http://www.nationalreview.com/tks/tks.asp en-us j.geraghty@starpower.net 2006-04-28T13:39:00-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/096222.asp This is completely unrelated to anything in the political world, but I've noticed that any comment about football tends to bring at least four or five e-mails, so somebody must enjoy reading it. I predict tomorrow's NFL draft will begin as follows: 1. The Houston Texans will take RB Reggie... 2006-04-28T13:39:00-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/096212.asp There are many, many columnists lambasting both parties for their transparent and empty demagoguery on high gas prices: NRO editors, Charles Krauthammer, Eugene Robinson, Thomas Sowell, The Los Angeles Times. We’ve seen some terrible commentary regarding gas prices; perhaps most spectacularly, Nancy Pelosi’s comment that, “We have two oilmen in... 2006-04-28T12:09:40-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/096197.asp Kathryn pointed out this comment by the Bull Moose blog - in his new book, "The Good Fight", Peter Beinart, the former top editor of the New Republic has completely changed his opinion on the Iraq War. Where Beinart was once one of its most eloquent and persuasive supporters on... 2006-04-28T11:08:07-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/096062.asp I'm reading Joe Klein's "Politics Lost: How American Democracy Was Trivialized By People Who Think You're Stupid." I probably had heard this before, but seeing this fact again surprises me - in 2000, Democratic political consultant Bob Shrum recommended to Al Gore that he select John Edwards as his running... 2006-04-27T10:34:07-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/095955.asp Congratulations to Tony Snow. It’s hard to think of a guy better suited to the position of White House Press Secretary. But he has his work cut out for him. I chatted with a well-connected guy in Washington yesterday and he asked, “Why is the Bush administration not making more... 2006-04-26T10:51:37-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/095940.asp Crazy Mahmoudi, a.k.a. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinijad, may be attending the World Cup in Germany this summer. (Iran's team qualified last year.) A friend passes on this petition to bar his entry to Germany. A German parliamentarian is on board. I wonder if his trip to Germany would be a... 2006-04-26T09:21:12-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/095898.asp Dear Republican lawmakers, Please take this idea (eliminating the federal tax on gas and diesel for sixty days) and run with it. Take the support of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and argue that this is bipartisan and make the Democrats vote for or against temporary tax relief... 2006-04-25T17:44:50-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/095813.asp I'm back in the United States for a few weeks, so blogging will be sporadic and light. Kind of like rain, this time of year.... 2006-04-25T08:37:56-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/095407.asp Well, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid may not have realized he was calling for the U.S. to recognize Iran’s mullahs as their legitimate leaders and for the U.S. to formally reestablish a diplomatic relationship. But it’s hard to see how the administration could follow his advice without doing just that:... 2006-04-20T09:22:25-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/095274.asp Abdul Rahman's dead. No, not the good one who had to be smugged out of Afghanistan. The bad one, who was a high-ranking al-Qaeda figure, also known as Abu Mohsin Musa, a.k.a. Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah. He had a $5 million bounty on his head, and was one of the... 2006-04-19T05:14:13-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/095197.asp I realize that trying to reason with the Rumsfeld-must-go crowd is probably a waste of time, but here goes… Brain Shavings has a wonderful graphic depiction of how many retired generals have called for Rumsfeld's departure, and how many haven’t. (Maybe I'm a bit more irritable than usual, but I... 2006-04-18T10:19:37-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/095073.asp I don’t doubt that the GOP base is cranky and dissatisfied, and that most Democratic voters are as angry as the lovely lady the Washington Post profiled on Saturday. I look at the Post this morning, and I read: “Anger at Bush May Hurt GOP At Polls; Turnout Could Favor... 2006-04-17T07:49:17-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/094992.asp A few quick comments on some more evidence of the Tipping Point in Americans' perceptions of Islam. First, a CBS News poll: Although Americans believe they are better informed about Islam than they were five years ago, a new CBS News poll finds fewer than one in five say their... 2006-04-14T11:32:25-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/094880.asp For a long, long time, a major goal of groups like the AARP and fans of expanding the welfare state was to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare. It didn’t take long for Republicans to figure out opposing this idea was a political loser; it lent itself easily to attack... 2006-04-13T08:46:00-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/094639.asp I see that George Conway, another NRO blogger, appears to have come to the end of his rope regarding the current Republican Party leadership: I'm disgruntled, too, and I'm going to get it all of my chest this morning: I've never voted for a Democrat in a general election in... 2006-04-11T06:26:34-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/094546.asp Forgot to mention this last week - a couple of days ago, I wrote in the Washington Times about Angela Merkel, and how she's settling in to the job as Germany's chancellor. Short version: What a breath of fresh air, and what a dramatic change from now-consultant-for-a-Russian-natural-gas-company Gerhard Schroder. I... 2006-04-10T06:49:53-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/094397.asp So today my writing is scheduled to appear on the web site of the institution that I would have guessed was least likely to ever invite me. Yes, the Sauronic Eye of CBS has offered Pajama Been Bloggin of the Pajamahadeen an opportunity to opine on their ombudsman web site,... 2006-04-07T07:01:38-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/094261.asp Two brief additional points today on the "United 93" movie. First, if you thought the trailer was gut-wrenching, the short feature on the making of the film hits almost as hard. Writer-director Paul Greengrass sounds like a man who put an exceptional amount of thought into this project, and one... 2006-04-05T10:36:44-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/094131.asp So I watched the trailer for the upcoming film, “United 93.” I can understand if some people say, “it’s too soon. I just can’t watch it.” This trailer feels like a gut punch; your heart is in your throat from the first seconds. This movie has no stars, no flashy... 2006-04-04T08:27:10-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/094124.asp I take another look at the Democrats' national security plan, in the New York Sun. Over on Slate, Fred Kaplan is simultaneously full of criticism for the Democrats’ plan, and yet praises it compared to the policies of the Bush administration. I don’t know. This is comparing policies that are... 2006-04-04T05:58:56-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/093967.asp Debbie Schlussel writes in to TKS, regarding the release of Jill Carroll: You must ask yourself why these [generally anti-American] groups were so involved in her release and why they are now so elated. Not the case with any other hostages. She points to this posting, where she observes, "More... 2006-04-01T07:20:27-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/093889.asp There are a lot of good causes in the world, and I’m sure you feel like you’re inundated with requests to help out. So I’ll keep this brief, and let you know that over on Jeff Harrell’s blog, you can find a fascinating and compelling story about U.S. Army Captain... 2006-03-31T10:07:51-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/093864.asp Over in the Corner, I'm seeing some vague “bad feelings” and “irritation” about statements from Jill Carroll, the Christian Scientist Monitor reporter abducted for three months by an Islamic jihadist group in Iraq. Elsewhere on the web, the feelings are much more vehement. My instinct is to hesitate going after... 2006-03-31T07:49:37-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/093779.asp One of the key parts of the Democrats' plan is in reducing America's dependence on foreign oil. In general, this is a noble goal. (Although imagine if, tomorrow the U.S. found a source of domestic oil in Texas that meant we never needed another drop from Saudi Arabia. Would the... 2006-03-30T09:14:58-05:00 http://tks.nationalreview.com/archives/093769.asp Deep in the section of the Democratic National Security plan about securing Russia's nuclear arsenal (page 62), I found this nugget: The top of our agenda must be securing Russian cooperation in preventing terrorists from acquiring nukes. Other concerns, such as Russia’s backsliding on democracy, must be given lesser priority.... 2006-03-30T07:51:39-05:00