Monthly Archives: June 2007

June 20, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Brothers Grim at Foggy Bottom

Eli Lake has the story of the day in today’s New York Sun: “Bush weighs reaching out to ‘Brothers.'” Lake reports: The Bush administration is quietly weighing the prospect of reaching out to the party that founded modern political Islam, the Muslim Brotherhood. Still in its early stages and below the radar, the current American deliberations and diplomacy with the organization, known in Arabic as Ikhwan, take on new significance »
June 20, 2007 — Scott Johnson

The short, unhappy life of the Gaza Marriott

Ralph Nurnberger served a long stint as the legislative liaison for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as well as an officer of the General Services Administration and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Export Administration. In the early 1990’s he left government service to go into lobbying work for organizations including Preston Gates and his own firm, where he now works, Nurnberger & Associates. Nurnberger has a long, scholarly interest »
June 19, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Hip-Hop Congressman

Keith Ellison of Minneapolis has made a splash as the first Muslim Congressman. We have noted his ties with radical groups like the Nation of Islam, CAIR and the Muslim American Society. Yesterday, though, he gave an interview to a less controversial–I guess–news outlet: BallerStatus, an on-line hip-hop magazine. The interview is rather funny, as Ellison has to figure out how to answer questions like: BallerStatus.com: Don’t be such an »
June 19, 2007 — Paul Mirengoff

Nancy Pelosi — Jimmy Carter’s heir apparent

Today we were reminded of Jimmy Carter’s affinity for foreign anti-American thugs, this time in the form of Hamas. The modern Democrats seem less prone to this sort of pathology (or at least its outward manifestations), though Hillary Clinton did famously embrace Yasser Arafat’s wife. But Nancy Pelosi, the highest ranking of all Democrats, shows clear symptoms of Carter’s disease. Exhibit A, of course, is the quality time she spent »
June 19, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Land of Lincoln lands in Minneapolis

Andrew Ferguson is the author of the terrific new book Land of Lincoln, which we noted with a message from Andy here. Yesterday at Contentions Terry Teachout eloquently testified to Ferguson’s qualities as a writer that are on display in the book. Tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. Andy will be discussing the book at Magers & Quinn Booksellers at 3038 Hennepin in Minneapolis (map here). Those of us lucky enough »
June 19, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Giuliani Selects Economic Advisers

Rudy Giuliani has announced his “Economic Policy Board;” read about it at the Candidates’ Forum. His choices look excellent: Steve Forbes, Bill Simon, and noted economists like Michael Boskin. Most people associate Giuliani primarily with strength in the war on terror. But he can make a strong case on domestic policy as well, with mainstream pro-growth economic views, a track record at economic development that’s hard to top–he saved New »
June 19, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Carter Attacks U.S., Sticks Up for Hamas

Jimmy Carter was in Ireland today to speak to the ninth annual NGO Forum on Human Rights. Along the way, he picked up a check for $1.2 million from the Irish government to the Carter Center. The former President, loyal as always to his financial backers, gushed that “the Irish Government has become the pre-eminent voice for human rights in the European Union.” The main news, though, centered on the »
June 19, 2007 — Paul Mirengoff

Dissing James Baker isn’t dissing one’s country

Newsday reports that Rudy Giuliani quit the Iraq Study Group after two months. He quit, according to Newsday, after James Baker told him he would have to attend all of the panel’s meetings in Washington. Giuliani had missed two sessions due, apparently, to speaking engagements. It’s not clear from the article whether Giuliani had committed to give these speeches before the ISG meetings were scheduled or, if so, whether he »
June 19, 2007 — Paul Mirengoff

The family porkbuster

I sometimes feel guilty that I don’t write more about “pork.” It’s a legitimate issue, just not one I easily get excited about. Fortunately, my daughter Emily doesn’t suffer from my cynicism, or whatever it is that keeps me from being out-front on pork issues. Today, she and fellow intern Jonathan San have an article in the Examiner about their efforts to determine which Senators and Representatives have signed the »
June 19, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Be not afraid

Michael Yon’s most recent dispatch on the current campaign in Iraq is must reading: “Be not afraid.” »
June 19, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Perpetual fantasy

The decision by the governments of Israel and the United States to supoprt Mahmoud Abbas — a peacemaker of the kind who still goes under his nom de guerre — seems misguided to me. In a compelling column, Caroline Glick argues that lending support to Abbas is grounded in fantasy. Fouad Ajami also invokes the term “fantasy” in his New York Times op-ed column today. He also gets off a »
June 19, 2007 — Scott Johnson

What about the Gang of 88? part 2

Thomas Sowell characterizes a reckoning with the gang of 88 radical professors who supported the lynch mob at Duke “unfinished business.” Sowell writes: The 88 Duke University faculty members who took out a hysterical ad, supporting those local loudmouths who were denouncing and threatening the Duke students, have apparently had nothing at all to say now. *** Nor were the 88 Duke faculty members who promoted a lynch mob atmosphere »
June 19, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Learning from John McCain

Although he humorously implies the opposite, there is only one man in the United States who could have said the following in the course of his commencement speech at the Merchant Marine Academy this week: My father, who was honored here at a Regimental Review, was a man with enormous responsibilities, which he never shirked. He was brave, and as loyal to the Navy and his country as any officer »
June 19, 2007 — Scott Johnson

Doing that wudu that they do so well

The Detroit News reports from Dearborn on the University of Michigan’s plan to spend $25,000 for the installation of footbaths on campus: “Muslims won’t fund footbaths.” The article reports that “Muslim leaders in metro Detroit have decided not to raise private money to pay for two footbaths” on campus. For them, it clearly seems less to be about religious observance than about the submission of public authorities to their observance. »
June 18, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Saturday’s Show, First Hour

We spent most of the first hour of Saturday’s radio show talking about the return of the “comprehensive immigration reform” bill. That stimulated lots of calls, naturally. We finished up by awarding our coveted Loon of the Week prize to a local politician on the national scene. You can download or just listen to the podcast here. Or, as always, you can subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes by going »
June 18, 2007 — Paul Mirengoff

Deserves got nothing to do with it

Last week, I commented about the confirmation hearing of Hans von Spakovsky for a seat on the Federal Election Commission. Von Spakovsky, who has been serving on the FEC as a recess appointee, faced hostile questioning from Dianne Feinstein and others regarding positions the Justice Department took in voting rights cases during his time at DOJ. Von Spakovsky had little trouble handling the hostile questions. However, since the event was »
June 18, 2007 — John Hinderaker

Report: Suicide Teams en Route to West

ABC News is reporting that al Qaeda and the Taliban have dispatched teams of suicide bombers to the U.S. and Europe to carry out terrorist attacks. The report is based mostly on this video, which shows a Taliban/al Qaeda graduation ceremony on June 9. As I understand the report, the video was taken by a Pakistani journalist who was invited to attend. It is of unusually good quality. The ceremony »