American Thinker Blog
April 30, 2006
McCain and the serfs
For years now I have been convinced that John S. McCain III, never the sharpest knife in the drawer by most accounts, confuses being a U.S. Senator with being a Duke in the House of Lords somewhere around the time... More
April 30, 2006
French forgeries redux
It is widely believed that the forgeries about Niger on which Joseph Wilson rode to fame, and then denied disclosing, were French. You may therefore be interested to know that Chirac and Villepin are at the middle of a major... More
April 30, 2006
A country with no future destroys its past
The birthrate in Spain is about 1.1 children per woman. Just about half the replacement rate of 2.1 which is just adequate to maintain a population. One would think that the Spanish would at least wait until the Muslims had... More
April 30, 2006
London Times: We may have to bomb Iran
Rod Liddle at the London Times says the West may have to bomb Natanz, the place where even the Mullahs and the UN now admit that Iran is enriching uranium for nuclear bombs. "The Natanz facility is partially underground, a fact... More
April 29, 2006
Smile Towns in the movies
Bookworm's essay Friday on idyllic portrayals of small town life in the movies of yore drew some interesting comments on the site Bookworm Room. Patrick O'Hannigan pointed toward a favorite movie of mine, Tremors, a monster movie in which townspeople (not... More
April 29, 2006
Will Israel take out Iran's nukes?
Our contributor Edward Bernard Glick has published an essay in Israel Insider on his belief Israel will make certain that Iran does not get a nuclear bomb. He marshalls a strong argument. ... More
April 29, 2006
McCain versus the First Amendment
Captain Ed picks up on John McCain's stunning contempt for the most precious of our rights. McCain: Trade The First Amendment For Clean Government Mark Tapscott has a clip of John McCain's appearance on the Don Imus Show that demonstrates... More
April 29, 2006
Reviews come in for United 93
Rick Moran's review of United 93 is proudly run today on these pages. But what of the others? Rick provides a round—up of reviews on Rightwing Nuthouse, while the Wall Street Journal adds its own culling of critics to the... More
April 29, 2006
Nice analogy
The website Moonbattery has a nice analogy between our problems with oil and the problem of enduring enough to eat: If we really are sick of high oil prices, maybe it's time to stop indulging in moonbattery and do something... More
April 28, 2006
Special prosecutor turns over CIA referral letter
I have contended for some time that the CIA referral letter, which instituted the proceedings in the Plame case, was based on false factual statements by the Agency. Lewis Libby has sought access to that letter and to date the... More
April 28, 2006
Culture of deception
The Autonomist has a lengthy essay on the role of deception in the culture of Iraq, and more broadly of the Islamic world. It is all based on first hand experience of the writer, who deals with Iraqi companies. It... More
April 28, 2006
UN response: thank you sir, may I have another?
The UN gives a leadership post to Iran on the Disarmament Commission. The UN gives a major award to the spokeswoman for the original Iranian hostage—takers (nicknamed "Screaming Mary" by the hostages). And now the Iranian President tells the UN... More
April 28, 2006
Is the Arab world giving up on Palestine?
Not in their public rhetoric, but Youssef Ibrahim writes in the New York Sun: A stark reality is coursing through Arab consciousness: No one cares about Palestine. It has been the case for at least a decade. What's new is... More
April 28, 2006
Origins of the Iraqi Insurgency
A piece under this title by the indispensible Laurie Mylroie with her translator Ayan Rahim is on today's spectator.org. It does lead one to daydream what the CIA might accomplish if it ever decided to support the mission of the... More
April 27, 2006
What the left overlooks
AT News Editor, Ed Lasky, reveals how a high ranking UN official is putting the squeeze on internal investigators as they look into still more corruption at the troubled organization. Specifically, the report cites the inability of the UN to... More
April 27, 2006
But-ting In On Prosperity
Despite the constant stream of favorable economic news, the New York Times remains unrelenting in its efforts to downplay any favorable information, lest its readers give any credit to the Bush administration for the extraordinarily strong and prosperous economy the... More
April 27, 2006
Funding the Iranian opposition
Amil Imani pens calls on the United States government to turn over $ billions seized Iranian assets to anti—regime Iranian opposition groups in this essay. Certainly, better funding is order for groups that seek to overthrow the mullahs from within.... More
April 27, 2006
Good to know
Abu Musab al—Zarqawi released an infomercial on the Web on Tuesday. While tedious, as informercials tend to be, the significance of his message should not be missed. The Jordanian terrorist wants the world to know that he represents al—Qaeda in... More
April 27, 2006
The next generation left wing leadership
James Kirchik, writing a brilliant farewell column in the Yale Daily News, takes note of prominent Yale graduate Chesa Boudin, the fourth generation of a prominent left wing family. Chesa was raised by left wingers while his parents were jailed, and groomed... More
April 27, 2006
Follow the politics at the UN
The United Nations' second—ranking official has tried to persuade investigators to lay off, lest they overturn rocks which might expose influential critters hiding underneath. Benny Avni of the New York Sun reports: The second most powerful man at Turtle Bay, Deputy... More
April 27, 2006
Andrew Bostom lecture appearance
Tomorrow night, Friday, our contributor Andrew G. Bostom, author of the Legacy of Jihad, will be delievering a public lecture at Harvard. Readers are invited to attend. Andy will be speaking in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, with a speech... More
April 27, 2006
Buried in the last sentence
The New York Times coverage of Karl Rove's voluntary appearance before a grand jury yesterday discloses something I have never before seen published. In the very final sentence of an article written by Anne Kornbluth. Here is the final paragraph... More
April 26, 2006
Jail time for election sabotage
Three cheers forMilwaukee Circuit Court Judge Michael Brennan who threw out a plea agreement and imposed jail time on the saboteurs who slashed tires on vans set to bring GOP voters to the polls the night before the election. The... More
April 26, 2006
Iraqi Government may be in place in two weeks
The MNF—Iraq website has more positive news about progress toward the formation of a national unity government. 'I believe that in the next 15 days we can have a new government and present it to parliament." This is the word from... More
April 26, 2006
The gears changing at the White House
Don Surber links to my article today and agrees that a new day is dawning in the White House. He makes the astute observation that Tony Snow's appeal to the conservative base ...allows Bush to move to the center, where a... More
April 26, 2006
The Real Lesson of Brazil
Many Americans have the vague (and false) impression that a massive conversion to ethanol production eliminated Brazil's need to import oil. Brazil did indeed promote bio—fuel. But the real credit for ending oil imports goes to those evil oil drillers... More
April 26, 2006
Unnecessary indeed
Paul De Grauwe, a leading European economist whose work was used as the basis for arguments for European monetary union in the 1990s the other day said this: Sometimes I wonder: do we still need the European Union? I start to... More
April 26, 2006
Tony Snow's new job
Fox News Channel is reporting that it is a done deal — that Tony Snow will be the new White House Press Spokesman, replacing Scott McClellan. Matt May notes that the opposition cannot help themselves: they are "attacking" Tony by... More
April 25, 2006
Houston and New Orleans: the cultural differences
Last year I made note of the great difference between the political cultures of New Orleans and Houston, to the latter's great advantage. I also hailed the open—hearted, creative spirit of Houston, the can—do city par excellance. Nicole Gelinas picks... More
April 25, 2006
Saddam deceived the UN
Ray Robison has a newly translated document from the Harmony Database at his site that proves the Iraqi Intelligence Service was importing and even building hidden facilities for prohibited equipment. This establishes an important point. Ray explains: Some would believe... More
April 25, 2006
The Pulitzers and their prestige
The New York Post heaves deserved scorn at the Pulitzer Prizes for ignoring Claudia Rosett and giving a prize to leak—receiver Dana Priest instead. Long gone are the days when journalists paid respect to the notion of national security. Now,... More
April 25, 2006
Monkey Trials?
