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Pyongyang, Mon
Amour In 1992, as deputy minister for defense in Poland's first democratically elected government, I received an invitation to North Korea's embassy in Warsaw to celebrate the birthday of the Great Leader. Thinking that it would be my last chance to attend a Stalinist event, I went. The North Koreans were delighted to land such a "big fish." And when I told the ambassador, truthfully, that they must not allow ideological slackness or they would end up like Poland, he positively glowed. So, vibes were good when I went to Pyongyang on an official visit, this time as my country's deputy foreign minister, almost ten years later. Rules are rules, though, and the North Korean diplomatic protocol informed us that cell phones could not be taken into the country (even though they don't work there) and would be confiscated irrespective of rank. I left mine in that oasis of liberty, Beijing.
The optimists have been declaring themselves "relieved" that they are no longer allied to closet racists, and so are now able to argue for colorblindness with a clear conscience. But in fact, they are making an extremely damaging admission: that they have been colluding with racists. Thus Maggie Gallagher: "What is new is the determination of Christian and other conservatives not to let politics trump human dignity." Really? So until now these people have been letting politics trump human dignity, have they? Or take Noemie Emery: "It is a chance for the GOP to clean up its act and its household, haul tons of old rubbish out of the attic, and banish some shopworn old ghosts." Those tons of old rubbish — they would be what exactly? Bob Herbert in the New York Times had no difficulty in translating Emery's metaphor into a useful critique of the GOP. And those "shopworn old ghosts" turn out to be almost every Republican politician since Eisenhower.
Today, people who worked in the U.S. illegally can receive Social Security benefits for that period only if they become citizens or permanent legal residents. The new agreement would lift this requirement for Mexican illegals. Though not denying that this is the case, an SSA press officer cautions that "discussions are still in the preliminary stages." But according to an internal SSA memo obtained by NR, illegal aliens who never become legalized would be covered under the pact: "Mexican nationals working illegally in the U.S. can currently become entitled to benefits . . . [The deal] would include this population." Congressional and SSA officials who spoke with NR on condition of anonymity scoffed at earlier press accounts citing costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and predicted instead an immediate total annual cost in the billions.
Jenny Drake was a Virginia state health inspector until five years ago, when she and her husband moved to rural Tennessee and started Peaceful Pastures, a small livestock farm. Their meat goes through a USDA processing facility, as government regulations require — all except the poultry. And because of those chickens, the Peaceful Pastures have been troubled. Therein lies a tale about government regulation, the decline in food quality, and the end of family farming in America. "The state says no bird in Tennessee can be sold without USDA inspection of the processing facilities," says Drake. "There are no USDA custom-kill processing plants in the entire Southeast." Drake looked into building a small processing facility on her farm: If all she had to do were to construct facilities strictly for meat processing, Drake figures she could have done so for $20,000; but as the law stands now, a building that met minimal federal guidelines would cost about $150,000.
Who's Hootie? Ah, there's the killer. Why did the current chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club have to be William W. (Hootie) Johnson, known to one and all by that nickname? This is Christmas morning — and Kwanzaa and the Fourth of July and everything else — for Augusta-bashers. It seems to confirm everything they want to believe about this peculiar and proud club: Of course the chairman would be named Hootie (if not Rufus, or Jefferson). Funny thing is, Johnson, a banker, has always been known as a progressive. He was a mover in the desegregation of South Carolina's universities. He was a board member of the National Urban League, and a trustee of Benedict College (a "historically black" institution). He received the Outstanding Citizen Award from the national B'nai B'rith — the only South Carolinian besides Bernard Baruch to be so honored. No matter: In the national press now, he's just Hootie the Hoot, an "old coot," a cracker — some Bilbo or Boss Hogg.
Prisoners charged with additional crimes, such as not memorizing the president's New Year message, are confined in "punishment cells." The cells are so awful, reported Lee, that "it is a day of great fortune if a prisoner finds a rat creeping up from the bottom of the toilet hole. The prisoners catch it with their bare hands and devour it raw, as rats are the only source of meat in the prison." The testimonies of prison-camp survivors are full of such wretched tales; among the worst are those dealing with pregnant women. When Sun-ok Lee was in prison, she was ordered to a medical room to help with some record-keeping. Six pregnant women were there. "When a baby was born, the doctor shouted, 'Kill it quickly! How can a criminal in the prison expect to have a baby? Kill it!'" Other witnesses to infanticide report that prison guards sometimes make the mothers themselves do the killing.
The end of the Cold War dramatically changed the balance of risks and rewards in U.S. Korea policy, and should have led us to adjust our stance. But U.S. policymakers conducted business as usual. We should have managed the transition to South Korea's responsibility for its own security, while at the same time joining with other regional powers to limit North Korea's trouble-making potential. Had we started early enough, before North Korea had nukes, we would have had far more robust military options to enforce a muscular diplomacy than we do today. Better late than never, however; we still need to rethink the Korea problem down to its roots. When we do, we immediately see our other option: Announce our intention to withdraw all U.S. military forces from Korea. Lots of South Koreans would be delighted. More important, such an announcement would force China and the other parties to the problem to face reality.
Even at the peak, most Americans
disappointed pro-abortion ideologues by persisting in seeing abortion
as a tragedy rather than a routine medical procedure. Parents do not dream
of one day telling people about "my son the abortionist." Few
men brag about pressuring their girlfriends or wives into having abortions.
Unease about abortion is so widespread that the politicians most committed
to keeping it legal rarely use the word, preferring to talk about "choice."
Abortion is the right that dare not speak its name. And the unease has
only grown. Since 1995, the polls have been moving in the pro-life direction.
Most Americans still think that abortion should be legal when a pregnancy
results from rape or incest, or threatens the life or physical health
of the mother. But a majority would ban most abortions. Only a quarter
of the population now believes abortion should be legal in all cases.
Books, Arts & Manners Jesus, Jews, and the Shoah
— Mark Riebling Mommy Dearest —
Charlotte Hays Shelf Life: Bash Tha Police — Michael Potemra on the amazing Heather Mac Donald and more Music: Priceless — Jay Nordlinger on Leontyne Price Rediscovered, a live-recital CD
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