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ELTON FOR RENO [Andrew Stuttaford] The news that Elton John will be performing at a benefit for the Janet Reno campaign is remarkable indeed. I could easily be wrong, but so far as I know, Sir Elton is neither a green card holder, US citizen nor a resident of Florida, so what exactly is it about the Sunshine State's politics that have drawn him to its gubernatorial race? Posted 2:57 PM | [Link] BAD VLAD [Andrew Stuttaford] One of the more alarming aspects of being a friend of Martin Amis must be the danger of having one's more ridiculous opinions being quoted in his books. In Koba the Dread, his new work on Stalin, Amis has plenty to say about the views of journalist Christopher Hitchens, amongst which is the opinion that Lenin was a 'great man' . Whether Mr. Hitchens also thinks that the world is flat goes, sadly, unrecorded. Christopher Hitchens has now reviewed Amis' book in the September 2002 edition of The Atlantic Monthly (sadly it's not yet on the magazine's website, but go on, splash out a few bucks on an original copy). As is very often the case with something written by him, the piece is well worth a read, and it merits much, much longer discussion. Nevertheless, one point in particular made startling reading: Mr. Hitchens' suggestion that there was no prospect of parliamentary pluralism in a Russia devastated by the First World War. This is nonsense. The last legacy of the vaguely liberal Provisional Government that succeeded the Czars was a democratic election for a constituent assembly. The Bolshevik coup took place too late to stop this vote, and the results were profoundly embarrassing for the new Soviet regime. Turnout was high, the campaign was vigorous and the Bolshevik share of the poll (ten million votes, or 24 percent. of the total) was unacceptable to Lenin. Less than two months later he shut down the new assembly. It wouldn't have been easy, but Russia in 1917 had a chance of moving towards democracy. That it didn't get to take that opportunity was the fault of one individual more than any other: Lenin, the tyrant who Christopher Hitchens apparently still considers to have been a 'great man'. Posted 2:08 PM | [Link] AFGHANISTAN.COM [Kathryn Jean Lopez] First Internet café opens in Kabul. But I don’t think the censors are letting them read The Corner. Posted 11:41 AM | [Link] SPLISH SPLASH [John Derbyshire] OK, survived day at splash park with the fambly. Lessons learned: 1. If you assemble a large number of people together in one place and play low-grade pop music at them through crappy speakers at deafening volume, they don't notice. 2. The commonest conversational exchange in the English language is this one: "Whaddya ya wanna do next?" "I dunno. Whaddya you wanna do next?" 3. After age 20, hardly anyone looks good in a bathing suit. Around 50 percent of us look downright ridiculous. (NB: The word "us" in that last sentence is intended to mean "People who frequent splash parks in the greater New York metropolitan area." It does not mean: "Us NRO staffers." NRO staffers are buff and cut.) Posted 11:17 AM | [Link] GET 4 FREE ISSUES OF NATIONAL REVIEW! That's right: We'll send you 4 FREE issues of National Review at absolutely no risk to you. If you're impressed by National Review's superior writing style, analysis, and wit, we'll send you the next 12 issues — for a total of 16 in all! — for only $19.95. Click here for details. Posted 11:17 AM | [Link] YA DON'T SAY [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Must be a slow weekend. This is on the FoxNews.COM homepage: "Bad Girl Britney? Some wonder if the pop icon is trying to trash wholesome image." Posted 11:13 AM | [Link] NOTHING CATHOLIC ABOUT THEM [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Often portrayed as a legitimate voice of Catholics in the pews, sham group Catholics for a Free Choice—little more than small staff and a fax machine and lots of abortion-industry money—darling of the likes of the New York Times and CNN, got a far more accurate treatment from Fox than they are used to (here). No doubt it had something to do with their head, Frances Kissling, refusing to be interviewed. If you’re interested, here’s a piece I did on them a few months back. Posted 11:12 AM | [Link] THE WEEK IN REVIEW > [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Joe Bob Briggs's style. Posted 10:58 AM | [Link] A FLYING MONKEY OF DISTINCTION [Jonah Goldberg] Under the subject header "your influence on my son" a woman writes me the following: Dear Jonah, Posted 9:13 AM | [Link]
MORE ON IRAQ [Andrew Stuttaford] This looks to be yet another reason to be worried about the threat from Sadaam - and yet another reason to do something about it. Posted 10:23 PM | [Link] HITTING THE WRONG TARGET [Andrew Stuttaford] Mick Gault is one of the finest shots in England. He has just won his fourth medal (a bronze, after three golds) at the Commonwealth Games which are currently being held in Manchester, England. The bronze was in the 25-meter standard pistol competition, and it was much more of an achievement than you might think for, under Britain's 'sensible' gun control laws, Mr. Gault has been forced to train for this event abroad. The London Daily Telegraph reports that Mr. Gault has been confined to just a handful of training sessions in Switzerland" since the introduction of the [British] government's handgun legislation in 1997". More background to this saga of gun control at work can be found here. Posted 7:41 PM | [Link] COMMON SENSE UP NORTH? [Andrew Stuttaford] Remember the claim that the US is 'alone' in its opposition to the Kyoto treaty? Well, there are further doubters up North. Reuters is reporting that, at a meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada's ten provincial premiers and three territorial leaders 'agreed to disagree' on whether the federal government should proceed to ratify the climate accord. Eight provinces and the Yukon Territory have, apparently, strong reservations about the treaty. The yes camp comprises Manitoba, Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Posted 7:25 PM | [Link] HEARD IN THE GROCERY LINE: [Rod Dreher] I'm in the line at Calandro's Supermarket on Government Street in Baton Rouge this afternoon. The cashier, a dame of Cajun extraction, if her accent tells me anything, looks me square in the eye and says, apropos of nothing, "She thinks that man who got killed yesterday in his trailer mighta been killed by him." You mean the serial killer? I say. "Uh-huh. That lady who just left, she thinks that man in the trailer musta known too much, and that killer" -- dat killah -- "got him. He was a painter. Whoever killed him didn't take nothin'. You know, I feel sorry for everybody's got a white truck. They lookin' at everybody's got a white truck, because somebody saw somebody in a white truck pullin' off th' innastate at three in the mornin', near where that lady's body was found." They said they saw a naked lady's body in the pickup, I say. "You tell me who's gonna reckanize a naked lady's body at three in the mornin', in a pickup truck!" she says. The cashier one register over jumps in: "An eighteen-wheelah coulda reckanized her." I paid for my groceries and left the cashiers talking about th' killah. That's what's going on in Baton Rouge today. That, and the fact that you can buy "Nubian Snoballs," whatever they are, on Government Street. Posted 5:55 PM | [Link] SIGNS: [Rod Dreher] It's pretty good, though no Sixth Sense, for sure. It gives some genuine scares, and you have to love that M. Night Shyamalan tries to make supernatural/sci-fi thrillers without resorting to expensive special effects. He succeeds at that. It's really a movie about God, and faith, and it makes some decent points about the manliness of having faith in God (how often do you see that in a Hollywood