June 14, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Irving Kristol said that a neoconservative is “a liberal who was mugged by reality.” If so, then Abe Drexler — the lefty new-journalist in “Mad Men” — must have gone on to become one of Kristol’s prime neocon disciples.
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June 14, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
President Obama has drawn plenty of criticism for his position on aiding Syrian rebels in light of his acknowledgement that the Assad regime has crossed his “red line” by using chemical weapons. Here is the key part of the administration’s response to that development: [T]he President has augmented the provision of non-lethal assistance to the civilian opposition, and also authorized the expansion of our assistance to the Supreme Military Council
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June 13, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Last week, I argued that Eric Holder’s submission to a court suggested that Fox News’ James Rosen was a flight risk. This representation — coupled with the statement that Rosen was “an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator” in illegal obtaining, national security materials from a government official also under investigation — led me to conclude that Holder lied to Congress when he testified that he has never been “involved in” “potential
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June 13, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
More Americans remember George W. Bush approvingly than negatively, according to a new Gallup survey. 49 percent of Americans view Bush favorably while 46 percent view him negatively, says Gallup. Bush’s showing is superior to President Obama’s. The current president’s numbers, according to Gallup, are 47 percent approval and 46 percent disapproval. I wouldn’t attribute too much meaning to these numbers. Frankly, I doubt that Bush could defeat Obama today
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June 13, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
For many years, I’ve referred to Lindsey Graham as the “Arlen Specter of the South.” The idea is that, although Graham isn’t as bad as Specter was, he’s the “moral equivalent” of Specter, considering how much more conservative South Carolina is compared to Pennsylvania. Now, the same friend who gave me the Graham-Specter analogy suggests that Marco Rubio is the Lindsey Graham of the Tea Party. I think I’ll adopt
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June 13, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
I respect the work of David Brooks even though I often disagree with it. But this Brooks column on immigration reform leaves me shaking my head. Brooks argues that “immigration opponents are effectively trying to restrict the flow of conservatives into this country.” What does he mean by this? First, I assume that Brooks isn’t talking about restricting the number of conservatives “flowing” into the U.S., but rather restricting the
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Marc Thiessen makes a point I was preparing to write up, and wish I had written: The real culprit behind James Clapper’s false testimony to Congress regarding NSA data collection isn’t Clapper, but rather Sen. Ron Wyden who asked the question to which Clapper responded. Since Thiessen went first, I’ll let him explain: What is outrageous is not that Clapper tried to protect classified information in an open session, but
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Paul Ryan tells a Washington audience assembled by the National Association of Manufacturers that “earned legalization is an issue I think the House can and will deal with.” In other words, as CNBC’s John Harwood tweeted, “Paul Ryan tells me House will pass immigration ‘path to citizenship.’ Despite flak on right, ‘House can/will deal with earned legalization.’” Earlier this year, when comments by Ryan caused me to suggest that amnesty
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Evertonians Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines are listed among Europe’s top 50 players in a ranking by Bloomberg Sports that rates players based on new performance statistics. Fellaini comes in at 12th place; Baines at 16th. Liverpool star Luis Suarez slots in between the two at 15th place. Former Everton players Wayne Rooney and Mikel Arteta are listed at 26th and 46th, respectively. These rankings are only as good as
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Immigration reform isn’t the only issue as to which Rand Paul is embarrassing himself these days. The Senator’s “Fourth Amendment Restoration Act of 2013” represents a stunning combination of ignorance and hysteria. Andy McCarthy demonstrates Paul’s ignorance. He writes: [T]he bill is unacquainted with the Fourth Amendment — either the one given to us by the Framers or even the one enlarged over time by Supreme Court jurisprudence. . .
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June 12, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Only 15 Republican Senators voted against the motion to allow debate to proceed on the Schumer-Rubio immigration reform bill. The 15 “no” votes were cast by: John Barasso, Wyoming John Boozman, Arkansas Mike Crapo, Idaho Ted Cruz, Texas Mike Enzi, Wyoming Chuck Grassley, Iowa Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma Mark Kirk, Illinois Mike Lee, Utah James Risch, Idaho Tim Scott, South Carolina Jeff Sessions, Alabama Richard Shelby, Alabama David Vitter, Lousiana A
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June 11, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
On June 11, 1963, relievers Dick Radatz and Terry Fox dueled for more than seven innings in a game between the Boston Red Soc and the Detroit Tigers. Boston eventually prevailed 7-3 in 15 innings. Radatz and Fox were two of the very best relief pitchers in baseball. Radatz was known as the Monster (Detroit baseball writer Joe Falls quipped that “the Red Sox don’t warm him up, they assembled
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June 11, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Michael Gerson becomes the latest member of the Republican establishment to dive into the tank for Samantha Power, President Obama’s anti-Israel nominee for U.N. Ambassador. Like others in this category, Gerson apparently has been charmed by his personal interaction with Power. It appears to be Power’s passion and fire that charmed Gerson. Gerson initially found her to be an unfair, partisan critic of the Bush administration in which Gerson served.
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June 10, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Today was another newsy day on the immigration legislation front. First, Byron York reported that on Sunday, Marco Rubio made his strongest statement yet that legalization of the nation’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants must happen before any new border security or internal enforcement measures are in place, and will in no way be conditional on any security requirements. Not surprisingly, Rubio made this statement in a Spanish-language interview with
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June 10, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Former NFL star Chad Johnson (known as Chad Ochocinco for a time during his playing days) was sentenced to 30 days in jail for a probation violation in a domestic violence case (he head-butted his wife). Johnson was set to serve no jail time, thanks to a plea bargain. But the judge rejected the deal after Johnson slapped his attorney’s backside when the judge asked him if he was satisfied
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June 10, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Everton’s 2012-13 season was eerily intertwined with that of Wigan Athletic, a provincial club — in a town better known for its rugby than its soccer — that will be playing in England’s second-tier next season. But before I explain, let’s have an overview of Everton’s season. By many measures, it was a successful year. We finished in sixth place, which is normally sufficient to qualify for European play. Only
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June 10, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Sen. John Cornyn plans to introduce an amendment to the Schumer-Rubio immigration reform bill. Cornyn’s amendment reportedly would require higher thresholds of border control before the bill’s “trigger” kicks in allowing undocumented immigrants to move toward citizenship. According to Politico, Marco Rubio has “praised” Cornyn’s approach, saying that it “will get this bill where it needs to be.” But Harry Reid begs to differ. Reid says that Cornyn’s forthcoming amendment
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