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SEN. CORNYN ON SPECTER FIGHT [KJL]
From the Senate floor today:
And I want to say something to my constituents and the people who may be listening who have contacted my office in very sincere concern for what they have seen played out here on the Senate floor and in the judicial confirmation process. I want to say to all of them, I appreciate your passion. I appreciate your concern. I appreciate your interest in the instruments of the government that ultimately the people of this country control. And we are going to need the involvement, the attention, the passion of all of the people.Translation: They heard you. This is just one battle in a larger fight, and some good things came of it. And it's just warm up for much uglier battles to come.
And indeed, we are going to need to appeal to our better angels on the floor of the United States Senate and in the Senate Judiciary Committee when it comes to the next nominees for the United States Supreme Court. We all remember, whether it’s a confirmation process by which Judge Bork was blocked, by which Clarence Thomas was ultimately confirmed after going through a process that no one should have to go through, my hope is that we will have learned that that is not the way the Senate should conduct itself and that we will resolve among ourselves and resolve among the American people and to the people we represent that we will treat the President’s judicial nominees fairly, that we will treat them with dignity and that we will provide the up-or-down vote that the United States Constitution demands when it comes to the confirmation of the President’s judicial nominees.
I’m not suggesting for a minute that anyone violate their conscience. Indeed, any Senator with a sincere belief that an individual judge should not be confirmed should come to the floor, as no doubt they will, and explain to their colleagues why they feel so strongly, why they conscientiously object to this nominee and to vote their conscience. I think every Senator should do that, and I trust they will.
But no one, no Senator has a right, no group of Senators has a right, no minority has a right to tyrannize the majority of the United States Senate when we stand ready in a bipartisan fashion to cast a vote up or down for a judicial nominee. And I sincerely hope that we will not have only learned from the mistakes of the past when it comes to obstruction of the President’s judicial nominees, but we will conduct ourselves with the kind of dignity that the American people have come to expert from United States Senators and that we will conduct ourselves uprightly, with fairness and dignity and treat all we come in contact with exactly the same way.
Posted at 07:19 PM
BY THE WAY [KJL]
There's some important stuff in that Specter statement. Those Judicary Committee Republicans did some real work: --"I have already registered my opposition to the Democrats' filibusters with 17 floor statements and will use my best efforts to stop any future filibusters. It is my hope and expectation that we can avoid future filibusters and judicial gridlock with a 55-45 Republican majority and election results demonstrating voter dissatisfaction with Democratic filibusters. If a rule change is necessary to avoid filibusters, there are relevant recent precedents to secure rule changes with 51 votes."
And, important for FMA supporters: --"I have long objected to the tactic used in bottling up civil rights legislation in the Judiciary Committee when it should have gone to the floor for an up-or-down vote. Accordingly I would not support committee action to bottle up legislation or a constitutional amendment, even one which I personally opposed, reserving my own position for the floor."
Those committments would not have been made without people calling in and e-mailing. Good job, folks.
Posted at 06:12 PM
I WAS BETTER THAN W. ON TERROR [Michael Graham]
Here's the verbatim from Bill Clinton's ABC interview, airing tonight: "We had 9/11 style threats for the millennium and teh extent of our preparations and the work we did, and number of terrorists we brought to justice...the twenty Al Qaeda cells we broke up...if you look at all that and the fact that we apparently still came closer to getting Bin Laden than anybody has since, even though they had a lot more options, military options than we had, I feel, I wish I had gotten him."
The reference to coming closer to getting Osama is particularly offensive given that Clinton has three opportunities to capture or kill him and declined all three times. Uh, Mr. Clinton, that's not a terror-fighting success. That's a failure.
Posted at 06:05 PM
CHICAGO & RELIGION [Stanley Kurtz]
For more on the political tone of the University of Chicago Divinity School, and the relative isolation of Jean Elshtain, go here, here, and here.
