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 Saturday, March 23
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THE NEW YORK TIMES DOESN'T DISAPPOINT: [Rod Dreher] The Times leaves New York to take the pulse of American Catholics amid the scandal -- and there's nothing surprising in the way they report it. They quote two members of the radical left-wing organization Call to Action, the dissenting theologian Richard McBrien, and the liberal academician Scott Appleby. The only believing Catholic they bothered to talk to was Bill Donohue of the Catholic League. Typical. I'm not even going to link to this lousy piece of biased journalism.
Posted
11:42 PM | [Link]
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OUR MISTAKE [Andrew Stuttaford]
There's a heartening piece in the Financial Times this weekend on the return of civilization to Kabul University. The dean of the law faculty notes how enrollment dropped under the Taliban, and not just because the fundamentalist regime barred women. The number of male students also fell.
"Under the Taliban, the university was open only for boys, but practically no boys studied here. They had to wear a turban and a beard and young men don't like these things."
No, of course they don't. The young could be natural allies in the battle against Muslim extremism. The West, however, must shed its exquisite cultural "sensitivity" and be prepared to lend unapologetic support to those within the Islamic world working for an enlightened alternative to theocratic tyranny. Of course, it is difficult for such efforts to have much credibility so long as we continue to maintain such close links with the disgusting Saudi despotism.
Posted
10:17 PM | [Link]
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FIVE MORE: [Rod Dreher] Dear Anthony O'Connell, the recently resigned pederast bishop of Palm Beach, was a busy man in his days as seminary rector. Now five more of his alleged victims have come forward. Now: the bishops' conference recommends candidates for episcopal vacancies to Rome. What did the bishops know about O'Connell's activities before making him Bishop of Knoxville, and later moving him to Palm Beach?
Posted
7:15 PM | [Link]
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ONE MORE [Andrew Stuttaford]
I'm feeling nostalgic today. I cast my first (and never regretted) vote for Mrs T. in 1979. So please allow me to repeat another Thatcher classic (this one from 1989). Someone had offered her Perrier to drink. Her reply:
“What’s wrong with British water?” She is, quite simply, priceless.
Posted
4:44 PM | [Link]
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BEST OF [Andrew Stuttaford]
Mrs. Thatcher's decision to withdraw from public speaking has prompted the British press to look back at some of her finer speeches. Here she is in Berlin in the early 1980s: "You may chain a man, but you cannot chain his mind. You may enslave him, but you will not conquer his spirit. But the day will come when the anger and frustration of the people is so great that force cannot contain it. Then the edifice cracks; the mortar crumbles - one day, liberty will dawn on the other side of the wall." These are words to be repeated again and again until they are heard in the cities of today's savage despotisms. Riyadh, Teheran and Baghdad would be a
good places to start.
Posted
4:41 PM | [Link]
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OUR IRON [Andrew Stuttford]
Sad news from Britain. Health problems have forced Margaret Thatcher to announce that she will never again make a speech in public. It is to be hoped that she will carry on writing. At times like these hers is a voice that still needs to be heard.
Posted
4:40 PM | [Link]
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BIASED? YOU BET [Andrew Stuttaford]
There's an interesting Q&A with Bernard Goldberg in this week's New York Press. Even more, enlightening, however, is the revelation (to me, at least) that, despite the enormous success of Bias , Mr. Goldberg has yet to be invited to do a single interview on any of the three national networks. They are, it would seem, cowardly as well as biased.
Posted
4:38 PM | [Link]
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MORE JESUS ART [Jonah Goldberg] Not to be outdone by my link to a Jesus-as-kibbitzer clip-art website (posted below) Andrew Sullivan has decided to up the stakes.
Posted
2:49 PM | [Link]
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THANK GOODNESS FOR SMALL FAVORS [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
The FBI, since discovering Robert Hanssen's moonlighting gig for the Russians, has begun limiting who has access to top-secret material and using polygraph tests.
Posted
12:36 PM | [Link]
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THE WHITE MARTYRDOM OF FR. TEAGUE: [Rod Dreher] "White martyrdom" is a term used to describe the phenomenon of suffering grievously for your faith without shedding blood. That's what has happened to Fr. Bruce Teague, who was punished by his Massachusetts diocese for calling the cops on a convicted child molester who was trying to hang around kids at Fr. Teague's parish. Why'd Teague get in trouble? Because the pederast was a priest of the diocese. And still is. Good priests suffer while these dirtbags continue to be protected by bishops.
Posted
11:27 AM | [Link]
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FOLLOW THE SQUEEZED BICEPS: [Rod Dreher] An orthodox priest and Corner devotee writes this morning to say St. Petersburg Bishop Robert Lynch's case is more significant than many reporters may realize. If Lynch really is a homosexual and a sexual harrasser, as has been claimed, it casts suspicion on his years as General Secretary of the national Catholic bishops' conference, where he was a favorite of the late Cardinal Bernardin. Moreover, after Bishop Symons of Palm Beach resigned after admitting to pederasty, Bishop Lynch took over that diocese as administrator, and helped pick Symons' successor, Bishop Anthony O'Connell -- who just resigned after admitting to homosexual abuse of seminarians. Can you say "lavender mafia"? Hey reporters, follow that trail of Lynch-squeezed biceps!
