Yes, yes, I know that moonshine is potentially dangerous stuff, but I can’t help admiring the initiative that went into this:

“Border guards in Lithuania have unearthed a lengthy pipeline that was intended to ship illicit alcohol from the neighbouring, authoritarian state of Belarus, giving Lithuanians a last cheap and perhaps deadly shot of Soviet-era liquor on the edge of the newly expanded European Union. Rokas Bukinskas, spokesman for the Lithuanian border guard, said: "We found it [yesterday]. It is 3km [2 miles] long and goes under a local river, some fields and roads."

It’s also nice to know that some forms of genuinely free enterprise are hanging on in Belarus, a country run by a thug who is the worst sort of post-Soviet nightmare.

Britain’s Labour Party continues with its plans to muzzle religious debate. The London Times’ Matthew Parris is not impressed:

“There is a huge danger at the centre of the thinking which grounds this measure. What counts as hateful depends very much on the sensitivities and tolerances of the complainant. As we never tire of reminding ourselves, you can get away with verbal aggression towards Christianity which would be considered unacceptable if directed towards Islam. It follows that the less tolerant any religious group is of criticism or mockery, the greater the protection the proposed new law will offer them. But these may be the very faiths or sects which ought to be confronted — confronted and attacked for the very intolerance and self-righteousness which, if this measure becomes law, will be adduced as evidence of their “sensitivity”. In the 1970s this used to be defined as “self-defined” oppression: the notion that it is for you to say what oppresses you. It is a nonsense.”

Parris also makes the vital point that religious controversy is not always polite, and nor should it be:

“Religion can oppress. I hate — yes hate — the sect and its followers who are stopping women in Saudi Arabia from voting. Religion can bully, it can cow, it can coerce. One of the ways it does so is by impressing upon its adherents the idea that none dare offend it, twit it or tweak its tail. Such sects or faiths cast a spell — cultural, even political, as well as theological — over their adherents. Such spells must be broken. A necessary weapon in the hands of those who would do so is ridicule, contempt and the power of real anger. Ask Voltaire: scorn, laughter, calumny and abuse are vital to those who confront bullies.”

Indeed they are.

But for a contrary view, we can turn to Madeleine Bunting in the Guardian:

”The clause on religious hatred lays down the kind of crucial boundary necessary for ordering relations in a multicultural society; as Muslim has become an increasingly important and visible political identity in this country, the state has an urgent responsibility to provide that boundary.

Free speech or multiculturalism? That’s the choice, it seems.

Amy Richards' Opting In: The Case for Feminism and Motherhood, “an exploration of the anxiety over parenting that young women face today, mixing memoir, interviews, historical analysis, and feminist insight to bridge the seeming gap between everyday moms and the feminist movement while providing advice on how women can forge their own path in parenthood.”

Regarding your post about Ronald Reagan in The Corner: Last night my wife and I watched an episode of What's My Line from 1952-53 era where Ronald Reagan was the Mystery Guest. He came across as very friendly, funny and down to earth. Reagan was trying to disguise his voice, and used a number of different dialects. We commented that if the Reagan haters had that footage they would have taken it out of context and used it as an example of some bumbling fool rather than an example of someone having fun.

My wife had recorded the episode with a digital video recorder and made sure our son had a chance to see the man who later became a hero to so many of today's conservatives. Our son is in his second year at Santa Clara University and is the lone conservative voice as one of the school newspaper's opinion page columnists. It is good that he can see that conservative icons aren't always the stuffed shirts the MSM makes them out to be.

When he was still out and about, his offices were in the Fox Plaza, home to many of Twentieth Century Fox offices. It may surprise you to know that even us crazy lefties working in Hollywood were always thrilled to catch a glimpse of him striding through the lobby. He was an important man for all Americans.

Hearing that the office is officially closing is sad, I was wondering to myself the other day if that office was even still open. I did not vote for Bush and wasn't old enough to vote during the 80's but I'll never forget the day that President Reagan pointed his finger at me and gave a smile. I was always amazed that a man who stared down communism would bother to take a moment to smile at a regular citizen.