movie?). But it's fairly slow in parts, and too much of it doesn't make a lot of sense (e.g., there's no real reason for Mel Gibson and family not to flee the house, nor is there any reason for them not to carry a freakin' knife!). I think the kinds of conversations Signs will start, re: coincidences and hidden meanings, will be more interesting than the movie itself. Even when he isn't working at the peak of his powers, Shyamalan is one of the most interesting filmmakers out there, one of the few Americans who really is an auteur. Posted 5:48 PM | [Link] SHAME ON ME: [Rod Dreher] I've only been on the NR payroll for seven months, so I had no idea at all that John Derbyshire was as pessimistic about life, the universe and everything as I am. Callooh! Callay! I'm going to buy that man a drink as soon as I get back to New York. If I stay here much longer in Louisiana, I shall well and truly turn into Ignatius Reilly. Julie and I went to see Signs today, and the previews for coming attractions promised such unmitigated crap that I nearly started yelling at the screen. And do you know who was sitting near us in the theater? Some idjits and their 18-month-old daughter. What kind of dumba*s brings a tiny child to a scary movie meant for grown-ups? Anyway, I know I'm becoming Ignatius because John Podhoretz is turning into Myrna Minkoff, sending me e-mails telling me to get the hell back to New York before my brain rots. First, I got me a six-pack of Abita to finish off this afternoon. Posted 5:42 PM | [Link] DITTO ONLINE VOTING [Jonah Goldberg] I made similar points in this golden oldie from the mag on cyber democracy. Note the dramatic old NRO styling. Posted 4:52 PM | [Link] GEEK LOYALTY [Jonah Goldberg] There's also the more serious point that EJ misses. The geeks already vote. Remember the dork (played by Anthony Michael Hall) in "The Breakfast Club" had a fake ID so he could vote. The kids EJ wants to get to vote are the rest of the teen coalition: jocks, stoners, slackers, musicians, skate rats, et al. And the way he wants to get them to vote is by -- let's face it -- bribing them. He may think the political system requires an influx of the young and ignorant who couldn't be bothered to vote unless it came with free food and whatnot. But, I for one do not think American democracy is enriched by the added voices of those who need party favors to participate. Posted 4:46 PM | [Link] RE: GEEK ALERT [James S. Robbins] Jonah, absolutely. It's like those ads that say smoking isn't cool. The fact that the adults are telling you not to do it makes it cool. If you want to make voting attractive to the hip kids, hold elections at 2 in the morning and don't announce where the polling places are. As it stands voting is as cool as eating your vegetables. Posted 3:56 PM | [Link] THANKS, GUYS [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Derb's telling us we really are all doom and gloom. Ramesh is covering breast feeding. The Corner was out of control throughout the week. I'm going home. Posted 3:53 PM | [Link] THANKS, JONAH [Robert A. George] Jonah, thanks for the 411 on Ramesh's whereabouts. I'm confident he is going tit for tat on Talk Back Live! (Sorry, Kathryn, but you knew I would milk this opportunity for all it was worth...) Posted 3:50 PM | [Link] SORRY ROBERT [Jonah Goldberg] Ramesh can't come to the Corner right now. He's on Talk Back Live trying to avoid talking about public breast feeding at the moment. Posted 3:39 PM | [Link] GEEK OUTING [Jonah Goldberg] James, you're absolutely right. Think of it this way: if the local radio station announced the names of kids on the chess team, would those kids suddenly become cool? If they gave out special awards to the 9th grader who checked the Public Interest out of the local library the most times in a month, would little Poindexter suddenly become a babe magnet? Outing nerds only alerts the bullies as to where they should apply their wedgies most efficiently. Posted 3:35 PM | [Link] REALLY, RAMESH... {Robert A. George] Ramesh, provacative analysis on Rehnquist. However, I have one question: Why would Democrats care (i.e. put up a big fight over/be demoralized) about Rehnquist stepping down? For that matter, why would it necessarily rev up the conservative base? If the Chief Justice steps down, it's most likely that Bush would nominate either O'Connor or Kennedy as replacement CJ (Scalia would be the most qualified, but it could be a very tough confirmation sell). The next Justice will be a conservative in some fashion. The Dems know this and would have to recognize that it doesn't really change the ideological balance of the court. Now, the retirement/death/disablement of one of the left Justices -- Stephens, Ginsburg, what have you -- THAT would send the Democrats into war AND revitalize conservatives. However, calling for the incapacitation -- or worse -- of a Supreme Court justice is an extreme to which not even The Corner would stray... Posted 3:20 PM | [Link] GEEK ALERT [James S. Robbins] E. J. Dionne writes in the Washigton Post under the rubric "What Young Voters Want" that "Just because democracy is important doesn't mean it can't be cool." He waxes approvingly of promoting youth voting by having radio stations reading off the names of young first-time voters, and having election night parties where you have to have voted to be allowed in. All of this is apparently somehow related to cool, but the links to coolness are not self-evident, nor are they explained. One cringes when middle aged white guys start thinking up "cool" things for 18 year olds to do. I think the Post opinion page editor accidentally switched headlines with the Charles Krauthammer piece on the same page, "Disturbed Nerd Chic." Posted 2:14 PM | [Link] DOWN ON DA BOSS [Kathryn Jean Lopez] David Skinner at The Standard thinks Bruce is too soft.... Posted 2:13 PM | [Link] CLINTON'S NOT INCONSISTENT [Mike Potemra] Kathryn, I think you're jumping to conclusions about Clinton. I think it's quite possible that if the Vietnamese had been crossing the Jordan River, he would have taken up arms against them. But he needs to be asked the tough question: "What if--instead of crossing the Jordan River and invading Israel--the Vietnamese had been crossing the Rio Grande and invading Texas? Would you have fought them then?" If Clinton says no, then, well, I might start worrying that he's some kind of traitor.... Posted 12:28 PM | [Link] CALIF. GIRLS [Kathryn Jean Lopez] If you recently clicked on the MSNBC story about the kidnapped California girls ("TOO MUCH INFORMATION") I linked to before looking for mentions of the girls' names and the AG's comments on Larry King, you won't find that stuff anymore, because now, after the late-night and morning news cycles have passed and we all know, media types are deciding to belatedly respect the girls' privacy. MSNBC changed their story sometime late this morning. Here's Bill Lockyer, the California attorney general, revealing the rapes on Larry King last night. Posted 12:25 PM | [Link] "THE ELEPHANT" [Stanley Kurtz] Andrew Sullivan and Dan Savage have been complaining of late about social conservatives’ alleged double standards toward heterosexual and homosexual pedophilia. Have a look at “Amorality Tale,” Thomas Hibbs’s excellent review of Tadpoleon NRO today. It rightly raises questions about the moral status of the movie, and about the failure of mainstream critics to take issue with it. Andrew Sullivan’s response to Mary Eberstadt’s very important piece on the role of homosexuality in the priesthood scandal, “The Elephant in the Sacristy,” has so far been confined to attacks on her motives, and on the alleged hypocrisy of social conservatives on the matter of pedophilia. Yet neither Sullivan nor the liberal press has said anything to contradict the actual substance of Eberstadt’s argument. Eberstadt answered critical letters on her piece with great clarity and success in the July 22 issue of The Weekly Standard. Among that correspondence was a letter from Philip Jenkins, Professor of History and Religious Studies at Penn State, and author of Pedophiles and Priests, an important early treatment of the scandals. What’s interesting is that, despite his libertarian views, Jenkins called Eberstadt’s argument in the “Elephant” article both “fair” and “effective.” I have yet to see a good refutation, or even a good attempt at a refutation, of Eberstadt’s article from either Sullivan, or anyone else. Posted 11:15 AM | [Link] TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET [John Derbyshire] ...Is where our civilization is pretty obviously headed (see today's column). Me, I'm headed to the splash park with wife & issue. Signing off for the day.