Posted at 06:01 PM
OUR EUROPEAN BETTERS [KJL]
Just got an interesting e-mail from a reader:
Yesterday the national soccer teams of England and Spain met in Madrid. England has several black players. Throughout the match the Spanish fans in, full voice and in vast numbers, made monkey noises every time a black player on the English team touched the ball. To those not familiar with European soccer this is a shock but the conduct is quite common in many cities in Europe during matches. It is so common that the European Football Association has a campaign in place to try and stop the practice. If you take a look at today's Guardian it has several accounts of the racist conduct during the match.
How tiresome is it to hear the constant refrain that the Euros are so much more enlightened than us Americans on issue such as race etc.? In practice we know the truth is far different. Can you imagine the conduct I described above taking place at an American sporting event? Can you imagine the mentality of thousands of people in a European capital city that they felt so free to express their racism so overtly? Next time you hear a Euro begin a lecture hit him or her (figuratively, of course) with the facts surrounding racist behavior of Euros on any given Sat. or Sun. in their capital cities. The "red state rubes" they love to malign would never tolerate the racism that is a common part of their national pastimes.
Posted at 05:58 PM
ONE MORE SPY STORY [Cliff May]
From another good reader:
In the days of Wild Bill Donavan there was very little bureaucracy; just enough analytical and clerical staff to get the job done. Further, every task taken on was executed with the approval of, and in support of the President and his policies. OSS had many successes in those days and very few failures. Also, they never "spoke out of school".
Now, after fifty years of burrowing deep into the fabric of the agency, liberal bureaucrats move in both covert and now, overt ways to derail administration policy. As to policy, these arrogant asses continue to try to make policy themselves!
Good for Goss! Maybe Condi can pull off a similar nest-cleaning at State. That one will be a tougher task. They've had over 200 years to stake out their turf. Over the past forty years my dealings with State were seldom pleasant.
Posted at 05:48 PM
SPY STORY [Cliff May]
From a reader of my Scripps column on what’s wrong at the CIA and State:
clifford...when i was in Cambodia in the mid-seventies, an 'attache' at the embassy approached me for info on what was going on out in the outlying towns...Battambang, Seam Riap and other places. i flew DC3's for a civilian airline hauling cargo, but why he asked ME, i didn't know until i talked to the chief pilot. he said those types were AFRAID to go out into the field, and needed grist for their reports back to Langley. i don't think it has EVER CHANGED IN THE LAST THIRTY YEARS. if you want to make it in the agency or state dept, i think you have to go along to get a leg up. you got 'em pegged.
Posted at 05:46 PM
WHY LABOR UNIONS LOSE MEMBERS [Jim Boulet]
Richard "Skip" Daly, business manager of the Laborers, Hod Carriers, Cement Workers and Miners Local Union 169, complains to The Nation:
They voted for a Republican who's got the biggest deficit spending ever; they voted against all of their self-interest. And the issue that came out in exit polling was "we voted on the moral values." What that says to me is, these people believe it's more important than their family's well-being that we don't have abortion. And, to me, that is an intolerance that we have not experienced in this country since we put into insignificance the Ku Klux Klan.Union leaders now think they have a right to impose the moral values of Massachusetts upon their red state members. Union membership continues to decline. There is a connection.
The student protesters of the 60's and 70's didn't all go to law school. Some joined the staffs of major labor unions. Soon, the unions funded by the dues of pro-American hard hats were pushing a McGovernite foreign policy abroad and political correctness at home. The hard hats lost interest. Wonder why?
Posted at 05:39 PM
REVOLTING, BUT IMPRESSIVE [Andrew Stuttaford]
"Not a burger for tree-huggers."
Posted at 05:34 PM
GROUPTHINK WATCH [Andrew Stuttaford]
From an article in the New York Times reporting the stunning fact that Republicans are "outnumbered in academia" (who knew?):
One theory for the scarcity of Republican professors is that conservatives are simply not that interested in academic careers. A Democrat on the Berkeley faculty, George P. Lakoff, who teaches linguistics and is the author of "Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think," said that liberals choose academic fields that fit their world views. "Unlike conservatives," he said, "they believe in working for the public good and social justice, as well as knowledge and art for their own sake, which are what the humanities and social sciences are about."
Somewhere, deep in the shallow, shallow mind of George P. Lakoff, ignorance and pomposity are fighting for control of his ideas. It remains unclear which will win.
