pete Stark, and Neal Abercrombie voted against House Resolution 921 condemning Hezbollah’s attacks against Israel last week. I don’t recall Dean commenting on their vote against the resolution. Cynthia »

Growing out of office

As just about everyone who reads political blogs surely knows by now, Michael Steele, Repubican candidate for the Senate in my home state of Maryland, complained to a group of political reporters about how tough it is to run as a Republican, and blasted President Bush on Iraq and Hurricane Katrina. Steele spoke on condition of anonymity but, inevitably, his cover was blown. To note how tough it is to »

Can the Left Fall Any Lower?

You probably haven’t heard of former CIA employee Larry Johnson, but he has a certain cachet on the left. He has given the Democratic Party’s weekly radio address, is a big favorite among liberal bloggers, and has appeared as an “expert” on terrorism on PBS and other mainstream outlets. So you might assume he isn’t a complete moron. Think again. The Larry Johnson paper trail starts in July 2001–two months »

Podcasting Embryonic Stem Cells

In our first hour last Saturday, we focused mainly on President Bush’s veto of the bill to expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. It was an interesting discussion that covered the scientific, ethical and political dimensions of the issue–which, as I said on the show, I think is almost entirely symbolic. We also had some terrific callers. I podcasted our second hour over the weekend because it was »

A war within a war, not a morality play

The blog for the radio show Open Source has been looking at the war in the Middle East through the prism of the David and Goliath story. At the show’s request, I threw together some thoughts which can be found here. »

Everton on ESPN2

For those who grew tired of watching world class soccer stars preventing other world class soccer stars from scoring, tonight offers a change of pace — mostly mediocre soccer players playing an exhibition match in which it’s not the end of the world if someone manages to score. Yes, it’s Everton against the Columbus Crew at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2. UPDATE: The final score was 1-1. A pretty good workout »

Generals Defend NSA Program

Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency, testified today that it would not be feasible to track al Qaeda’s international communications if it were necessary to obtain a search warrant on a conversation by conversation basis: But the administration officials called FISA impractical and ineffective for tracking al Qaeda, saying the law would require separate warrants for each U.S.-bound phone call placed by an overseas suspect. “It »

Pessimism on the Right

Robert Novak thinks the Dems will take the House, at least, in November: The conventional wisdom about the 2006 elections among both Republicans and Democrats now is that the Democrats will take control of the House and could also win the Senate. One House Republican committee chairman, who publicly exudes optimism, privately predicts — and has predicted for six months — a loss of 30 House seats. The Republicans’ efforts »

The blogs of war

Today’s Wall Street Journal carries a good article by Mike Spector (available to nonsubscribers) on the phenomenon of milblogs: “Cry bias, and let slip the blogs of war.” It;s not a particulary good article, but it has a few links and is worth a look. The headline of course alludes to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. one of Shakespeare’s great plays about politics. It is a play with many frequently quoted lines »

How Are Things Going in Lebanon?

Some years ago, I came across an observation about the Middle East that I’ve never forgotten. I don’t remember who wrote it, but it was to the effect that the Six Day War exploded the myth that Jews can’t fight, and gave rise to the myth that Arabs can’t fight. The truth is that the ability to fight bravely and effectively is a talent that is all too widely scattered »

Writing off Rowley

Dan Rasmussen reports today in Roll Call on the status of Coleen Rowley’s race against our friend John Kline, the incumbent Congressman in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District. The Influence Peddler has posted Rasmussen’s Roll call story: “Writing off Rowley.” I wrote about the recent release of the Inspector General report chapter deconstructing Rowley’s sole claim to fame, touched on by Rasmussen, in “Who is Coleen Rowley?” »

The friends of David Ignatius

John’s post this morning about the apparent advocacy by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius of Hezbollah’s terms for a ceasefire reminded me of a couple of our previous posts on Ignatius and his contacts in Lebanon. In September 2003, Ignatius got together for a little chat with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Taking a look at Ignatius’s subsequent column on the interview, I noted: Ignatius maddeningly refers to the Hezbollah war »

The friends of David Ignatius

John’s post this morning about the apparent advocacy by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius of Hezbollah’s terms for a ceasefire reminded me of a couple of our previous posts on Ignatius and his contacts in Lebanon. In September 2003, Ignatius got together for a little chat with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Taking a look at Ignatius’s subsequent column on the interview, I noted: Ignatius maddeningly refers to the Hezbollah war »

The case for John Bolton

Two excellent columns today take on the attacks on John Bolton by the New York Times, Mark Malloch Brown, and others, and make the case that he has proved himself an outstanding representative of the United States at the United Nations. In the Canadian Free Press, Joseph Klein highlights “John Bolton’s shameless opponents.” First and foremost among the shameless opponents addressed by Klein is the New York Times in the »

The devil’s dictionary, updated

Tim Blair devotes a column to the “new word order,” offering a guide to useful modern terms, with an Australian twist. It’s a variant of Ambrose Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary. My favorite of Blair’s insights here is his take on the usage of the term “leadership”: Leadership, n. Quality craved in politicians by journalists who don’t believe they require any such thing themselves, but think you lot could do with some. »