National Review articles from September 2004

National Review archives from September 2004

Trouble in Reuterville.(Letter to the Editor)
September 13, 2004... Tom Gross commits all the sins of journalism of which he accuses Reuters ("The Case of Reuters," July 26), with no proper evidence except comments from an unnamed and disgruntled former employee. That is hardly an impeccable source and its use...

The pit bull of plains.(Letter to the Editor)
September 13, 2004... Watching the Democratic convention, I was astonished at the diatribe coming from the mouth of Jimmy Carter, albeit delivered softly, with the benign expression of a wise old man. Hearing nothing to corroborate my response from friends, family,...

In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 24 states worth 205 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 24 states worth 296 electoral votes (270 needed to win).(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 24 states worth 205 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 24 states worth 296 electoral votes (270 needed to win).... Fabrizio, McLaughlin poll of voters in 19 battleground...

Bob Dole on Kerry, on CNN: "One day he's saying that we were shooting civilians, cutting off their ears, cutting off their heads, throwing away his medals or his ribbons.(military proposals of presidential candidate John F. Kerry)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Bob Dole on Kerry, on CNN: "One day he's saying that we were shooting civilians, cutting off their ears, cutting off their heads, throwing away his medals or his ribbons. The next day he's standing there [saying], 'I want to be president...

Kerry fundraiser John P. Coale on how he did his job, in New York Times: "We had a whole network of attorneys from the tobacco wars that I got money from".(John F. Kerry)(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Kerry fundraiser John P. Coale on how he did his job, in New York Times: "We had a whole network of attorneys from the tobacco wars that I got money from."... Jimmy Carter: "The world has suffered the last four years."... Randy Kelly,...

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D., Mass.) says his name appeared on government nofly lists earlier this year.(includes notes on national security, other politicians)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Sen. Ted Kennedy (D., Mass.) says his name appeared on government nofly lists earlier this year.... Administration official tells Washington Post that suspected terrorist had been using alias of "T. Kennedy."... District of Columbia mayor...

Citizens for a Sound Economy and Empower America merge as FreedomWorks, with Dick Armey, C. Boyden Gray, and Jack Kemp as co-chairmen and Bill Bennett as senior fellow.(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Citizens for a Sound Economy and Empower America merge as FreedomWorks, with Dick Armey, C. Boyden Gray, and Jack Kemp as co-chairmen and Bill Bennett as senior fellow.... Federal government offers $1 billion in special assistance for...

Libya agrees to pay $35 million to victims of terrorist bombing of Berlin nightclub in 1986.(includes other news)(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Libya agrees to pay $35 million to victims of terrorist bombing of Berlin nightclub in 1986.... Iran tests new missile with range capable of striking any part of Israel.... In attempt to spur economic development and ease overcrowding, South...

Craig Kilborn: "Our nation's governors are rising to the occasion to send supplies to Florida.(Governor James McGreevey)(Humor)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Craig Kilborn: "Our nation's governors are rising to the occasion to send supplies to Florida. There was a terrible hurricane down there. Schwarzenegger is sending water and Pataki is sending food. McGreevey is sending throw pillows."

How can we ever learn the truth about John Kerry's medals?(Humor)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * How can we ever learn the truth about John Kerry's medals? He threw them away.

"Bush smeared John McCain four years ago," says the new Kerry television ad.(political advertising by presidential candidate John F. Kerry)
September 13, 2004... * "Bush smeared John McCain four years ago," says the new Kerry television ad. "Now he's doing it to John Kerry." The Democratic presidential candidate is in high-outrage mode these days, striking back at the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth...

In response to Democratic demands that he denounce the Swift Boat Veterans' ads, Bush says that he thinks all ads by such organizations should be illegal.(President George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * In response to Democratic demands that he denounce the Swift Boat Veterans' ads, Bush says that he thinks all ads by such organizations should be illegal. Only the political parties and the candidates, which have to comply with detailed...

At the recent UNITY conference for minority (and predominantly left-wing) reporters, Kerry said of Iraq: "Now, might we have wound up going to war with Saddam Hussein?(John F. Kerry)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * At the recent UNITY conference for minority (and predominantly left-wing) reporters, Kerry said of Iraq: "Now, might we have wound up going to war with Saddam Hussein? You bet we might have." Such inspiring language will surely go down in the...

Democrats have spent most of this year accusing Bush of being trapped in Cold War thinking.(President George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Democrats have spent most of this year accusing Bush of being trapped in Cold War thinking. (That is why, they say, he was not alert to the threat of al-Qaeda.) But now Bush is shaking up an outdated, Cold War pattern of military deployments,...

