Monthly Archives: November 2009

Leahy Lunacy

We noted last night that under the Obama administration’s law-enforcement approach to terrorism, if we capture Osama bin Laden the first things we’ll have to do are read him his rights and get him a free lawyer. When Lindsay Graham pointed this out to Eric Holder in yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Holder feebly responded that maybe we wouldn’t have to Mirandize bin Laden because the evidence against him is »

Senator Leahy’s pre-9/10/01 mentality

Responding to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s concern that under administration policy we might have to “Mirandize” Osama bin Laden, Sen. Patrick Leahy claims that “If the U.S. captures bin Laden, there’s no need to interrogate him.” Leahy explained that we already “have enough on” bin Laden. Conservatives like to say that the Democrats are reverting to a pre-9/11 mentality whereby we treat Islamist terrorism mainly as a law enforcement issue. But »

To Create Jobs, Cut Taxes and Spending

We’ve commented before on how often voters’ experience and common sense allows them to see through the fog of misdirection that emanates from politicians and the media. The latest example: 62% say that “tax cuts are a better way to create jobs and fight unemployment. Only 21% believe that additional stimulus spending is a more effective tool.” Overall, 58% say that increased government spending tends to be bad for the »

The Decline and Fall of Andrew Sullivan

I’m currently finishing the last volume of Anthony Powell’s Dance to the Music of Time. One of the book’s themes is the decline and fall of Kenneth Widmerpool, a friend (sort of) of the narrator who is introduced in the first pages of the first volume, some forty years before the series’ end. It occurs to me that there are several parallels between the collapse of Kenneth Widmerpool and that »

Trying KSM: why? It might make a good movie

Some of us went to law school hoping we might one day participate in the “trial of the century.” That trial would command universal attention, involve the central issue of the epoch, and result not only in a just verdict but also a vindication of our way of life. There may be an element of this sort of juvenile thinking in the decision to try KSM in federal court in »

Reading Bin Laden His Rights

Lindsay Graham frequently drives us crazy, but it can’t be denied that he has his moments. In today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, he took Eric Holder to the woodshed: Graham is right, of course. Under the Obama administration’s policies, if we capture Osama bin Laden tomorrow, the first thing we will have to do is read him his rights, and the second is get him a lawyer at taxpayer expense. »

South Africa here they come

The 32 teams that will compete in the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa have now been determined. They are: Italy Germany Holland Spain Denmark Switzerland England Slovakia Serbia Portugal Greece — upset winners over Ukraine in today’s play-in match in Donetsk Slovenia — shock winners over Russia; the former Soviet Union states are shut-out France — overtime winners over Ireland, a victory accomplished via a blatant hand-ball Brazil »

The Phillips Foundation Fellowship

The Phillips Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2010 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Program. Print and online journalists with less than 10 years of professional experience are eligible. The Foundation created this program to provide fellowships for projects by journalists who share its mission to advance constitutional principles, a democratic society and a vibrant free enterprise system. The Phillips Foundation awards $75,000 and $50,000 full-time fellowships and $25,000 part-time »

Trying KSM: Why? An insane protocol

In his press conference this past Friday and in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, Attorney General Holder has explained his decision to refer KSM and his 9/11 co-conspirators to trial based on a “protocol” released in July. What protocol? I don’t recall reading anything about it at the time it was released, or seeing anything about it in connection with Holder’s decision to deliver KSM et al. »

Trying KSM: Why? Eric Holder explains, sort of

Attorney General Holder is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning. We have obtained a copy of Holder’s opening statement from the Justice Department. On the question why Holder has decided to bring KSM et al. up on criminal charges in federal court in New York, Holder made these preliminary reflections: I am a prosecutor, and as a prosecutor my top priority was simply to select the venue where »

Republicans Maintain “Steady Lead” Over Democrats

The Rasmussen survey finds that Republican candidates continue to enjoy a six-point lead over Democrats in the generic Congressional preference poll. This survey offers more evidence that independent voters are decisively turning away from the Democrats, as independents favor the generic Republican candidate by a rather shocking 41 to 24 percent. »

Johnny Mercer at 100

Today is the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Johnny Mercer. With the publication of The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer last month, Mercer’s place in the pantheon of artists responsible for the great American songbook seems more secure than ever. Among the more than 1,000 songs for which Mercer is known to have written the lyrics are “I Remember You,” “That Old Black Magic,” “How Little We Know,” “Hit »

Is the ICC part of our future?

The Obama administration has decided that the U.S. will participate in a conference with members of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Stephen Rapp, the U.S. Ambassador at large for war crimes, says that we will now “engage” with the ICC — something President Bush had refused to do — though we do not intend to join it in the foreseeable future. I guess we can be grateful that President Obama »

Arkansas to be spared of “Stalinists”

The Washington Post has a front-page story today about Sen. Blanche Lincoln, the Arkansas Democrat and her plight as a “centrist in [the] health care debate.” According to Post reporter Shailagh Murray, if Lincoln “does not embrace the party line on the health issue, she could face a Democratic challenger in the primary, along with a Green Party opponent in the general election.” In fact, MoveOn, working with its fellow »

Afghanistan myths

Our friend Tom Cotton, who served in Afghanistan in 2008 and 2009, was in Washington earlier this month with Vets for Freedom. He visited folks in Congress and the White House seeking support for Gen. McChrystal’s request for 40,000 to 60,000 more troops for Afghanistan. Tom found that the thinking of most officials he met was plagued by a number of myths. So he wrote a piece in The Weekly »

Live, From New York: It’s KSM

On our radio show last Saturday, we interviewed Andy McCarthy on the Obama administration’s decision to try five top terrorists, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in federal court in New York for their “crimes,” i.e., making war against the United States. It’s a great interview, I think, and as high-level a discussion as you will ever hear of the issues raised by that potentially fateful decision. Not because of my skill »

Al Gore, Ignoramus

Al Gore has made an enormous amount of money by pretending to know something about science. He is by no means the first such charlatan, but he must be one of the most successful. A week or two ago, when we interviewed National Review’s John Derbyshire on our radio show, he emphasized that he is a science guy at heart. Today, at The Corner, he takes Gore to school. To »