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Friday, April 7, 2006
Blame the Collapse on the Dems
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 2:33PM
As I wrote earlier today, the breakdown of the agreement on the immigration bill gives the GOP a huge opportunity: Blame it on the Dems for opposing the amendment on alien felons. BRING THE AMENDMENT TO A VOTE!!!! Put them on record on the amendment. Really, it ought to be child's play to turn this issue into a winner!
Compromise Collapses
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 2:01PM
Via RedState: The immigration compromise didn't pass a procedural muster today after Democrats wouldn't allow amendments and Republicans moved to kill the bill.
That's fine. I'd rather see no new legislation than more legislation that won't be enforced.
Veto? I'll Believe It When I See It
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 11:30AM
I wish I could believe the president this time. Until proven otherwise, though, a threat of a veto from this president is like a promise from Bill Clinton that he'll be faithful to Hillary. If Bush had used his veto power before now, the budget wouldn't be anywhere near as bloated and the GOP base wouldn't be anywhere near as restless and downright furious as it is.
National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 11:09AM
President Bush once again spoke at that National Catholic Prayer Breakfast held this morning in Washington, D.C. While his speech was excellent and what a good social conservative would expect, the real star of the morning wasn't the President, but the man he nominated to serve as Chief Justice of the United States. Chief Justice Roberts sat literally front and center and accepted the standing ovation he received with humility. Across America, as pictures of the event are beamed about, liberal heads will be exploding.
Re: The Masters, CW and Potential Winners
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 11:01AM
Larry,
The Yankees - Red Sox divisional series of two years ago was good for the first three games, but after that I thought the quality really went downhill.
Paul
Fitzgerald's Words
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 10:57AM
This is what Fitzgerald's filing says:
"During this time, while the President was unaware of the role that the Vice President's Chief of Staff and National Security Adviser had in fact played in disclosing Ms. Wilson's CIA employment, defendant implored White House officials to have a public statement issued exonerating him. When his initial efforts met with no success, defendant sought the assistance of the Vice President in having his name cleared. Though defendant knew that another White House official had spoken to Novak in advance of Novak's column and that official had learned in advance that Novak would be publishing information about Wilson's wife, defendant did not disclose that fact to other White House officials (including the Vice President) but instead prepared a handwritten statement of what he wished White House Press Secretary McClellan would say to exonerate him."
Again, let's recap: President didn't know. Vice President didn't know. Let's move on.
Libby
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 10:54AM
More important, is the document filed by Independent Prosecutor Pat Fitzgerald, which on page 27 informs the court and the public -- if press would only report it -- that neither the President nor the Vice President had advance knowledge of the leak of the name of Joseph Wilson's life.
The President is allowed to declassify materials. In fact other senior members of an Administration -- the Secretaries of State, Defense and the Attorney General, for example -- can declassify materials. And what the President apparently declassified was something that was to be made public within days of his actions.
So let's recap. Not an illegal leak, but merely an early release of a declassified document.
Turning Tides
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 10:37AM
In a close vote, New Hampshire kills a bill to ban smoking in restaurants and bars. They'll be living free and dying at the old tavern tonight--and if you don't like it, head on over to one of any number of establishments that have voluntarily gone smoke-free instead of coddling your inner Nazi. Coercion isn't charity, my friends. It isn't even nice.
Uniting GOP on Immigrants
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 10:37AM
Okay, if the congressional GOP has even a tiny smidgen of collective intelligence (which is highly questionable), it will rally around, and make a HUGE political issue out of, an amendment to the immigration bill that the Democrats oppose. I quote today's Washington Times: "A remaining sticking point is that Democrats still don't want certain Republican amendments considered, including one that would prohibit from obtaining U.S. citizenship illegal aliens who have been convicted of a felony or three misdemeanors or refused a court order to leave the country." THIS IS FLABBERGASTING! Not only is the Senate talking about what amounts to amnesty, but the Dems even want citizenship for those who break OTHER laws of our country (in addition to the immigration laws themselves). Citizenship for felons?!?! Or for repeat-offender misdemeanants? Especially those who are here illegally in the first place?!? This blows my mind. What a ready-made issue to highlight one of the few remaining differences -- that of law and order, which Republicans favor, vs. mollycoddling of criminals, which the Dems still obviously have a penchant for -- between the two big-spending congressional parties! If this issue can't be exploited by the congressional GOP, then these guys are so incompetent they make Inspector Clouseau look like Sherlock Holmes. And this issue doesn't need the slightest bit of demagoguery, either: Just the bare essentials should create such a gut response that the public should respond against the Dems even if the subject is brought up in a mild, mild way.
Insuring Controversy
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 10:18AM
My piece on Massachusetts (almost) universal health coverage is cited today in this very worthwhile read over at Classical Values. On a related note Reason's Kerry Howley has a wonderful exploration of medical insurance issues in Reader's Digest, subtitled, "Think you insurance has you covered? Just wait until you need it most."
The Masters, CW and Potential Winners
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 7:05AM
Quin,
All right, Jaidee was always a long shot. But, contrary to the CW, as always, there are quite a few more than five players who could win the tournament (ignoring their first-round scores for the moment).