Posted at 05:30 PM
GORE PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY [KJL]
Weirder things have happened, I'm sure.
Posted at 04:52 PM
"YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO DIE" [KJL]
Citizen Smash's rules of engagement.
Posted at 04:44 PM
WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE!? [Jonah Goldberg]
Should you get tired of emailing Specter's office...From a reader:
Jonah...I was shocked to see that the Corner was not on the "BLOG LINKS" on MSNBC's hardblogger site. (I do check it ever so often to see what the dark side is thinking). Such intellectual luminaries as Wonkette and Kos are on there...and they put redstate, blogsforbush, and instapundit on there, but no Corner...As Jackie Chiles from Seinfeld said, "That is outrageous, egregious, preposterous."
Posted at 04:36 PM
PELOSI BLAMES CATHOLICS [KJL]
From Roll Call:
You gotta blame somebody when your party loses the White House, the Senate and the House. So why not blame the Catholics?
That’s sort of what House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) did in a letter sent this week to major donors to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee....In the second paragraph of the letter, Pelosi said the election outcome showed a distinct pattern — that “the Democratic message was eclipsed by so-called values pronouncements.”
“As a devout Catholic, I observe with great regret the intervention of some Catholic bishops who joined evangelical leaders in the political arena,” Pelosi said. She said the bishops’ actions helped to blur the separation of church and state, “and that is wrong.”
Posted at 04:33 PM
SISTER MARY FOB [KJL]
AP, from the Clinton Library opening:
"Wet bleachers and lengthy security lines earlier in the day did little to squelch the enthusiasm of thousands waiting to attend. Sister Judith Dalesandro was among four nuns who arrived from a Roman Catholic convent in Jonesboro.
"Bill Clinton is the best president we've ever had in the United States," said Sister Dalesandro, who taught school in Little Rock when Clinton was Arkansas governor. 'He was wonderful. He wasn't at all snooty. He would come and talk with the kids."
Posted at 04:27 PM
TOMORROW & SAT. IN DC [KJL]
The JPII Center by CUA is holding a great-sounding seminar on the culture of law, which includes Cardinal Dulles and (be still my heart) Russell Hittinger (former K-Lo prof). Details here.
Posted at 04:21 PM
IN NYC & LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO TONIGHT? [KJL]
The New York Young Republicans have some things planned...see here.
Posted at 04:18 PM
SORRY [KJL]
for The Corner slowness. The Specter thing was in the air. Clinton was on TV. I went out for wine. It was time.
Posted at 04:16 PM
OH, BROTHER [KJL]
Did you e-mail Congress urging that Specter not be made chairman? This, evidently, is what CNN thinks of you.
Posted at 04:09 PM
RE: LIBRARIES [KJL]
I've gotten a few of these--they are evidently partially publicly funded, which, as this e-mailer points out, makes sense:
My admittedly rudimentary understanding of presidential libraries is that only the Archives aspect of the library is, in fact, publicly supported. For these libraries to be a legitimate destination for researchers, and any good at all, they incorporate the official government documents from the administration, and the archivests that go along with that. I don't think we would want the nation's archives doled out to a private group for whatever they might do with them.
But most of the swank you see at a presidential library is "private." Tax exempt foundations raise funds from the administrations supporters, etc., to build the halls, polish the marble, run the little TVs with videos, and so forth.
Posted at 04:06 PM
QUICK HEARINGS AND EARLY COMMITTEE VOTES [KJL]
on nominees approved by Specter. Sigh. But I think better there was a debate than there wasn't.
Posted at 03:53 PM
WILL THEY BE BASED ON SCOTTISH LAW? [KJL]
AP:
Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican moderate seeking a key chairmanship in a party of conservatives, is drafting a written commitment of quick hearings and votes on President Bush's judicial nominees regardless of their views on abortion, party sources said Thursday.
Memo to AP Stylebook Editor: He is a liberal, not a mod.
Posted at 12:52 PM
MEMO TO SPIES AND DIPLOMATS [Cliff May]
My Scripps Howard column this week – a longer version of The Corner item I wrote a few days earlier.