Thirty—one inmates recently escaped from a compound in Sierra Leone and terrorized a group of local and American sightseers. One person was killed and another maimed. Logic requires they be tried for their crimes. They are chimps. The Associated Press... More
April 25, 2006
Obese parrot, plump dogs and capitalism
An article in yesterday's British Guardian reported with some alarm that obesity among Britain's pets has become so acute that three—quarters of vets now run fat clinics to combat the problem. So dire things have gotten that even the Royal Society... More
April 24, 2006
Egyptian terror blast aimed at Coptic Christians
One aspect of the blast receiving little notice is its timing: over the Eastern Orthodox Easter weekend, when the hotel was full of Copt guests. Steven Hurst of the AP reports: Hotels and guesthouses were filled with foreigners and with... More
April 24, 2006
The Return of Ron the Red
Ron Dellums, for years the ultra—left wing Congressman from Berkeley (Michael Medved once was one of his aides, 180 degrees ago), is back and running for mayor of Oakland, to succeed former governor Jerry Brown. He is selling the voters... More
April 24, 2006
Norway welcomes Hamas
Norway, home of most of the Nobel Peace Prize grantors (who gave a Peace Prize to Jimmy Carter to embarass George Bush; who gave a prize to Kofi Annan despite his passivity regarding genocide in Rwanda and the Balkans; who... More
April 24, 2006
The friends of Mary McCarthy (continued)
Dana Priest has a lot of credentials — which could just mean lots of friends in high places. Sweetness & Light highlghts her MacArthur Foundation award and the long line of awards she has "been given for her services to the... More
April 24, 2006
24: Why Edgar had to die
24 is one of my guilty pleasures. Thanks to Bill Keveney, of USA Today I now understand why Edgar, the fat geek played by Louis Lombardi, had to die. His sparring with ubergeek Chloe, played by Mary Lynn Rajskub, was... More
April 24, 2006
Iraq's national unity government gets underway
The milestone that occurred Saturday April 22 in Iraq received only brief coverage, but President Bush knew what it meant and gave a speech acknowledging the parliamentary action that named the new prime minister, Jawad al—Maliki, and other top leaders... More
April 24, 2006
Al Jazeera gives 24 hour coverage to Bin Laden
Walid Phares gives an outstanding analysis of Bin Laden's latest. "This is not just another audiotape or videotape of a renegade in some cave. Regardless of who is the speaker and his whereabouts, the 30 minutes long read statement is... More
April 24, 2006
PBS, NPR spending money to lobby government
I thought they were supposed to loath lobbyists? Apparently not when it comes to their own interests. Ed Lasky 4 23 06... More
April 24, 2006
Anti-Israel conspiracy theorists
I think a good litmus test for conspiracy theorists is the use of Richard Perle as the boogeyman. Perle was not in the government during the planning and execution of the war in Iraq. Yet he is often brought up... More
April 24, 2006
Equal treatment under the law?
In her affidavit seeking a restraining order against Charlie Sheen, his estranged wife Denise Richards made a number of startling claims. Among other things, she alleged that the actor abuses hard and prescription drugs, procures prostitutes, and patronizes pornographic websites... More
April 24, 2006
Mary McCarthy makes four
Mary McCarthy is the fourth Clinton NSC member to assault the Bush White House. Ms. McCarthy, who was dismissed for leaking national security secrets to the press, is not the first Clintonite to undermine and assault the Bush White House. The biggest... More
April 24, 2006
Strong is wrong
My hypothesis is that there is a core belief system that underlies these "—opias" that afflict so many Democrats. I call it "Strong is wrong." Its credo: "The weak are good, and by definition have been victimized by the strong,... More
April 23, 2006
Ahmadinejad met top terrorist to discuss anti-West attacks
The London Times reports that Iran's fanatical leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had a meeting in Damascus last month with the most successful terrorist in the world, Imad Mughniyeh, long—time head of "overseas operations" for Hizbullah. "Mugniyeh is said to have been... More
April 23, 2006
Zbig Redux
Zbig says: If Ameirca (or Israel) strikes Iran, it would merit the designation as international outlaw, drive impeachment, and cause other dire outcomes. He assures us that Iran is headed towards evolving into Turkey.. yeah..right. Ahmadinejah and Ataturk, a couple... More
April 23, 2006
Don't go near the water
Crocodile farms in Thailand are making life miserable for their neighbors in Thailand. And I thought traffic was a nuisance! The BBC reports. A hunt is under way in central Thailand for up to a dozen crocodiles believed to have... More
April 23, 2006
NYT gets scammed
The New York Times, hot on the heels of the scandal at Page Six, got scammed by a PR line, and so far has not corrected itself. Mickey Kaus catches the Times red—handed, buying into a presposterous story concocted to... More
April 23, 2006
Groundwork for Netherlands Sharia?