We Regret to Announce that The Office of Ronald Reagan Will Close on December 31, 2004.

When I saddle up and ride into the sunset it will be with the knowledge that we’ve done great things.

—Ronald Reagan

Crichton's 2003 Commonwealth Club speech [to which several Corner readers directed me] is news to me. I'm persuaded that I got something important wrong. I assumed that the shift in focus apparent in State of Fear (which I haven't yet read) was aimed primarily at selling more books. However, this change may well be a result of all of the books Crichton has already sold. By this reading, the author is successful enough to feel comfortable departing from his tried-and-true techno-thriller formula to deliver a serious and heartfelt message. Pretty much the opposite of hypocrisy.

Jonah: In the mid 1970's a tribe of people in New Guinea were discovered that were so remote they had never had any contact with modern civilization. These people did not even know who Mary Anne is, or for that matter, Gilligan. When the scientists studying the tribe requested more supplies a helicopter was dispatched to the tribe's location. The reaction of the tribe was that an "insect" of that size simply could not exist (they obviously had missed not only Gillian's Island but all those 50's monster movies). Their way of dealing with this impossibility was they refused to look at the helicopter. It was impossible in their worldview, so it did not exist, or at least could not be acknowledged to exist. I fear that the "softies" you speak of are like that primitive tribe. The fact of terrorism is so counter to their world view that it simply cannot exist. They can read about it, have it shown to them, even get killed by it, but they can never, ever "see" it.

Once upon a time, in the days before Japanese animation, there was St. Nicholas--the magazine, not the jolly man in the red suit. As we pick our way through GameCubes and PlayStations under our trees this Boxing Day, we may find it hard to credit that there was a time (from 1873 to 1940, to be precise) when the arrival of the latest issue of St. Nicholas occasioned the same sense of excitement now reserved for the latest Harry Potter sensation.
For good reason. Though we now tend to dismiss 19th-century children's stories as moralistic, in fact the opposite is more often true. Today the American child who opens a book or clicks on his TV is more likely to get a cartoon sermon on the virtues of recycling than the kind of rip-roaring adventures that were standard fare back when Mary Mapes Dodge was editing St. Nicholas.
Children's literature, she insisted, “must not be a milk-and-water variety” of what adults are served. To the contrary, children's stories need to be “stronger, truer, bolder, more uncompromising.” And she backed that up by publishing the best authors she could find: from Rudyard Kipling, Lewis Carroll and Mark Twain to Jack London, L. Frank Baum and Louisa May Alcott. She herself is better known as the author of “Hans Brinker,” and it's no coincidence that when Millie Benson--author of the Nancy Drew series--made her own writing debut at age 12, it would be in the pages of St. Nicholas.
The good news is that even children of the 21st century now have the opportunity to relive the exploits that brought so much joy to their late-19th and early 20th-century counterparts. For William F. Buckley Jr.'s National Review has just reissued its second volume of St. Nicholas stories in its “Treasury of Classic Children's Literature” (along with a companion volume of Bedtime Stories).
Whether it's Louisa May Alcott's country girl Daisy Field making her way in the big city or Allen French's Sir Marrok avenging wrongs across medieval Britain or Frances Hodgson Burnett's little grain of wheat that was too proud for its own good, the stories involve characters forced to make choices: between lying and telling the truth, between selfishness and generosity, between cowardice and courage.
In his introduction, Mr. Buckley affixes these stories with the much-maligned adjective “wholesome” but notes that they come “with bite and wit and cunning.” They don't mince the dark side, either: These fictional worlds are populated by wicked witches, mean-spirited neighbors, irredeemable villains and a Mother Nature that can be heartless.
Yet however fantastic the settings, the presentation of vivid characters caught up in drama helps excite in children an appreciation for the human condition. After all, how are we ever to expect our children to recognize good and evil in real life if they have never been introduced to it in their imagination?

WASHINGTON - Terrorists may seek to down aircraft by shining powerful lasers into cockpits to blind pilots during landing approaches, federal officials are warning in a bulletin distributed nationwide.