-----Derb. Posted 10:19 AM | [Link] STUPIDITY DOESN'T SELL [NRO Staff] At least not in the West. London's Sun tabloid reports that "Shoot the Dog," the George Michael single that has come under criticism for being anti-Blair, anti-Bush, and anti-American, probably won't make it into the UK's top ten. One London critic calls the lack of record sales "embarrasing." Perhaps Michael should compose an Arabic translation of the screed-that might boost sales in places like the West Bank and Egypt, at least. Posted 10:11 AM | [Link] DEAD AMERICANS CONT'D [Jonah Goldberg] For example, why didn' the Justice Department issue fresh indictments of Hamas after the bombing? We know Hamas did it, and last I heard it was a big deal to murder Americans. Hamas even "claimed responsibility" for the attack. Which raises another peeve of mine. Why does the media always say "Hamas claimed responsibility"? What's wrong with saying "...Hamas confessed to the crime." Journalistically, it conveys as much information but maintains the moral context. Actually "claiming responsibility" is morally misleading because Hamas doesn't actually take responsibility for the act in the full meaning of the word. They reject any suggestion that they should be held accountable for their acts, which is what "taking responsibility" is supposed to mean. Memo to Fox News: "Confessed to the crime" is what "fair and balanced" journalists would say. Posted 9:56 AM | [Link] DEAD AMERICANS [Jonah Goldberg] I can't shake the feeling that the murdered Americans at Hebrew University are being treated differently because they're Jewish. Or perhaps, it's more appropriate to say it's because they're Jewish Americans in Israel. If five Americans -- Jewish or otherwise -- were killed at a French or German or Indian university, I can't help but think that the media and political class would make a much bigger deal. Yes, I know there are some sticky issues involved here, but that doesn't make it any less true. Posted 9:48 AM | [Link] NRO READERS STRIKE BACK AT CYBER TERROR [James S. Robbins] NRO Readers Strike Back at Cyber Terror: NRO reader Josh Foust writes that he posted my piece on al Qaeda and the web on his blog, and his buddy Jeremy tracked down the Alneda ISP and got them kicked off. The full story is here. Kudos, Josh and Jeremy. If I can paraphrase Burke, all it takes for evil to fail is for good men to do something. Posted 9:43 AM | [Link] GET 4 FREE ISSUES OF NATIONAL REVIEW! That's right: We'll send you 4 FREE issues of National Review at absolutely no risk to you. If you're impressed by National Review's superior writing style, analysis, and wit, we'll send you the next 12 issues — for a total of 16 in all! — for only $19.95. Click here for details. Posted 9:10 AM | [Link] TOO MUCH INFORMATION [Kathryn Jean Lopez] A friend--who is a father of girls--points out the news stories this morning on those girls who were kidnapped in California. Their kidnapper was looking for somewhere to bury them when he was shot by authorities. They were also, we all now know, raped. But do we have to know that? There faces have been all over the news, we know something terrible happened to them and now they are back with their families, but do we need to know everything? If they decided to tell the whole story--including that they were raped--to Katie Couric next week, fine, but that decision has already been made for them. Seems there are laws about this, too... (Though this MSNBC story points out that the Calif. AG was the first to tell about the rapes, on Larry King....and so MSNBC makes a big deal of this...it's now a legit to cover, the newsmen say.) Posted 9:10 AM | [Link] RAY ROLLS ON: [Rod Dreher] New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has expanded his anti-corruption sweep. Yesterday, investigators raided the building inspector's offices at City Hall. Here's the Times-Picayune report. Posted 8:59 AM | [Link] ATTN INACTIVISTS!: [Rod Dreher] Columnist Danny Heitman has identified a tome that could fairly be titled The Big Book of Inactivity. Maybe I'll get around to making it to the bookstore today. Posted 8:55 AM | [Link] WHAT HE WOULDN'T DO FOR US... [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Bill Clinton - who avoided serving in Vietnam - says he would take up arms and "fight and die" for Israel if Iraq attacks the Jewish state. Posted 8:43 AM | [Link] I LIKE MIKE: [Rod Dreher] Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana, has a serial killer on the loose. Gov. Mike Foster, a Republican, offered some commonsense advice for female citizens on his radio show yesterday: get a concealed-weapons permit and start packing heat. Good on him. Can your governor do that? Posted 8:40 AM | [Link] MEGADITTOES, DERB: [Rod Dreher] I was outraged, Derb, when I heard a newscaster say that President Bush deplores the Hebrew University bombing, but nevertheless believes that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process should go forward. Oh, vomit. Is there no end to our government's pro-Arab appeasement? If the president really believes that, he is an incompetent. I do not think for one second the president is an incompetent, or really believes that. So why does he permit such things to be said in his name at this late date? I know, I know, some of you are going to say, "He needs to say this to keep open the possibility that friendly Arab governments will help us fight Iraq, or at least not stand in our way." At some point, though, the offense against truth, decency and moral courage required by the calculations of diplomats becomes intolerable. Posted 8:38 AM | [Link] CITY OF BRASS [John Derbyshire] I'm sorry, but the more I think about this -- the murder of our citizens in Jerusalem, and the wellnigh silence from our government and representatives -- the more I seethe. As NRO readers well know, at times like this I reach for my Kipling. There it is, all the warning we need: "An host had prepared their destruction, but still they denied it." Posted 8:22 AM | [Link] MORE EVIDENCE OF ARAB NEWS'S SCREWED UP WORLDVIEW [Kathryn Jean Lopez] From the cartoon page. Posted 7:33 AM | [Link] WHITE HOUSE NOW TALKING 9/11-IRAQ CONNECTION [Kathryn Jean Lopez]Senior admin official confirms to LA Times that Atta met with Iraqi agents. Promises we'll be hearing more about it. Posted 7:30 AM | [Link] CONTINUING OUR QUICK TOUR OF SAUDI ARABIA'S OFFICIAL ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PAPER [Kathryn Jean Lopez] A former Gore campaign staffer sighted. Posted 3:31 AM | [Link] JAMES TARANTO MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Our Saudi "friends" at the Arab News are attacking him again. Posted 3:26 AM | [Link] JENIN LAST WORD [Kathryn Jean Lopez] The U.N. report is atop the Arab News today, Jonah. The Palestinians are demanding a special session of the U.N. to try again--to "incriminate Israel" (from an Arafat mouthpiece). Posted 3:25 AM | [Link] SEEN ON TOP OF WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM: Video: Post's Priest on FBI Probe [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Very weird for a second. I read that the wrong way. (It's reporter Dana Priest.) Posted 3:05 AM | [Link] "YOU'RE NOT FAILING MY KID" > [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Yep, parents are suing teachers over "F"s. Posted 2:59 AM | [Link] DID PRAYER SAVE THE MINERS? [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Posted 2:40 AM | [Link]