Allenby, Appleby, Ames, Bjorn, Beem, Browne, Bryant, Cabrera, Campbell & Campbell, Clarke & Clark, Howell & Howell, Choi, Couples, Crane, DiMarco, Curtis, Furyk -- you get the idea. Though Mike Weir would not have been picked when he won, he was not really a surprise when he did. And Len Mattiace was in the playoff with him!
On a one-time basis, other sporting events can beat the Masters for viewing interest and excitement. The Yankees-Red Sox divisional series two years ago, a France-U.S. Davis Cup final where Yannick Noah coached a two man French side, Henri LeConte and Guy Forget. But year in year out, the Masters is the best.
Larry
Belittling the Little
Posted by on 4.7.06 @ 1:18AM
In my Thursday bit I praised Little People, Big World for its lack of exploitative qualities. So I was doubly interested to come across this piece by Dan Kennedy, making the exact opposite argument--from the perspective of an average-sized parent of a little person. It's worth checking out and I'm definitely going to pick up his book on the subject.
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Anent Immigration Deal:
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 7:52PM
Dear compromised Senators:
Lemme get this straight. If I have been a criminal for more than five years, it's welcome to the family. Two to five and I have to go back and take a running start. Criminal for less than two and it's "get outta here."
Plame Leak: More Nonsense
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 7:50PM
Before we get too carried away with glee (as did the New York Times) about Scooter Libby's reported testimony that he was authorized by the president to leak classified information, let's remember one non-trivial fact: the executive branch is the part of our government that has the authority to classify -- or declassify -- information. So, as we've talked about before, the whole Libby case should fail. For any number of reasons. Not the least of which, as Libby's lawyers arued last week, Fitzgerald's appointment, by which he was delegated all the powers of the Attorney General, is improper. And a violation of the Constitutional advice and consent provision. Can't delegate the AG's powers to someone who hasn't gone through that wonderful Senate confirmation process.
Citizenship for Sale
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 5:53PM
That's the Human Events take on today's compromise immigration bill.
McKinney Update
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 4:32PM
Rep. Cynthia McKinney's apology for her actions related to her alleged assualt of a Capitol Hill police officer was based on a draft apology prepared in the office of Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi, according to Democrats we spoke to on Thursday. The draft was passed along to members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday, and versions of the draft were bounced around after several conversations with McKinney herself.
"She did not want to say 'I apologize for x or y or z,' which is why the statement is worded the way it is," says a Democrat aide. "The Black Caucus put a lot of pressure on her to to make the statement. We were joking that they were surrounding her during the statement not to show solidarity, but to make sure she didn't run away."
In a related matter, Democrat leadership was attempting to determine just how McKinney was paying for a bodyguard who has been trailing her. News reports identified him as a former Georgia state law enforcement employee, and reporters caught him on tape attempting to intimidate one of their own. "If she's paying for this guy out of taxpayer money, we have a whole new problem on our hands," says the Democrat leadership staffer.
Larry's Column
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 4:27PM
Larry, I was out of town overnight, so just now saw your post with the link too your earlier column on The Masters. Great stuff!!! I loved it. Meanwhile, my choices Leonard and Love got off to rough starts, Love double-bogeying the first hole and Leonard opening bogey, TRIPLE-bogey (and that, on a par 5!). Ugh. Love has recovered and is now even par through 8, with Justin at +2 through 16. Mr. Jaidee, I regret to tell you, shot a 78. Maybe we both should have picked Ben Curtis, right now at -2!
Democrats' Worst Nightmare
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 2:13PM
It's blacks voting Republican, of course, and Michael Steele has them sweating:
An internal document prepared by a top Democratic strategist warns that a majority of African American voters in Maryland are open to supporting Republican Senate candidate Michael S. Steele and advises the party not to wait to "knock Steele down."Drudge has a copy of the report's key findings, which note that "Steele's messaging to the African American community has clearly had a positive affect [sic] - with many voters reciting his campaign slogans and his advertising."The 37-page report says a sizable segment of likely black voters -- as much as 44 percent -- would readily abandon their historic Democratic allegiances "after hearing Steele's messaging."
"Governor Ehrlich and [Lt. Gov.] Michael Steele have a clear ability to break through the Democratic stronghold among African American voters in Maryland," says the March 27 report by Cornell Belcher, polling consultant for the Democratic National Committee, which bases its findings on a survey of 489 black voters in Maryland conducted last month.
Also notable is the reaction of Democrats vying to run against Steele:
In a statement yesterday, an aide to Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin said he found "no surprises in this poll."Ludwig seems to be implying that Democrats should nominate Mfume to shore up black support (Mfume is black, Cardin is not). But Cardin is polling much better against Steele than Mfume is."Like the vast majority of Marylanders, African Americans know that the Bush-Steele agenda is wrong for our state and our nation," said Oren Shur, the Cardin campaign spokesman.
[Kweisi] Mfume advisers, however, said the survey should sound alarms.
"There's significance there," said Mfume strategist Walter Ludwig. "Everybody up and down the ticket needs to make sure African Americans don't feel like they're being taken for granted."