The memo sent by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department says there is evidence that terrorists have explored using lasers as weapons, though there is no specific intelligence indicating al-Qaida or other groups might use lasers in the United States.

"Although lasers are not proven methods of attack like improvised explosive devices and hijackings, terrorist groups overseas have expressed interest in using these devices against human sight," the memo said.

"In certain circumstances, if laser weapons adversely affect the eyesight of both pilot and co-pilot during a non-instrument approach, there is a risk of airliner crash," the agencies said.

In September a pilot for Delta Air Lines reported an eye injury from a laser beam shone into the cockpit during a landing approach in Salt Lake City. The incident occurred about 5 miles from the airport. The plane landed safely.

FBI and other federal officials are investigating. It is not clear if a crime was committed or if the laser was directed into the cockpit by accident.

Steve Luckey, a retired airline pilot who is chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association's national security committee, said pilots are concerned about a recent increase in laser incidents, but do not know what to make of them. He said he has learned of two or three cases in the past 90 days.

"The most recent incidents appear to be aimed at pilots in the vicinity of airports," Luckey said. "A few seem to be intentional, and we're wondering why and what's going on."

This year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security bought Edward Koorse a new Ford pickup truck.

If terrorists attack somewhere near Cattaraugus County, where Mr. Koorse is the director of emergency services, he will use the $27,000 truck to haul a huge trailer full of the decontamination equipment that the state bought him last year. But that scenario doesn’t seem very likely in the quiet farmland of southwestern New York State.

So in the meantime, Mr. Koorse uses the pickup to drive to work.

"I went no frills," he said of his vehicle. "It doesn’t have the fancy-schmancy stuff."

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Mr. Koorse and dozens of officials like him in rural counties around the state have found themselves with more federal money than they know how to spend on their modest counterterror needs. The Observer reviewed the three main 2004 grant programs, based on figures from the state Office of Public Safety and interviews with emergency-management officials in 32 of the 57 counties outside the city. The results showed that most local officials spent the money filling existing needs with doubtful connections to stopping Al Qaeda.

For example, Ontario County (pop. 100,000) is purchasing a climate-controlled mobile command post, said Jeffrey Harloff, director of the county’s emergency-management office. Mr. Harloff will buy the vehicle with his share of the Department of Homeland Security’s main grant to the state. How will he use the command post? It depends on who’s asking.

"If it’s the federal government asking me, it is for the intended purpose of W.M.D. incidents and HazMat incidents," Mr. Harloff said. "In reality, we’re going to use it for everyday stuff in our office."...

Kathryn,

The Supreme Court of Canada handed down a decision on same-sex marriage this morning. The Court opinion was sought by Parliament as a way of obtaining the green light for legislation proposed by the governor that would redefine marriage. In short, the government got its green light but the specifics of the case are still interesting.

The government had sent four questions to the court: (1) whether the national Parliament had sole authority to enact a redefinition of marriage (as opposed to the Provincial legislatures), (2) whether redefining marriage would violate Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, (3) whether the protection of religious freedom in the Charter prevented religious officials from being forced to perform same-sex marriages and (4) whether a redefinition of marriage was mandated by the Charter.

On the first question, the Court decided that the national Parliament had sole authority to define marriage but could not legislate on who may (or must) perform the marriages. On the second question, the Court ruled that the Charter did not prevent a redefinition of marriage (rejecting arguments that the definition of marriage was settled at the time the Charter was created and thus could not be changed) so Parliament could go ahead with its proposed legislation. On the third question, the Court held that “absent unique circumstances” the Charter prevents compulsion of religious officials to solemnize same-sex marriages or requiring religious facilities to be used for such marriages. Somewhat surprisingly, the Court did not answer the fourth question saying that since many Provincial courts have already redefined marriages and the government has not appealed those decisions, the answer is probably settled. This refusal, however, preempts any use by Members of Parliament that they were forced to enact legislation by the Court.

In theory, then, Parliament could reject the government bill to redefine marriage. So, the debate now shifts to the Parliament with news reports suggesting the bill will be formally introduced early next year. ... P.S. The decision is online here.

