National Review articles from August 2004

National Review archives from August 2004

Make 'em sweat.(Letter to the Editor)
August 9, 2004... Congratulations to NATIONAL REVIEW and the Media Research Center on your comprehensive report on our biased media and their coming meltdown. At last you guys are making noises about applying free-market principles to media that mislead...

That's rich.(Letter to the Editor)
August 9, 2004... Roger Kimball's assessment of the New York Times's recent cultural coverage as lacking in quality and overabundant in politics ("A Sad Falling Off," July 26) is entirely accurate. Several months ago I complained to the Times's public editor,...

A salute.(Letter to the Editor)
August 9, 2004... That was a wonderful acknowledgement of American soldiers and Marines in Iraq by Kate O'Beirne ("The Soldiers You Never Hear About," June 14). It made me feel proud of our servicemen and women and their heroism. Her article also reminded me of...

Playing the palace.(Letter to the Editor)
August 9, 2004... I am sitting here in my office in the old Republican Palace in Baghdad, listening to Jane Monheit sing some great jazz, and reading the digital version of NATIONAL REVIEW. The only thing that would make this complete is if I could have my usual...

In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 24 states worth 211 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 23 states worth 285 electoral votes (270 needed to win).(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 24 states worth 211 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 23 states worth 285 electoral votes (270 needed to win).... Washington Post poll: Bush-Cheney 46 percent,...

Kerry, in Washington Post: "we have not stood up and attacked our opponents in personal ways.".(presidential candidate John F. Kerry)(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Kerry, in Washington Post: "We have not stood up and attacked our opponents in personal ways."... Sen. Zell Miller (D., Ga.) on Kerry's celebrity fundraiser in New York City: "John Kerry just sat there, grinning like a mule eating briars."...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R., Calif.) on Democrats opposing his budget proprosals: "I call them girlie men.".(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R., Calif.) on Democrats opposing his budget proprosals: "I call them girlie men."... Ad sponsored by pro-gaymarriage group Human Rights Campaign features pictures of Giuliani, McCain, Pataki, and Schwarzenegger:...

9/11 commission chairman Tom Kean, in Philadelphia Inquirer: "Congress is not blameless in this.(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * 9/11 commission chairman Tom Kean, in Philadelphia Inquirer: "Congress is not blameless in this. They held very few hearings on terrorism. You can't just let Congress off the hook."... Rep. Jane Harman (D., Calif.) on terror warnings of...

France joins Australia, Canada, and Norway in outlawing human cloning.(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * France joins Australia, Canada, and Norway in outlawing human cloning.... Palestinian officials say they may ban U.N.'s top Middle East envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, from their territory because he criticized Palestinian president Yassir...

Conan O'Brien: "Last night at a Democratic fundraiser concert, John Kerry played guitar while everyone on stage sang 'This Land Is Your Land.'.(Humor)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Conan O'Brien: "Last night at a Democratic fundraiser concert, John Kerry played guitar while everyone on stage sang 'This Land Is Your Land.' Then Kerry admitted that much of this land is owned by his wife."

Confronting affirmative action.
August 9, 2004... Because the administration argued against the two specific University of Michigan affirmative action plans before the Supreme Court last year, few appreciated at the time how much of the constitutional principle of Equal Protection it was...

Sandy Berger walked out of the National Archives with sensitive documents stuffed in his pants.(Samuel Berger, former National Security Advisor)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Sandy Berger walked out of the National Archives with sensitive documents stuffed in his pants. What is it with Democrats and their trouser problems?

So much for "Bush lied.".(George W. Bush's handling of military intelligence prior Iraq War)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * So much for "Bush lied." Two reports have debunked claims that Bush and Blair deliberately exaggerated pre-war intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The Senate Intelligence Committee's bipartisan report absolved the Bush...

Last fall, Joe Wilson accepted the Ron Ridenhour Award for Truth-Telling from the Nation Institute (affiliated with the left-wing magazine The Nation), named after the soldier who exposed the My Lai massacre.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Last fall, Joe Wilson accepted the Ron Ridenhour Award for Truth-Telling from the Nation Institute (affiliated with the left-wing magazine The Nation), named after the soldier who exposed the My Lai massacre. This was around the same time...

For the fourth year of his presidency, Bush declined to address the annual convention of the NAACP.(George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * For the fourth year of his presidency, Bush declined to address the annual convention of the NAACP. Who can blame him? The NAACP is a bouncer in a sharkskin suit, working the bar of the Democratic party. Its main purpose in life is to try to...