Posted at 12:42 PM
MARINE IN FALLUJAH [Mackubin Thomas Owens]
I am working on something about the shooting incident in Fallujah involving a Marine. But I could never do a better job than the young Marine who sent this e-mail to his family after the incident. Killing a prisoner in cold blood is one thing. Dealing with an adversary who does not recognize “the law of land warfare” is something else. This is an unfortunate incident but it is no war crime. The e-mail:
This is one story of many that people normally don't hear, and one that everyone does.
This is just one most don't hear:
A young Marine and his cover man cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with Ak-47's and RPG's. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!" He is badly wounded, lying in a pool of his own blood. The Marine and his cover man slowly walk toward the injured man, scanning to make sure no enemies come from behind. In a split second, the pressure in the room greatly exceeds that of the outside, and the concussion seems to be felt before the blast is heard. Marines outside rush to the room, and look in horror as the dust gradually settles. The result is a room filled with the barely recognizable remains of the deceased, caused by an insurgent setting off several pounds of explosives.
The Marines' remains are gathered by teary eyed comrades, brothers in arms, and shipped home in a box. The families can only mourn over a casket and a picture of their loved one, a life cut short by someone who hid behind a white flag. But no one hears these stories, except those who have lived to carry remains of a friend, and the families who loved the dead. No one hears this, so no one cares.
This is the story everyone hears:
A young Marine and his fire team cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with AK-47's and RPG's. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!" He is badly wounded. Suddenly, he pulls from under his bloody clothes a grenade, without the pin. The explosion rocks the room, killing one Marine, wounding the others. The young Marine catches shrapnel in the face.
The next day, same Marine, same type of situation, a different story. The young Marine and his cover man enter a room with two wounded insurgents. One lies on the floor in puddle of blood, another against the wall. A reporter and his camera survey the wreckage inside, and in the background can be heard the voice of a Marine, "He's moving, he's moving!"
The pop of a rifle is heard, and the insurgent against the wall is now dead.
Minutes, hours later, the scene is aired on national television, and the Marine is being held for committing a war crime. Unlawful killing.
And now, another Marine has the possibility of being burned at the stake for protecting the life of his brethren. His family now wrings their hands in grief, tears streaming down their face. Brother, should I have been in your boots, i too would have done the same.
For those of you who don't know, we Marines, Band of Brothers, Jarheads, Leathernecks, etc., do not fight because we think it is right, or think it is wrong. We are here for the man to our left, and the man to our right. We choose to give our lives so that the man or woman next to us can go home and see their husbands, wives, children, friends and families.
For those of you who sit on your couches in front of your television, and choose to condemn this man's actions, I have but one thing to say to you. Get out of you recliner, lace up my boots, pick up a rifle, leave your family behind and join me. See what I've seen, walk where I have walked. To those of you who support us, my sincerest gratitude. You keep us alive.
I am a Marine currently doing his second tour in Iraq. These are my opinions and mine alone. They do not represent those of the Marine Corps or of the US military, or any other.
Posted at 12:35 PM
PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES [KJL]
Couldn't/Shouldn't they be privately funded? Especially since they get spun/built by the ex-admin?
Posted at 12:35 PM
PATRICK RUFFINI [Ramesh Ponnuru]
back from a stint at the Bush campaign, is blogging again
Posted at 12:29 PM
LAST THING ON MY MARINES [KJL]
They gave me a t-shirt--a rocking on, at that--"Pain is weakness leaving the body." Jonah's Non-Marine Military Guy is not going to like to hear that. The Marine Buying Off of K-Lo continues.
Posted at 12:26 PM
RE: MARINES [KJL]
I am also inspired to reach out more. Besides the folks among the Marines I met with this morning who asked about my Specter obsession and other inside things, there were more than a few who wanted a map to the blogosphere--we have miles to go yet! Before my colleagues and I meet Dan Rather's salary, too!!!
Posted at 12:11 PM
MARINES [KJL]
Got back a few ago from speaking to a Marine media-training seminar here in NYC. Humbling to know men and women fighting for freedom are reading us, can use our help, and are thanking us. God bless every last one of you--all branches.