From Friday's BBC News — Dutch reconsider Islamic values The report is the fruit of three years' work by the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR), a think—tank in The Hague which advises the government. It examines the evolution of... More
April 23, 2006
Journalism majors and cheating
Journalism majors admit to cheating at a higher rate than other students. Do the cheat more? Or do they speal the bens more readily than others? Honesty endures as the best policy in life The Feb. 6 issue of BusinessWeek magazine... More
April 23, 2006
Hailstones the size of golfballs
Our contributor Eric Schwappach blogs on local matters in Harris County, Georgia, at his site Skeeter Street. Eric and his neighbors just endured hailstorm. Take a look at the unusually—shaped hailstones here, here, and here.... More
April 23, 2006
The friends of Mary McCarthy
More on William Goodfellow,Dana Priest's husband from Frontpage Magazine: "One of the most sophisticated of Fenton's anti—war projects is the co—mingling of Win Without War and the Center for International Policy (CIP). Before 9/11, CIP, a Fenton Communications client, mainly... More
April 23, 2006
Another LA Times big ego has problems
If you thought that Mike Hiltzik guy was the only leftist egomaniac ever hired by the LA Times, here's another. An ex—LA Times writer who now calls herself 'La Queen Sucia' recently denounced the Miami Herald for not covering the... More
April 22, 2006
Dealing with the devil
In America we call it the almighty dollar and The Almighty figures prominently in all our international transactions. In Russia they refer to their currency as the righteous ruble but in certain international transactions, the word righteous has absolutely no... More
April 22, 2006
Europe's malaise
An article in the UK's weekly The Business has some interesting figures on global economic outlook. In 2006 the world economy will grow at nearly 5% which will mark the first time since the early 1970s that the world economy... More
April 22, 2006
Guess who the CIA leaker donated to?
Mary O. McCarthy, of Bethesda, MD, an "analyst, U.S. Government" according to official records, is listed as doinating $2000 to the Kerry Campaign in 2004. That's a big contribution for someone on a government salary. Ed Lasky 4 22 06... More
April 21, 2006
More good news from Iraq
Here is an excerpt from yesterday's briefing by MNF—Iraq spokesman, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch in which he discusses foreign fighters, suicide attacks, border security, defeating IEDs, weapons caches discovered & Iraqis providing the coalition solid intel. For the rest of... More
April 21, 2006
Buried in the NYT
After trumpeting the purported CIA Gulag of secret prisons in Europe for terror suspects on the front pages of numerous editions, the New York Times buries the European antiterror chief's view that NO PROOF exists of such prisons. Ed Lasky ... More
April 21, 2006
Look who's behind the revolt at the New York Times
Jack Risko of Dinocrat.com notes: What do Erskine Bowles and Laura D'Andrea Tyson have in common? (1) they are well—known and respected Democrats who served in senior positions in the Clinton administration; (2) they are high—profile educators who have substantial... More
April 21, 2006
Scientists cool on global warming
Somebody tell Laurie David. Jennifer Harper reports in the Washington Times: Global warming may not be as dramatic as some scientists have predicted. Using temperature readings from the past 100 years, 1,000 computer simulations and the evidence left in ancient... More
April 21, 2006
Silly at their own risk
With local elections fast approaching, the hapless British conservatives are bent on courting the 'green' vote. As a part of that campaign, their newly—elected leader David Cameron traveled yesterday to the remote Norwegian island of Svalbard. There he pranced around in... More
April 21, 2006
The balance tips at the University of California
A milestone was reached this year, as the 10 campus University of California system for the first time will see Asians become the dominant student ethnicity, outnumbering whites in the freshman class just admitted for the Fall. The San Francisco Chronicle... More
April 21, 2006
Conservative Convergence in Canada
While American conservatives are in the midst of our season of discontent, Canada's conservatives are enjoying themselves heartily. Last night, Ottawa saw a grand reunion of old and new conservative Prime Ministers, under sponsorship that would be all but inconceivable... More
April 21, 2006
The "Fox News Effect"
Ira Stoll of the New York Sun blogs about a new UC Berkeley study which purports to show that the introduction of Fox News Channel to a cable market increases the Republican share of the vote to a small but... More
April 20, 2006
Religious democrats and tyrants who oppress
In America it is easy to forget that religion is often inconvenient to the smooth machinations of a political regime. The brave woman at this morning's White House ceremony is as inconvenient to the Chinese Communists today as was the... More
April 20, 2006
A terror connection in the Palestinians' cabinet
A new Palestinian Authority Cabinet minister aide is linked to a Gaza attack that killed three Americans. Does anyone think the State Department will finally wake up from their dream? These victims were part of an American DIPLOMATIC convoy. Ed Lasky ... More
April 20, 2006
Missing headlines (a continuing series)
"Businesses owned by blacks see upswing...segment marks 45% increase" Last page of USA Today Business section..April 19, 2006 Joanne PieperBig Sky, MT... More
April 20, 2006
The 747 house
The BBC brings us news of a woman in California who is building a house utilizing parts of an old 747 airplane permanently mothballed. Francie Rehwald wanted her house to look "feminine", have curves and be eco—friendly. Her architect's answer... More
April 20, 2006
The f-word and femaleness
The recently released collection of saying by Hillary Clinton titled I've Always Been a Yankees Fan: Hillary Clinton in Her Own Words, quotes the New York Senator as addressing her Arkansas staff thus: Where is the goddamn f***ing flag?... I... More
April 20, 2006
Brad Stine: Conservative Christian Comedian
Human Events bring us an interview with conservative comedian Brad Stine, who also happens to be a committed Christian. I have long held that humor is among the most potent political weapons, and that conservatives must come to dominate comedy... More
April 20, 2006
Poor Lad (a poem)
A mother weeps with tears that burn, From her son's death will she not learn? Will she then honor what she lost, Pay tribute to his personal cost? Or will she use his death to preach, Perched on his coffin... More
April 20, 2006
'Infidels are filth' taught at UK Muslim seminary
According to the Times of London yesterday, "MUSLIM students training to be imams at a British college with strong Iranian links have complained that they are being taught fundamentalist doctrines which describe nonMuslims as 'filth'. The Times has obtained extracts... More
April 20, 2006
Saddam's bomb?