Posted
11:11 AM | [Link]
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DO NO BENEVOLENCE [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
A British judge has ruled that a paralyzed woman has the right to die, to have her life-support turned off, as she desires. The hospital must pay damages to the patient of £100 for "unlawful trespass," and handle her legal bills (£55,000). The judge called the hospital’s trespass "benevolent paternalism." So what’s the Hippocratic Oath these days?
Posted
9:48 AM | [Link]
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OF BICEPS AND BISHOPS: [Rod Dreher] Here's the very latest on Bishop Lynch's fine mess down in Florida. In this morning's Tampa Tribune, he says his press secretary's claim of constant sexual harrassment was one big misunderstanding. "Do I wish I didn't feel his biceps? Yes," says the bishop, ungrammatically. The alleged victim, a married man who received a $100,000 "severance" package from the diocese, says he struggled for years over whether or not he should tell anyone what His Excellency was up to. "I thought: Who would believe me? He's the bishop." Next time Florida reporters confront the Bish, they should ask him, "We know you were celibate, but have you also been chaste?" No theological weasel words!
Posted
9:27 AM | [Link]
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ABSTAIN FROM E-MAILING, PEOPLE: [Rod Dreher] Lots of theologians out there in the Corner. Thanks for writing to set me straight on chastity, celibacy and all that. If I've got it right, celibacy, in the Catholic tradition, is renouncing marriage for the Kingdom of God, and is something generally embraced only by priests and religious. Chastity is rightly ordering your sex life according to your spiritual state in life, and is something that is expected of all Catholics. A married couple is living unchastely if they use contraception, just as a single person is unchaste if they have sex outside of marriage. This makes the Catholic teaching somewhat clearer. Please, no more e-mails.
Posted
12:05 AM | [Link]
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Friday, March 22
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MISSING NEWS [Dave Kopel]
While the New York Times just had a coniption fit over a spike in the black youth gun-suicide rate that occurred in 1994, the Times did not see fit to print the fact that the black gun-homicide rate (like the white gun homicide rate) continues to plunge--as Bias Blog points out.
Posted
11:02 PM | [Link]
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LAMAR’S CHOICE [Ramesh Ponnuru]
Tennessee Republican congressman Ed Bryant is trying to make his Senate primary campaign against frontrunner Lamar Alexander into a conservative-liberal slugfest. Some social conservatives are siding with Bryant, saying that Alexander is “pro-abortion.” Kevin Phillips, Alexander’s press secretary, told me that Alexander is “pro-life,” just as he was when he ran for president in 1996. Back then, Alexander’s position was that states should restrict abortion but that the federal government should neither prohibit nor fund it. He also opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade--which made his position rather self-contradictory, since Roe prevents states from enacting restrictions. I asked Phillips if Alexander still holds that set of views; he said yes. I suspect a lot of pro-lifers won’t be happy to hear it.
Posted
6:28 PM | [Link]
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BISHOP LYNCH ACCUSED: [Rod Dreher] Robert Lynch, the liberal Roman Catholic bishop of Tampa-St. Petersburg, today denied a Tampa Tribune report that his communications director quit after filing a sexual harrassment grievance against the bishop. Lynch said it's all a misunderstanding, and said the $100,000 the married man was paid upon leaving was "severance." Lynch also said he has always been faithful to his vow of "celibacy." For what it's worth, a priest pointed out to me on the phone today that a vow of celibacy is a solemn promise not to get married; a vow of chastity is a solemn promise not to have sex.
Posted
5:57 PM | [Link]
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THE STREETS OF KABUL [Andrew Stuttaford]
Delightful story from Kabul in today's New York Times about the large crowds celebrating the Persian new year, something banned under the Taliban's version of Islam. It is a small sign of the new freedoms being enjoyed in Afghanistan since that country's liberation, and it is yet another reminder that, given the chance, even some of the most traditional societies will reject fundamentalism. That's worth remembering the next time you are told that there is no safe alternative to the current Saudi regime.
Posted
5:25 PM | [Link]
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THE CNBC DICTIONARY [Andrew Stuttaford]
Here's a mystery. Some of the anchors on CNBC use the word "effort" as a verb. I am efforting to find out whether this is as strange as I think it is.
Posted
5:18 PM | [Link]
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IMAGINE THAT [Andrew Stuttaford]
The Daily Telegraph is reporting on a new study that may show that the Northern hemisphere is no warmer than it was a thousand years ago. Strangely the planet managed to survive without the help of a Dark Ages Kyoto.
Posted
5:17 PM | [Link]
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TESTING, TAKE TWO: [Ramesh Ponnuru]
The other day I answered a challenge from Jonah by saying I couldn't think of any objections off the top of my head to a high-school policy of random drug searches. Jacob Sullum weighs in with some objections worth considering . . . . although I still don't think the Supreme Court ought to micromanage local schools, however wise or foolish their policies may be.
Posted
4:41 PM | [Link]
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DECONSTRUCTING STUDY [Dave Kopel]
Bias Blog deconstructs a new study--reported by the AP and prominently featured by the New York Times--regarding black suicides and guns.
Posted
12:57 PM | [Link]
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SWITCHEROO [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
LaGuardia Airport was shut down this morning for a "security breach." Instead of zero-tolerance for honors students with knives from their grandmas' kitchens, how about zero tolerance for security breaches? Someone page Secretary Mineta.