Posted at 12:06 PM
THAT'S AN ANGLE [KJL]
An e-mail:
People like me, who sit at a computer all days long, love the digital version, because we can read it at work and still look as if we're doing something.
Posted at 12:03 PM
DOH! [KJL]
I misspoke--that was Washington state's first count, completed at long last (i.e. not a recount).
Posted at 11:43 AM
TAX REFORM [Ramesh Ponnuru]
I'd been hearing, even before the election, that the administration was looking at getting rid of the deduction for state and local taxes as part of its tax-reform package. I'm all for the policy: Why should low-tax states subsidize high-tax ones? Why should the federal government encourage states to have high taxes? But didn't tax reformers get their heads handed to them over this precise issue in 1985-86? Of course, there were more New York Republicans then to worry about.
The administration is also apparently looking at taxing employer-provided health insurance. Again, a good policy: that tax break has done a lot of damage to health-care markets over the years. And anyone who wants to get rid of the alternative minimum tax without swelling the deficit has to look at taxing health insurance: It's one of the few tax breaks that can generate the necessary funds. But again, there are obvious political risks here.
Posted at 11:40 AM
WHERE'S COSMO? [Jonah Goldberg]
Everyone keeps asking me if Cosmo came on the cruise. Alas, no. Cosmo is not a sea-faring beast. But it's nice so many folks care. I should probably just say, "Oh, he's on the poop deck" and walk away.
Lil Lucy on the other hand is here and once again proves to be an adept cruiser. She loves the buffet, loves the pool and has no sea sickness issues whatsoever. Her mother is a different case, alas.
Posted at 10:49 AM
AND HE DIDN'T HAVE SEX WITH THAT WOMEN, EITHER [Michael Graham]
"[There's] not any example of where I ever disgraced this country publicly. I made a terrible public-personal mistake, but I paid for it, many times over. And in spite of it all, you don't have any example where I ever lied to the American people about my job, where I ever let the American people down."--Bill Clinton, yesterday.
And not to re-debate the definition of "is," but does anyone know the etymology of the phrase "public-personal mistake?" Bill Safire--a little help?
Posted at 09:09 AM
WHY WE LOVE BILL CLINTON [Michael Graham]
When it comes to Bill Clinton, some things never change. Today's Washington Post lead editorial is a reminder that the Clinton Library opening today was paid for, in part, by former-wanted-fugitive-turned-pardoned-millionaire Marc Rich.
The library cost $165 million to build, and as the WaPo notes, "we still don't know the sources of much of that money."
If you haven't read "Legacy" yet, this would be a good week to pick up a copy. The fact that President Clinton still can't (or won't) make a full disclosure of his actions while in office, and that his behavior has tainted even something as benign as a library, is the perfect memorial to his presidency.
Posted at 09:03 AM
MESA MISTAKE [Stanley Kurtz]
Here’s a remarkable ad from MESA, the Middle East Studies Association. According to this ad, MESA publications will not accept advertising “from defense and intelligence related agencies from any government.” So let’s get this straight. MESA’s members request and benefit from millions of dollars in federal subsidies under Title VI of the Higher Education Act. Higher education lobbyists have no problem telling Congress that our national security needs mandate ever higher subsidies. And Congress duly appropriates this money in an effort to stem the shortage of Arabic translators and area studies experts in our defense and intelligence agencies. Yet while taking this money on the pretext that it contributes to our national security, MESA members prohibit our defense and intelligence agencies from advertising in their publications. Then they try to pretend that they’re keeping out all defense and intelligence agencies, when it’s obviously the American government they’re trying to exclude. The public is getting taken to the cleaners by these professors. It’s time to wise up and reform Title VI.