JENIN B.S. CONTINUED [Jonah Goldberg] As various people have been noting in the Corner for months, the Jenin "massacre" never happened. The UN, which always bends over backward to make Israel the bad guy, issued a report today which found that Israel's casulaty estimate was entirely accurate. Alas, the news networks which touted the "massacre" as fact for weeks have ignored the report almost entirely. Let's see if the Post or the Times -- which also gave the massace story great traction -- put it on their front pages tomorrow. If they don't, shame on them. Posted 5:03 PM | [Link] YOU KNOW YOU'RE SCREWED WHEN... [Jonah Goldberg] The LAPD calls out the fixed-wing aircraft to catch you. The LA kidnapper-suspect has been shot and killed, by the way. Posted 4:34 PM | [Link] GETTING CLONING WRONG: [Ramesh Ponnuru] The latest New Republic has an article by Jerome Groopman, a professor of medicine at Harvard, making the case for cloning human embryos for biomedical research (link not available). All the old polemical standbys appear: Barring the destruction of a single-celled zygote would be like prohibiting research on skin cells; when twinning is possible no individual can be said to exist; few people mourn spontaneous abortions early in pregnancy; etc. There are answers to all of these facile arguments—some of them contained in the Kass council report that Groopman is criticizing—but Groopman engages none of them. (I am unaware of any major proponent of cloning who has done so.) He appears to believe that the primary scientific use of cloning will be to develop tissues for patients with diseases. His allies on the council know better than that. Groopman’s description of President Bush’s position on stem-cell research is confusingly written, but appears to be factually inaccurate. There is, in short, no reason for anyone involved in the debate to read the latest TNR piece except to get more evidence of how poor that debate has been. Posted 4:06 PM | [Link] ILLEGALS: [Ramesh Ponnuru] The Wall Street Journal is at it again. Today’s lead editorial criticizes congressional Republicans and Democratic senator Robert Byrd for blocking a measure to legalize illegal immigrants. The Journal says, “Back in March, the White House supported an extension of the Section 245(i) program, which expired more than a year ago. The program applied only to immigrants who entered the country legally on a visa that had expired or was about to.” The Journal has said something similar on two previous occasions. But it’s not true. People who entered the country illegally would have been eligible for the program that the White House and the Journal backed. The Journal also says that “a minority of restrictionist Republicans” fought the program in the House. It’s true that the opponents were a minority of House members. But they were a majority of Republicans. Posted 3:48 PM | [Link] WELL... [Jonah Goldberg] ...Mr. Capano, I figured I'd start with cleaning the downstairs toilet at your house. Then I'd move on to the rain gutters. Then maybe I'll mow your lawn....if that's okay with you, sir. Posted 3:41 PM | [Link] HEY JONAH . . . [Ed Capano, NR Publisher] . . . where you working next week? Posted 3:24 PM | [Link] GET 4 FREE ISSUES OF NATIONAL REVIEW! That's right: We'll send you 4 FREE issues of National Review at absolutely no risk to you. If you're impressed by National Review's superior writing style, analysis, and wit, we'll send you the next 12 issues — for a total of 16 in all! — for only $19.95. Click here for details. Posted 3:22 PM | [Link] A JOB WELL DONE [James S. Robbins] The IP address for al Qaeda's Alneda web site published here Tuesday is now not responding. Many thanks to whichever NRO reader got the job done. Posted 2:58 PM | [Link] U.S. UNDER-REACTION TO JERUSALEM MURDERS [John Derbyshire] Does anyone else think that the U.S. administration is under-reacting to the murders at Hebrew University? Five Americans were killed, in a building named after an American. Administration reaction: "'We have grieved with all the people of Israel as they have faced Palestinian terrorism,' said [U.S. Ambassador] Kurtzer, speaking in front of the Frank Sinatra International Students Center, where the blast tore apart a cafeteria a day earlier. 'Now that five American citizens have been killed, our grief is even deeper.'" [AP] Uh-huh. Perhaps we should send for Oprah? "President Bush mourned the American dead as he met Thursday with King Abdullah of Jordan on how to move the Mideast peace process forward. 'I am just as angry as Israel is. I am furious,' he said. 'But even though I am mad, I still think peace is possible,' the president said at a picture-taking session with the king at the start of a meeting in the Oval Office." [AP] Oh, that's all right then. Heaven forbid anything should stand in the way of the "peace process." What would be wrong with this?-- A clear public announcement by the administration that any person known to be associated in any way whatsoever with Hamas is a target of opportunity for U.S. troops and special services; similarly with anyone know to be friendly with or related to such; similarly ith any employee or owner of any news organization transmitting any message or announcement from Hamas, or any owner or inhabitant of any building, car or truck ever used by Hamas... These savages are laughing at us. We should put the fear of Almighty God into them. Then, we should kill them all, along with everyone known to have shaken hands with them or given them a light for a cigarette. If we don't have the guts to do this--to avenge our own slaughtered citizens--let's engage proxies to do it for us. Yes, I am mad. Are we ever going to deal with these scum, these murderers of Americans? Do we actually have any plan to do so? Posted 2:25 PM | [Link] ABOUT COUNTING DOGS [Jonah Goldberg] A reader asks: If dogs are counting when they bark, that means beagles must have a thorough grasp of the concept of infinity. Does Derbyshire know about this? Maybe packs of beagles could be trained to find ever more prime numbers. Posted 2:10 PM | [Link] BACK TO SCHOOL [Jonah Goldberg] It's amazing, I've been out of high school for a long time and the back to school commercials still depress me every time they come on the radio or TV. I just thought I'd share. Posted 1:59 PM | [Link] FIRST WORLD WAR [John Derbyshire] Andrew: The true First World War was the one against Napoleon, 1792-1815. There were engagements in Europe, Africa, the Far East and the Americas (both North & South). Only Antarctica was left out of it. (Though, if I recall my Patrick O'Brian, the naval war got pretty close.) Posted 1:53 PM | [Link] NEEDLESS TO SAY [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Jonah meant besides the Bob Levy piece on NRO. Posted 1:42 PM | [Link] HAS ANYONE SEEN.... [Jonah Goldberg] ...a good anti-TIPS article? Please, no links to blog posts or news articles. I've got plenty of that already. But if you've seen a non-hysterical (I cannot stress that enough) anti-TIPS piece I'd like to see it. Posted 1:03 PM | [Link] JUST AS I EXPECTED... [Jonah Goldberg] Dogs are smarter than we thought. Posted 12:54 PM | [Link] I WAS WRONG [Jonah Goldberg] The professional, charitable, kind and thoughtful management of National Review did not deserve to be parodied in such a hurtful, immature and flatly inaccurate way. These exceptionally capable leaders have sacrificed mightily to make