Our contributor Ray Robison notes a startling early 2001 article from the U.K. Sunday Times, claiming Saddam had and tested a nuclear weapon. What makes this old, and apparently dismissed, claim more viable is a document in the Harmony Database (what... More
April 19, 2006
Heartfelt words from Iraq the Model
The two Iraqi brothers who operate Iraq the Model blogsite lost their brother—in—law, a young fellow doctor, to terrorist bullets the other day. Only now is one of the brothers writing about that tragic, traumatic experience. Here is an excerpt:... More
April 19, 2006
Free DVD for military personnel
The Seige of Western Civilization, the wonderful DVD by our contributor Herb Meyer, is being made available free for members of the United States Armed Services. I reviewed The Siege long before Herb became a contributor, and consider it a... More
April 19, 2006
Partial Life?
A pair of perfect, though unfocused, clear brown eyes Shining through tears as a little one cries... Is he hungry? Lonely? Lost? Afraid? What is his sorrow? What has made His lower lip quiver? His shoulders shake? The sobs from his... More
April 19, 2006
Vik's Chaat House
I am often asked why a conservative would choose to live in Berkeley, California. Aside from the sheer comedy of local politics there are many reasons. The climate is the best for me — cool to warm. Never really cold,... More
April 19, 2006
After Scott McClellan
Matt May has a suggestion for the next White House press spokesman: Tony Snow. Tony Snow... would be an inspired choice. He is a professional communicator and has regularly sparred with media figures. And he has a Detroit connection from... More
April 19, 2006
Friedman's folly on display today
Tom Friedman writes another of his columns ($link) attacking the Bush administration. (I guess a writer who travels on private jets, consorts with Saudi klpetocrats, who has never served in the military or for the government, feels he well qualified... More
April 19, 2006
The press balks
Late last night Time, Inc, the New York Times, and NBC, Judith Miller, Andrea Mitchell and Tim Russert responded to Libby's supoena requests. The pleadings were slow being posted on the Court's online site. The Washington Post has sumarized them, while Cboldt,... More
April 19, 2006
In her own words
The International Herald Tribune featured an interested article occasioned by the publication of a book of quotations of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton titled I've Always Been a Yankees Fan: Hillary Clinton in Her Own Words. The piece says rather little about... More
April 19, 2006
Liberal Hypocrites
Liberal hypocrisy go together like well, Bill and Hill. And as thisreview of the book Do as I Say (Not as I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy (Doubleday) by Peter Schweitzer demonstrates, they go together quite well. But they're not... More
April 19, 2006
NYT op-ed supports Walt/Mearsheimer
The op—ed is written by Tony Judt, who has called for the destruction of Israel via the one—state (final) solution. So let's tote up supporters and opponents of the infamous Walt/Mearsheimer paper. Major academics have eviscerated it as being a product... More
April 19, 2006
Deport Sami al-Arian — to Israel
Newswires were all aflutter with the news that the US head of Islamic Jihad, Sami al—Arian, just accepted a plea deal from the US government to be deported. Some commentators were crowing that this proved al—Arian's guilt, because in order... More
April 18, 2006
Overthrow the ruling class at the New York Times
The two—class shareholding system at the New York Times Company, which ensconces the Sulzberger clan in control of the board of directors despite owning less than 10% of the equity, is driving down the value of the company. Unable to... More
April 18, 2006
The Shinseki troop strength myth and the generals' revolt
American Thinker contributor Herb Meyer does a superb job in getting to the heart of the matter concerning the retired general officer critics of SecDef Rumsfeld. The key question is: what is it exactly that the SecDef has 'done, or not... More
April 18, 2006
Will NYT credit Bolton for his work on Darfur?
The New York Times campaigned against the nomination of John Bolton as the American Ambassador to the United Nations. Their columnist Nicholas Kristoff was just awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his long campaign to stop the genocide being committed by ... More
April 18, 2006
Canada: the good news keeps coming
Our contributor Paul Jackson lists some of the recent accomplishments of the new Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, in his latest column in the Calgary Sun. Every time I feel gloomy about the way the world is going, I remind myself... More
April 18, 2006
Sami al-Arian cops a plea
Rather than face a re—trial, former professor Sami al—Arian has negotiated a plea. The New York Sun reports: Sami Al—Arian, has pleaded guilty to aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad and agreed to serve more jail time before being deported from America,... More
April 18, 2006
Juan Cole moving to Yale?