What did Sandy Berger stuff in his clothes and why did he stuff it?(Samuel R. Berger)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * What did Sandy Berger stuff in his clothes and why did he stuff it? These are the questions at the heart of a Washington flap that promises to be legendary. Bill Clinton's national security adviser took notes at the National Archives in...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, in May and June, the hourly earnings of production workers (that is, workers outside management) fell.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, in May and June, the hourly earnings of production workers (that is, workers outside management) fell. Wages during those months did not keep up with inflation. The Kerry campaign and the New York...

Although President Bush has raised more money than John Kerry--$218 million to $149 million, according to the FEC filings in May--there's a good chance Democrats trying to defeat him will outspend Republicans trying to re-elect him.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Although President Bush has raised more money than John Kerry--$218 million to $149 million, according to the FEC filings in May--there's a good chance Democrats trying to defeat him will outspend Republicans trying to re-elect him. That's...

Looking out on a crowd of 3,200 in New York, the Teresa Who Would Be First Lady said, "Women for Kerry need birth control, you've gotten so huge.".(Teresa Heinz Kerry)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Looking out on a crowd of 3,200 in New York, the Teresa Who Would Be First Lady said, "Women for Kerry need birth control, you've gotten so huge." We would simply like to stress that it is Mrs. Kerry, not NR, who favors limiting the birth of...

John Edwards famously complains that there are two Americas, and that the system is rigged to benefit the rich one.(senator avoids paying Medicare taxes)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * John Edwards famously complains that there are two Americas, and that the system is rigged to benefit the rich one. The editors of the Wall Street Journal report that the senator has gone to great lengths to illustrate the point in his tax...

Tobacco-state congressmen and anti-tobacco activists have reached a deal.(Food and Drug Administration receives power to regulate tobacco; federal quotas for growers to be eliminated)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Tobacco-state congressmen and anti-tobacco activists have reached a deal. The FDA will get new authority to regulate tobacco, and federal quotas for tobacco growers will end. In return, the farmers who are losing their quotas will get $12...

Introducing John Kerry at a rally, Massachusetts state senator Dianne Wilkerson referred to George W. Bush's education policy (No Child Left Behind) as "No Black Child Learns Under Bush.".(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Introducing John Kerry at a rally, Massachusetts state senator Dianne Wilkerson referred to George W. Bush's education policy (No Child Left Behind) as "No Black Child Learns Under Bush." Senator Kerry craves that Kennedyesque aura. Has he...

A coalition of liberals and social conservatives wants the federal government to force cable companies to offer consumers "a la carte" programming.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * A coalition of liberals and social conservatives wants the federal government to force cable companies to offer consumers "a la carte" programming. For the conservatives in particular, the goal is to enable consumers to get the channels they...

"Chest out, shoulders back, stomach in," the drill sergeants used to bark.(cosmetic procedures for military personnel)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * "Chest out, shoulders back, stomach in," the drill sergeants used to bark. Nowadays if a female recruit's chest doesn't go out far enough, the U.S. Army will take care of the problem for her. Between the years 2000 and 2003, Army surgeons...

In the bluest of blue states, here is liberalism on the ground (from "Latino Parents Speaking Out on Bilingual Education Failures," by Samuel G. Freedman, the New York Times, July 14).(immigrants' criticism of bilingual education )(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * In the bluest of blue states, here is liberalism on the ground (from "Latino Parents Speaking Out on Bilingual Education Failures," by Samuel G. Freedman, the New York Times, July 14): "On a sultry night in late June, when the school term was...

The headline was five words long, but spoke volumes: USS Cole Attack Trial opens (New York Sun).(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * The headline was five words long, but spoke volumes: USS COLE ATTACK TRIAL OPENS (New York Sun). The American destroyer was attacked in Aden harbor in October 2000 by al-Qaeda terrorists, who killed 17 American sailors. Abd alRahim...

The International Atomic Energy Agency, thanks to a concerted American diplomatic effort, recently brought Iran's nuclear-weapons program to the forefront of international attention.
August 9, 2004... * The International Atomic Energy Agency, thanks to a concerted American diplomatic effort, recently brought Iran's nuclear-weapons program to the forefront of international attention. Now new evidence has emerged that should amplify worries...