National Review as successful as it is. They are good men -- kind to women, children and small animals -- who often spend money with a sometimes Devil-may-care attitude. These generous souls could not be more supportive of often ungrateful writers like myself. I apologize totally. I have not been coerced in any way to make these statements. No car batteries have been hooked to me. I have not been invited to the Publisher’s Office (AKA "the Nutcracker Suite"). There’s no reason whatsoever for anyone out there reading this to call 9-1-1. Tell my wife I love her very much. Posted 12:12 PM | [Link] GET YOUR FREE "SUITS CAUGHT ON VIDEO" VIDEO! [Jonah Goldberg] That's right: We'll send you a FREE COPY of Suits Caught on Video if you subscribe now! Suits contains never-before-seen footage of NR’s Money Guys in outrageous situations! SEE mature adults grapple in the gutter over loose change! WATCH as family men smash orphans’ piggy banks! LOOK as MBAs use hot pokers to force magazine editors into running pop-up ads and grasping subscription deals! And, if you call now we’ll throw in a FREE COPY of "Writers In Pain." This 100 page picture book contains images so shocking, they’ve been illegal outside Europe…UNTIL NOW! Be the first person you know to see famous conservative scribes drink puddle water just to survive! Posted 11:56 AM | [Link] BUT WE LOVE CHINESE FOOD [Jonah Goldberg] Einstein is too Jewish for the Chinese. Posted 11:10 AM | [Link] EURO ENRONITIS [Andrew Stuttaford] There's been a lot of crowing over in Europe about the current "crisis" in American capitalism, unreliable accounts and so on. Well, here's something worth reading from today's Financial Times on the EU Commission's own accounting systems. A (leaked) paper from the EU's court of auditors appears to suggest that the Brussels bureaucracy's accounting systems may have a touch of Enronitis. Killer quote from the FT's summary of what the EU's auditors had to say: "In constructing this system, "no account has been taken of generally accepted accounting standards, mainly double-entry book-keeping", the report said. Moreover the final data it produces may be inconsistent, so that a different line of expenditure can have two different values." The FT notes that this embarrassing document may never be published. Apparently, EU officials feel that it contains "inaccuracies and the tone of the language [is] inappropriate." Posted 11:06 AM | [Link] GET 4 FREE ISSUES OF NATIONAL REVIEW! That's right: We'll send you 4 FREE issues of National Review at absolutely no risk to you. If you're impressed by National Review's superior writing style, analysis, and wit, we'll send you the next 12 issues — for a total of 16 in all! — for only $19.95. Click here for details. Posted 10:40 AM | [Link] WAR NAMES [Andrew Stuttaford] John, in your piece this morning you note, quite correctly, how Brits now refer to "The First World War" rather than "The Great War." That's quite true, of course. This is not the only time such a change has taken place. I have a History of England cowritten by Rudyard Kipling (it wins no prizes for political correctness) bought in a flea market about 20 years ago for 10p. The "Great War" it refers to is the war we now call "The Seven Years War" (!756-63). Eerily, the Kipling book dates from 1913. Definitions were about to change. Posted 10:39 AM | [Link] "BLEGGING" (A.K.A. HELP WANTED)[Kathryn Jean Lopez] In the fine tradition of John Derbyshire (who coined the term above, as he explains in his column today), Dear Leader Rich Lowry, and, of course, Jonah, I ask readers for help. I’m working on a piece (SHHH…for another magazine) on "ex-Catholics"—folks who have left the Catholic Church—and am looking for people who would be interested in talking about their experiences/gripes/messages/lessons (for a Catholic pub). Please e-mail me at klopez@nationalreview.comif you are interested. Thanks! Posted 10:34 AM | [Link] HEY RICH... [Jonah Goldberg] Have I ever told you about the cool refreshing taste of a Marlboro? You might want to think about picking up the habit. Posted 10:31 AM | [Link] TANKS VS TALK CONT'D [Jonah Goldberg] A loyal G-File reader, who's also a cop, sent me this in response to yesterday's column: I spent a year in Bosnia with the peacekeeping mission. Whenever one of these euro intellectuals starts in about our simplistic methods just throw Bosnia in their face-250,000 dead including 20,000 children, rape camps. I could go on and on and on (but I won't). US bombs stopped that war, not European diplomacy. Posted 10:09 AM | [Link] PAGING MR. SCHMIDT [John Derbyshire] I am touched by the loyalty of my readers. Two of them have already emailed Mr. Paul Schmidt with angry defenses of me and my kin. Alas, they tell me that Mr. Schmidt's e-address doesn't work any more. Well, it was an old e-mail. (I keep a "hate mail" folder of the real gems, to review when my opinion of the human race looks to be in danger of rising above 0 degrees Celsius. Plucked that one at random.) Possibly Mr. Schmidt has moved. To Afghanistan, perhaps? Posted 9:53 AM | [Link] RE: GERMAN SCANDAL [Andrew Stuttaford] Yes, Kathryn, that Chris Caldwell piece is interesting and well worth checking out. I was slightly surprised, however, to read his comment that the scandal "will cost Germany some of its most gifted politicians" with, presumably, negative implications. I suppose that good guys may ultimately be shown to be involved, but so far the people who have been forced out are two Greens and one Communist. None of them are any loss. It was particularly interesting to see that one of those implicated is the oleaginous Gregor Gysi. Gysi is a prominent member (and former leader) of the PDS (the re-named and supposedly reformed East German Communist party). Just how reformed is an open question (the PDS found it painfully difficult to apologize for the Berlin Wall). As Caldwell notes, five of Gysi's flights were to Cuba, suggesting that this is one 'former' Communist who has retained his soft spot for tyranny. Disgracefully, Germany's governing Socialists continue to flirt with the PDS (both parties are in the coalition that runs Berlin's local government, for example), something that doesn't seem to bother the usual keepers of the EU's conscience. Posted 9:48 AM | [Link] WEIRD POLITICAL SCANDAL IN GERMANY [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Chris Caldwell reports on frequent-flier-gate. Posted 8:50 AM | [Link] 'NOTHER FUNNYCON [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Larry Miller. And Drew Carey's a libertarian. (The pre-8AM Corner readers speak!) Posted 7:44 AM | [Link] THE GUYS HAVE CONEY ISLAND HOT-DOG EATING CONTESTS [Kathryn Jean Lopez] And the gals—at least in Berkeley—have…breast-feeding contests. They’re going for the Guinness record for "Most Women Breastfeeding Simultaneously." Posted 6:24 AM | [Link] FUNNY CONSERVATIVES [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Garafalo also said that the bullies can go see conservative comics if they don’t like her. Are there many, besides, say Ben Stein? Folks like NR's Rob Long and Dave Konig, who has written for us, are funny. P. J. O'Rourke is funny. But none of these guys are Saturday Night Live grads or on the stand-up circuit. Is Adam Sandler or someone a big conservative and I just haven't heard? Posted 6:18 AM | [Link] LATE-NIGHT WHINING [Kathryn Jean Lopez] I’m sure this is not news to a lot of you: Carson Daly’s late-night talk show is awful. I know, I know…so many talk shows are, but this one…it’s amazing it’s on television. Of course, I imagine if he was any good, he would not be on after one in the morning, but still. Anyway, last night (this morning) he had on angry white woman Janine Garafalo who kept ranting about the neo-McCarthyism of America today. She used the phrase a few times in case you were slow to realize