Re: Katie After Dour Dan
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 1:31PM
Jed: I've already had more fun with Katie Couric than I can stand. One look and I knew she was the second coming of Angela Lansbury in the original Manchurian Candidate. Matt Lauer is one lucky, liberated man.
Hopefully Theocon
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 11:19AM
Ross Douthat thoughtfully explores (sub. req'd) the accomplishments and failures of religious conservatism and its place within the larger movement today. No longer is it the alienating fire-and-brimstone version of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. They want to change culture at a deeper, yet subtler level:
More broadly, it means finding a rhetorical mode that is moral without being moralistic, religious without being sectarian -- and finding a new generation of leaders who are more articulate and less polarizing than the last. More Sam Brownbacks, for instance, whose vision encompasses Third World poverty, prostitution and prison reform without sacrificing any urgency on issues of life and death -- and fewer Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells, jowly bigots who seem to think that shaking their fists at America is the best way to persuade it to repent. More artists like Mel Gibson or investors like Philip Anschutz, the Christian billionaire behind "The Chronicles of Narnia," who are comfortable advancing religious ideas within the confines of the cultural mainstream, and fewer culture warriors who sneer at Hollywood and then churn out dreck like "The Omega Code." And more women, above all -- as speakers, as writers and as candidates for office, so that the next time a president signs a piece of pro-life legislation, he (or she) won't need to do so on a platform filled with middle-aged men.
This is progress, and it's not just superficial. The most challenging part of the "culture war" is fought at the cultural, not strictly political, level. Once you reach a point where the fight demands political action, you've likely lost in the cultural arena. These changes are significant and bode well for long-term success.
Re: Katie After Dour Dan
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 9:13AM
Tony DiP, Ned and Roger: guys, c'mon. We can have soooo much fun with this. The only thing better would have been replacing Dan with MoDo. And I didn't watch CBS with Dan, except for times when I'd expected him to be melting down with bias. I won't be watching Katie any more often. At least when Brit has the panel on.
More Control, Less Free Speech
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 8:13AM
In other late night shenanigans, the House passed a 527 regulation bill that capped the individual donation amount to a political 527 at $5000 and to a partisan voter registration group at $25,000. The bill enjoyed wide Republican support because they expect it to limit most Democratic groups. So, as the Post points out, the parties switched arguments on campaign finance and the Democrats argued that it would hamper free speech. In this case, the Democrats are right: it does, just as campaign finance legislation usually does.
Rep. Mike Pence, chairman of the House Republican Study Committee, and 18 other Republicans (mostly RSC members) voted no. Pence said after the vote, "I believe instead of greater government control of political speech, more freedom is the answer and that is why I could not support this bill. And while this liberty may be a bit more chaotic and inconvenient for some in the political class, as Thomas Jefferson said, 'I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.' The answer to problems in politics in a free society is more freedom, not less."
Immigration Compromise
Posted by on 4.6.06 @ 8:01AM
It's certainly an improvement on the McCain bill, but it looks like the Senate decided to get tough on just a sliver of the illegal immigrants and exonerate the rest. And that sliver of one million (out of 11) who would have to go home and then apply for temporary guest worker status? I doubt the federal government will lift a finger to send them back.
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
John Tabin Superstar
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 10:04PM
Frequent AmSpec contributor and, by my lights, one of the best conservative journalists out there, John Tabin, received an Honorable Mention in this year's Felix Morely Journalism Competition. Scroll down and check it out. It is, without doubt, a richly deserved honor. Those so inclined should send some congratulations this way.
Katie after Dour Dan
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 7:17PM
Did CBS choose the most annoyingly perky woman in America as over-compensation for Dour Dan? The man who never hinted at a smile unless he was driving a stake through the heart of a Republican?
The whole exercise reminds me of a scene out of Mel Brooks's "Robin Hood: Men in Tights." You may recall that Prince John, tired of bad news, ordered the Sheriff of Rottingham to give him bad news in a good way. Can't wait to see how Katie handles the first earthquake.
Augusta Who?
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 4:33PM
Quin:
It's like that every year. I remember the year Tom Kite did not qualify, for some reason; he was at the time the leading career money winner in all of golf. And how many years did Jumbo Ozaki get invited, only to blow up on the weekend?
The rap against the Masters has always been a weak field. That's partly its heritage; it's an invitational. And it's partly the strange selection criteria used to create the field.
I'd like to see Camilo Villegas there, on the basis that the latest, newest hot player ought to get a shot. By other criteria (the top ten money winners), he just missed by a whisker.
Long time before you came on board at TAS (December, 02), I wrote a column you'd like on the Masters, here.Larry
SHILF is Born, Jihad World Prospers
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 3:30PM
1. West Beirut Liberation (read, terror by any other name) Conference, late March, 2006. Attending was Meshal of Hamas, Nasrallah of HizbAllah, also chiefs of PFLP General Command, Zarqawi's now regional command, Moslem Brothers from Cairo, and deputies Syrian and Iranian Intelligence.
2. Two tracks: the public discussion was about political party formation on West Bank, in Egypt, in Iraq. The private discussion was what is to be done about Israel and the United States.