Posted at 09:00 AM
RELIGION AT UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO [Stanley Kurtz]
The mail from yesterday’s posts on the University of Chicago seemed to center around the problems of the elephant and the glass. How you feel about the direction of the university depends a lot on which part of the elephant you’re touching. To libertarian leaning economists, the elephant feels pretty conservative. In many of the other social sciences, the elephant seems fairly uniformly leftist. Of course, the same is true at many universities. Then there’s the glass half full/half empty problem. One correspondent pointed to Jean Bethke Elshtain at the Divinity School as evidence that conservative scholars have a real presence at Chicago. A couple of other correspondent’s bemoaned the Divinity school as a place where actual believers are isolated and put upon by progressive skeptics. One of these pointed to Elshtain as the exception that proves the rule, arguing that she is in some respects marginalized. Here’s an interesting letter from a religious student with both an upside and a downside: “I completed an MA in social sciences at Chicago last year. If it's not enemy territory, I don't know what is. None of my friends were practicing any religion. Most were atheist or agnostic. Many were staunch followers of Saskia Sassen- in fact, she was their raison d'etre there. I can count the number of conservatives in my cohort on one hand. I think it was at a Paul Griffiths lecture that I realized something was deeply awry. A former U of C prof, now at UIC, Griffiths was speaking at the Div School on the benefit of having faith when teaching about... faith. The reaction was spectacular. As former colleagues could only spittle their disgust for this convert (he somehow found faith there and became a Catholic), he deftly handled them much as I would imagine C.S. Lewis handling atheists after a reading of Mere Christianity. There were walkouts. At the end of the year, one administrator whispered her faith to me, hoping I didn't deride her. When I told her I'm a practicing Catholic, she rejoiced, and then told me her boss always teased her about her "superstitions." I found one bright spot: the Catholic campus ministry, the Calvert House, run by Fr. Mike Yakaitis. A man with his theology doctorate, he can intellectually run with the big dogs. He's unusually (for a university) orthodox, which has won a following: he had to expand beyond his normal four masses a weekend to six this year, with an incredible freshman turnout. Not all hope is lost.”
Posted at 08:57 AM
ISRAEL KILLED ARAFAT [KJL]
Rumors ain't gonna die.
Posted at 08:35 AM
DEATH PENALTY FOR BREAKING FAST? [KJL]
From Iran
Posted at 08:30 AM
MILITARY & THE NET [KJL]
One e-mail from a major:
1. Our professional military is extremely "wired". Staff officers are beginning to make use of the internet the way guys my age made use of our canteens.And another, which breaks your heart in parts:
2. I'm not a big "blogger"; however, many of the younger guys – are.
3. Guys stationed "forward" may have issues with available bandwidth, cutting their ability to stay on the net. However, guys stationed on "staffs" are extremely tuned in. I spent most of 2003 in Kuwait in our Command Center.
4. Most soldiers don't understand the sensationalism inherent in media coverage in Iraq. I think most of them don't understand why it is so much easier to cover the IED explosion & injuries than the historic city council meeting in Bum F**k province! For every bad thing happening in Iraq – and there is STILL TOO MUCH OF THAT – there are dozens of "good" things going on. And these "good things" are completely lost on most Americans – thanks to the poor work of our major media. (And the institution – at least the Army – is considering at its highest levels – how "better" to communicate with the democracy which sustains us. "Embedded media" was fine during the "easy" part of the conflict – but, it is clearly not getting the job done, now.