Taliban Man at Yale may soon have congenial company. The New York Sun reports that the most important higher education institution in New Haven may soon hire Juan Cole, a supporter of the notorious Walt—Mearsheimer paper, and well—known for his... More
April 18, 2006
Pilots demand Airbus probe
Airbus, the heated rival of Boeing for dominance of the commercial airliner market, is facing a serious question. Un—named American Airlines pilots are complaining about the performance of one of its early models, raising issues about its airplane—building prowess. The New... More
April 18, 2006
Jihadis with nukes: the danger lurks in Pakistan
N. S. Rajaram sends us a disheartening dispatch from The Hindu, which he calls India's foremost newspaper, about the very serious situation in Pakistan, the only Islamic nation with nuclear weapons. The American press, obsessed with dissident generals, a stripper claiming... More
April 18, 2006
One hundred years ago today
As I begin to write at 5:08AM PDT, the 100th anniversary of the great San Francisco Earthquake is pending in a few minutes. Sticklers will note that as there was no Daylight Savings Time one hundred years ago, we should... More
April 18, 2006
"White Muslims"
Blame it on profiling. Moussaoui, Atta and the entire terrorist gang responsible for September 11, the London terrorist bombings, the Madrid terrorist bombings, the other terrorist bombings were mainly Arab Muslims with dark skin and dark hair. Aware that authorities... More
April 18, 2006
Three reasons not to bomb Iran - yet
Probably the best strategic analysis of the Iranian threat available today is by Edward Luttwak, writing in Commentary. For those who are concerned about the apocalyptic regime in Iran, this is required reading. Luttwak does not believe the current "ultra—extremist" regime... More
April 17, 2006
More UN absurdity
It isn't enough that the worlds' thugs regularly get elected to the UN Human Rights Commission. Apparently that corrupt body feels it necessary to remind us yet again how corrupt and counterproductive a force it is in establishing peace in... More
April 17, 2006
The Saddam files (continued)
jveritas who has been doing a yeoman job translating the captured Saddam documents, seems to have found evidence of Saddam moving chemical weapons on March 2003: Document ISGP—2003—0001498 ISGP—2003—0001498 contains a 9 pages TOP SECRET memo (pages 87—96 in the... More
April 17, 2006
Bill Clinton's legacy
Everywhere the headline in the MSM for a couple of Clinton speeches was "Bill Clinton Learns To Laugh At His Past." Thank God; we had all been losing sleep. In this one given on April 12th, 2006, 6,000 mind—numbed and... More
April 17, 2006
Why didn't they resign?
Thomas Lipscomb writes a great column in the Chicago Sun—Times asking the key question about the disgruntled generals: why didn't they resign in protest when they had a chance? ... no one seems to have bothered to ask which, if... More
April 17, 2006
The Hidden Imam and Iran's President
Amir Taheri reports a truly frightening incident in the recent activities of Iran's president. From the London Telegraph: Last Monday, just before he announced that Iran had gatecrashed "the nuclear club", President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disappeared for several hours. He was... More
April 17, 2006
Action, Yes; Panic, No
Today's AT article by James Lewis, "Don't Panic On Iran," makes a very sensible—sounding argument that the United States (and Israel) should not act rashly to deter Iran's growing nuclear threat. Lewis counsels waiting for "the right moment" to take... More
April 17, 2006
Greenies turning around on nukes
Patrick Moore, one of the founders of Greenpeace, endorses nuclear power in a Washington Post op—ed. Not that he actually apologizes for the lost decades due to greenie scare—mongering, or accounts for the huge sums sent to the Middle East... More
April 17, 2006
The broken left wing
Conservative bloggers' response to leftist blogger Maryscott O' Connor, who was featured in a prominent Washington Post front page article yesterday titled "The Left, Online and Outraged," has been not surprisingly, and perhaps deservingly so, brutal (see here, here, here, here,... More
April 17, 2006
Hamas meets with al Qaeda
UPI reports on a worrisome development: A leader of the Palestinian Hamas organization has met with an al—Qaida fundraiser in Yemen, the Jerusalem Post reported Friday.A leader of the Palestinian Hamas organization has met with an al—Qaida fundraiser in Yemen,... More
April 17, 2006
Debunking Plamegate
Once again, The New York Sun scoops the competition, obtaining a declassified State Depamtment memorandum that has been repeatedly mischaractized. Contrary to earlier accounts, the memorandum does not indicate Ms. Plame's role was secret, and it indicates that her husband... More
April 17, 2006
Saint Judas?
Saint Judas Gerard Van der Leun at the American Digest has a sparkling essay on the subject of the recent Judas craze which he brilliantly relates to the larger issue of treason in our time. His piece reads in part: It's... More
April 16, 2006
A must-read from Jack Risko
Jack Risko of Dinocrat has made a very telling comparison in a post entitled "Iran's Rhineland Moment." Iran's gaudy announcement of its uranium enrichment capabilities, in defiance of the international community, coupled with its threat of the elimination of Israel... More
April 16, 2006
New site
A relatively new website has come to my attention, one worth checking out. Just Hillary is devoted to information abot the Junior Senator from New York, in her various aspects. A site designed for fans and foes, which two groups... More
April 16, 2006
Timeline to Iran's First Nuke
A consensus seems to be emerging among intelligence and military experts that Iran's blustering president has, so to speak, gotten in front of his own headlights — that despite his threats to unleash nuclear Armageddon his country is at least... More
April 16, 2006
Donny Boy (an alternative lyric to a favorite song)
Oh Donny boy, the snipes, the snipes are bawling, From spin to spin, some generals now decide, The war's all wrong and for your head they're calling, 'Tis you, 'tis you must go, they want your hide. But guard... More
April 16, 2006
A wondrous night
As I walked home from Easter vigil mass late last night near Beverly Hills, I noticed that the street—lighted sidewalks were oddly crowded. It wasn't just Catholics and other Christians walking home from their churches after candlelight procession ceremonies, it... More
April 15, 2006
Folie a deux
Press coverage of the Libby case is often so bad, that it's hard to single out the worst of it. But this week, MSNBC and The National Journal lead the pack. From Just One Minute: Put this in the expansive "How... More
April 15, 2006
NYT finally covers victims of Palestinian terrorists
Mediacrity catches the New York Times with its bias showing. The sarcasm is priceless, so an extended quotation is justified: Readers of the New York Times were treated today to what was (almost) a miracle! The Times ran on the... More
April 15, 2006
Pressing news
On April 18, the media and reporters who were subpoenaed by Lewis Libby to provide documents in connection with the special counsel's case against him must produce those documents or file motions to quash or modify those subpoenas. While there... More
April 15, 2006
A letter to the editor and a reply
Dear Sir, I am writing to you in response to your article "Will Rioters burn the French Social Model?" Nov. 7th 2005. One phrase in particular in this article caught my attention, "Actually, light to moderate discrimination is not much... More
April 15, 2006
Are the generals strutting for Hillary?
