Monthly Archives: January 2007

A mighty wind

One of the reasons that the Claremont Review of Books is my favorite magazine is that, consistent with the mission of the Claremont Institute, the CRB wages intellectual battle on behalf of the founding principles of the United States. (Subscribe online here.) I am joined in my admiration for the magazine by a who’s who of stars in the conservative constellation including the late, great Milton Friedman: »

More on Lambs and Goats

Last night, I wrote that I couldn’t make any sense out of Scooter Libby’s lawyer’s claim, in his opening statement, that Libby had been made a “sacrificial lamb” or a “scapegoat” by the administration. That prompted an email from a reader with a legal background whose comments on other issues we have published before. He didn’t seem to think much of my post, but I would point out that he »

Up from liberalism

Being a full-time lawyer and conscientious blogger has really cut into my reading time, and I rarely find the time to read the books sent to me for reviews and/or plugs on Power Line. Why I Turned Right, edited by Mary Eberstadt, promised to be a partial exception to that unhappy rule. It consists of essays in which twelve conservatives explain how they ended up as such, I figured I’d »

The case for Giuliani

I’m trying to think through the pros and cons of the serious candidates in the Republican presidential field. They each seem to me to have strenghts and weaknesses in proportions that preclude any one of them from being the obvious choice in terms of electoral appeal or adherence to conservative principle. It is therefore helpful to have thoughtful essays such as Steven Malanga’s new City Journal article presenting the case »

Let’s not, and say we did, Part Three

Tony Blankley is no more inclined to chat with Hillary Clinton than I am. And he agrees that this sentiment probably is widely shared. But, hey, you can’t blame a girl for trying. »

John Kerry, RIP

He’ll still be with us, of course, only not as a Presidential candidate. Kerry announced today that he will run for re-election to the Senate rather than seek the Presidency in 2008. This is not, in my view, a major development in the campaign, since I never thought Kerry had a chance to be nominated. The AP quotes Kerry on Iraq: Kerry promised to spend the next two years doing »

Dems kill Gregg Amendment

Last week, we discusssed the Gregg Amendment, a measure that would have allowed the president to send earmarks back to Congress for reconsideration. By highlighting questionable spending bills that Congress sneaks through, the president would force Congress to take a serious look at these provisions under some public scrutiny. Senator Gregg originally proposed this idea as an amendment to ethics reform. The Democrats blocked that and the Republicans agreed to »

Informed speculation

about whether Giuliani will run for president. »

More Good News on the Budget

The Congressional Budget Office has lowered its federal budget deficit projection for FY 2007 to $172 billion. This represents a $76 billion improvement over projections from last year. It will be interesting to see how the Democrats will react to the continuing evaporation of the budget deficit. They seem to have locked themselves into the “pay as you go” principle, whereby any spending increase must be offset by a corresponding »

Nifong Trouble Deepens

As we anticipated, the ethics complaint against Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong has been amended to add the more serious charges of withholding evidence and misleading the court. Possible sanctions could include disbarment. Via Power Line News. »

Perez Hilton and him

Even if it’s Perez Hilton rather than Paris Hilton whom John joins among the Forbes Web Celeb 25 along with Glenn Reynolds and Violet Blue, John deserves to be there. (As John noted, Paris Hilton is on the Forbes Crossover Celebrity List. John has not crossed over.) Because I think in musical metaphors and because this is the one that occurs to me, I will add only that he is »

The moral vanity of the disassociated left: An update

In “The moral vanity of the disassociated left,” I discussed the stink raised by nine University of Minnesota Law School professors in connection with the invitation to University of St. Thomas Law School Professor Robert Delahunty to teach constitutional law at the University of Minnesota Law School this semester. The nine professors more or less indicted Professor Delahunty as a war criminal unfit to teach for having co-authored with John »

Guests of the emperor

The Yale Daily News reports that the Chinese government is partially funding a Yale junket to China: “University plans China trip.” It is an arrangement that strikes me as unsavory, though no such issue is even hinted at in the Daily News article. I wonder if Tabliban Man may be putting in an application for the trip. »

Dissembling statecraft

At Faster, Please! Michael Ledeen takes a look at “How Yasser Arafat got away with murder,” expands on it, briefly examines some similar cases and draws conclusions with a contemporary application: “The lies they tell and why.” In my Standard article on Arafat I tried to tell the story and let the facts do the talking, hoping that smarter people than I would draw the appropriate lessons. Michael is the »

A Return to the Good Old Days

I hadn’t intended to watch the State of the Union speech tonight, but my wife tuned in part way through. In contrast to his “surge” speech a week or two ago, I thought President Bush was back on his game tonight. The speech was a reminder that it’s a good thing to be President. When he offered a sentence about Iraq that ended with the word “victory,” the Democrats had »

Paris Hilton and Me

If you’re a hockey fan, you’ve heard the derisive, sing-song, “Over-rated” cheer that the home fans start when they’ve got the edge on a favored visitor. That’s how I feel. Blogging is overrated, and I, in particular, am overrated. But don’t tell that to Forbes magazine, which has just identified its first-ever “Web Celeb 25”: The Face of fame is changing. The ranks of the world’s celebrities used to be »

A tale of two speeches

President Bush delivered two speeches for the price of one tonight. The second of his speeches pertained to the war on terror. It was a serious and well thought-out exposition. Bush again demonsrated that he understands what’s at stake in this war and how the various pieces fit together. He cogently explained why 2005 was a good year, why 2006 was a bad year, and why he’s decided to proceed »