The International Court of Justice ruled against Israel's security fence in a slipshod opinion that should serve to bring discredit on "international justice.".(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * The International Court of Justice ruled against Israel's security fence in a slipshod opinion that should serve to bring discredit on "international justice." The opinion's discussion of history is remarkable: "The Arab population of...

Tell Jay Rockefeller.(congressional representative Joe Wilson)(Humor)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... TELL JAY ROCKEFELLER Joe Wilson, like the lady who Was domiciled in Niger, Then (gulp) became an entree for A smiling Niger tiger, Joe's been discovered in a lie: His Niger book's pure fiction And wipes the...

The Philippines began withdrawing its 51-man contingent of troops in Iraq in an effort to save the life of Angelo de la Cruz, a truck driver abducted outside Fallujah by terrorists.
August 9, 2004... * The Philippines began withdrawing its 51-man contingent of troops in Iraq in an effort to save the life of Angelo de la Cruz, a truck driver abducted outside Fallujah by terrorists. It's not as if the Filipinos don't know better: They face a...

Goose-killers.(Gil Gutknecht, Byron Dorgan propose price controls on pharmaceutical industry)
August 9, 2004... THE latest crusade in Washington seeks to do to the pharmaceutical-drug industry what trial lawyers and Naderites did to the tobacco and asbestos producers in the 1990s: demonize them and then milk them dry of every dollar of profits. A key...

Sudan has encouraged Arab Muslim militias to slaughter black Muslims; hundreds of thousands of the latter are facing death from starvation and disease, while their persecutors block the distribution of humanitarian aid.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Sudan has encouraged Arab Muslim militias to slaughter black Muslims; hundreds of thousands of the latter are facing death from starvation and disease, while their persecutors block the distribution of humanitarian aid. The U.S. has been...

Paul Klebnikov was born and brought up in the United States, a member of a distinguished Russian family that had fled the 1917 revolution.(murder of American journalist in Russia)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Paul Klebnikov was born and brought up in the United States, a member of a distinguished Russian family that had fled the 1917 revolution. Writing for Forbes magazine, he made a reputation as an investigative journalist. The title of one of...

Air travel, which for economy-class passengers gets ever more cramped and unpleasant, is at least poised to become more interesting.(new contracts and aircraft by manufacturers Airbus, Boeing)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Air travel, which for economy-class passengers gets ever more cramped and unpleasant, is at least poised to become more interesting. Boeing and Airbus are going head to head in a fierce struggle for world supremacy. Airbus is taking orders...

Pop singer Elton John peered out from under his rug to tell a magazine interviewer that.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Pop singer Elton John peered out from under his rug to tell a magazine interviewer that: "There's an atmosphere of fear in America right now that is deadly." Well, yes, many of us are indeed fearful that some plane we are flying on will be...

Rap singer Jason T. Phillips, who records under the name "Jadakiss," has a new song out titled "Why?".(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * Rap singer Jason T. Phillips, who records under the name "Jadakiss," has a new song out titled "Why?" It asks, among other things, "Why did Bush knock down the towers?" This is Mr. Phillips's first venture into political commentary. Until...

A blogger who is a fan of Ralph Nader went through the FEC records, looking for the political contributions of journalists.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * A blogger who is a fan of Ralph Nader went through the FEC records, looking for the political contributions of journalists. Out of more than 100 journalists at 50 publications, one (at Time) gave to Nader; two (one from Forbes, one from the...

"What's the matter with kids today?" wondered the late Paul Lynde in Bye Bye Birdie.(conservatism among young adults)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... * "What's the matter with kids today?" wondered the late Paul Lynde in Bye Bye Birdie. Not much, apparently. Rates of teen pregnancy and student marijuana use are plummeting. College freshmen who call themselves liberals outnumbered...

Constantine Menges, a Turkish-born freedom fighter and rightwing revolutionary, has died at the age of 64.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
August 9, 2004... * Constantine Menges, a Turkish-born freedom fighter and rightwing revolutionary, has died at the age of 64. From helping East German refugees escape over the Berlin Wall, to working for equal voting rights in Mississippi, to organizing civil...

Where's the beef?(reelection campaign of President George W. Bush)
August 9, 2004... THE negative side of the Bush campaign seems to be shaping up reasonably well. Republicans seem to be reaching the conclusion that they should attack Kerry less as a flip-flopper than as a liberal: Nobody is scared of flip-floppers' winning...