Some of us are already beginning to find Teresa Heinz Kerry's over-advertised sauciness, independence, and, for heaven's sake, "sexiness" a little wearisome.(includes notes on candidate John F. Kerry)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Some of us are already beginning to find Teresa Heinz Kerry's over-advertised sauciness, independence, and, for heaven's sake, "sexiness" a little wearisome. Her husband, however, is apparently still convinced that there is electoral gold to...

Nagging Doubts.(candidate John F. Kerry)(Humor)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... NAGGING DOUBTS John Kerry's service records lie Locked up like gold in Fort Knox. Why? If what this easy rider said Can, with a key, be warranted, For God's sake, let the sunshine in! It's getting under Edwards's...

Kerry says that the Congressional Budget Office "documents what others and I have been saying for months.(John F. Kerry's comments on taxation fairness)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Kerry says that the Congressional Budget Office "documents what others and I have been saying for months. The tax burden of middle-class Americans has gone up, while the tax burden of the wealthiest people has gone down. That is wrong. That...

Under a federal law passed during the Depression, hourly workers in the private sector are supposed to receive time-and-a-half pay for every hour they spend on the job in excess of 40 a week.(President George W. Bush proposes amendment to allow for extra employee time-off instead of overtime pay)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Under a federal law passed during the Depression, hourly workers in the private sector are supposed to receive time-and-a-half pay for every hour they spend on the job in excess of 40 a week. President Bush has proposed amending this to...

The American Federation of Teachers circulated a study saying that charter schools are doing worse than traditional public schools, and the New York Times ran a front-pager practically declaring the case closed.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * The American Federation of Teachers circulated a study saying that charter schools are doing worse than traditional public schools, and the New York Times ran a front-pager practically declaring the case closed. But education reformers...

After the Democratic convention became an infomercial for embryo-killing research--with Ron Reagan touting the possibility that human cloning would allow for personal "biological repair kits"--the Bush administration decided to start defending its policy.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * After the Democratic convention became an infomercial for embryo-killing research--with Ron Reagan touting the possibility that human cloning would allow for personal "biological repair kits"--the Bush administration decided to start...

In 2000, Bush won Nevada's four electoral votes by a mere four percentage points.(John F. Kerry's, John Edwards's manipulation of public concern over Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site )(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * In 2000, Bush won Nevada's four electoral votes by a mere four percentage points. John Kerry is trying to take the state's votes away from him by playing on Nevada's fears about the burial of nuclear waste beneath Yucca Mountain. The burial...

Kerry opposes the death penalty. He used to oppose it even for terrorists, but has had a change of heart in time for this election.(John F. Kerry)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Kerry opposes the death penalty. He used to oppose it even for terrorists, but has had a change of heart in time for this election. President Bush supports it. So why isn't he mentioning it? There is a stealthy campaign against the death...

Chasing the losers.(effects of employee income taxation in United States, Europe)
September 13, 2004... MILTON FRIEDMAN recently wrote that the enduring lesson of the last century is that "capitalism creates wealth; and socialism is a failure." Then he lamented that many politicians in America have deduced from this that "what America needs is...

Adjusting to a post-Cold War world.(international security and terrorism prevention)
September 13, 2004... The publication of the 9/11 commission's report provides an opportunity to reflect not just on the lack of preparedness for the history-altering terrorist attacks but also on the realities of the post-Cold War world. The nearly 600-page...

James McGreevey announced that he would step down as governor of New Jersey after his lover, Golan Cipel, threatened him with blackmail and the like (this is McGreevey's story).(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * James McGreevey announced that he would step down as governor of New Jersey after his lover, Golan Cipel, threatened him with blackmail and the like (this is McGreevey's story). The governor had given Mr. Cipel a $110,000-a-year job as...

Crooked John Rowland, out in Connecticut, skeevy James McGreevey, going out in New Jersey--and between them, George Pataki of New York, who has found the Zen way to statesmanship.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Crooked John Rowland, out in Connecticut, skeevy James McGreevey, going out in New Jersey--and between them, George Pataki of New York, who has found the Zen way to statesmanship. He is noteworthy for what he is not.

The Najaf crisis drags on as we go to press.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * The Najaf crisis drags on as we go to press. The constantly shifting pronouncements--one hour, rebel punk-cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is going to be definitively smashed; the next, he is going to be given one more last chance--are mind-numbingly...

When Uday Hussein ran Iraqi sport, athletes were tortured for losing.(extremism in sports policies of Iraq, Iran)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * When Uday Hussein ran Iraqi sport, athletes were tortured for losing. In Athens, Iraq's Olympic soccer team lost a match to Paraguay, but beat Costa Rica, Portugal, and Australia for a berth in the semi-finals, without a torturer in sight....