3. Critical resolution was that the defeat of Israeli occupation on the West Bank and in Southern Lebanon and in Syria (Shebaa Farms, Glan Heights) and the American occupation in Iraq is now considered the same struggle. One contest, with unified command structure.
4. No confirm of a follow on meeting in Tehran by Iranian and Syrian intel chiefs to sign off on proposals from West Beirut.
5. New SHILF: Supreme Headquarters Islamic Liberation Force, likely at Damascus. Syria will now go Jihad World to accomodate. Watch for al-Assads in full desert dress.
6. You bet they're cocky.
Field Notes: World War 4, Gulf Theater
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 3:12PM
1. You will recall that Ahmadinejad vanished from the scene for ten days in February. Now confirmed that he spent his ten days at the new Gulf Operations HQ, site of the command and control for the recent Great Prophet war games. Successful demonstration of headquarters, subordinate headquarters, linked by secure communications, linked to National Command Center at Tehran.
2. During the games, National Command Center conducted successful simulation of ballistic missile launch. This means a nuclear warhead launch. Missile type identified as Fajar 3, or Victory 3. Resembles the body of a Russian SS-4 with a mirved warhead resembling Iskander 3, likely Chinese and or Russian assist. Mirved warhead also associated with distribution to Syria.
3. Announcements of test firings by two types of underwater warheads. Both Russian designs. The cavitation weapon is likely the KV111, rebuilt, and was likely acquired from Ukraine Black Sea Fleet. The Whale torpedo demonstrated in the Straits of Hormuz is Russian design, likely from the Black Sea Fleet. The torpedo maneuvered the shallows and depths of the Straits. The Whale is built for targeting big ships, such as carriers or supertankers.
4. Rebuilt German electric boat deployed and operational in Gulf: this is smaller than German original, aimed at operations on Gulf bottom and in crowded shipping lanes. Also Kilo boats (Russian made) deployed in Indian Ocean from Mozambique to Pakistan. No information if the Kilo boats are using the silencing technology avaiable.
5. Emphasize command and control and communications for all this equipment was successful. Does this mean satellite linkage? Does this mean AWACs?
6. Area of war games operation extended from from the Iraqi coast to Straits of Hormuz. Practicing for a crisis, both blocking the Straits, assault on Gulf oil and transportation facilities.
5. Analysis to follow. Snarky thought: Fifth Fleet is MacArthur, 1941.
This Is No Bull
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 2:10PM
From the We Can't Make this Stuff Up Department comes this report that the Hollywoodenheads are now filming the life of Spanish bull fighter Manolete, having apparently received the blessing of a reluctant PETA after assuring the animal rights nutballs that no real bulls would be hurt in making the film.
Said PETA spokeshuman Lisa Lange, " We are concerned [the movie] will romanticize bullfighting,'' but, she said, "There is some consolation that the story ends'' with Manolete's 1947 death from a wound inflicted by a bull. Rowdy Yates, please call your office.
Jaidee? Jaidee no
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 10:54AM
Lawrence -- If Thongchai Jaidee wins the Masters this year, I'll buy you a steak dinner at the DC restaurant of your choice. But thanks for your kind words. As for Geoff Ogilvy, you may be on to something there. Now, here's a list of the "what's he doing at Augusta?" caucus (the players about whom you can't quite figure out how they qualified, even though the Masters web site helpfully explains it to you; i.e. the ones who you didn't realized had played well enough in the first place): Jason Bohn, Ted Purdy, Ryan Moore. Meanwhile, I'd much rather see Jay Haas in the field (not qualified for the first time in years) than a host of the folks who did make it. And I'd still like to see Greg Norman even if he hasn't been healthy enough to play more than about three tourneys a year for the past several years....
Notre Dame Backs Down on Monologues
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 10:08AM
Fr. John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, released his "closing statement" on the Vagina Monologues performance today. Though he still finds that it is opposed to the Catholic understanding of human sexuality, he will not prohibit its performance on campus: "I am very determined that we not suppress free speech on campus."
How disappointing. It appears Fr. Jenkins has been convinced by the campus multicultis that free speech must enjoy an official forum. Students and faculty are free to discuss even the most corrupt ideas in the classroom, in the residence halls, in the pages of the Observor, and really anywhere else. That doesn't mean Notre Dame should afford them space to spread such pollution.
Jenkins had a better sense of this when he began his "discussion" about the Monologues. He used the example of anti-Semetic Passion plays to demonstrate that some expressions of speech would be unacceptable on the Notre Dame campus because they would so grievously offend Catholic principles. The difference, it seems, is that such a performance would be politically incorrect, whereas the Monologues are quite hip.
When I wrote about this in January, I gave Fr. Jenkins the benefit of the doubt and assumed that he was building consensus for his eventual decision to shut down the play. He proved me wrong. One has to be part of the cultural malaise or against it. In this case, Notre Dame missed a chance to join the latter group.
Fortunately, there's still some hope: my alma mater Providence College banned the malaise outright.
Kerry, Cuttin' and Runnin'
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 9:21AM
Within two hours of the president’s
Here’s the money quote:
Iraqi politicians should be told that they have until May 15 to put together an effective unity government or we will immediately withdraw our military. If Iraqis aren't willing to build a unity government in the five months since the election, they're probably not willing to build one at all. The civil war will only get worse, and we will have no choice anyway but to leave.