Like so many CanCan dancers strutting their shapely legs before a lustful audience, the Clinton generals seem to be auditioning for the next Democrat administration. Joe Wilson and Richard Clarke are old Clintonistas, about as truthful as their boss Sandy... More
April 15, 2006
The Islam exception
Muslims believe, as most other religious people do, that theirs is the one true faith. Fair enough. But in today's world Muslims are the only group which demands via intimidation that their faith be treated as different and better than... More
April 15, 2006
More on Plantation America
Bookworm pens an intensely personal essay on what she sees as an emerging permanent underclass composed of Hisapnic immigrants and their descendants, a theme closely related to Timothy Birdnow's article today on the plantation society he sees building in America.... More
April 14, 2006
Why they hate him so
This quotation from Winston Churchill, one of the great military leaders of modern times, seem to speak directly to the ongoing controversy surrounding Donald Rumsfeld: Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks... More
April 14, 2006
Just when you thought you'd heard it all
From the Smoking Gun: DEA Agent Who Shot Self In Foot Sues U.S. Seeks damages for distribution of humiliating gun accident video APRIL 11——A Drug Enforcement Administration agent who stars in a popular online video that shows him shooting himself... More
April 14, 2006
What do anti-war generals have in common?
YARGB suggests that most of the anti—Administration Generals rose through the ranks during Clinton's term in office when he politicized the military: First it was Wesley Clark. Then Eric Shinseki and Anthony Zinni. Now the New York Times reports on... More
April 14, 2006
Burkle's Buddies
Mickey Kaus notes that the New York Post Stern's trouble with Ron Burkle are yielding an unanticipated bonanza. The New York Observer has released some stuff about Burkle's connections with Bubba which I'm sure he'd rather we not know: Meanwhile, the... More
April 14, 2006
More good news from Iraq
Bin Laden associate killed. Multi—National Forces—Iraq announced April 13 the killing of a wanted terrorist and known al—Qaida associate, Rafid Ibrahim Fattah aka Abu Umar al Kurdi. Abu Umar al Kurdi died in an early morning raid March 27 in... More
April 14, 2006
Thinking About Chivalry
Tomorrow is the 94th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, which went down on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg in the deadly frigid North Atlantic ocean. One of the most remarkable facts about the Titanic disaster is... More
April 14, 2006
Rumsfeld praises 82nd Airborne - a critic's old command
Retired Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack, Jr. has joined the small group of like minded officers calling for Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation. MG Swannack commanded the 82d Airborne during its 2003—2004 Iraq tour of duty. On May 26, 2005, SECDEF... More
April 14, 2006
Sensitivity for me, not thee
Judaism no longer counts at the UN, when it is time for religious sensitivity. Islam's delicate feelings about images of Muhammad, Ramadan, the word "crusade" and many other Shari'a—based matters must be respected with exquisite tact, but one of Judaism's... More
April 14, 2006
Womyn gone wild
The utter self—absorption of the feminist left is one of the most distatesful aspects of their movement. And that is saying quite a lot. Michelle Malkin notes the latest outrage perpetrated by an unhinged feminist professor, this time at Northern... More
April 14, 2006
The Palestinian political culture
The distinction between Palestinian—ruled areas and a state of nature continues to blur. When terror and intimidation are embraced as legitimate tools, what else can one expect? The latest evidence comes from the BBC: Palestinian gunmen have stormed the Palestinian... More
April 14, 2006
The return of
It is official. Segregation is back. Call it neo—Crow. The great state of Nebraska has enacted legislation that would split the Omaha schools into three districts. AP reports: ...the Legislature voted Thursday to divide the Omaha school system into three... More
April 14, 2006
Bob Woodward responds to Libby subpoena
AJ Strata reports some interesting news from the Washington Post: "In a related development, The Post yesterday was subpoenaed by Libby's defense team to produce records related to the case that the newspaper had not turned over to Fitzgerald. Eric Lieberman,... More
April 13, 2006
Zinni then, Zinni now
Former CENTCOM commander, retired Gen. Anthony Zinni, has been a vocal and ubiquitous critic of the Operation Iraqi Freedom war plan. One of his criticisms is based on his belief that Saddam was being effectively kept in his "box" by UN... More
April 13, 2006
Then and now with MG Batiste
Now that retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste has joined the carping chorus calling for Defense Secretary Rumsfeld to resign, I thought it would be instructive to cite his words, and those of Rumsfeld, when the SECDEF visited the 1st ID,... More
April 13, 2006
Dumbing-down the schools
Parents in San Diego (and doubtless elsewhere) are fighting against dumbed—down curriculums adopted to raise the "performance" of low achieving students, partiularly minority and immigrant children. The Wall Street Journal reports ($link): When San Diego's school district began overhauling its... More
April 13, 2006
Missing headlines (a continuing series)
The NYT, CNN, etc. were quick to imply in their articles that Libby's testimony about the President authorizing information disclosure somehow related to Plame—gate. I haven't seen any headlines about this tidbit beyond this article anyway): "Libby Says Bush, Cheney... More
April 13, 2006
St. Maarten Official Condemns Gay Beating
Two American homosexuals were viciously beaten while visiting the Caribbean island St. Maarten's. All Headline News reports: St. Maarten's top tourism official says the assailants who attacked two gay Americans will be punished. He described the vicious tire iron beating... More
April 13, 2006
New York Times Company profits plunge
Profits in the first quarter of 2006 are down more than two thirds: from $111 million to $35 million. To be fair, last year's profits were inflated by a one—time gain on the sale of its headquarters office building. Without... More
April 13, 2006
Is America going to be the France of 1936?
That's the question raised by Bill Kristol in a Weekly Standard article: ...seventy years ago——Hitler's Germany occupied the Rhineland. The French prime minister, Léon Blum, denounced this as "unacceptable." And did nothing. As did the British. And the United States.... More
April 13, 2006
Harvard study tells parties to court "religious centrists"
What would we ever do without Harvard studies? Ed Lasky 4 13 06... More
April 13, 2006
Guess who's to blame for bad manners?
