Monthly Archives: May 2007

Another go in Durham?

The NCAA has granted an extra year of eligibility for Duke’s men’s lacrosse players. The 33 players who were on the team in 2006 when Duke’s season was cancelled, but were not seniors, will receive a fifth year of eligibility. This is an interesting decision because, in my opinion, the fault for the cancellation lies with Duke’s administration. The NCAA must have concluded either that cancellation was a reasonable decision »

Monster Or No Monster?

A video made by an “amateur scientist” surfaced today from Scotland. It was filmed at Loch Ness, and purports to show the long-rumored “monster.” I suppose I could be fooled as easily as the next guy, but the video seems fairly compelling. Here it is: I’d always been dismissive of Loch Ness stories, but we were in Scotland a few years ago, staying just off the southern end of the »

Al Qaeda Today

The Telegraph has an interesting article on the current status of al Qaeda: For several years after the terrorist attacks on September 11, [bin Laden and al Qaeda’s “core” group] were engaged in little else than avoiding capture and fleeing the American-led offensive in Afghanistan. Today, by contrast, they are probably secure enough to give strategic direction to al-Qa’eda cells across the world. The Telegraph’s reporter, David Blair, says that »

The NR challenge

I’m taking a break at a continuing legal education program where I’m fulfilling the requirement of the Minnesota rules to get my mind right by taking two hours on “the elimination of bias” in the legal profession. It’s a program on alcoholism and addiction in the legal profession. Is there bias against alcholics in the profession? Not so far as I can tell, and not much bias of any other »

The Hour Is Late

From Baghdad comes news of a popular uprising against al Qaeda: A battle raged in west Baghdad on Thursday after residents rose up against al-Qaida and called for U.S. military help to end random gunfire that forced people to huddle indoors and threats that kept students from final exams, a member of the district council said. U.S. forces backed by helicopter gunships clashed with suspected al- Qaida gunmen in western »

An Evening with Fred Thompson, Part Two

Robert Novak has more on the dinner Tuesday night with Fred Thompson, which was hosted by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. of The American Spectator. Novak concludes that Thompson’s impending candidacy “will be something different from other Republicans, in both substance and style.” He adds that “when speaking to a friendly audience or ruminating off the record, [Thompson] does not look or sound like the GOP’s announced candidates for president” and »

Syria in the dock

Yesterday the United Nations Security Council voted to establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The vote was 10-0 with five abstenstions. United States Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad issued a statement on the vote: Those who killed Rafiq Hariri and so many others will be brought to justice and held responsible for their crimes. The tribunal »

Yours, mine and ours

Hillary Clinton gave a remarkable speech in New Hampshire this week, serving up fair warning of what a Clinton restoration would mean. According to Clinton, we have been living through the immiseration of the American middle class roughly since the expiration of her husband’s second term. Ms. Hillary claims the mantle of the Progressives for herself. She sees economic inequality and wants to level that playing field. We’ve heard the »

A blurry line

Last week the United States Attorney for Minnesota held a press conference to annnounce the indictment of 25 defendants for operating an international sex trafficking ring whose hub was based in Minneapolis. Listening to the charges described at the press conference, I thought the crimes charge sounded like some kind of Third World nightmare that has erupted in our midst. That is in fact what seems to have occurred. The »

Is there any substitute for creating a Palestinian state?

Secretary of State Rice tells Israel that there isn’t, as she tries to discourage the Israelis from pursuing a peace agreeemnt with Syria and abandoning “the Palestinian track.” But I can think of a substitute for creating a Palestinian state — not creating one. That substitute, whenever coupled with the will to crack down on Palestinian terrorists, has served Israel resaonably well over the years. To comment on this post, »

Immediate jaundice

In an excellent move, President Bush has appointed Robert Zoellick to head the World Bank. Zoellick, the former U.S. trade representative and deputly secretary of state, is widely respected. However, that’s not the reason why, in my judgment, he’s an excellent choice. The reason instead is that, as the Washington Post reports, selecting Zoellick has “dismayed” the Europeans and World Bank bureaucrats. Said one senior World Bank official: People think »

Can Giuliani Win Over Social Conservatives?

A couple of years ago, the conventional wisdom was that Rudy Giuliani would be a formidable Presidential candidate, but could never get the Republican nomination because of his liberal views on some social issues. I believe that we were among the first to question this assumption, noting that Giuliani is conservative on some social issues (notably, crime) and, more important, could win the support of a broad range of Republicans »

A campaign swing with Mitt Romney

Ed Morrissey is “trailing” the Mitt Romney campaign today in Iowa. So far, Ed’s reaction is the same one we’ve had most of the time — he’s impressed. »

When in L.A. . .

In his post from earlier today, John comments on the anti-Americanism on display in Mexico City during the Miss Universe pageant. But one need not journey to Mexico to find displays of anti-Americanism among some Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. One can find it at soccer matches here in the U.S. It’s probably unrealistic to expect illegal immigrants and even first generation legal immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador, etc. to root for »

An evening with Fred Thompson

Last night, I had the privilege of attending a dinner with Fred Thompson and his wife, along with two or three dozen journalists and fellow travelers (to cover my case). Thompson’s statements were off the record, but I can report my overall impressions. First, Thompson exudes the same great presence and ease of manner in person that he does on television. He’s likeable and quick with the good one-liner. Second, »

Fallout from the Miss Universe Pageant

I covered the Miss Universe pageant just for fun, not because I expected it to generate a political story. But it did, as the Mexico City crowd’s rudeness to Miss USA angered many observers and took on symbolic importance in the context of the current debate over immigration. Michelle Malkin made the incident the subject of her syndicated column this week. Today, ABC News reports on the story. They get »

Democracy and disgust, part 2

Yesterday I wrote about the Iraqi/American meeting with Iran over the weekend. I wrote before learning of the subsequent Iranian detention of three American citizens on espionage charges. According to the New York Post, the State Department blasted the charges as “absurd.” But has it remembered to say “please” in asking for the release of our fellow citizens? And does it think it’s time to go back to the table »