If
For this transition to work, we must finally begin to engage in genuine diplomacy. We must immediately bring the leaders of the Iraqi factions together at a
Cut and run, turn the whole thing over to Kofi and the
Bruuuuuce
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 8:46AM
Mr. Bartlett, the man who calls Bush impostor, now declares that tax cuts don't "starve the beast" of government growth. It's not good enough for Bartlett that tax cuts have not recently starved the beast, nor that tax cuts are not currently starving it, both of which are fair enough judgments -- or really, observations. But Bartlett has lost his patience for spectator sports, and only the wrath of judgment can satisfy. He seems audacious enough, in fact, to posit a whole new law of economics -- two new laws, in fact -- to consign the tax-cut "dogma" to the dustbin of history. It's all happening at TimesSelect -- but you can watch Bartlett's logical pinata spill its guts and twist in the wind, free of charge, at Postmodern Conservative.
Dark Horse picks
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 2:45AM
Quin:
Nice piece on the Masters. Watch for Tongchai Jaidee, who has the most fabulous short game I've ever seen, and Jeff Ogilvy, who is poised for greatness.
Years ago, I won a betting pool on the Masters. You were required to pick three players; if your players finished cumulatively the best, you won. If your players missed the cut you were out. I picked players I was sure would make the cut (like Jay Haas) and won the pot on Friday.
Free John Green
Posted by on 4.5.06 @ 2:23AM
I'm only now able to get around to writing about something that's bothered me for some time: the suspension for one month last Friday of an ABC "Good Morning America" producer named John Green for something he wrote in an e-mail EIGHTEEN MONTHS AGO critical of President Bush and almost TWELVE MONTHS AGO in an e-mail critical of Madeleine Albright. To its credit, the New York Times got around to reporting the story only yesterday, three days after the dutiful Howard Kurtz wrote it up in the Washington Post.
What's the scandal here? Clearly the only reason for the suspension is that the contents of the e-mails were made public, and thus suggesting that Green is not the objective creature big media folk are supposed to be. Shock, shock. ABC's action was nothing more than corporate cowardice. Green's only crime is getting caught. If ABC were truly interested in respectful journalism, it would have fired him outright. Green, in turn, instead of defending his honor against his tormenters, has officially caved in as readily as Harvard's Lawrence Summers did after he upset the feminists that be.
It would be more interesting to know why the Albright e-mail got leaked to the New York Post, nearly a week after the anti-Bush comments were first reported by Drudge. Was Green in need of evidence to prove his bias can be directed at liberals as well?
Or was he simply your typical ornery producer, tactless as a matter of course? If he comes back a milquetoast, ABC will no doubt be less well served, and the brave new world of Big Foot journalism will become eerier still.
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
The Bishops' Fight
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 8:25PM
I won't touch the merits of the Catholic bishops' involvement in the immigration issue, but would that they showed this much mettle when it came to abortion legislation. While reasonable and faithful Christians may disagree on immigration, abortion is a morally unambiguous mass murder. When's Cardinal Mahony then?
Re: John Tabin DeLay/Delay
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 6:57PM
As I noted back in January, Shawn, Republican leaders on the Hill more or less took my advice months ago. DeLay's retirement is just the coda.
Happy to Help, if Welcome
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 3:53PM
Wal-Mart says it's building 50 new stores in "struggling" (read: poor) urban areas. This isn't exactly new, but the aggressive initiative is: they're intentionally placing the stores in high crime/unemployment areas, on environmentally contaminated sites (cleaned up by Wal-Mart), and in vacant buildings. To head off criticism that the corporation kills small businesses, Wal-Mart will give small businesses grants and free advertising.
South Side Chicago would already have a Wal-Mart in a blighted neighborhood if the city council hadn't stopped it.
Another New Low
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 1:02PM
Just when you think depravity has reached a peak, some lunatic has to attempt to scale even higher. This is just terrible.
John Tabin DeLay/Delay
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 11:46AM
What? Did Tom DeLay just get around to reading Tabin's September web piece last night?
End of an Era
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 10:29AM
When Tom DeLay leaves the House of Representatives shortly, it will essentially complete the disappearance of the Republican leadership team that orchestrated the historic congressional election of 1994 and the brief, shining light that was the Conservative Revolution of the 104th Congress -- Dick Armey, Bill Paxon, Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, Bob Walker, Bob Livingston. Unfortunately, not only are they all gone, but tragically so is the conservative philosophy that used to undergird the Republican Party.
Short Tutorial
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 9:58AM
The new high-speed torpedo the Iranians are testing to much fanfare is apparently a variant of the Russian "Shkval" supercavitating weapon. I wrote about supercavitating weapons four years ago here. The piece is bit dated, but the supercavitation tutorial it contains ain't.
