Monthly Archives: November 2007

The Latest From New Hampshire

The latest Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll of 1,000 likely New Hampshire voters came out today, based on interviews conducted as recently as last night. Here are the numbers: With a margin of error of plus or minus four points and fourteen percent undecided, the race remains wide open. Still, two points stand out. The first is that Fred Thompson has essentially zero traction in New Hampshire. Maybe he’s pursuing a »

Last Chance To Get Your Money Down

If you’re interested in betting on the Miss World pageant, that is. I sized up the field in this year’s competition here. The latest betting odds are here. There are a few surprises going into tomorrow night’s finale. The current betting favorite is Miss China; click to enlarge: This isn’t too surprising, in that the contest is being held in China and Miss China won the Top Model competition last »

Madness

In Khartoum today, a crowd described by some as numbering in the hundreds and by others in the thousands, marched in support of a death sentence for Gillian Gibbons, the British schoolteacher who was convicted of insulting Islam after her class of seven-year-olds named a teddy bear “Muhammad”: The protesters, some carrying swords, screamed, »

A hostage taking in New Hampshire

By now, most of you know about the hostage-taking at Hillary Clinton’s campaign office in Rochester, New Hampshire. The hostage-taker claimed to have an explosive device strapped to his body. He eventually released at least three hostages, according to Fox News, but remains holed up in the building. It’s not clear whether he still has hostages. According to the man’s ex-wife, he is a paranoid schizophrenic who has not been »

Will Bush rebound in 2008?

Clark Judge in the Washington Times predicts that President Bush’s approval rating will rebound next year. He cites three developments that could fuel such a rebound: (1) the improved situation in Iraq, (2) scientific breakthroughs that vindicate Bush’s restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, and (3) the likelihood that the economic doom and gloom predicted by many will fail to materialize. I certainly don’t discount the prospect »

Rep. Murtha finds that surge is working and falsely claims he believed it would

Rep. John Murtha, having returned from a trip to Iraq, acknowledges that the U.S. military surge is working. Murtha also reports that the morale of the Pennsylvania troops he met with is good and that they want to finish the job. Unfortunately, Murtha opposes letting them do so. Murtha still insists that the U.S. pull out of Iraq. He is now willing to compromise on the timing, not because we’re »

Worst pretense to an impartial news organization: CNN, part 3

Howard Kurtz covers CNN’s use of Democratic plants in the YouTube Republican candidates forum on Wednesday. CNN stands by its misconduct: [Washington bureau chief David] Bohrman said network staffers, struck by Kerr’s “very powerful” question, verified his military service and determined from federal records that he had made no campaign contributions. He said CNN never spoke to Kerr and had Google, which owns YouTube, bring the retired general and about »

Damned if he doesn’t, ignored if he does

The mainstream media has been quite critical of the Musharraf government for failing to go after the Taliban in northwest Pakistan. Now, according to Asian news sources collected by Stanley Kurtz, the army of Pakistan is conducting a surge against the Taliban in the region, appareantly with some success. As Kurtz points out, however, our MSM is basically ignoring that surge. Was the MSM ever really bothered by Musharraf’s lack »

Lush Life

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Billy Strayhorn, the compositional and arranging genius behind many of Duke Ellington’s best-known songs such as “Take the A Train,” “C-Jam Blues,” and “Satin Doll.” Strayhorn is said to have written both the music and lyrics to “Lush Life” as a young man at the beginning of his career, yet it is a remarkable song whose sadness, glamor, excess, and dissipation he »

A tangled web

One definition of a pathological liar is someone who lies when the truth would do at least as nicely. This article from the Washington Post suggests that former President Clinton did not tell the truth when he said in Iowa this week that he opposed our military action in Iraq “from the beginning.” For Clinton, there are advantages associated with being seen as having opposed to our action in Iraq »

A word from Bill Otis

Fomer federal prosecutor Bill Otis connects some dots: So first Hillary plants a questioner at her own event, followed by the disclaimer that it was all a misunderstanding and “will never happen again.” Two or three weeks later, a Hillary operative gets planted at a REPUBLICAN event. CNN will say Hillary had nothing to do with it, of course, as will she (assuming the press ever asks her, on which »

Worst pretense to an impartial news organization: CNN, part 2

Jim Vicevich alerts us to a few more Democratic plants at the CNN YouTube Republican candidates forum last night. Adam Florzak asked a question on Social Security. It turns out that Florzak quit his job with Caterpillar to work with Dick Durbin on Social Security reform. Then there was Mark Strauss, who pleaded with Ron Paul to run as an Independent. It turns out he’s a Richardson supporter (more here). »

Romney picks up a nice endorsement

David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, has endorsed Mitt Romney. Keene said he’s “convinced that Mitt Romney represents our best hope for 2008” and that he will work to persuade conservatives “that if we are serious about electing a conservative president in 2008, it’s time to unite behind his candidacy.” Implicit in Keene’s statement is the recognition that there’s no obvious choice for conservatives in this field, and »

Water under the bridge

Howie Carr saltutes Senator Kennedy for the $8 million advance he received for his forthcoming memoirs and explores their possible contribution to literature and history: “Kennedy walks thin line between write and wrong.” Via Lucianne, with apologies to Ramesh Ponnuru for taking the heading from his contribution to the Corner’s Kennedy memoirs title contest. »

Tzip your lips

The Jerusalem Post qutoes Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at Annapolis: “Why doesn’t anyone want to shake my hand?” she asked in a dramatic address to the assembled representatives. “Why doesn’t anyone want to be seen speaking to me?” Embarrassing. Even more embarrassing, however, was Secretary Rice: She told delegates that when a local church was bombed by white separatists, four girls were killed, including one of her classmates. “Like »

Worst pretense to an impartial news organization: CNN

Last night I designated CNN’s planting of General Kerr in the audience to hector the candidates on “don’t ask don’t tell” as the “worst ambush” of CNN’s Republican candidates’ forum. I didn’t know at the time that General Kerr is affiliated with the Clinton campaign. Among those who have taken note are Hot Air (“plantmania!”), Patrick Ruffini (“a CNN F”), Glenn Reynolds (“CNN demonstrates an inexplicable failure to background-check pro-Hillary »

While many of you suckers were watching the Republican presidential debate,

I got to listen to a pure conservative tonight. The conservative was Ann Coulter; the occasion was the 30th anniversary of the National Journalism Center. Founded by M. Stanton Evans, and run since 2001 by the Young America’s Foundation, the NJC has trained more than 1,600 alumni. Its mission has remained the same throughout — to combat the fusion of superficiality and biased ideology that pollutes journalism in America. The »