Monthly Archives: September 2007

September 22, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Columbia’s disgrace, part 5

In the video above, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs Acting Dean and Professor John Coatsworth explains that Columbia would also be happy to extend a platform to Adolf Hitler were he only available to accept their hospitality. These folks will not be content until they have made it apparent to the world that they are complete and utter idiots. JOHN adds: I’m really looking forward to the wonderful, »
September 22, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Meanwhile, In Tehran…

On the eve of President Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York, Tehran was the scene of a massive display of Iranian military might. The occasion was the anniversary of the beginning of Iran’s eight-year war against Iraq. Ahmadinejad and Iranian military leaders presided over the parade: The Revolutionary Guards were among the units that paraded past the reviewing stand: A paratrooper parachuted past a banner of the Ayatollah Khomeini: Lots of »
September 22, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Attack Foiled in Tel Aviv

Hamas planned to celebrate Yom Kippur in its usual lovable style, with a mass murder attack in Tel Aviv. The would-be bomber, Mahadi Ashur, a Palestinian from Nablus, was caught after being identified by a senior Hamas commander who was captured by the IDF. The operation also led to the discovery of a Hamas weapons lab in Nablus. No comment so far from CAIR or other Hamas supporters in the »
September 22, 2007 — John Hinderaker

What’s With Mitt?

Mitt Romney is debuting a new ad in which he challenges Republicans to get back to their historic principles: “If we’re going to change Washington, Republicans have to put our own house in order, »
September 22, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Jenna Does Washington

Some days, there just isn’t much in the news. For entertainment value, though, there is this Washington Post story on Jenna Jameson’s tour of the Capitol, reportedly courtesy of an aide or intern in Arlen Specter’s office. Specter himself didn’t seem to know who she was; “General Jameson?” he puzzled. Jameson is, of course, a big supporter of Hillary Clinton. Her spokeswoman says that Jenna would love to meet Hillary, »
September 21, 2007 — John Hinderaker

McCain vs. Code Pink

Earlier today, John McCain addressed the National Rifle Association. He was interrupted by an incoherent Code Pink heckler. Here is his response: What I like about McCain’s reaction to the Code Pinker is that he doesn’t try to persuade or convert her. “We beat you” is his theme, and he has every intention of beating the Islamic extremists in Iraq as well. He knows that the Code Pinkers and their »
September 21, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Democrat Disarray

The Democrats took another pass at cutting off funding for the Iraq war in the Senate yesterday, and got clobbered on a 70-28 vote. Afterward, the party’s leaders explained that losing lopsided votes is a great strategy: “We’re not changing our strategy,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said shortly before the vote, adding that the tactic succeeded in making Senate Republicans claim responsibility for the war. “We are united,” the »
September 21, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Columbia’s disgrace, part 4

Reader Jon Mudder writes: As an alumnus of Columbia University , I called the President’s office to express my outrage at this invitation. A very polite woman, who directed me to a voice mailbox specially constructed for this event, greeted me. The voicemail begins with a synopsis of Bollinger’s press release and drones on for several minutes. When it’s time to leave a message, a pre-recorded voice comes on to »
September 21, 2007 — Paul Mirengoff

A bridge too far

The state of Alaska has decided not to build the infamous “bridge to nowhere.” The first step in the bridge’s demise occurred when Congress deleted an “earmark” specifying that money it was appropriating for Alaska be used to build the bridge. But this still left Alaska with the option of using the money for that purpose. Alaska, however, used most of the money for other projects. Now it has announced »
September 21, 2007 — Paul Mirengoff

A better summer for Iraq makes for a bad “Iraq summer”

Cliff May presents some encouraging poll numbers in support of his thesis that the left’s “Iraq summer” has failed to create momentum in favor of accepting defeat and that, in fact, the left is further from accomplishing this goal than it was in the spring. A Gallup poll reports that 61 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of General Petraeus, up 9 percent in just one week. Fifty-four percent »
September 21, 2007 — Paul Mirengoff

Yom Kippur as “networking bonanza”

Lisa Lerer at The Politico presents a nauseating, but not altogether misleading, slice of Jewish life in Washington, D.C. area during this time of the year. If you keep reading, you’ll find a discussion of Thomas Freidman, Dennis Ross, and William Safire that, but for my familiarity with the matter, I would have found particularly revealing. Hat tip: Laura Mirengoff UPDATE: The Politico piece reminds me of an old joke. »
September 21, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Third time’s a charm?

With the return of Dan Rather, we get two for the price of one. Mary Mapes crawls out into view with a blast into the past at the Whipping Post. I actually read Mapes’s fraudulent book about her 60 Minutes II escapade and had my say about her in “Second time’s a charm?” (answer: no). Ed Morrissey comments on Mapes’s post here. »
September 21, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Columbia’s disgrace, part 3

Victor Davis Hanson comments here, Hugh Hewitt comments here and here and here, and Bill Kristol comments here. Today Bill Kristol adds: A Columbia student asked how he could effectively protest his university’s invitation to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak Monday. My first response was to suggest petitions, e-mails to President Bollinger and the university trustees, letters to the student paper, peaceful protest, and the like. All these are »
September 21, 2007 — Scott Johnson

A fistful of Hseckels

The Wall Street Journal has been doing a particularly good job digging up the shards of bona fide fundraising scandals involving the Clinton campaign, but Flip Pidot has been cranking out related analysis like a one man think tank. He has just posted his most recent update, and Flip seems to have picked up the scent: “Hsocking Hsu secrets revealed!” »
September 21, 2007 — Scott Johnson

A beloved professor delivers the lecture of a lifetime

If you don’t subscribe to the Wall Street Journal in hard copy or electronic form (I subscribe to both), you should, at least until Rupert Murdoch makes its content available online for free. Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal featured one of the best newspaper columns I’ve ever read. By Jeffrey Zaslow, the column tells the story of the “last lecture” of Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor Randy Pausch, a 46-year »
September 20, 2007 — John Hinderaker

A Break In the al Dura Case?

We wrote here and elsewhere about the case of Mohammed Al Dura, a boy who became a cause celebre in the Arab world after he and his father were apparently caught in a crossfire between Palestinian terrorists and Israeli soldiers, and Mohammed was killed. The claim that he was murdered by Israelis is universally accepted in the Arab world–some Arab governments have gone so far as to issue postage stamps »
September 20, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Heh.

From Death By 1,000 Paper Cuts, on Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York: In a world of perfect karma, Ahmadinejad would be captured by American “students” and held hostage for over a year, paraded before TV cameras and threatened almost daily with death. The “international community” would be OK with this as long as we didn’t send him to Guantanamo Bay. Via Mark Steyn on The Corner. To comment on this »