Monthly Archives: November 2003

November 21, 2003 — John Hinderaker

The Times Does Literature

We have often laughed at the New York Times’ ignorance of such subjects as history and arithmetic as well as its persistent leftist bias. In a lighter vein, this morning’s Corrections section casts doubt on the Times’ presumed eminence in the book review department: “The Books of The Times review in Weekend on Friday about a new translation of ‘Don Quixote’ misstated Samuel Johnson’s opinion of Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost.’ Johnson »
November 21, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Dhimmitude in France

FrontPage carries several interesting pieces this morning, but the piece on the cancelled publication in France of Robert Spencer’s Islam Unveiled is chilling: “France’s Rushdie affair.” »
November 21, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

We’re ahead, let’s call off the contest

Here is the Washington Post’s editorial take on the Massachusetts decision on gay marriage. The Post makes four points: (1) that the opposition of most Americans to gay marriage should not necessarily be dispositive because most Americans probably once opposed interracial marriage, (2) the policy arguments for gay marriage are strong, (3) the Massachusetts court may nonetheless have been wrong on the constitutional question, and (4) we sure hope that »
November 20, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Republicans to Defend Bush

How’s that for a news flash? After months of one-sided assault on the President by Democratic Presidential candidates, the Republican Party is unleashing its first television commercial in support of the president. The New York Times reports: “After months of sustained attacks against President Bush in Democratic primary debates and commercials, the Republican Party is responding this week with its first advertisement of the presidential race, portraying Mr. Bush as »
November 20, 2003 — John Hinderaker

Back in the U.S.A.

I’m back after two weeks in England, working in London for the first nine days, followed by five days of vacation in London and the countryside. It was, for the most part, a blissful vacation from politics, as I generally lacked internet access and rarely saw a newspaper. I’m reading Power Line to catch up on what I missed; in the meantime, I want to comment on the one story »
November 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

On assignment in Istanbul

Reporter Erik Schecter of the Jerusalem Post was on assignment in Istanbul to follow up on the synagogue bombings when one of today’s bombings shook his hotel room. Serving double duty, he has filed his story on the bombings today together with an eyewitness account. The Post’s Matthew Gutman provides his analysis of what the bombings mean. »
November 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Today’s good news

I spoke too soon when I referred below to the report on Lou Rawls’ live performace last night (and again tonight) in Boston as today’s good news. Now Best of the Web Today alerts us to the reindictment of attorney Lynne Stewart for her alleged transmission of messages on behalf of her odious client, “the blind sheik” who was the inspirational leader of the group involved in the 1993 attack »
November 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Our reading assignment

Human Events has enlisted a panel of twenty-one prominent authorities (including our friends Steve Hayward and Ben Boychuk) to determine the top ten American biographies that everyone should read. Topping the list is The Education of Henry Adams, a masterpiece of American and autobiographical literature. When I first encountered it as a college student I was struck by Adams’ brilliance, his irony, his cultural anti-Semitism, and by his idiosyncratic sense »
November 20, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Assuming the risk

Byron York of National Review considers the political impact of the Senate war over judges. Recent polling, conducted after last week’s marathon debate, suggests that the issue is having some impact among independent voters. According to York, the polling shows that a significant number of independents are aware of the fight. Their collective view of the Republican role is essentially neutral, while their view of the Democratic role is negative »
November 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Religion of peace strikes Turkey

Today’s terror bombings of British targets in Istanbul graphically display the wide swath of destruction our Islamofascist enemies lust to wreak. The AP news account via Yahoo includes a set of horrifying photos. »
November 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

Love is a hurtin’ thing

Under the category of “today’s good news,” I want to note that Lou Rawls may be glimpsed live courtesy of this brief review of his performance last night in Boston: “Finding there is none like Lou Rawls.” The review mentions Lou’s new recording, “Rawls sings Sinatra,” on which the audio clips available via the Amazon link indicate he sounds in fine form. »
November 20, 2003 — Scott Johnson

What do they want?

Scott Burgess is the proprietor of The Daily Ablution in London and has undertaken a searching inquiry asking “What do they want?” »
November 19, 2003 — Scott Johnson

London now and then

An extraordinarily industrious and well-placed reader who has asked us to withhold his name forwarded us the following news accounts dating from President Reagan’s memorable 1984 visit to London. The reader says: “These clips from Reagan »
November 19, 2003 — Scott Johnson

The Prague connection

Today Laurie Mylroie’s Iraq Newsletter directed us to Edward Jay Epstein’s investigation of the possible meeting in Prague of an Iraqi intelligence agent and Mohammed Atta in the spring of 2001: “Prague revisited.” The question implicit in Epstein’s inquiry is of course whether Saddam Hussein had any involvement in the 9/11 attack on the United States. »
November 19, 2003 — Scott Johnson

“A leader who did not waver”

As far as I can tell from reading it, President Bush hit a grand slam in his utterly eloquent Whitehall speech. He stood up for freedom, he excoriated tyranny and terrorism, and he singled out the scourge of anti-Semitism for special condemnation. Invoking the memory of Winston Churchill in describing what Americans saw when they looked at Great Britain during the darkest days of World War II, he implicitly set »
November 19, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

The press takes a powder

The other day, I posted a piece in which Andrew Sullivan exposed the efforts of the Washington Post’s Walter Pincus to bury and then downplay the Defense Department’s memo documenting links between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. Now, Jack Shafer of Slate weighs in on the same issue: “A classified memo by a top Pentagon official written at Senate committee request and containing information about scores of intelligence reports »
November 19, 2003 — Paul Mirengoff

Carrying on the good fight

One of our heroes, Terry Pell of the Center for Individual Rights, wrote to us in response to my post of Stanley Kurtz’s piece about challenging race-based college admissions in the post-Grutter environment. Here is what Mr. Pell said: “Of course you are right to emphasize the need to overturn Grutter. Every case we now bring has to expose the deep incoherence of O’Connor’s rationale, not tinker around the edges »