Posted
10:57 AM | [Link]
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SURPRISE, SURPRISE: [Rod Dreher] My gift to K-Lo today will be to make this the final Catholic-related blog of the day (unless Something Big happens). But this is worth looking at for reasons much broader than the scandal. In his important New York Times column today, John Tierney discusses how press coverage has tended to mislead the public on the true nature of the Church sex scandal. As I've been saying, the majority of these cases involve priests sleeping with teenage boys, which is not the same thing as pedophilia. In fact, the homosexual nature of the scandal should make society re-examine some recently promulgated p.c. dogmas. As a professor tells Tierney, "I don't know that gay men are any more likely than heterosexual men to have sex with teenagers. But the experience of the Catholic Church suggests there will be problems if you send gay scoutmasters on camping trips with teenage boys." Please note: this sentiment appeared in The New York Times. That's important.
Posted
10:49 AM | [Link]
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JESUS IS WITH YOUR DENTAL ASSISTANT I really, really don't mean any offense. But don't these pictures make Jesus look a bit like a stalker?
Posted
10:24 AM | [Link]
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AHEM [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Well, thanks, Jonah (the check is in the mail), but how can you call yourself a Star Trek fan and not note first that it is William Shatner's birthday today? His website is all dressed up for the occasion, even. (So there Trekkies, I've gone an broken my own Trek ban.) It's also the delightful gospel-singing Orrin Hatch's birthday and....the marvelous NRO writer, and yes, Trek fan, Andrew Stuttaford's.
Posted
10:16 AM | [Link]
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NOW FOR THE REAL THING: [Jonah Goldberg]
Thanks to everybody for their birthday cheer yesterday. It was very much appreciated. But, now that we got that out of the way, the real birthday challenge is upon us. Today is Kathryn Lopez's birthday. As I have said before, K-Lo is the hardest working woman in rock and rock and roll, if by "rock and roll" you mean conservative journalism online or off. She is so gifted, she has managed to cover up the fact that I am half in the bag most days and for that I will be eternally grateful. She is part Rasputin, part Radar O'Reilly and all-American Catholic girl with her head and her heart wired together for some full-tilt boogie for Freedom and Justice. If you are even remotely appreciative of NRO, then show her some appreciation. Give it up for the girl! Happy Birthday Kathryn!
Posted
10:06 AM | [Link]
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CONSPIRACY THEORY: [Rod Dreher] Within the hour, an ex-seminarian who alleges he is a sex-abuse victim of disgraced Bishop Anthony O'Connell will file a RICO-based civil lawsuit against O'Connell , three dioceses and all the American bishops. The Miami Herald reports that the RICO civil law has been used against the Church in sex abuse claims before, but not successfully.
Posted
9:40 AM | [Link]
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DOING YOUR PART [[Stanley Kurtz]
Late last night I posted excerpts from the toughly worded statement put out by 155 Catholic academics and other professionals in protest of the exile and muzzling of Father Joseph Fessio. To see these excerpts, just scroll down to The Corner’s late Thursday postings. But to read the whole statement, to see the list of signatories, or, if you are a Catholic educator or related professional, to sign the statement yourself, go here.
Posted
9:07 AM | [Link]
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WHAT'S 100K BETWEEN FRIENDS?: [Rod Dreher] In the mid-1990s, the Catholic Church paid a hundred grand to an unnamed ex-seminarian to settle a sex-abuse claim against San Diego Bishop Robert H. Brom, the Boston Globe reports. The alleged assault took place in Minnesota, when Brom was a seminary rector. Get this: despite the payment, Brom insists the accusation was false, and the accuser signed a statement certifying this as part of his settlement (there is an allegation in recently filed court papers that the man signed just to get the money). One wonders: is the Church in the habit of paying $100,000 to people who make false allegations? Something's not right here.
Posted
9:02 AM | [Link]
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GOING TO THE MAT FOR REYNOLDS [Jonah Goldberg] President Bush's nominee for assistant AG for Civil Rights, Gerald Reynolds, is the last hope for mens collegiate wrestling (and probably mens collegiate baseball, and mens collegiate swimming etc). He's likely to re-interpret Title IX, the law which is essentially destroying all but the most profitable mens collegiate sports. For the record, I will be beating this drum quite a bit (though perhaps not up the level of Rod's pederasty posts) in the days and weeks ahead in part because my wife's wonderful new book is about to come out -- and it is on this very topic. But also because this latest lawsuit may be the death rattle of the sport if they don't change the way this law is interpreted.
Posted
9:01 AM | [Link]
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LITTLE HELP [Jonah Goldberg] For reasons that are beyond me, I volunteered to help the guys at Crossfire with their dress-rehearsal for the new format this afternoon. It won't ever be broadcast, but I gotta argue with James Carville (I know, I know) about Robert Ray running for Senate in New Jersey. Has anybody seen a defense of Ray's move? On the face of it, I don't like it. But I gotta play my role so I might as well know what the arguments are. [Please let me know.]
Posted
8:41 AM | [Link]
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PEGGY NOONAN DELIVERS II [John Derbyshire]
But see Jonathan Chait's clumsy attempt to trash our Great Lady in the current (3/25) New Republic. The man should be horse-whipped on the steps of his club.
Posted
8:35 AM | [Link]
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FOR THE RECORD [Jonah Goldberg]
In the post below I did not mean to suggest that the editors of the Wall Street Journal are of a certain inclination. It was a veiled reference to the Simpsons episode ("Much Apu About Nothing") where Homer starts a protest march over the prevalence of bears in his community. Here's the relevant dialogue:
Homer: We're here, we're queer, we don't want anymore bears.