Greetings K-LO!!! I served in the Sunni Triangle from July '03 untill April '04 with the Army Guard. I always knew the media was biased in the past, but it really slaps you in the face when you witness it firsthand. Let's get this straight: 1)Saddam was evil. 2)Iraqis lived in fear and with constant torture under Saddam. 3)Millions of Iraqis are incredibly grateful to the U.S. for removing Saddam. 4)Now those millions are working their butts off, and risking their lives to build a decent, modern society. These are all widely documented facts that I personally know to be true from my own experience. And yet, since I've gotten home, I am really shocked at how many people are completely unaware of these things. (maybe it's because I live in a blue state; MN) It disgusts me how many people honestly seem to think Saddam wasn't a big deal, or that we are killing more Iraqis then Saddam ever did. Many assume that since I was "Backdoor Drafted" through the Guard that I would not be proud of my service or the things we are accomplishing. How wrong they are. Actually meeting, and working with Iraqis convinces me more then anything else that they honestly are just normal human beings who have the capacity for peaceful governance, and prosperous industry like anyone else. Iraqi families DO deeply grieve for the million-plus that were murdered, tortured, or raped under Saddam's rule. It is wrong that our media so callously ignores that grief. There is such a huge contrast between actually being among a people,many of whom are missing limbs,or are covered in whip lashes, and yet have such a look of renewed hope and passion as they line up to volunteer to work for the coalition, compared to the medias' portrayal of Iraqis as bitter, and angry with Americans for upsetting their "security under Saddam". The contrast can literally make you sick. It has been my belief since I've returned home that the media really is our true adversary in Iraq. I'll support that statement: everyone admits that the terrorists in Iraq are not a serious military force, and that they simply don't have the strength to incur even a single military defeat on our forces. The only way they can win is through a political victory. They can win political victories by either forcing Iraq into sectarian civil war (which looks more unlikely with each passing day), or by the media's constant drumbeat of defeatism, and pessimism convincing a large enough portion of the U.S. that we are failing, forcing a premature evacuation. It is clear to me that the media's influence was by far the bigger of the two threats. However, I'm elated that our recent election has proven that the media has failed to persuade a majority of Americans into defeatism. This gives me true hope for the future, both in Iraq, and in America. Now, regardless of the fact that my friends and family seem to think I've been brainwashed by the military, and am secretly a paid employee of Haliburton, I can be happy about the direction our country is headed in, and proud of my service in Iraq. (By the way, I love the fact that they think I was "brainwashed", so much so that I carry a card in my wallet that proclaims me an Official Member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy!!) Well, thanks for everything you guys are doing, and keep up the good work! You keep writing it, I'll keep reading it!!!
Posted at 08:28 AM
PEGGY NOONAN [KJL]
liked your Moneypenny line, Cliff.
Posted at 08:10 AM
I CAN TAKE A SUBTLE MESSAGE [KJL]
Peggy Noonan says "Ssssshhhhhhhh."
Peggy writes, "Conservatives have been angry with him for a long time and for good reason. They have expressed their unhappiness. They have made their point. Mr. Specter has been chastened and warned; the leadership of his party told him to fight for himself. He knows the Republican Party will expect him to support the nomination of judges free of a Roe v. Wade litmus test, or any litmus test, including a religious test. Many believe, and with reason, that a practicing Catholic isn't allowed to be a federal judge in America anymore. Mr. Specter will have to be more open-minded, more supportive, than he's been in the past. But he looks like a man who got the message, doesn't he? "
I agree, definitely, that he will probably be chairman if no further screw-ups on his part. And I take a chastened Chairman Specter as a partial victory for conservatism--but emphasis on partial. That said, conservatives, I think do have to be realistic. Specter is who he is, and the White House would be freer to be bolded, conservatively speaking, without him. That's just reality. One should not pretend otherwise. We would be better off if he were not chairman. That's reality, too, methinks.
Posted at 08:07 AM
SPEAKING OF [KJL]
Geraghty is back from Rome.
Posted at 07:27 AM
JUDE LAW PLAYING JOHN KERRY? [KJL]
I keep thinking the movie Closer must be a movie about John Kerry. Only closer Kerry Spot reader will find that lamely funny. Jim Geraghty is reading this in a LOL fit.
Posted at 07:27 AM
NO-FAST-FORWARD BILL [KJL]
This seems insane, and you can blame ARLEN SPECTER. (I'm not obssessed. I'm not.)
Posted at 07:22 AM
"I LOVE MY DOG/ HIS PADDED PAWS/ AT CHRISTMAS HE'S MY/ SANTA CLAUS." [KJL]
It's our Poet Laurete! Where's Derb when you need him? OH, on the NR Cruise. (You can still sign up for the next one--conservatives invade Europe!!)
Posted at 07:21 AM
GET PICKED FOR SECSTATE... [KJL]
...have people talk about your uterus.
Posted at 07:15 AM
AFTER I SUBSCRIBE TO NR [KJL]
where should I put my money?
Posted at 07:12 AM
SO MY PLAN [KJL]
was to earn a killer Christmas bonus in subscription solds while others were on the NR cruise this week--that NRO longtime faithful would overwhelm us with signing up for the print magazine while everyone was on the cruise that I would wipe the floor with any money made on the cruise. Yeah, right. Not really there yet. (Though THANK YOU to those who have signed up in recent days!) Anyone want to help K-Lo here?