Brian Garvey, President of the National Association of Schoolmasters and the Union of Women Teachers, has blamed Margaret Thatcher for the insubordination which is plaguing British public schools. According to Mr. Garvey, the former Prime Minister left a legacy of... More
April 13, 2006
Freedom of speech for me but not for thee (continued)
Universities are institutions with freedom of speech and inquiry; tolerant of all beliefs; encouraging diversity of opinions. Sez who? Why university administrators, faculty and students who justify any outrageous statement, research inquiry or activity as long as it meets politically... More
April 13, 2006
NYT: The dog ate our email
Quote: Editors' Note A front—page article in some copies on Sunday reported that a top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney said he had been authorized to disclose to a reporter that one of the key judgments in a 2002... More
April 13, 2006
Best liberal parody phrase of the day:
The award goes to James Lileks, writing in his Newhouse News Service column: "As much as it may pain the progressives who regard the United States as a suppurating carbuncle on Gaia's pained face, America is the most multicultural nation... More
April 12, 2006
Flight 93 Cockpit Recording Played at Moussaoui Trial
Do you think that Oliver Stone will put this dialogue in his movie about 9/11? Ed Lasky 4 12 06 ... More
April 12, 2006
Conspiracy theory
Orianna Fallaci, the Italian journaist about to be tried in France for "Islamophobia" in her writing, is interviewed by the LA Weekly, and raises some interesting evidence that the massive Muslim emigration to Europe (and elsewhere) may be a conscious... More
April 12, 2006
Put the race card back up your sleeve
Thanks to Cynthia McKinney and the voices of racism in the Duke University lacrosse team story, I was thinking the other night, 'Thank God that 911 operator wasn't white' Hannity & Colmes reported the story of incompetence in the emergency... More
April 12, 2006
The NYT ignores a big story
The legion of liberals who get their news from the New York Times (and still consider it a reliable news source) remain untroubled by the shocking news that Patrick Fitzgerald has admitted misleading a federal judge in a filing that... More
April 12, 2006
The climate of fear in climate studies
Richard Lindzen, Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT, publishes an important essay today at Opinionjournal.com, describing the intimidation being used to suppress questioning of the orthodoxy of global warming theory. We have published our own questions about... More
April 12, 2006
The EU bowdlerizes the language of jihad
Europe is once again indulging in wishful thinking about Islam. Reuters reports The European Union, tiptoeing through a minefield of religious and cultural sensitivities, is discreetly reviewing the language it uses to describe terrorists who claim to act in the... More
April 12, 2006
The Left's Don Quixotes
Only recently Al Gore declared that global warming poses a far greater threat than global terrorism. Today, Catharine MacKinnon, celebrated feminist author whose new book 'Are Women Human?' has been just released by Harvard University Press, tells us that violence against... More
April 12, 2006
The Saddam files (continued)
The treasure trove of captured documents from Saddam Hussein's regime collectively known as Harmony, which are now available for translation by anyone with access to the internet, continues to yield indications of WMD programs. As much of the press continues... More
April 11, 2006
A familiar journalistic principle at work again
Powerline and Ray Robison are both arching metaphorical eyebrows at the odd position taken by the Washington Post in recent reporting on al Zarqawi, and the US emphasis on him. Ray writes: Powerline dissects a Washington Post story that bugged the... More
April 11, 2006
The Venezuelan Connection
A commercial airline flight from Venezuela lands in Mexico and is found to be carrying five and half tons of cocaine. I don't know what that's worth, but it is a lot of cocaine, which is usually sold by the... More
April 11, 2006
Fitzgerald to Judge Walton: Oops!
Byron York notes that a portion of the special prosecutor's filing which caused a firestorm on the left, was corrected by him in a letter to the Court: An embarrassing move this afternoon from CIA leak prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. In... More
April 11, 2006
Journalists stealing newspapers
The Star—Tribune of Minneapolis (my original home town) is an embarrasingly bad newspaper. How bad? Well, many employees are unwilling to pay for discount (25 cent) copies, now that management has stopped handing them out for free at headquarters, according... More
April 11, 2006
London mayor likens Tiananmen to Trafalgar Sq. demonstration
During his current visit to Beijing, London's leftist mayor Ken Livingstone (the one known as Ken the Red) made a startling comparison when he likened the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square to London's poll tax riots of 1990. The mayor's... More
April 11, 2006
The Evil that dare not speak its name (in the EU)
The EU has come up with a brilliant plan to fight terror: Forbidding calling the enemy by its name: BERLIN— The European Union, tiptoeing through a minefield of religious and cultural sensitivities, is discreetly reviewing the language it uses to... More
April 11, 2006
Sanity prevails
California's requirement that students pass a graduation examination to certify minimal command of English and math skills has proven controversial because some students have a difficult time passing it. What to do? Of course, some have suggested scrapping the exam.... More
April 11, 2006
LaShawn Barber on the Duke rape case
Our friend LaShawn Barber has some very perceptive comments on the Duke rape case. As only LaShawn can, she lays into the racial hypocrisy underlying both media coverage and black "community" responses to the case. She makes some devastating points.... More
April 11, 2006
The schadenfreude of the NYT
The New York Sun today runs a delightfully arch commentary on the coverage lavished by the New York Times on the developing scandal with a part time correspondent of the New York Post's Page Si accused of blackmailing super—rich Clinton... More
April 11, 2006
Hitchens on the Iraq-Niger uranium connection
The incomparable Christopher Hitchens today conducts his own analysis in Slate on the left's accepted truth that GW lied when he said that Saddam had sought to buy uranium in Africa. The American Thinker covered much of the same ground... More
April 11, 2006
The special election today in California's 50th district
The Congressional seat formerly occuppied by Randy "Duke" Cunningham (now a guest of the Federal Bureau of Prisons) is up for grabs today. Democrats are salivating at the opportunity to pick—up what had been a reliably GOP seat in wealthy... More
April 11, 2006
The bird flu blackout in China
The entire world is concerned about the possible mutation of bird flu into a human contagion. Everyone must be vigilant in monitoring outbreaks, for the spread of epidemics accelerates with each day, once an outbreak begins. Yet China is finding... More
April 11, 2006
Turkey: Islamists and the secular military in wrestling matc
Turkey often is taken as an example of Muslim country that has kept a democratic form of government for almost a hundred years. That is partly true, if you take into account the crucial role of the secular military in... More