The senators dodge.(support for, debate over Federal Marriage Amendment, legalization of same-sex marriages)
August 9, 2004... ONE of the great political strengths of the liberal coalition is its ability to use the courts to get its way. Its politicians do not have to stick their necks out for unpopular elements of the liberal agenda. The courts take care of those...

Notes & asides.(Letter to the Editor)
August 9, 2004... * Dear Mr. Buckley: Is it characteristic of all of us that we mess up our writing by trying to impress? It can cause some to mess up their grammar, although I am not sure whom would make that mistake. It can cause some, post ergo, to mess up...

Veep for the ages: and for now.(Vice President Dick Cheney)
August 9, 2004... WHEN former President Bush notified the Republican House leader in 1989 that he was nominating Dick Cheney to be secretary of defense, Bob Michel was reportedly distraught. He said, "Mr. President, you're taking my right arm." The current...

Why did Bush surrender? The president caved on the Wilson-Niger affair--but he was right all along.(George W. Bush's claim that Saddam Hussein sought to obtain uranium from Niger)
August 9, 2004... WHAT a difference a year makes. Last summer, the raging debate in Washington was over 16 words in George W. Bush's State of the Union speech. "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of...

The two Americas canard: dissecting John Edwards's line.(presidential candidate)
August 9, 2004... TOGETHER, John Kerry and John Edwards possess family fortunes totaling probably in the vicinity of $1 billion. If elected, John Kerry would be the richest president in American history, richer even than his hero John F. Kennedy. And unlike...

Our Okie from Muskogee: conservative Tom Coburn runs for the Senate.
August 9, 2004... SOON after Republican senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma announced his retirement last fall, Stephen Moore of the Club for Growth placed a phone call to a doctor's office in Muskogee. He reached Tom Coburn, a 56-year-old family practitioner. "You...

The joy of Tokenism: or if not joy, something ...(comments on political conservatism)(Column)
August 9, 2004... YEARS ago, Henry Kissinger invited Bill Buckley to speak to his students at Harvard, in order, said Bill, to exhibit to them one of the more "exotic specimens in the American political zoo." We conservatives are more familiar now than we...

A personal retrospective: NR and its founder.(comments on retirement of editor William F. Buckley, Jr.)(Cover Story)
August 9, 2004... What follows is a loose assortment of published and broadcast commentary on the retirement of WFB, who, on June 29, turned his voting stock in National Review, Inc., over to a not-forprofit corporation. Ed Capano is publisher and CEO, Thomas...

From Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography.(book)(Excerpt)
August 9, 2004... Life at Great Elm In 1923, after years spent abroad in Mexico and in Europe, my father bought a house, called Great Elm, in Sharon, Connecticut, and moved his family there. I was born in 1925, the sixth child. OUTDOORS it was very very...

2004 Caribbean Post-Election Cruise.(package tour)
August 9, 2004... Sailing November 13-20 on Holland America Line's MS Zuiderdam NEW SPEAKERS ON BOARD FOR LUXURY VOYAGE! ace strategist DICK MORRIS and conservative Rep. PAT TOOMEY join renowned author VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, Islam expert BERNARD LEWIS, GOP...

Let's Pretend.
August 9, 2004... LET'S PRETEND One John's a multi-millionaire; The other flaunts a bil. They don't discuss detergents much, Across a windowsill. Yet both pretend they're middle-class As mother's milk, which can Produce...

The long view.(businesswoman Martha Stewart)(Humor)(Column)
August 9, 2004... From the Warden's Mailbox, June 2005. Dear Warden: You know me Warden I been a good inmate all these years never given you no real trouble always done my work duty and everything. Just do my time keep my mouth shut don't bother nobody...

Not quite right.(The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America)(Book Review)
August 9, 2004... The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America, by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (Penguin, 450 pp., $25.95) MICKLETHWAIT and Wooldridge, both writers for The Economist, have chosen a book title with two meanings. They are...

Two textures.(Hard America, Soft America: Competition vs. Coddling and the Battle for the Nation's Future)(Book Review)
August 9, 2004... Hard America, Soft America: Competition vs. Coddling and the Battle for the Nation's Future, by Michael Barone (Crown, 192 pp., $22) PICK your adjective. He is the brilliant Michael Barone. The encyclopedic Michael Barone. The unparalleled...

Telephone Greeting.(Poem)
August 9, 2004... TELEPHONE GREETING You have reached 985-0732, and so you have my number. This is true, but I'm not here right now to talk to you. I'm sure you know exactly what to do. Please leave your number and your name, OK? ...