Crowd: We're here, we're queer, we don't want anymore bears.
Lenny: Hey, that's a pretty catchy chant. Where did you hear it?
Homer: Oh, I heard it at the mustache parade they have every year.
Interestingly, the mustache parade line has been cut from the Simpsons episodes run in the Washington area for years.
Posted
8:31 AM | [Link]
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WE'RE HERE! WE'RE QUEER! WE DON'T WANT ANYMORE KANGAROOS! [Jonah Goldberg]
Excellent lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal explaining why those alleged "Kangaroo Courts" were never Kangaroo Courts (or any other form of Marsupial Justice). I have only one criticism. They write, "The critics now taking credit for these rules instead owe Donald Rumsfeld an apology." That's absolutely true. But those same critics owe an even bigger apology to John Ashcroft. Rumsfeld got very little criticism for the proposed military tribunals last November, in part because Rummy was too damn popular. So, even though the AG had no jurisdiction over the tribunals, Congress and the press beat him up over it instead. I've got no problem with Rummy getting his due, but he should get in line behind Ashcroft.
Posted
8:24 AM | [Link]
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MORE EMPIRE STRIKING [Jonah Goldberg]
My old buddy from my AEI days, Brian Anderson (now with City Journal) has an excellent review of Empire, FYI.
Posted
8:18 AM | [Link]
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COMMON-SENSE VICTORY [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
That honors student in Texas who was expelled for having a kitchen knife in his car, left over from lugging boxes for his sick grandmother (I kid you not) is going back to school today, thanks to a school-bard vote. Now, just to get rid of the the zero-tolerance law that mandates zero common-sense from school officials.
Posted
5:55 AM | [Link]
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THE OLD WOMAN & HER CANE [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
A 90-year-old woman defends herself against a buglar by beating him with her cane, then running to her neighbor's house.
Posted
5:45 AM | [Link]
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PROVIDENCE: [Rod Dreher] In Jerusalem yesterday, a small miracle saved the life of this New York Times reporter (link requires registration).
Posted
12:31 AM | [Link]
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PEGGY NOONAN DELIVERS: [Rod Dreher] Peggy Noonan delivers one of the finest pieces of writing you will ever read, in the form of a love letter to John Paul the Great, asking him to deliver his people in America from the present scourge. This column just might change history. Print this one out and nail it to the chancery door.
Posted
12:18 AM | [Link]
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Thursday, March 21
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STANDING UP FOR FESSIO [Stanley Kurtz]
There’s been an important new development in the case of Father Joseph Fessio, the prominent conservative Catholic priest exiled and muzzled by the Jesuits for his adherence to traditional Catholic doctrine. (For details, see my "Firing Fessio.") Now a coalition of 155 Catholic academics and other professionals has released a letter protesting the disciplinary action. Here are some excerpts: "Thousands of faithful Catholics are shocked and dismayed by the actions against Father Fessio....This action against one of the best known representatives of the [Jesuits] in the English speaking world is all the more disturbing because it occurs in the context of grave scandals involving the infidelity of Catholic priests...to their most basic vows....The perception of injustice toward Father Fessio is further compounded by the widespread perception that active dissent--both political and academic--is rampant within the Society of Jesus [i.e. the Jesuits]....The determination to undermine his initiative [founding Campion College] can only strengthen the conviction that the highest Jesuit authorities tolerate open dissent and opposition to the Church within their own academic institutions....The Society’s action...seems to reflect a general policy that brings shame upon the Society of Jesus, and affects the entire Church....Many Catholics have come to believe that the men who most strongly adhere to the principles and objectives of Saint Ignatius, the Society’s founder, are those least likely to be given encouragement by their superiors, and are the most likely to be punished for that very fidelity."
Posted
10:47 PM | [Link]
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THE SEARCH IS OVER [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Before midnight comes, I’ve got send Jonah his birthday gift, and announce the contest winners. There were a few themes running through your suggestions: most revolved around Star Trek, beef jerky and sausage, and religion.
A number of e-mailers (all men, I note) took the opportunity to scold me for my "ban" on Star Trek. Contrary to some Corner Trekkies’ suggestions I haven’t really all-out banned it. Just Trek in moderation.
The pork and beef fans sent me this way. Problem is they missed the whole fact that I am cheap (Jonah doesn’t pay me enough?!) and didn’t want to spend a dime. So no sausage of the month for Jonah, at least from me.
One reader suggested "Sign him up as an Ordained Minister of the Universal Life Church." NAH. Another wanted me to send him an e-card good for a free copy of the Book of Mormon. Someone else wanted me to sent Jonah to http://www.catholicfreebies.com. (Jonah, it's there if you want it.)
The most normal gifts, oddly, seemed to be a virtual beer or burger
Finally, one reader suggested Jonah might want to find out what kind of Colossal Death Robot he is. She said: "It seems like a Jonah sort of thing." Who am I to argue?
I’m thinking next year I might just send the guy a Hallmark. That or buy him a subscription to NR. Maybe I’ll get a discount. (Like this one: four free issues!)
