Monthly Archives: April 2003

April 23, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Business as usual at the State Department

Tony Blankley in the Washington Times summarizes the critique of the State Department delivered by his former boss, Newt Gingrich, in an address to the American Enterprise Institute. Here is Gingrich’s address, the opening sentences of which, in Blankley’s words, “surely sent a chill through a State Department looking for a spine [for it] to go down.” Gingrich catalogues the errors and miscalculations of the Department during the showdown with »
April 23, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Felice Bryant, RIP

If you love the music of the Everly Brothers, you are an expert in the poetry of Felice Bryant, who wrote the words to many of the songs that made them famous. Her words inspired her husband Boudleaux to write the music. Together, they were a great team. Boudleaux died in 1987, shortly after their induction into the National Songwriters Hall of Fame. Mrs. Bryant died yesterday of cancer. Her »
April 23, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Quota “logic” part II

Thomas Sowell had not finished his thought when he left off yesterday demolishing the essay in support of “affirmative action” by the estimable Professor James McPherson. His column today finishes the job with the kind of personal knowledge and analytical rigor that makes Sowell a one-man wrecking crew: “Quota ‘logic’ part II.” »
April 23, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Jim Sleeper, poseur

Trunk, I very much enjoyed the piece you posted by James Kirchick. I certainly hope that Kirchick does not fulfill his promise to remain a life-long Democrat. I can’t say that I enjoyed Sleeper’s rant, although it is amusing at some level to see this self-styled voice of reason descend into a shrill incoherence. Sleeper seems incapable of actually making an argument. He wants to support his claim that Kirchick »
April 23, 2003 — John Hinderaker

This Just Doesn’t Bode Well

From the Associated Press: “Shiite pilgrims slash open their heads with swords as they march in Karbala.” »
April 23, 2003 — John Hinderaker

The Post Piles on Santorum

Howie Kurtz jumps into the fray over Rick Santorum’s alleged slur against homosexuals this morning. Kurtz’s take is an one-sided as you would expect. Here is how he poses the issue: “Is it still acceptable, in 2003, to depict gays as some kind of strange, deviant group, as weird as those who have sex with relatives? We’re about to find out.” What Kurtz fails to acknowledge, let alone respond to, »
April 23, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Can we have him checked for rabies?

Professor Sleeper comes back for a few more bites this morning in the Yale Daily News, accusing Little Trunk and her co-author of lies and worse: “The preaching of hate to the already converted.” Little Trunk’s co-author James Kirchick weighs in with his biweekly YDN “Off the Fence” column: “Why I’m on the decent side of the left.” Professor Sleeper has abandoned the guise of an arbiter promoting civility. As »
April 23, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Santorum Attacked by Gays, Democrats

Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has come under heavy attack for statements allegedly equating homosexuals with bigamists and other undesirable characters. This New York Times hatchet job is typical. Democrats and gay activists have demanded that Santorum resign as leader of the Senate Republican Conference. Santorum has defended his remarks and refused to apologize. Actually, what Santorum said was pretty sensible, regardless of one’s view of homosexuality. The full text of »
April 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

U.S. Plan to Bomb North Korea?

The Australian reports that “The Pentagon has produced detailed plans to bomb North Korea’s nuclear plant at Yongbyon if the communist rogue state goes ahead with reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods that would yield it enough plutonium for half a dozen nuclear weapons within six months.” This report is attributed to “well-informed Canberra sources close to US thinking.” The “detailed plans” are attributed to “a hawkish faction within the »
April 22, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

The soft bigotry of low expectations

This Washington Post op-ed by Ruben Navarette, Jr. takes a skeptical view of racial preferences in college admissions. The column may be an attempt at balance by the Post, given the two pro-preference pieces that appeared over the week-end (see below). However, I found Navarette’s opening sentence distressing. He states that, in deciding the Michigan cases, the Supreme Court “should do a cost-benefit analysis” of preferential admissions. The Court should »
April 22, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Dissidents and professors, then and now

I’m back home and won’t be on the road much during the coming weeks. I missed blogging, but Trunk and Rocket Man have been in such good form that, had I been posting, my contribution would have consisted mostly of “that goes for me too” or “bravo.” The comments of the former campus recruiter for the Marines prompts me to add a few thoughts about campus dissidents and college professors, »
April 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

The price of treason

The Telegraph has a good editorial responding to the denial of Labour MP George “Baghdad Bob” Galloway that he was on Saddam Hussein’s payroll: “Galloway’s gall.” On the news pages, the paper reports the existence of a newly discovered document suggesting that at least at one time Galloway’s price may have been too high for Saddam Hussein: “Memo from Saddam: We can’t afford to pay Galloway more.” »
April 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

The power to cloud men’s minds

In a column that won’t be appearing in your local newspaper anytime soon, Thomas Sowell seems to argue that the white advocates of “diversity” and “affirmative action” should put their money where their mouth is: “Quota logic.” »
April 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

End to War Doesn’t Stop Protests

The end of the Iraq war has slowed, but by no means stopped, “antiwar” activity. Earlier today there was a protest at the Lockheed Martin plant near San Francisco, in which demonstrators lay on the ground to block access. Thirty-five of the protesters were arrested. The photo below shows one of the demonstrators; they used “arm pipes” to connect themselves together so as to block traffic. One of the problems »
April 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Our Friends the French

AFP, the French news service, reports that “Senior aides to US President George W. Bush met this week to consider ways to punish France for its opposition to the war on Iraq, including sidelining Paris at NATO and limiting its participation in transatlantic forums, officials said.” What is interesting is that this is apparently not a leak, but a more or less official announcement. »
April 22, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Tyranny high and low

Following up on the theme of Iraqi oil, Dick Morris has a column on the statesmanship of Saddam Hussein: “No blood for oil.” The column lucidly explains the games being played by the high-minded arbiters of American action at the United Nations. Raul Rivero is one of the 80 writers and dissidents recently incarcerated in Castro’s Gulag. This morning’s New York Times runs a two-year-old column of his on the »
April 22, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Tom Daschle–Our Most Corrupt Politician?

Tom Daschle has just bought a $2.25 million home in Washington. He finances his lavish lifestyle by accepting bribes. The bribes are paid to his wife, Linda, who purports to be a “lobbyist.” Mostly she lobbies her husband. Daschle’s financial arrangements can’t withstand the light of day, so he cannot reveal his tax returns. He has again refused to release his most recent returns. If South Dakota voters had any »