Brown study.(The Seduction of Unreason: The Intellectual Romance with Fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism)(Book Review)
August 9, 2004... The Seduction of Unreason: The Intellectual Romance With Fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism, by Richard Wolin (Princeton, 404 pp., $29.95) THIS is a valuable but ungainly book. Richard Wolin, a professor of history and literature at...

Bright wings.(The Beauty of the Infinite: The Aesthetics of Christian Truth)(Art and Intellect in the Philosophy of Etienne Gilson)(Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended)(Book Review)
August 9, 2004... IN The Beauty of the Infinite: The Aesthetics of Christian Truth (Eerdmans, 448 pp., $45), Eastern Orthodox theologian David Bentley Hart has written one of the most thrilling works of Christian reflection to come along in years. What Hart...

Senator Edwards speaks out!(presidential candidate John Edwards)(Humor)
August 9, 2004... NEW YORK, JULY 9 LADIES an gennelmen of the jury, the U.S. is a great country but its growth has been stultified, an I do mean stultified, by the policies of the gennelman who got into the White House on account of, well--how would we get...

Should we have gone to war?(Iraq War)
August 9, 2004... NEW YORK, JULY 13 I said ten days ago that if I had known back in February 2003 what we know now I would not have counseled war against Iraq. That statement struck some as disloyal to a cause, some others as prime bait for exploitation by...

Circle-squaring by Daschle.(Senator Thomas Daschle; support for Defense of Marriage Act)
August 9, 2004... NEW YORK, JULY 16 SENATOR Daschle's face would show the strain, except that his face has no strains left to show, looking as he does as the condemned prisoner on the last day of his reprieve. The special torment this time around is the...

To WFB.(letters to the editor)(Letter to the Editor)
August 23, 2004... Having grown up in Rhinebeck, N.Y., been a resident of Stamford, Conn., and attended Yale College, I thoroughly enjoyed William F. Buckley Jr.'s recollections ("From Miles Gone By--A Literary Autobiography," August 9). Buckley's...

How foreign aid can help the poor--and why it doesn't.(Advertisement)
August 23, 2004... People who think foreign aid ought to be used to help end poverty complain that it has too many strings attached. That strings are attached is true; the problem is not too many strings but rather that the wrong strings are attached to end...

In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 23 states worth 195 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 22 states worth 261 electoral votes (270 needed to win).(for the record)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 23 states worth 195 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 22 states worth 261 electoral votes (270 needed to win).... CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll: Bush 50 percent, Kerry 46...

Unnamed Kerry aide explains senator's vote against troop-funding bill, in The New Yorker: "Off the record he did it because of Howard Dean.(for the record)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * Unnamed Kerry aide explains senator's vote against troop-funding bill, in The New Yorker: "Off the record he did it because of Howard Dean. On the record, he has an elaborate explanation."... Kerry, in Business Week: "I am not going to...

Washington Post/Univision/TRPI poll of Hispanics: Kerry 60 percent, Bush 30 percent.(for the record)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * Washington Post/Univision/TRPI poll of Hispanics: Kerry 60 percent, Bush 30 percent.... Democratic convention delegates complain about 1994 column written by Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack (D.) calling for English as official language.......

Rep. Johnny Isakson (Ga.) and former congressman Tom Coburn (Okla.) win GOP Senate primaries without needing runoffs.(for the record)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * Rep. Johnny Isakson (Ga.) and former congressman Tom Coburn (Okla.) win GOP Senate primaries without needing runoffs.... In move signaling trouble, campaign manager to Senate candidate Inez Tenenbaum (D., S.C.) quits.... Rep. Robert Matsui...

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, on NBC: "I think the idea of two Americas--that's the way they ran against Ronald Reagan 20 years ago.(for the record)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, on NBC: "I think the idea of two Americas--that's the way they ran against Ronald Reagan 20 years ago. So it sounds to me like the old Democratic party back again."... Nancy Reagan disappoints GOP...

New York Times ombudsman Daniel Okrent on his paper's coverage of gay marriage: "On a topic that has produced one of the defining debates of our time, Times editors have failed to provide the three-dimensional perspective balanced journalism requires.".(for the record)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * New York Times ombudsman Daniel Okrent on his paper's coverage of gay marriage: "On a topic that has produced one of the defining debates of our time, Times editors have failed to provide the three-dimensional perspective balanced journalism...