Posted
10:45 PM | [Link]
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GOOD NEWS FROM BOSTON: [Rod Dreher] This has been a despairing day for me, with the Pope's statement on the crisis being so anodyne. So it was good to read this from a letter sent to me by a fellow Catholic suffering through this worse than most of us ever will: "I'll speak only for myself on this next point: the difficulty of holding my head up high as a priest in Boston, of being ashamed of what the clergy has done, etc., is not necessarily a bad thing for me. I wish it had never happened. I'm angry that it did. But it's helping me get back to the bedrock essentials of what it means to be a priest. Someone once asked me what was the 'most enjoyable part of being a priest.' Granted, the question was asked years ago -- in better times -- but the answer has always remained the same. What moves me most is something I never had to be ordained to do: giving communion to the faithful. You see open hands gnarled with arthritis, mechanics with grease so deep under fingernails it will never come out, but the look of faith and humility on each face, as they received the One Who has humbled Himself for us -- it never fails to move me to the bottom of my being. I've always thought that God was giving me the rare privilege to see each of these people at their best. The current scandal has reminded me of how much about my own faith and vocation I've taken for granted. And that makes me ashamed. But I'd rather realize it -- so I can do something about it -- than not realize it." Me too, Father, me too.
Posted
6:59 PM | [Link]
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KIDS THESE DAYS [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
They sure learn quickly nowadays--at least the important stuff. Kids at Stuyvesant High School in NYC are complaining that the debris from the WTC is being passing too closely by their school. They worry about the fumes and health problems. How about being grateful you're alive, kids? Thanks to OpinionJournal for linking to this.
Posted
5:51 PM | [Link]
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OH NO [Jonah Goldberg] The "peace process" is on hold again. The picture on Drudge says why. Be warned. It's horrendous.
Posted
5:36 PM | [Link]
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POSTED, WITHOUT COMMENT [Jonah Goldberg] Rich, a reader sent us the following:
"Gentlemen,
Several years ago the journal of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation featured an article comparing and contrasting the relative merits of Elk and Moose as game animals. One of the disparaging points made about moose by the elk aficionado was their evident stupidity and lack of discernment regarding their response to calls. It seems that there have been many examples of Moose being attracted to bad gas, which is frequently induced by hunting camp food. Hunters who have been suffering through particularly cacophonous spells coming out of either end have often been rewarded by having a large bull moose come into camp expecting to find romance. On this day I think it's particularly important to remember that moose have a history of being irrationally attracted to foul smelling expulsions of hot air."
Posted
5:12 PM | [Link]
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STRIKING BACK ON EMPIRE [Jonah Goldberg]
Andrew, for the record, I tried reading some of Empire. My humble assessment: It's a con. You're probably better at reading academic stuff than I am, but I'm certainly better at it than most of the little patchouli-soaked hemptavists sporting their open-toed shoes and closed minds who claim it's so brilliant. It’s dense, dull and full of more poorly translated Euro-jargon than a panel at the Modern Languages Association. It strikes me as the neo-Marxist version of Hawking’s "A Brief History of Time." There may actually be something of interest in there, but the vast majority of people who own it bought the book for show. Empire sits on their coffee tables next to their native American wind-chimes as a form of radical chic.
Posted
4:54 PM | [Link]
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“WHO IS THE MOOSE?”: [Rich Lowry]
Jonah, here’s a tidbit demonstrating the awesome power of The Corner: I was giving a talk in Washington, D.C. recently to college students. My breathtaking oration ends, and it’s time to take questions. What was the first or second query from those bright collegiate minds: “Who is The Moose?” Maybe my next talk should be titled, “The Moose: A Consideration of Its Place in the American Imagination, 1903-present.”
Posted
4:09 PM | [Link]
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SOCIAL RIGHT [Ramesh Ponnuru]
But social conservatism isn’t the GOP’s biggest electoral problem. When did the Republican revolution start to sputter out? When House Republicans voted to ban partial-birth abortion and same-sex marriage? No; those bills passed with large margins and bipartisan support. It was Medicare reform that did them in. Opposition to the minimum wage polls a lot worse than opposition to gays in the military. The party’s ties to big business poll worse than its ties to religious conservatives. On what issues did George W. Bush move left when he ran for president? Not on abortion, where he was less eager to tinker with the GOP platform than Bob Dole had been. He moved left on racial issues, on education, and, at least rhetorically, on the size of government. I’m not arguing that the GOP should move right on values and left on economics; but too many political analysts confuse their own views with those of the electorate as a whole, and I’m afraid Instapundit is among their number.
Posted
3:55 PM | [Link]
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THE GOP’S SOCIAL DISEASE [Ramesh Ponnuru]
The esteemed Instapundit—who puts the corner to shame by posting more
than all of us combined—has been on a bit of a tear about the malign influence of social conservatives. He disagrees with them on substantive issues such as their opposition to the sexual revolution. Indeed, he seems to find that opposition self-evidently ridiculous. I would think that any reasonable person could at least entertain concern about the rise of single motherhood, abortion, and divorce that have necessarily accompanied that revolution. But leave that aside. Instapundit’s also convinced that it’s social conservatism that keeps Republicans from attaining a national majority. People who are attracted to the GOP on economic issues don’t vote for it because it’s culturally alien and is constantly threatening to prohibit fornication. There’s something to this thesis: Cultural affinities do more to determine voting patterns than views on economics, and that’s increasingly true—just look at the red and blue map. It’s also true that Republicans would have a larger majority if fewer people were socially liberal.