the seriousness of her accusation. She complained about Republican "bullies" who pick on her at her standup shows when she plays "social critic," attacking the White House’s assault on civil liberties in America, a role for the "really good" comics. She admits that the bullies don’t know what they are in for when they show up, not knowing she will be pontificating. Advice to Republicans—bullies and non-bullies alike—save your money and stay home. Posted 6:14 AM | [Link] GET 4 FREE ISSUES OF NATIONAL REVIEW! That's right: We'll send you 4 FREE issues of National Review at absolutely no risk to you. If you're impressed by National Review's superior writing style, analysis, and wit, we'll send you the next 12 issues — for a total of 16 in all! — for only $19.95. Click here for details. Posted 6:03 AM | [Link] Al QAEDA FANS IN SCOTLAND [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Leaflets going around Edinburgh urging the killing of Americans. Posted 6:03 AM | [Link] CUOMO’S DUMB AD [Kathryn Jean Lopez] I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who laughed when I saw the new Andrew Cuomo television ad. Dick Morris takes it on this morning: ANDREW Cuomo (Cuomo II) has a new TV ad in which he features endorsements from Ted Kennedy (Kennedy III), Martin Luther King III and Adam Clayton Powell IV. Posted 6:02 AM | [Link] 9/11 FAKE ID SUSPECT FLEES U.S. [Kathryn Jean Lopez] An Egyptian who sold fake ids to two 9/11 hijackers. Posted 6:01 AM | [Link] THE GREATEST [Kathryn Jean Lopez] I have no doubt I will come to regret pointing this out: Bugs Bunny is the greatest cartoon character, ever. Posted 1:31 AM | [Link] "I FEEL PRETTY" [Kathryn Jean Lopez] More men are getting cosmetic surgery done. Posted 1:26 AM | [Link] MARKET REPORT [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Jim Glassman and Kevin Hassett say it's ok to chill about the stock market in today's Journal. Posted 1:24 AM | [Link] GITMO LIMBO> [Kathryn Jean Lopez] A federal court ruled yesterday that Gitmo prisoners have no rights in the American justice system. Posted 1:20 AM | [Link] BE CAREFUL [Robert A. George] Finally, this whole thing reminds me of how Republicans were SO certain that releasing the videotape of Clinton's grand jury testimony would be the silver bullet to slay the beast. Clinton's popularity went UP afterwards, because he looked sympathetic against the big, bad evil "Starr Chamber." Robert Rubin is no Bill Clinton, but the lesson is still the same: Be careful what you wish for... Posted 1:16 AM | [Link] HE’S NOT ALONE [Robert A. George] On the other hand, Rubin is also the living embodiment of the '90s Boom years. It might be fashionable now to try and suggest that that economic environment was ALL binge, but hardly anyone believes that. Certainly not Republicans and conservatives -- our argument was that the Reagan tax cuts were responsible for a lot of what occurred in the '90s (ONLY the "non-binge" stuff? a difficult argument to make). Remember, Democrats control the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and can direct questions in any number of ways that make it advantageous to them. Republicans on the committee can jab hear and there, but it may be difficult for them to make a full-fledged attack on Rubin's actions. Meanwhile, the Democrats can permit Rubin to defend both his "Enron-related" actions AND subtly talk about the Clinton Economy vs. the Bush Economy. A related point is that Rubin -- fairly or otherwise -- still makes Paul O'Neill look rather weak and ineffectual in the current economic environment. Posted 1:16 AM | [Link] YOU SURE ABOUT RUBIN? [Robert A. George] Hmmm...I hate to destroy Mark Levin's world, but am I the only one who thinks that jumping on the force-Rubin-to-testify-in-the-Senate bandwagon is not necessarily such a great idea? Is Rubin implicated because of his pre-Enron collapse phone calls to Treasury? Sure. Would it be delicious to see Rubin, the Great High Blessed Fiscal One, being forced to answer questions from, Lieberman, the, uh, Great High Blessed Conscience, thereby spreading some of the Enron "blame" around? Of course. Posted 1:14 AM | [Link]
BRODER’S PLEA FOR CENTRAL PLANNING: [Ramesh Ponnuru] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23880-2002Jul30.html “What is conspicuously missing from this picture is any forum where elected officials at all three levels of government can have a serious discussion about national goals and national resources. Nowhere are the law enforcement needs of Detroit or the education needs of Montana weighed in the balance against the elimination of the federal estate tax or the purchase of the latest generation of high-tech weaponry. . . . [N]o real dialogue about priorities and revenues takes place. The Founders, who thought of almost everything, did not consider this need or supply any way of meeting it.” Come to think of it, there’s no national dialogue that weighs all my budgetary needs against those of David Broder, either. I suspect that the Founders had a good reason for “not considering the need” for such a dialogue, and that their reason has something to do with the hope that governments would compete with one another more than they would cooperate. Posted 6:58 PM | [Link] GET 4 FREE ISSUES OF NATIONAL REVIEW! That's right: We'll send you 4 FREE issues of National Review at absolutely no risk to you. If you're impressed by National Review's superior writing style, analysis, and wit, we'll send you the next 12 issues — for a total of 16 in all! — for only $19.95. Click here for details. Posted 4:35 PM | [Link] WANTED: BILINGUAL POLL WORKERS If only some counties in Florida had had poll workers to punch ballots for the slow. Posted 4:33 PM | [Link] SPREADING THE WORD [Kathryn Jean Lopez] King Fahd has ordered a Koran dump. 82,500 copies to be distributed in various countries in various languages. Posted 4:11 PM | [Link] HELLO! [Robert A. George] What the hell is going on here? I ignore The Corner for two days and come back to hear Dan Savage AND Michael Signorile being praised (and Savage praising NR)!!! Has the whole world gone mad? Talk about (and you knew this was coming) "strange bedfellows"!! Incidentally, Signorile's New York Press column IS rather remarkable. I would enjoy seeing a discussion -- online or otherwise -- between Signorile and his sometime-arch enemy Andrew Sullivan, especially given the issues raised with respect to "super" HIV-positive transmission. Posted 4:01 PM | [Link] IT's NOT YOUR FATHER'S NATIONAL REVIEW [Kathryn Jean Lopez] When a NR staff writer writes about "barebacking." Posted 3:19 PM | [Link] A GAY READER WRITES: [Rod Dreher] In response to my link to Mike Signorile's column earlier today: "Though it pains me to admit it (after all, criticizing mainstream gay ideology makes me a bad homosexual), there is a great amount of disingenousness within the gay community regarding [AIDS and how one gets it]. Despite the devastation wrought within the community by the HIV virus, many gay men are at pains to maintain a delicate denial of the facts, the risks, and the simple truths about infection, how to combat it, or merely how to prevent it. ... Try telling a group of twentysomething and thirtysomething year old gay men that they oughtn't to sleep around with whomever they want, wherever they want. It doesn't go over well. If the powers that be in the gay movement ever pushed for monogamy or castigated gay men for rampant promiscuity, they would lose their standing. That alone is excuse enough for many gay 'leaders' to avoid the subject altogether." Posted 2:59 PM | [Link] RAY NAGIN, THE CREOLE HITLER: [Rod Dreher] That's the view of Marc Morial crony and current New Orleans city councilman Marlin Gusman, as reported in today's Times-Picayune. Says the councilman, who is emerging as leader of the anti-Nagin opposition, "I remember from