Brice Lalonde, mayor of French town of Saint-Briac and first cousin of Kerry, in Wall Street Journal: "We do have some JFK stickers on our cars.".(for the record)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * Brice Lalonde, mayor of French town of Saint-Briac and first cousin of Kerry, in Wall Street Journal: "We do have some JFK stickers on our cars."... In Le Figaro poll, 78 percent of French say they would vote for Kerry and 9 percent say...

Jay Leno: "Edwards's speech was so good.(for the record)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * Jay Leno: "Edwards's speech was so good, when he finished the delegates awarded him $80 million plus punitive damages."

Keep talkin', Teresa.(The Week)
August 23, 2004... * Keep talkin', Teresa. Keep talkin'.

They were an interesting group, those delegates in Boston.(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * They were an interesting group, those delegates in Boston. Though a CBS/New York Times survey found them to be miles to the left of typical Democratic voters, a majority of them consider themselves moderates. In contrast to their nominee's...

If you're a Democrat, you'll always have Florida.(The Week)
August 23, 2004... * If you're a Democrat, you'll always have Florida. At least that's how it seemed at the party's convention, as speaker after speaker revived the myth that Al Gore "won" the 2000 presidential election. "We won a half a million more votes than...

You've heard of pitting Americans against Americans, right?(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * You've heard of pitting Americans against Americans, right? Well, how about pitting Americans against Iraqis? Sen. Tom Daschle is one of the politicians who do it, and he did it glaringly in his Dem convention speech: "[My constituents]...

Barack Obama gave a wonderful keynote address at the Democratic convention, and not just because he trumped John Edwards's hardscrabble background--I'll see your mill-worker father and raise you a goat-herding Kenyan father.(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * Barack Obama gave a wonderful keynote address at the Democratic convention, and not just because he trumped John Edwards's hardscrabble background--I'll see your mill-worker father and raise you a goat-herding Kenyan father. Obama tapped into...

John Kerry asked, "What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem-cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?".(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * John Kerry asked, "What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem-cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?" Of course, one can "believe in" science--better, believe...

In an interview with Peter Jennings, Kerry attempted to square his belief that life begins at conception with his support for abortion by suggesting that the fetus is not a "person" before viability.(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * In an interview with Peter Jennings, Kerry attempted to square his belief that life begins at conception with his support for abortion by suggesting that the fetus is not a "person" before viability. So conception marks the beginning of a new...

Sen. Joe Lieberman is a mensch.(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * Sen. Joe Lieberman is a mensch. The Democrats have been trying to project strength against terror, and Lieberman is as close to the real thing as they come. At the convention, he said that "Islamist terrorists" are "as great a threat to our...

In her convention speech, Teresa Heinz Kerry said that "one of the best faces America has ever projected is the face of a Peace Corps volunteer.".(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * In her convention speech, Teresa Heinz Kerry said that "one of the best faces America has ever projected is the face of a Peace Corps volunteer." It "symbolizes this country: young, curious, brimming with idealism and hope--and a real, honest...

A breakthrough in global trade talks promises economic benefits for rich and poor countries alike.(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * A breakthrough in global trade talks promises economic benefits for rich and poor countries alike. Essentially, the deal would have rich countries stop ripping off their taxpayers with farm subsidies that glut world food markets. In return,...

"We value an America that controls its own destiny because it's finally and forever independent of Mideast oil," said Kerry.(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * "We value an America that controls its own destiny because it's finally and forever independent of Mideast oil," said Kerry. "What does it mean for our economy and our national security when we have only 3 percent of the world's oil reserves,...

When photographs appeared of John Kerry hopping around the shuttle Discovery in a baby blue "bunny suit," his campaign falsely claimed they had been rabbit-punched by NASA.(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * When photographs appeared of John Kerry hopping around the shuttle Discovery in a baby blue "bunny suit," his campaign falsely claimed they had been rabbit-punched by NASA. A spokesman for the agency explained that pictures of visiting...

The president talked up tax cuts, tort reform, the war on terrorism, school choice, his faith-based initiative, and his other policies.(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * The president talked up tax cuts, tort reform, the war on terrorism, school choice, his faith-based initiative, and his other policies. That's not especially notable. The venue for his speech, the Urban League, is. The president made it clear...

The House made a symbolic strike against the federal courts on same-sex marriage.(The Week)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... * The House made a symbolic strike against the federal courts on same-sex marriage. The bill it voted for would strip those courts of jurisdiction over challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act. Even if the Senate were to follow suit, the...