Posted
3:55 PM | [Link]
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EMPIRE'S FRUITS [Andrew Stuttaford]
Part of the buzz attaching to Empire, the intellectually trivial, morally suspect, and highly fashionable book that attempts to set a new leftist agenda comes, I suspect, from the fact that Antonio Negri (one of the co-authors) is currently imprisoned in Rome. As readers of NR and NRO will know, Negri played an important role in the development of Italy's terrorist Red Brigades, the group responsible for a number of killings in the 1970s, including that of the then Italian prime minister, Aldo Moro. Negri's imprisonment stems from his activities in those days. Times change, but a reading of Empire would suggest that Negri's infatuation with militant action remains. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about the murder this week of Marco Biagi, a senior adviser to the Italian government. Mr. Biagi had argued in favor of liberalizing labor markets and for that offense he was gunned down on Tuesday night. A successor to the Red Brigades has claimed responsibility.
Posted
3:54 PM | [Link]
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ONE HARRUMPH FOR THE MOOSE [Jonah Goldberg] Rich, If I didn't know better I would assume the corrupting influence of "Big Moose" got to you. Okay, fine. Good moose, nice moose. Pat, pat. Have a cracker. Anyway, I've got a suggestion. Until it's demonstrated that the Shays-Meehan-McCain-Feingold-Whatever law has actually done anything good, could we all spell reform, "re-form"? You see by definition "reform" means improvement while "re-form" means to rearrange. And there is zero evidence, the Moose's trumpets notwithstanding, that this re-form of campaign finance laws is an improvement in any way. When that evidence comes in, we can drop the hyphen and clap the Moose on the back. In fact, whether something was a reform, i.e. an improvement, is a judgement that can only be made after the fact. Personally, I think this should be the magazine's editorial policy for all re-forms the media and liberals call reforms.
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3:38 PM | [Link]
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SOMMERS IN AUSTIN [Stanley Kurtz]
I’m pleased to report that Christina Hoff Sommers’s talk in Austin went off without a hitch. I don’t know if the people who launched the protest got wind of what was happening on The Corner and backed off, or if they simply meant to confine their activities to bringing behind the scenes pressure on the schools that invited Sommers. But a Corner reader from Austin, Christopher Burnett, sends this account: “Ms. Sommers talk in Austin...was well-attended and the crowd (75 to 100 folks) was well behaved. Nary a drooling uber-feminist in sight. Thus we were treated to a delightful presentation by a delightful person who said what she wanted to say without any childish disruptions. After hearing the lecture, I couldn’t imagine what the looney feminists had to complain about. Ms. Sommers simply spoke truisms that anyone who’s ever raised a child knows. Perhaps there’s hope for Austin! And a big thanks to the Corner for getting the word out on the talk.”
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2:58 PM | [Link]
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WHY AMERICA IS NO. 1 [Michael Potemra]
Today's Washington Post runs some terrific Nixon material, transcripts of his rants against drugs and homosexuality. Here's my personal favorite: "Let's look at the strong societies. The Russians. Goddamn it, they root [gays] out, they don't let 'em hang around at all. You know what I mean? I don't know what they do with them. Dope? Do you think the Russians allow dope? Hell no. Not if they can catch it, they send them up. You see, homosexuality, dope, uh, immorality in general: These are the enemies of strong societies. That's why the Communists and the left-wingers are pushing it. They're trying to destroy us." You know what I love most about this? The idea that the Soviet Union, less than two decades before its complete destruction, is a "strong" society because it tyrannizes over its own citizens. Well, we didn't take Nixon's advice and become more like the Communists. And guess which country is still standing.
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1:08 PM | [Link]
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TWO BLEATS FOR THE MOOSE: [Rich Lowry]
Jonah, I have to part ways with you. Today, I want to give The Moose credit at least for fervently believing in a bad idea and doing his small bit to push it to fruition. So, I think The Corner should officially dub The Moose “a helluva herbivore,” at least for today (well, at least until the close of business).
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12:49 PM | [Link]
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BACK TO "THE POINT": [Rod Dreher] I'll be back on CNN's "The Point" tonight discussing the scandal, and the Pope's response. With any luck, we'll have a few moments to discuss the blessedness of Dear Leader ("Jonah" to the rest of you) reaching his Christological year on this day. Show's on at 8:30pm Eastern.
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12:34 PM | [Link]
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BOOZ NEWS [Andrew Stuttaford]
The infantilization of America continues. Under pressure from a combination of unelected "advocacy groups" and self-important politicians, NBC has decided that it will not, in future, be showing commercials for hard liquor.
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12:09 PM | [Link]
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NOTHING PLEASES THE MOOSE [Jonah Goldberg]
On what must be the secular equivalent of the Rapture for the Bull Moose (Glory Be! Campiagn Finance "Reform" is here!), he ends up sounding like a bitter old lefty, sitting in the dark, throwing beer bottles at the TV because nothing’s ever good enough. That’s fine, but then he goes on to write that Bush… "is defiant in the face of apoplexy of the likes of the bloviating Rush, the K Street Crowd (and their concierge, Delay) and the craven conservatives who cower in the corner." [Emphasis mine]. One must assume he’s talking about, well, me and Rich. "Craven" and "cower", last I checked, mean "cowardly" or "fearful" – and these are funny words coming from someone who won’t even put his name on what he writes. Anyway, I will take the high road and say, Congratulations Mr. Moose. I hope you’re right that this legislation will solve all of the world’s problems.