Wilsonians vs. Endgame Cons: The Debate Continues
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 9:54AM
Today's installment is in a Wall Street Journal piece by the director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives, Peter Wehner. He takes on William F. Buckley and George Will for saying that the war in Iraq is lost, and Francis Fukuyama for saying the president's agenda for spreading democracy in the Middle East is dead. Here's the money quote:
Critics of the Iraq war have offered no serious strategic alternative to the president's freedom agenda, which is anchored in the belief that democracy and liberal institutions are the best antidote to the pathologies plaguing the Middle East. The region has generated deep resentments and lethal anti-Americanism. In the past, Western nations tolerated oppression for the sake of "stability." But this policy created its own unintended consequences, including attacks that hit America with deadly fury on Sept. 11. President Bush struck back, both militarily and by promoting liberty.
In Iraq, we are witnessing advancements and some heartening achievements. We are also experiencing the hardships and setbacks that accompany epic transitions. There will be others. But there is no other way to fundamentally change the Arab Middle East. Democracy and the accompanying rise of political and civic institutions are the only route to a better world -- and because the work is difficult doesn't mean it can be ignored. The cycle has to be broken. The process of democratic reform has begun, and now would be precisely the wrong time to lose our nerve and turn our back on the freedom agenda. It would be a geopolitical disaster and a moral calamity -- and President Bush, like President Reagan before him, will persist in his efforts to shape a more hopeful world.
But what Wehner ignores is the effect of the democracy plan on the wider war. By only restating the president's idea, Wehner makes it clear that we have ceded control of the pace and direction of the war to those who control the progress of creating democracy in Iraq. And that, unfortunately, means our principal enemies (Iran and Syria) and our faux ally, Saudi Arabia. This is a strategic plan that can only lead to defeat. We who support the president expect better. If only he will reawaken to the global challenge he once defined.
New Action in PA
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 9:09AM
The Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania have launched a 527.
DeLay Context
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 9:06AM
Some context on the DeLay announcement:
It's true that former GOP House Leader Tom DeLay's decision probably saves the Republicans a seat for the majority. It also takes a huge election-year topic away from Democrats, who planned on using DeLay as a poster boy across the country.
The House GOP has seen some internal polling and focus group materials that indicate DeLay wasn't going to be a huge drag on the party in the fall, but he was going to be a drag nonetheless.
We're hearing that there was no undue pressure put on DeLay, that after winning his contested primary, he had a chance to sit back and look at where things were going. He was looking to raise at least $8 million to $10 million for his re-election, and for what? he wondered.
In the end, this decision is good for the party and may very well save between three to five seats for Republicans across the country. DeLay deserves the party's thanks for his leadership and his service to our country.
On 'Amnesty'
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 8:41AM
Brandon Crocker implies that those who call guest worker programs amnesty don't "think words have meanings." The definition he offers is "to overlook an offense without attaching any punishment."
That strikes me as a too sweeping. The word is derived from amnesia, suggesting a forgetting of a past crime. Webster's defines it as "an act of authority (as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals. The Oxford English Dictionary offers "forgetfulness, oblivion; an intentional overlooking; a general overlooking or pardon of past offenses, by the ruling authority." These don't include "without attaching any punishment," but a pardon does mean to act as though no crime had been committed. So strictly speaking, it's not amnesty.
But if a law could be close to amnesty, the guest worker program would be. The McCain-Kennedy plan would require a $1000 fine and background check of all undocumented immigrants for them to stay and participate in the guest worker program. The fact that being here illegally was, well, illegal and required deportation is "overlooked." In that sense, the past crime is overlooked and pardoned. In contrast, new guest workers must pay a $500 fine.
At the very least, the guest worker program would emphasize and codify that the U.S. wasn't serious about the previous law. The past offense would be all but forgotten and the once illegal immigrant would be distinguished from new guest workers by the relatively nominal fee of $500. If that's the price to pay for serious infractions of the law, non-amnesty is attractive!
73 -57
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 1:48AM
That's why they play the game. Late Sunday I wrote to a friend about UCLA, "Because they're deep and play with confidence, I assume they could shut down Florida too, or at least faster than Florida can shut down them." What a blithering idiocy! Florida turned the tables on UCLAns from the get-go, dominating them on both ends and winning almost as one-sidedly as UNLV did in 1990 when it humbled Duke, 103-73. In 1991 Duke came back and got its revenge against UNLV (in the Final Four semifinals). Right now I don't see history repeating itself next year.
Re: Immigration and Ballots
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 1:24AM
John: In David Brooks' rendition, Bill Kristol's "yahoos" are "blithering idiots, frankly" -- that's what Brooks called the people around Rep. Tom Tancredo on the Lehrer NewsHour last Friday. (He also rather dismissively called Tancredo, not a congressman, but "one of the anti-immigration guys in the House.") Right after this Brooks joined in with Mark Shields to praise Andrew Card's niceness.
DeLay Out?
Posted by on 4.4.06 @ 12:21AM
That's the word, in spite of remaining sanguine in the face of strong Democratic challengers and the Abramoff scandal.
UPDATE: Via Drudge, Time's Mike Allen has more: says he didn't want to risk the seat and that he could accomplish more outside the House than inside.
For such a formerly effective operator, that goes to show how far he'd fallen on the Hill.