I'm kidding about the bonus and commission stuff--you have heard by now we're not a profit-making engine here, we're a cause, we've got a mission. And integral to that mission is brining you round the clock commentary (ok, a little slower this week!) on NRO, which NR has invested in, with wisdom, but not without sacrifices--financial and otherwise. Subscribing to the print edition--a completely different product, I should remind you, very little overlap is a way for you to financially support the whole NR enterprise, and get something in return--fortnightly, in your snail-mail box. (Sign up here.) And, of course, if you can't fit another bloody thing into your snail-mailbox, there's NR Digital, the no-trees-killed version of the print magazine. You are missing regular visits from MArk Steyn, Rob Long, Rick Brookhiser, John Derbyshire, and many more, if you are not a subscriber.
Posted at 06:52 AM
P.O.Y. PONDERING [Tim Graham]
Reuters is acting as Time's publicity agent on the Person of the Year selection process, noting in a story that their POY-picking panel includes "Time commentator Andrew Sullivan, NBC News anchor Brian Williams, activist Rev. Al Sharpton, Alessandra Stanley, television critic for The New York Times, and FBI agent Coleen Rowley, one of the 2002 Persons of the Year." Most of those are yes, Kerry-loving media liberals (this year including Sullivan), but...Al Sharpton? How on Earth does everyone have to include this guy in their little plans? Is he really an objective journalist at heart? No. He's still a Tawana-fraud-pushing, violence-urging, racial-ambulance-chasing embarrassment. Time should try a more reputable POY judge -- Anna Nicole Smith, or the host of "Fear Factor," or someone responsible for messing up the flu vaccine.
But the most amazing sentence in the Reuters story is this one, summarizing potential POYs Mel Gibson and Michael Moore: "Gibson was proposed for directing 'The Passion of the Christ,' a controversial film seen by many as anti-Semitic. Moore made 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' a film highly critical of the Bush administration which was a huge box office hit."
The real spit take in this sentence is that "Passion" was three times as huge as "Fahrenheit." So it really could be turned around this way: "Moore was proposed for making 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' a controversial film seen by many as anti-American. Gibson made 'The Passion of the Christ,' a film highly critical of the human sinner, which was a huge box office hit."
Posted at 06:34 AM
DON'T KILL THE MESSENGER [KJL]
Powerline is defending that NBC reporter who started the Marine business (who is being condemned in the blogosphere). I haven't had a chance to read it all but looks worth reading and clicking.
Posted at 06:32 AM
261 VOTES [KJL]
The Washington governor's race has been recounted and the Republican won by a whole 261 votes.
Posted at 06:24 AM
RE: SALVATION ARMY [KJL]
I know Jay Nordlinger had a bad experience here in NYC, but I've been impressed with the Salvation Army--on the ground within minutes on 9/11 at what would become known as "Ground Zero," and providing comfort to folks elsewhere who would be stranded wherever their plane was grounded to, among other things. (I wrote about it some here.) They've been called "The Most Effective Irganization in the U.S." and, well, I don't find the bells annoying. Actually, more like the sound puts the whole Christmas thing in better perspective as you are being pushed while you're all fighting for the last Limbo Elmo. (I know, so last season, right? I like Elmo, leave it alone.)
Posted at 06:17 AM
TARGET & BEST BUY [KJL]
ban the Salvation Army's red kettles.
Posted at 06:07 AM
CATHOLIC POL REPORT [KJL]
is here. Gave the wrong link last night. Mea culpa.
Posted at 05:50 AM
NRO TV TODAY [KJL]
John J. Miller is scheduled to appear on the 700 Club today, airing at 10:00 am and repeating at 11:00 pm on the ABC Family channel. He's going to let you know what he really thinks about France. He has a book out on the topic, you might have heard...
Posted at 05:44 AM
I HOPE YOU ARE SITTING [KJL]
Breaking news: "Republicans Are Outnumbered in Academia"
Posted at 05:41 AM