Monthly Archives: July 2003

July 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

What Kelly Told Parliament

As we noted earlier, the suicide of former weapons inspector David Kelly has caused huge problems for Tony Blair; recent polls indicate that his standing with voters has declined precipitously, and the press generally seems to take it for granted that Kelly’s death puts Blair in a sinister light. This spin is really rather odd, given how supportive Kelly was of Blair, his administration, and the controversial Iraq dossier when »
July 21, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Insufferability squared

Howell Raines, formerly of the New York Times, appeared on the Charlie Rose show last week. Here is an account by Jonathan Last of the the Weekly Standard. Last also provides a link to Andrew Sullivan’s commentary, as well as to the transcript. Last shows that Raines’ account of his departure from the Times is at odds with the paper’s official version. The Times has said that the departure was »
July 21, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Hail to the victors

Over the weekend, I saw an old friend who is now a prominent and well-placed faculty member at the University of Michigan. Regarding the recent Supreme Court rulings, he told me that (1) the university’s undergraduate officials are still trying to figure out how, under any sensible legal analysis, they could have lost their case while the law school prevailed and (2) meanwhile, they are quicky switching from their objective »
July 21, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Damned if you do (but not for long)

The Nigergate (pronounced “Knee-here-hah-tay”) affair is surely unique in the annals of recent presidential “scandals.” The normal pattern is quite familiar: a piece of wrongdoing (a break-in, false testimony to Congress, sexual misconduct) is followed by denials that rise, perhaps, to the level of a cover-up. If the cover-up allegations take off, we are then told that it is the cover-up, not the original wrongdoing, that is most damning. Indeed, »
July 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

BBC Misrepresented Source of Weapons Info

The BBC news report that unleashed a furor in England was produced on May 29; here it is. The article, by BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan, deserves to be re-read carefully in the light of what we now know about Gilligan’s sources. The BBC has said that David Kelly, who committed suicide a few days ago, was the “principal source” for Gilligan’s attack on the Blair administration. Now go to the »
July 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Saudis Corral More Terrorists

Saudi Arabia has announced that it has arrested 16 members of a terrorist cell that was said to be planning attacks in three cities. Seized materials included an enormous amount of terrorist weaponry: “over 20 tons of chemicals that can be used to make explosives. In addition, 72 kilograms of RVX plastic explosive and 981 meters of fuse cord were seized. Cameras and night scopes were also seized, as were »
July 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Blair Takes Another Hit

The furor over the suicide of David Kelly has resulted in another drop in Prime Minister Tony Blair’s standing with the voters, according to the Daily Telegraph, which says Blair “has suffered huge damage to his reputation among voters.” Based on polling done following Kelly’s suicide, 39% of voters say Blair should resign, while 41% say he should stay on. Fifty-nine percent said their opinion of Blair had declined as »
July 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Campaign Against President Working

The invaluable Real Clear Politics has collected the latest poll data. They show the President’s approval numbers steadily eroding. He now scores consistently in the 50’s. This is due, obviously, to the non-stop campaign being waged against him in the press. Poll numbers lag the news cycle, so it seems safe to assume they haven’t yet hit bottom. President Bush needs to do something dramatic to reverse the slide, or »
July 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Berkeley to Soak the Rich?

The Washington Times reports that the University of California is considering a proposal under which the children of “rich” parents would pay a surcharge to attend the university. The “rich” would be defined as those with family incomes above $90,000. The proposal is doubly unfair, in that the same parents who would now be surcharged have already contributed disproportionately to the university system through their taxes. On the bright side, »
July 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

The Madness Continues

Multiple investigations into the famous sixteen words in the State of the Union speech are now underway. Senators Hagel and Rockefeller said on the Sunday news shows, according to the Associated Press that “the credibility of President Bush and the nation are at stake.” What really seems to me to be at stake, however, is the credibility of the news media. The Associated Press is consistently unable to get the »
July 21, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Ward Connerly dings Dingell

Congressman John Dingell wrote Ward Connerly advising him to stay out of Michigan as he promotes a Michigan civil rights act referendum. According to Dingell’s letter, “Michiganders do not take kindly to your ignorant meddling in our affairs. We have no need for itinerant publicity seekers, non-resident troublemakers or self-aggrandizing out-of-state agitators.” As those of us over age 50 will immediately recognize along with Ward Connerly, Dingell’s letter unmistakably echoes »
July 20, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Secret Service Misses the Point?

This cartoon by the relatively conservative cartoonist Michael Ramirez appeared in the L.A. Times today: The cartoon is obviously friendly to President Bush and seems pretty apt to me. But Matt Drudge reports that the Secret Service is up in arms about the depiction of someone shooting the President, and Drudge quotes a White House reporter–almost certainly a Democrat–saying “there’s a viciousness about this that’s just not funny.” This seems »
July 20, 2003 — John Hinderaker

The Times at Twilight

Some years ago, I gave my secretary a letter to type that included a series of mathematical calculations. A little later she came into my office and told me she thought I had made an error; I checked and, sure enough, she was right. I thanked her for catching the mistake, and asked how she had come to check that particular calculation. She said that for the five years or »
July 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Advanced Arafat studies

Former National Security Agency analyst James Welsh called me on Friday regarding the posts we ran earlier this week on Yasser Arafat’s responsibility for the murder of U.S. Ambassador to Sudan Cleo Noel and the subsequent cover-up of Arafat’s involvement. I asked Jim about the cable dated March 15, 1973, from then-Secretary of State William Rogers to American embassies around the world that he had earlier provided me. Jim directed »
July 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

In need of a caption

Rocket Man, Charles Johnson has posted the illuminating photograph below on Little Green Footballs. I wonder if you might be able to contribute a hypothetical AFP caption. Little Green Footballs provides the following caption, apparently from Yahoo News: “Palestinian children look out from gate doors outside a souvenir shop decorated with a portrait of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, right, and a portrait of French President Jacques Chirac in Gaza »
July 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

King of the rhyme

Occasionally — not often, but every once in a while — the Sunday Times Arts & Leisure section runs an item that is so good in some way that it makes the heartburn caused by the rest of the paper tolerable. Today the Arts & Entertainment section carries a profile of the late, inimitable Roger Miller. The profile is by Rocco Landesman, the producer who commissioned Miller to write the »
July 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Coulter according to the Times

The Times Style section has devoted one of its characteristically lighter than air profiles to Ann Coulter. In this case, it seems to me, the lack of substance is to Ann’s benefit. I think she comes off as a character rather than a menace. In any event, the profile has the expected entertainment value — and a good photograph: “Blond lightning on the far right.” »