Monday, April 3, 2006
Re: Immigration and Ballots
Posted by on 4.3.06 @ 8:15PM
John, Great point. To add to that, Kilgore hardly mentioned the day laborer centers. (Kristol omits that it was a day laborer center -- and not some philanthropic shelter as he implies.) And polling data showed that the issue was probably a winner for him.
Immigration and Ballots
Posted by on 4.3.06 @ 8:04PM
Like David Corn and Byron York (video), I'm not really sure how the immigration debate will affect electoral politics. But Bill Kristol's argument-by-anecdote that restrictionist "yahoos" are on the verge of "driving the party off a cliff" is pretty unconvincing. This part in particular:
[Vocal restrictionist] Virgil Goode has a safe GOP seat in Southside Virginia. He's never run statewide. Last fall, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Jerry Kilgore, tried to exploit illegal immigration by denouncing a local community that wanted to build a shelter that might accommodate some illegals. He lost, in a red state, a race he had been favored to win.Kilgore is a singularly unimpressive politician, and his loss to Tim Kaine can hardly be explained solely by the immigration issue. Most critically, Kaine had the backing of his very popular predecessor, Mark Warner. By the way, immigration wasn't the only issue that Kilgore tried to exploit; he attacked Kaine for opposing the death penalty, too. By Kristol's logic, supporting capital punishment must be politically risky, too.
Oh Say Can You See...And How's it Make You Feel?
Posted by on 4.3.06 @ 7:31PM
Eric Berlin does a really good job parsing out legitimate dismay over recent immigration protests from xenophobic fears, as a reaction to this much-ballyhooed post over at Daily Kos from earlier today. It should be read in its full conext, but here's a taste:
...I find sealing off the border, or deporting or jailing 11 million illegal immigrants, to be completely irrational ideas. I'm more of an open borders person. That said, it is neither crazy nor racist for Republicans to react as they have been to this weekend's protest. (Although I don't doubt that some of the loonier ideologues on talk radio have taken their vitriol to racist levels.) I was put off by those signs, and I largely support the protestors. Or thought I did, until I saw those signs. To pretend this is only about the flying of the Mexican flag is disingenuous.
Meanwhile, over at the Reason blog, the inestimable Julian Sanchez offers an alternate approach to thinking about flag flying under siege. The debate in the comments rages on.
Divergent views, to be sure. Both bits, however, are worth reading and careful consideration, especially since it looks as if this firestorm is going to rage for awhile longer yet.
Mobile on guest workers
Posted by on 4.3.06 @ 4:38PM
My old paper in Mobile, newly renamed the Press-Register, ran this thoughtful editorial on Friday. In some ways it resembles a creative plan from the Kreible Foundation. Both call for slightly different spins on President Bush's "guest worker" ideas for immigrants. Frankly, I have no use for ANYbody who comes here illegally, although I like the idea of expanding LEGAL immigration and/or legal guest worker programs... but only AFTER we control our borders better. If that means a double-tiered fence, so be it. One question, though: How is a "guest worker" program different from an ordinary green card? I admit my ignorance here, but it seems to me that the green card program ALREADY is a guest worker program. And if people ignore that legal process and come here by illegal means, I think we ought to send them to Singapore for punishment. All that said, I'm open to having lawmakers look into the Press-Register AND the Kreible proposals... both of which, on the surface, look better than the amnesty-filled piece of garbage that emerged from the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Press-Register's home senator, Jeff Sessions, is doing a good job of blasting that legislation to Kingdom Come.
Zarqawi Demoted?
Posted by on 4.3.06 @ 1:13PM
It looks like Iraq's Public Enemy Number One might be having a bad day at the office.
Punting on Padilla
Posted by on 4.3.06 @ 12:20PM
The Supreme Court declined to hear the case now that Jose Padilla is facing criminal charges.
Claudia for Sec Gen
Posted by on 4.3.06 @ 10:01AM
Those of us who study the UN and write about its failings owe a lot to the ground-breaking reporting of Claudia Rosett of the Wall Street Journal. The April edition of Commentary has yet another article by Claudia that answers, definitively, the question of How Corrupt is the UN. We really ought to be starting a Claudia for Secretary General campaign. On second thought, I wouldn't wish it on her. She's much too good a person to thrive in that environment.
Hope Springs Eternal
Posted by on 4.3.06 @ 9:15AM
Welcome to one of the most glorious days of spring, Opening Day. It's that one special day of the season when my Cubs are guaranteed to be tied for first. From here on out, all bets are off.
Re: Tehran Apocalypse
Posted by on 4.3.06 @ 8:51AM
To catch up to a few of our faithful readers:
Fitz: You're lucky. We have to watch this stuff, you don't. Someday, we should compare my Bayer/Tylenol budget to yours.
AndyDiP: The Dems aren't lightweights. They just can't stand the idea of wasting time that could be spent planning tax increases on trivialities such as the survival of our nation. To paraphrase Peggy Noonan, in 1994 the Dems lost the Congress. In 2000, they lost the Presidency. And then they lost their minds...
Debbie: I believe that the Iranians don't yet have a deployable nuke for two reasons. First, none of my sources - whom I trust, based on their track records and my judgment of them personally - think so. Second, if they did have nuclear weapons, they'd be using them to proclaim their hegemony over the Middle East and to give cover for a huge multinational terrorist rampage. The only thing holding them back is the lack of these weapons.