reading in history books how some of the greates atrocities in the history of the world started off with, 'Let's stamp out corruption.' Hitler in Nazi German, Fidel Castro in Cuba, racist whites in Reconstruction, just to name a few." Notice too how Gusman is playing the race card against a black man. Posted 2:55 PM | [Link] AROUND HEBREW U [Kathryn Jean Lopez] A reader writes: I ate in that cafeteria ("Meet me at 'Frank' ") countless times during my one-year stint at HU. All of these deaths are devastating but really hit home when you know the territory. On the subject of building names - the Sinatra building flanks the Nancy Reagan Plaza. There is also a Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme wing nearby. Posted 1:42 PM | [Link] BROOKS SQUEAKS BY [Jonathan Adler] Third Circuit nominee D. Brooks Smith was confirmed today by the U.S. Senate. The vote was 64-35. Smith is the second appeals court nominee confirmed this week. Julia Gibbons was confirmed for the Sixth Circuit on Monday. Posted 1:31 PM | [Link] GET TOUGH ON CRIME [Jonathan Adler] If all those posturing Senators are serious about fighting financial corruption they should take Instapundit's advice. Posted 1:02 PM | [Link] HELP: [Rich Lowry] This is more serious than my usual pleas for help. I'm looking for someone who is interested in helping me with research on a book project for very low pay. I'm looking for someone who is bright, politically engaged, and very reliable. Also--unlike Jonah--this person shouldn't mind working for less than a living wage. Probably a part-time job. E-mail me if you're interested or know someone who might be. Please make the subject line "research assistant." It might take me a week or two to get back to you. Thanks! Posted 12:55 PM | [Link] THE CABLE AND TERROR WARS [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Interesting bit of juxtaposition as I channel-surfed the AM news shows. As the king of Jordan was telling Katie that Israel needs to moderate its approach towards the Palestine, over on FoxNews, E.D., Steve, and Brian were breaking with "at least 6 dead in a Jerusalem explosion." Posted 12:17 PM | [Link] GET 4 FREE ISSUES OF NATIONAL REVIEW! That's right: We'll send you 4 FREE issues of National Review at absolutely no risk to you. If you're impressed by National Review's superior writing style, analysis, and wit, we'll send you the next 12 issues — for a total of 16 in all! — for only $19.95. Click here for details. Posted 12:17 PM | [Link] SAUDI JUSTICE [Andrew Stuttaford] In March 2001 three Chechens hijacked a Russian passenger jet to "Saudi" Arabia. Over 170 people were aboard. To their credit, Saudi special forces stormed the plane and after a melee that left one passenger, one flight attendant and one hijacker dead the plane was liberated. Prospects for the two surviving hijackers would, you might think, have been grim. The loppers and choppers of the Saudi justice system are well-known for imposing tough sentences for trivial crimes and the "Kingdom" is, we are always told, a foe of terrorism. Well, you would be wrong: Bloomberg News is reporting that the two surviving hijackers have just received their sentence: 4-6 years in jail. Posted 11:54 AM | [Link] THANKS AND FYI [Jonah Goldberg] Thanks to everybody who sent in serious suggestions for how we can get Cosmo to Alaska. To those who sent in jokes about how I should wear dark glasses or take Ray Charles with us: ha ha, but please stop. The joke gets pretty old when you've heard it 75 times. Anyway, nobody's offered to fly Coz in their private jet or pull strings at an airline yet, but we have some leads. If there's someone out there who can declare him a service or search and rescue dog for me, please let me know. In the meantime, FYI, here's my syndicated column on why we should invade Iraq. Posted 11:00 AM | [Link] SUMMER IN THE BATON ROUGE AREA: [Rod Dreher] We've got a serial killer, and possibly the largest-ever outbreak of West Nile virus in the nation's history. It's raining so much that what's left of the tomatoes are waterlogged and mealy. It's not even noon yet, and I need me a drink. I'm mad at Walker Percy for up and dying on us, when nothing would suit my mood better today than roadtripping over to Covington, finding him and sitting on his front porch with a hi-ball. Posted 10:56 AM | [Link] BRAVO MIKE: [Rod Dreher] In his New York Press column this week, gay journalist Michelangelo Signorile deplores the media's ignoring a devastating report from the recent international AIDS conference in Barcelona. A top AIDS researcher from Harvard revealed evidence that HIV-positive men who have sex with each other can become "superinfected" with other strains of HIV that their bodies cannot fight. This makes it highly unlikely we'll ever have an AIDS vaccine, and gives the lie to the notion that HIV-positive men can safely have sex with each other. The media, Signorile notes, largely ignored this. The "barebacking" phenomenon, in which gay men have condomless sex, is also being largely ignored by the media, even though it's keeping the epidemic raging. I make these same points in the new print issue of NR, but it's more important when a prominent gay journalist writes these things. Posted 10:44 AM | [Link] JUST NOTICING [Kathryn Jean Lopez] The name of the building where today's attack in Israel was: The Frank Sinatra International Student Center. Posted 10:32 AM | [Link] MORE ISRAELIS DEAD[Kathryn Jean Lopez] Same old: Explosion rocks Hebrew University, killing at least seven. Posted 10:26 AM | [Link] WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES! [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Surprisingly nice piece on Wade Horn in yesterday’s USA Today. He was among the Left’s most-hated enemies among Bush nominees last year for, basically, being pro-marriage. NOW’s still no fan, but there's less venom. Posted 10:14 AM | [Link] CASUALTIES, BY THE NUMBERS [Kathryn Jean Lopez] A useful analysis from TechCentralStation. Posted 9:59 AM | [Link] JOHN PODHORETZ LIKES THE NEW SPRINGSTEEN [Kathryn Jean Lopez] "'The Rising' is the first great work of popular art to emerge from the war on terrorism." (If you missed it, NRO has had some good things to say about the Boss, too.) Posted 5:51 AM | [Link] WHERE’S BILL CLINTON? [Kathryn Jean Lopez] He’s not to be found in Harlem. Posted 5:50 AM | [Link]
RE: DAN SAVAGE LOVES: [Rod Dreher] Did you read further into the Dan Savage interview, Jonah? He says people hate to hear him say it, but the problem with the Catholic Church sex scandal "is gay priests." Savage's view, which he states rather more bluntly than I can in The Corner without risking the wrath of our Den Mother, is that the kind of gay man who is attracted to the priesthood of a Church that says homosexuality is morally disordered is bound to be one messed-up dude. I don't agree with his reasoning, but the main reason I like Dan Savage, even though I disagree with most of what he stands for, is that he's a straightforward guy who does not suffer from sanctimony. He'll probably hate my piece in the new NR, though. Posted 9:53 PM | [Link] DAN SAVAGE LOVES... [Jonah Goldberg] ...Men with cages and National Review. In an interview with Media Bistro, the gay sex guru praises NR to the heavens. He lists as his career highlights: "Editor of The Stranger; Randy Cohen praising my column in his interview with mediabistro.com; my upcoming dinner engagement with Katha Pollitt; seeing something I wrote for The Stranger on Iraq praised in National Review; dating a really hot German guy in Berlin in 1989 who had a cage in his bedroom." The full interview is not for NRO readers turned off by casual conversation about casual (homosexual) sex. Posted 4:33 PM | [Link] COINCIDENCE? [Andrew Stuttaford] I'm probably - certainly - not the only person to have asked this, but I wonder if