April 10, 2006
France surrenders - to French students
At least some French can claim a victory in this battle. The government, well practiced in the art of surrender, is scrapping the law allowing two whole years in which young new employees can be terminated without cause. Gateway Pundit... More
April 10, 2006
More and more like Tawana Brawley
The rape accusations against the lacrosse team at Duke university, brought by an exotic dancer, are beginning to resemble those of Tawana Brawley. According to AP: Time—stamped photographs will show an exotic dancer was already injured and "very impaired" when... More
April 10, 2006
Freedom of speech for me but not for thee (continued)
Liberals love to contrast their tolerant, open minded approach to differing viewpoints, lifestyles, ethnicities for instance, as opposed to what they claim are the narrow minded rigidities of the conservatives. Doing your own thing. Diversity, pluralism and multi culturalism is... More
April 10, 2006
Photo fakery influences war perceptions
Neil Munro of the National Journal has an excellent essay on fake photos influencing public perceptions in the War on Terror. He begins with an analysis of the fake "missile" photograph published by the New York Times that we covered... More
April 10, 2006
The old media double standard
A Congressman is alleged to have committed 250 ethics violations. Big news? Only if he is a Republican. Have you seen the following in the New York Times? From CNS News: U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan (D—W.Va.) has committed over 250... More
April 10, 2006
Of minds great and small
In her preface to 'The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci,' Irma A. Richter writes: To live close to great minds is a great education, and the happiest thing that can befall us. The reverse is also true: Dealing with small... More
April 10, 2006
Good fences
"Good fences make good neighbors," the poet Robert Frost wrote, probably sarcastically. A defined boundary clearly marks the separation of one's property from another; excluding those who don't belong. Many of us have fences on our property; also doors which... More
April 10, 2006
Tim Russert plays softball with John Keryy
On Sunday's Meet The Press, John Kerry was given the first half—hour. ButTim Russert failed to follow—up on the promise that Kerry made on the same show some eighteen months ago, to wit: that he would within a matter of... More
April 10, 2006
Kerry's biggest mistake?
John F. Kerry told the AP his biggest mistake was taking federal money. But I thought so many liberals want government funding for campaigns to avoid the influence of "big money." I await his clarification. Ed Lasky 4 10... More
April 10, 2006
The India Lobby
Professors Walt and Mearsheimer had better start sharpening their pencils, for a new threat has arisen: The India Lobby. The two professors who co—authored the notorious "Israel Lobby" paper thought that the existence of a lobby for the US—Israel alliance indicated... More
April 09, 2006
Google censors China, carries Muslim Terror TV
Olivier Guitta of the Counterterrorism blog notes that Google has agreed to filter out Chinese websites that Beijing doesn't like — like religious sites. But Google think's it's hunky—dory to carry Al Manar TV ***in its news section,*** brought to... More
April 09, 2006
Save the polluters!
Boy are we in trouble now! The BBC earnestly reports that reducing pollution is aggravating global warming. I fear that we face an awful mess cleaning up the litter from all those greenies when their heads explode. Hat tip: Byron... More
April 09, 2006
Lefty media flipping out
A good portion of the left wing commentariat is going nuclear over Sy Hersh's prognostication of war with Iran, the Bush "leak" (actually, it is properly called "declassification"), and other grist for the mill. Fortunately, our contributor Rick Moran has some... More
April 09, 2006
North Korea threatens pre-emptive strike
North Korea Says It's Prepared for Pre—Emptive Strike Against U.S. Bloomberg reports: North Korea said it's prepared to strike first against the U.S., rather that wait for an attack, even as representatives of the two nations were making overtures in... More
April 09, 2006
Bush "leaked" hooey
The hyperbolic treatment of the portion of Patrick Fitzgerald's response to Libby's motion to compel in which a Presidential declassification of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) to explain the truth to reporters has morphed into a Presidential leak against a... More
April 08, 2006
The New Yorker Magazine says US planning to attack Iran
Given that this item comes from the very unreliable, Seymour Hersh, it should be greeted with some skepticism. Ed Lasky 4 8 06 Reader Mike McGill comments: With regard to the Seymore Hersh article and all skepticism aside,... More
April 08, 2006
Unmitigated arrogance
The Gulf News has a whole new take on Hamas: The terrorist party is entitled to all the EU money givesto the Palestinians regardless of its failure to adhere to the Oslo agreements. In an editorial titled "Forcing Hamas into... More
April 08, 2006
Self-defeating gloating
The New York Times is reveling in the embarrassment the New York Post is suffering as one of its Page Six part—timers is caught on tape in an apparent extortion racket. It so sweet to see its competitor, which now... More
April 08, 2006
Time bomb in the immigration bill
Kris Kobach, a professor of law at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, writes in the New York Post about some legislative tricks that are an insult to the ideal of transperancy — a core principle of democracy. Some highlights: How do you slip... More
April 08, 2006
College admissions: a reader makes a great point
We are grateful for a reader sending us the following letter: Great article on the College Rejection Bonanza! One point that often gets left out of college selectivity discussions, however, is that the U.S. service academies (Naval Academy, West Point,... More
April 07, 2006
Laws are not optional
Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, has taken into his pretty little head the notion that he gets to pick and choose which laws to enforce. He flouted state law when he performed bogus "marraiges" of homosexual couples, and... More
April 07, 2006
French immigration much tougher than US
When the French get thoroughly scared they can be a lot tougher on a few points than America, at least where actual combat is not involved. The new government—supported immigration bill going through the parliament in Paris has provisions that US... More
April 07, 2006
Missing headlines (a continuing series)
"Unemployment rate falls to 4.7% as 211,000 jobs added last month" Market Watch Ed Lasky 4 7 06... More
April 07, 2006
Airbus shareholder contemplates selling shares
BAE, the British aerospace company, is in talks to sell its 20% holding in Airbus while the company is still propserous. Airliner wars may sap its performance, as Boeing bounces back. The Wall Street Journal ($link) reports: While a buyout... More
April 07, 2006
The "Israel Lobby" paper and the NYT
The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, US News & World Report, Alan Dershowitz and many others in academia and public policy have criticized the notorious paper on the "Israel Lobby" academic grounds. But the New York Times has remained... | 