Sunday, April 2, 2006
The Nexus of Van Halen and George Orwell's 1984s
Posted by on 4.2.06 @ 8:19PM
Drew Cline--occassional Spectator contributor, Union Leader editorial page editor, and all around great guy--has posted a funny bit on the UL blog you'd all do well to read in full. Here's a taste:
EMI has removed cigarettes from the hands of Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Paul McCartney for its reissue of the 1964 Capitol Albums Vol. 2. Ironically, George, the only one not smoking on the cover, is the one who died of lung cancer. Evidently they chopped off two of Ringo's fingers when removing his cigarette. (That's what you get when you outsource your graphics department to Albania.)
Clearly we are all doomed and it is only a matter of time before the ultimate irony occurs and the anti-smoking zealots have the cigarettes erased from the cover of Van Halen's 1984.
Incidentally, we'll see this week whether New Hampshire, the "Live Free or Die" state, ends up instituting its own restaurant/bar smoking ban. If we don't stop it, who will? I wrote about the War on Tobacco here and the equally silly War on Tobacco in Movies here.
The Katherine Harris Meltdown Continues...
Posted by on 4.2.06 @ 6:54PM
Rep. Katherine Harris's top campaign staff (manager, communications director, adviser, and others) resigned yesterday. Wow. Her response? She didn't need them! She's better off without them! Double wow.
Amazingly, Bill Nelson looks snug for November.
RE; Tehran Apocalypse
Posted by on 4.2.06 @ 12:44PM
John: Don't drink the stability-flavored Kool Aid, as Gen. Tony Zinni apparently has. Zinni's appearance on MTP a little while ago made him look like what Wesley Clark always wanted to be but wasn't: a credible Dem presidential candidate.
Batchelor has it about 90% right. Peace and stability in the Middle East were the factors that enabled bin Laden, Hizballah and their ilk to grow powerful. For the forseeable future, peace and stability here mean war there, and vice versa.
I don't subscribe to John's prediction of Iranian military action against America in the next few weeks. But what they will do when they have a deployable nuclear weapon will make us yearn for the good old days of September 1939.
Critics Say...
Posted by on 4.2.06 @ 11:29AM
... that Peter Baker's a poor journalist.
See how easy it is? If you're a "straight" (objective) journalist, if you want to editorialize, all you do is preface the comment with "critics say."
Peter Baker takes it to new heights with his "The President as Average Joe": "To many critics, such forums feel contrived, and the fratboy towel-snapping humor unbecoming." What critics? What fratboy towel-snapping humor? Baker doesn't even bother to gather anonymous quotes to support this. But he recites it as Conventional Wisdom. It's probably the Conventional Wisdom of the White House Press Corps.
This stuff is properly run in Slate. Unfortunately for Baker, they already have that slot filled: John Dickerson.
Maybe Michael Kinsley is right: objectivity in the news is an illusion at best. Opinion journalism is more honest because it doesn't have to hide its point of view.
Re: Tehran apocalypse
Posted by on 4.2.06 @ 10:33AM
"If Iran makes another strategic mistake," runs the Telegraph, "such as ignoring demands by the UN or future resolutions, then the thinking among the chiefs is that military action could be taken to bring an end to the crisis. The belief in some areas of Whitehall is that an attack is now all but inevitable."
The greatest strategic mistake Tehran could make is an act of conventional aggression. Even the smallest incident could do. Even by proxy, if the line was drawn clearly between connected dots. Rearmament is one thing; remilitarizing the Rhineland another. Ours must be the second-itchiest trigger finger.
Tehran apocalypse
Posted by on 4.2.06 @ 3:02AM
Repeat:
1. Tehran believes that the US national security apparatus cannot deal with a foreign crisis in an election year.
2. Tehran believes that the US will exit Iraq with its tail tucked.
3. Tehran believes that the US will not fight for Israeli sovereignty in the territories.
4. Tehran believes that the Ahmadinejad regime can ride out the blitz in its bunkers and emerge the winner when the UN or the Vatican or Russia brokers a ceasefire.
5. Tehran believes that the Bush Administration has lost its ability to rally the US's traditional allies.
War warning, part 3
Posted by on 4.2.06 @ 1:37AM
Best signals source identifies the last week of noise in Baghdad as the turning point. Tehran plays checkmate.
Also, indicates a bloody minded war council in West Beirut with Nasrallah of HizbAllah, Meshal of Hamas, and ops from Mugniyah, Zarqawi and IJ on the West Bank (subset of AlAqsa).
Also, note that the Iran naval exercises in the Gulf are at two reinforced brigade strength, and they are practicing ship seizures and beach landings.
It's November. It's 1941. Sauve qui peut.
There's worse. Am not permitted to detail. Am open source only, am not crossing the line.
War warning, part 3. See the Telegraph report above. This is not idle gaming. US strategic position is flabby. National security apparatus is unhorsed.
Cassandra reiterates
Posted by on 4.2.06 @ 1:27AM
BBC Defence Correspondent Paul Wood said US plans for a possible strike are thought to be at an advanced stage.
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