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11:54 AM | [Link]
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LITTLE HELP [Jonah Goldberg] I'm probably going to do a corrections column soon. If not tomorrow then next week. If any of you have sent me really meaty corrections in the last few weeks, please resend them. This spam campaign from CAIR and some travelling has caused me to delete/ignore/lose lots of emails inadvertantly. Also, please don't just send me corrections to yesterday's column. Now I know Florida A&M was a traditionally black college and that the Nazis never turned Jews into soap (they did do plenty of other bad things, however). Real flying monkeys know what I'm talking about; I'm looking for the good stuff from the last few weeks/months. Please send them to Gfilecorrections@aol.com
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11:19 AM | [Link]
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IN DEFENSE OF THE POPE [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Not to make this Catholic day in addition to Jonah’s birthday on The Corner, but a quick note on the Pope’s “statement.” I wouldn’t be as pessimistic as Rod. Regardless of how the media is taking it, I think it is important to look at it in context: JPII was sending his Holy Thursday letter to all the priests of the world—some who have grave evils that are not child-abuse and sex scandals to deal with. And for the priests in the U.S., the good ones—who I daresay are the majority—they need to be inspired. They need to be spoken to by this man, who knows evil. Seminarians on the verge of ordination need to remember why it is they said “yes” to the call in the first place. Because, along with criminal prosecutions, resignations, and cleaning house, the Catholic Church needs its priesthood. I think it’s important to remember this was the Pope's main audience in this letter, and there is some comfort to be taken in that.
Again, here’s the complete letter.
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10:35 AM | [Link]
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THE OPRAHFICATION OF ANDREW: [Rod Dreher] Smart-guy Andrew Sullivan has oprahfied the Church scandal debate. Read down to the "Faith Again" part of his blog today.
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10:15 AM | [Link]
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THE POPE SPEAKS, FINALLY: [Rod Dreher] John Paul has finally broken his silence on the sex-abuse scandal shaking the Church in America -- and his words may break your heart. In a speech today, the Holy Father lamented that all priests are now put under the cloud of suspicion by the actions of a few bad ones. Maybe there will be more when the full text of the address is published, but there is no reported concern from the Pope for the real victims of this crisis: children and families. He said the Church "shows her concern for victims, and strives to respond in truth and justice to each of these painful situations." No it doesn't, Holy Father, which is how we got into this mess in the first place. This is the most depressing day, to me at least, since this scandal broke. One feels abandoned even by our sainted pontiff. If even he doesn't understand what's happening, and how serious it is, and sees the institutional Church as more victim than victimizer, then we are in worse shape than I thought.
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9:38 AM | [Link]
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IN HIS OWN WORDS [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
Not that I would ever take issue with a wire account (for those without the sarcasm filter: I'm being sarcastic), but in case readers want to go to the source, here's the Pope's Holy Thursday letter to priests.
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9:27 AM | [Link]
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FUNNY, I DON’T FEEL OLD [Jonah Goldberg]
But I do feel like I’ve been at NRO for a lonnnnng time. Someone reminded me of my 30th birthday column. Note how formatting comes and goes, but atrocious grammar is forever.
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9:21 AM | [Link]
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WAHOO [Jonah Goldberg]
Today I am as old as Jesus was, alas with remarkably fewer accomplishments under my belt. Thanks to everyone wishing me the best. Regarding Kathryn’s idea for a free gift which requires no ambulatory activity on her part, I have an idea. Yes, by all means subscribe to the carbon-based NR. But maybe you could also fill out the subscription form like this:
FIRST NAME: GIVE JONAH A RAISE
LAST NAME: GIVE JONAH A RAISE
EMAIL ADDRESS: GIVE_JONAH_A_RAISE@HE_DESERVES_IT.COM
Or something like that, be creative.
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9:20 AM | [Link]
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I BEAT ROD!!! [Jonah Goldberg]
The Pope has broken his silence on the pedophilia scandal, calling it a "grievous evil." And, I caught it before Rod!
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9:18 AM | [Link]
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SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY [Andrew Stuttaford]
Sweden has just announced that it is upgrading its mission in the North Korean capital to full embassy status. No word yet on the country's plans to open up diplomatic relations with the Devil.
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9:15 AM | [Link]
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JONAH'S BIRTHDAY CONTEST [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
So today's Jonah's birthday. Happy birthday! (Click here for fireworks.) This is so typical for an online operation: While Jonah and I see each other in person maybe twice a year at most, I typically communicate with him more than I do with most of the folks sitting near me at NR World Headquarters. Which, as you might imagine, is a riot and an honor. So I need your help. I never plan ahead, so haven't gotten the G-Man a gift. Any cyber, NRO-cool ideas are welcome—just so long as I do not have to leave my desk or spend money (but you of course should feel free to spend money on a NR subscription. Click here to get the magazine Jonah Goldberg calls his "favorite." All subscriptions filed today will earn Jonah brownie points with "the suits.") We’ll announce the winning suggestion later today.
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7:32 AM | [Link]
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MADNESS ON THE LEFT [Stanley Kurtz]
Just how marginalized the Left now is can be debated, but the existence of an anti-war Left is beyond question. Here are a couple of choice rants to prove it. The first belongs to Ted Rall, the cartoonist who likes to make fun of “terror widows.” In a column comparing America to George Orwell’s 1984, Rall gives us a peak at the method behind his cartoon madness. Rall’s piece is a near perfect expression of the line I noted a couple of weeks ago in “Left Plays Survivor.” He simply denies the reality of Islamic terrorism (except insofar as America’s own defensive moves provoke it) and sees the open-ended war as nothing but a ploy to keep Republicans in power. But you have to read the piece itself to get the full flavor of Rall’s paranoia. Another breathtakingly extreme expression of anti-war sentiment is available at CampusNonsense which links to protests at Stanford against the selection of Condoleezza Rice as a graduation speaker. The cultural divide between the anti-war Left and the rest of the country is positively oceanic right now. I can’t help but worry about the future, when the going in this war gets truly tough. But for now, I am simply dazed, amazed, and yes, somehow entertained, by what seems to me like the near madness of these anti-war tirades.