Mr. Robinson,
As [a] classical music archivist.., I get queries similar to yours fairly frequently so when I read your request on the Corner, I decided to have a go at it. Alas, I can find no carols that mention dogs. However, I do remember a children's hymn of thanksgiving, no. 313, in the Episcopalian 1940 Hymnal (a far better hymnal than the 1982) entitled, "We Thank You, Lord of Heaven." I've pasted it below. In the second stanza, please note the reference to "dogs with friendly faces," a line that delighted me as a kid and does so now.

According to website whence I copied the text the words are by "Jan Struther," pseudonym of Joyce Maxtone Graham, author of "Mrs. Miniver." We thank you, Lord of Heaven,
For all the joys that greet us,
For all that you have given
In earth and sky and seas;
The sunlight on the meadows,
The rainbow's fleeting wonder,
The clouds with cooling shadows,
The stars that shine in splendour?
We thank you, Lord, for these.

For swift and gallant horses,
For lambs in pastures springing,
For dogs with friendly faces,
For birds with music thronging
Their chantries in the trees;
For herbs to cool our fever,
For flowers of field and garden,
For bees among the clover
With stolen sweetness laden?
We thank you, Lord, for these.

For homely dwelling-places
For bread to stay our hunger
And sleep to bring us ease;
For zeal and zest of living,
For faith and understanding,
For hope of peace unending?
We thank you, Lord, for these.

Kuhn complains that we pajamahadeen have "no code of ethics, or even an employer, to enforce any standard." But help is coming: "Beginning next year, the F.E.C. will institute new rules on the restricted uses of the Internet as it relates to political speech."

Time for the blogosphere to fight back, given that, unlike, say, CBS and FOX., the pajamahadeen also tend to lack attorneys on retainer to defend our First Amendment rights. I have no desire to see NRO's Kathryn Lopez in the defendant's chair because an article in NRO criticized some politician three months before an election. Neither should the Bush Administration.

HarperCollins just released Michael Crichton’s latest novel, State of Fear, today. The subject matter was officially top secret until release, although a Crichton essay in last Sunday’s Parade magazine telegraphed the thesis comprehensively: the environmental movement is using junk science to scare the public. Mr. Crichton’s essay and -- from what I can glean today on the Internet -- his book, aim to debunk such fear-mongering.

First off, I’d like to welcome Crichton to the conservative movement.

But just a cotton-pickin’ minute: Isn’t the reason for Crichton’s fame the very fear-mongering he now decries? Crichton didn’t make his fortune from ER, after all. He built his reputation as a technical visionary through a series of apocalyptic novels warning the public about the dangers of whatever technology happened to be perceived as sufficiently leading-edge at the time. Consider that Crichton has asked us to be alarmed by the prospect of deadly viruses brought back by the military from space (Andromeda Strain); advanced computer technology producing homicidal robots (Westworld); seizure-preventing neuro-implants creating, instead, a Frankenstein’s monster (The Terminal Man); biotechnology used not to ameliorate disease or feed the hungry, but to reintroduce lethal – and hungry -- dinosaurs into the environment (Jurassic Park, The Lost World); and most recently, nanotechnology entrepreneurs (in order to appease rapacious venture capitalists!) creating an intelligent and inevitably malicious hive-like creature which immediately does its best to re-enact the Invasion of the Body Snatchers storyline (Prey). And this is just a partial list.

I suppose that I should just be grateful that Crichton – who definitely has a sense for what’s popular – is ratifying the growing conservatism of the American public. But the hypocrisy is still just a little mind-blowing

So, now is come our joyfulst feast;
Let every man be jolly;
Each room with ivy leaves is drest,
And every post with holly.
Though some churls at our mirth repine,
Round your foreheads garlands twine;
Drown sorrow in a cup of wine,
And let us all be merry.

Rank misers now to sparing shun;
Their hall of music soundeth;
And dogs thence with whole shoulders run,
So all things there aboundeth.
The country folks themselves advance
With crowdy-muttons out of France;
And Jack shall pipe, and Jyll shall dance,
And all the town be merry.