there is any connection between the enormous increase in the number of options issued to senior management in established corporations (early-stage companies are a different question) over the last few years and the Clinton-era law prohibiting companies from treating salaries of over $1,000,000 as a tax-deductible expense. Posted 4:09 PM | [Link] FAT CHANCE [Andrew Stuttaford] New Mexico senator Jeff Bingaman is on CNBC talking about his new obesity bill. Rumors that the senate will be recommending a diet of pork are unkind and unfair. Posted 4:08 PM | [Link] PATENTS: [Ramesh Ponnuru] Robert Goldberg's piece on NRO makes the standard conservative case against weakening drug patents, and makes it well. But I find the genre unconvincing. It may be true that shortening patent length would reduce innovation, as he argues; but if so, it would also be true that lengthening patents would encourage more innovation. Presumably, there is a point at which the expense of encouraging innovation becomes excessive. Where are we in relation to that point? Goldberg provides no reasons for thinking that existing patent law encourages an optimal amount of innovation. . . . That said, it is a bit disturbing to see senators mucking around with a complicated law that seems to have worked pretty well when they clearly have no idea what they're doing. Posted 4:07 PM | [Link] THOSE DEFECTING CUBANS: [Rod Dreher] Mark Shea speaks truth about the World Youth Day defectors from Cuba. How dare this Cuban Catholic official lie about the free practice of the Catholic faith under the Castro dictatorship?! Over to you, Jay Nordlinger... . Posted 4:03 PM | [Link] AQUAMAN'S AGONY [Jonathan Adler] More evidence that Marvel is better than D.C. Posted 3:42 PM | [Link] GREENS AGAINST CLEANER AIR? [Jonathan Adler] It sure seems that way. The Bush Administration proposes legislation to dramatically reduce utility emissions over the next fifteen years, and environmental groups cry foul because the plan relies on tradable permits. There may be reasons to fault the Bush plan, but that isn't one of them. Why is it that so many "environmentalists" exert greater effort opposing markets than encouraging conservation? Posted 3:41 PM | [Link] GREENS AGAINST BIG GOVERNMENT? [Jonathan Adler] Not exactly, but Sierra Club honcho Carl Pope joins Cato Institute President Ed Crane calling for the elimination of all energy subsidies across the board -- coal, oil, gas, solar, wind, etc. If only members of Congress would listen (and other environmental groups would heed the call). Posted 3:41 PM | [Link] ALASKA! HELP [Jonah Goldberg] The fair Jessica and I are going to Alaska in August. We have this crazy notion of driving back. This would mean another series of G-File dispatches from real America (and much of real Canada). There's one hitch. We can only do it if we can bring Cosmo with us. We can't -- and don't want -- to put him in a kennel or with friends for three weeks to a month. Indeed, much of the idea's appeal revolves around Cosmo letting his freak flag fly across this great nation of ours. The problem is it appears to be very difficult to get Cosmo on our flight. One difficulty is that few airlines will permit a dog on a plane if it's more than 85 degrees on any leg of the flight. It's doubtful it will be less than 85 in DC in mid-August and it's certainly unwise to plan on that. I considered driving to Minneapolis, where we have a stopover, and loading the pooch there, but our tickets don't permit me to do that. And, besides, if it's over 85 degrees in Minneapolis and they won't take Cosmo, we'll really be screwed. So, the question is: is there an answer to this dilemma -- other than driving all the way to Fairbanks and back? Note: NR doesn't have a jet. And, while airlines do allow "celebrity" dogs in the main cabin, I'm not sure Northwest Airlines will consider Cosmo the Wonderdog on par with the Taco Bell Chihuahua. If someone out there makes a successful suggestion or provides a workable solution, Cosmo and I will be very grateful and we'll do our best to demonstrate our gratitude appropriately. Posted 3:05 PM | [Link] THE "OTHER 50" STATES? [Jonah Goldberg] The State of Nevada's website tells visitors "what the other 50 states are doing" as part of Governor Kenny Guinn's "Working toward a better Nevada!" efforts. Maybe one thing they're doing better in the other 49 states is teaching kids how many states there are. Posted 2:16 PM | [Link] LA ROUTE EST DURE, MAIS JE SUIS FORT [John Derbyshire] Jonah: A year spent not-finishing a proposal? Impressive. Here I've been, feeling pleased with myself for having spent a week not-finishing a book review for Mike Potemra. Plainly I have taken only the first few steps on the path of wisdom. Posted 1:26 PM | [Link] "NO MORE TV FOR YOU!"[Kathryn Jean Lopez] Traficant gets eight years. Posted 1:16 PM | [Link] OWEN ON THE EDGE [Jonathan Adler] The nomination of Justice Priscilla Owen to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals may come down to a few decisions interpreting the "judicial bypass" provisions of Texas' parental notification law. This Legal Times article illustrates the weak ground of Owen's opponents. The only question is whether her supporters can muster an adequate response. Posted 12:29 PM | [Link] SAUDI "THIRST" [Jonah Goldberg] Andrew, sorry but I just read your post from this morning on the Saudi prince who died of "thirst." How exactly does this happen? Isn't much of Arab culture pretty much designed around the avoidance of death by thirst? Do princes often forget their canteens? Or, more likely, their retinues of servants who carry the canteens (and cell phones)? I'm sure I'm missing something, but dying of thirst in a desert isn't quite the same thing as drowning. You don't just fall of your camel or Humvee and dehydrate. I need more information. In the meantime, here's my contribution to Saudi conspiracy-mongering from last March. Posted 12:26 PM | [Link] WHERE'S LOWRY? [Jonah Goldberg] The mysterious Dear Leader seems to be in his hidden compound. Please report any sightings here. Posted 12:13 PM | [Link] NOT WRITING CONT'D [Jonah Goldberg] Does the fact that I've spent a year putting off finishing a book proposal get me anything? Posted 11:59 AM | [Link] ON NOT WRITING: [Rod Dreher] I'm with you, Derb. In fact, I've been putting off revisiting the scene of the crime to put together my crunched-and-munched story from last night (by the way, my poor father, a Windows user ever since he's had a computer, has been under the impression that the constant crashes he experiences are his own fault; no, I told him, Bill Gates just wants you to think that). Anyway, I've had a whole pot of Community Dark Roast already this morning, watched the end of Whit Stillman's Barcelona on satellite TV (Whit Stillman movies always make me happy), watched the last half of The E! True Hollywood Story: 'The Beverly Hillbillies', caught a live Fox interview with bosomy idiot Anna Nicole Smith (the existence of Anna Nicole Smith makes me very happy, but probably for the wrong reasons), and finally had to turn the TV off before I had a gran mal seizure triggered by speedballing trash-culture pleasure. I suppose I'd better write the story now. My brother-in-law the fireman/EMT is at work this morning, so I can't pump him for more stories of weird stuff he's seen on late-night emergency calls (his account of the medical emergency involving a 400-lb. naked redneck woman, a marital aid and a half-eaten can of cinnamon frosting is the best story I've heard all week). A diller, a dollar... . Posted 11:53 AM | [Link] THE POPE'S FRAILTY [Jonah Goldberg] I am baffled by the "debate" over whether or not the Pope is still fit enought to keep Poping. Again, I'm not Catholic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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