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6:51 AM | [Link]
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BREASTGATE--THE LAST WORD [John Derbyshire]
The real outrage stirred by my last-Friday review of the current Time
Machine movie came in response to my side-swipe at the lame 1960 version. It seems there is a throbbing underground of Yvette Mimieux admirers out there. Perhaps the '60s weren't all bad.
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6:48 AM | [Link]
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HITCHENS ON CHURCHILL [Andrew Stuttaford]
Jonah, you were talking about Christopher Hitchens's piece on Churchill in the latest edition of The Atlantic Monthly. One small point that caught my eye was the way in which Hitchens criticizes British appeasement of 1930s fascism, while at the same time condemning Britain's 1918 attempt to head off another 20th-century horror--Soviet communism. That seems somewhat inconsistent.I was also surprised to see the British intervention in the Russia of 1918 referred to as "the brutal, abortive invasion of Lenin's Russia." Leaving aside the fact that that vast and savagely divided country could not at that time have been described as belonging to Lenin (or anyone else) it is far from clear that the rather feeble British landings in Northern Russia really merit the label "invasion." They certainly do not deserve the adjective "brutal." Christopher Hitchens is, however, correct to say that they were "abortive," a fact that was a tragedy both for Russia and the world.
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6:06 AM | [Link]
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ONE MORE THING ABOUT OPRAH [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
You might enjoy this oldie but goodie from Mark Steyn on Oprah, from NR circa 1998. Don't mind the now-ancient layout (don't worry if some graphics don't load).
Posted
6:03 AM | [Link]
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POOR GWYNETH [Andrew Stuttaford]
The New York Post is reporting that Gwyneth Paltrow may move to Europe because, she says, Hollywood is "completely male-dominated." Of itself, that's an irritating piece of PC claptrap, but it sounds particularly self-indulgent and silly coming from a lady who has made a good deal of money out of the place. Fans of Ms. Paltrow will, however, be glad to know that she hasn't yet joined Alec Baldwin in exile from the U.S. (come to think of it, nor has Alec Baldwin). Gwyneth will be presenting at the male-dominated Oscar ceremony on Sunday night.
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5:55 AM | [Link]
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COMING OF AGE IN THE UNIVERSE: [John J. Miller]
NASA is thinking about how to colonize the galaxy, and it's turning to anthropologists for advice. Who else would propose using "Amazonian teams of women--lighter and more cooperative than men--waiting for the right moment to impregnate themselves using an on-board sperm bank"?
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5:42 AM | [Link]
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Wednesday, March 20
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FOR THE RECORD [JONAH GOLDBERG] I did not know that Florida A&M is an historically black college. I bring this up because I used the word "simian" in the same sentence as "Florida A&M" and some readers think I will get in trouble for doing so. Anyway, I obviously didn't mean anything racial by it. But I did mean to say that the A&M students who applauded Alec Baldwin -- black or white -- were idiots. For the record.
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7:14 PM | [Link]
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MILLION-DOLLAR SEX ABUSE SUIT FILED AGAINST CHURCH: [Rod Dreher] Late this afternoon, a $1 million sex-abuse lawsuit was filed in U.S. district court in Pennsylvania naming the Society of St. John, its top two priests, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), St. Gregory's Academy, the Diocese of Scranton and its bishop, James C. Timlin. NRO first reported allegations of sexual misconduct involving the Society here. The lawsuit alleges that Fr. Eric Ensey coerced the anonymous plaintiff into homosexual acts while the plaintiff was a student and a minor at St. Gregory's Academy. It also alleges that Fr. Carlos Urrutugoity, the Society's founder, "directed inappropriate homosexual contact" toward the plaintiff, all of which resulted in the boy's parents having to pay for medical care. The suit further alleges that Bishop Timlin was negligent for not taking complaints about the priests' purported homosexual behavior seriously, and acting to remove them, and makes similar claims against the school and the FSSP, which runs it. In the past, the bishop and the Society have denied these accusations. Now everyone will get to hash it out in court.
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7:11 PM | [Link]
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OPRAH, THE END: [Rod Dreher] And finally, Karen Bashore notes that the phenomenon of oprahfication involves "the idea that it is more important to be 'concerned' about an issue than to be right about it," which pretty much sums up contemporary liberalism, if you ask me. Gary Dienes calls oprahfication "enlightenment through talking about something until one is convinced one is not to blame for it." Along those lines, a reader whose name I forgot to write down called oprahfication "the tendency to accept an emotional explanation when a logical one hurts our feelings," or "It's not my fault, and here's an expert to tell you why." Toby Bianchi takes a broad sociological view, calling oprahfication "the phenomenon of offering a liberal outlook on Tuesday, and having it repeated as gospel at 10,000 soccer matches by Thursday." Thanks to all readers who participated. I hope language maven Bill Safire is reading!
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6:56 PM | [Link]
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MORE OPRAH: [Rod Dreher] Sanjay Verbeek describes oprahfi | |