Sofia Sakorafa, a Greek politician and javelin thrower, tried to compete in the Athens Olympics as a Palestinian, but was ruled ineligible, which makes us wonder when the Palestinians fielded their first Olympic team.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Sofia Sakorafa, a Greek politician and javelin thrower, tried to compete in the Athens Olympics as a Palestinian, but was ruled ineligible, which makes us wonder when the Palestinians fielded their first Olympic team. (They sent a delegation...

Hail to the Thief?(possible fraud in referendum over Hugo Chavez's presidency)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Hail to the Thief? Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez beat back a recall referendum with a remarkable feat of electoral transubstantiation: He changed an overwhelmingly hostile exit-poll majority (59 percent against him) into an overwhelmingly...

We have argued before in this space that any nation that has a minister of culture in its government is well along on the road to perdition.(anti-Americanism during performance by singer and Brazilian Culture Minister, Gilberto Gil)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * We have argued before in this space that any nation that has a minister of culture in its government is well along on the road to perdition. Here is a confirming instance. At a concert in Sao Paolo, Brazil's leading crooner, Gilberto Gil, who...

Less than a month after its members voted in the U.N. General Assembly against Israel's security fence--which prevents terrorists from sneaking into Israel and blowing up civilians there--the European Union reportedly has plans to build a separation fence of its own.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Less than a month after its members voted in the U.N. General Assembly against Israel's security fence--which prevents terrorists from sneaking into Israel and blowing up civilians there--the European Union reportedly has plans to build a...

Communists are in some ways very conservative--for example, in the methods they use to discredit and neutralize their enemies.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Communists are in some ways very conservative--for example, in the methods they use to discredit and neutralize their enemies. Remember how uncooperative Western visitors to the old USSR had a way of being discovered in compromising...

Remember lustration?(trial of Karel Hoffmann, former Communist prosecutor in Czechoslovakia)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Remember lustration? That was the process designed by the Czech authorities after the Velvet Revolution to remove their former Communist persecutors from public life, and if possible bring them to court to account for their crimes. The file...

BBC presenter John Humphrys says he "bloody well hopes" his broadcasts reflect a liberal bias.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * BBC presenter John Humphrys says he "bloody well hopes" his broadcasts reflect a liberal bias. "Do we want to return to capital punishment or to see homosexuals persecuted? No. That is a broadly liberal position. And that's what the nation...

For years now--decades--conservatives have made a specialty of noting and lampooning the obits of Communists published in the New York Times.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * For years now--decades--conservatives have made a specialty of noting and lampooning the obits of Communists published in the New York Times. Often, they're not acknowledged as Communists at all: They were those of "strong beliefs," or...

Lewis Lapham, the editor of Harper's, has an essay in its September issue on conservatives.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Lewis Lapham, the editor of Harper's, has an essay in its September issue on conservatives. The issue came out in mid-August. In his essay, Lapham reflects on the "rich man's dream of heaven that placed Ronald Reagan in the White House in...

"How small, of all that human hearts endure, / That part which laws or kings can cause or cure!".(cook and author Julia Child)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
September 13, 2004... * "How small, of all that human hearts endure, / That part which laws or kings can cause or cure!" Those words of Dr. Johnson's are doubly pertinent, as we careen into the madness of an election homestretch, and as we note the passing, at age...

Czeslaw Milosz was a man of great gifts as a poet, thinker, and linguist, but above all he was a free spirit.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
September 13, 2004... * Czeslaw Milosz was a man of great gifts as a poet, thinker, and linguist, but above all he was a free spirit. Physically he looked the part too, as though he had been carved out of some very hard piece of wood. His life was a wonderfully...

Al Gore got a speeding ticket while driving a rented car--a most Earth-unfriendly Lincoln four-door, according to the ticket--on a visit to relatives in Oregon.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * Al Gore got a speeding ticket while driving a rented car--a most Earth-unfriendly Lincoln four-door, according to the ticket--on a visit to relatives in Oregon. He was doing 75 in a 55 zone. The state trooper who stopped Gore said that the...

A joke we heard: Kerry and Edwards are at McDonald's, doing some campaigning.(John F. Kerry, John Edwards)(Humor)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... * A joke we heard: Kerry and Edwards are at McDonald's, doing some campaigning. An employee, in her excitement, spills some coffee on Kerry's hand. Edwards wants to sue--but Kerry wants to write it up for his fourth Purple Heart.

Race to the Swift.(the Vietnam War in John F. Kerry's presidential campaign)
September 13, 2004... SPEAKING on behalf of Vietnam veterans in his Senate testimony on April 22, 1971, John Kerry said, "We wish that a merciful God could wipe away our own memories of that service..." Thirty-three years later, it's clear that his plea fell on...

Notes & asides.(Letter to the Editor)
September 13, 2004... * Memo to: WFB From: Linda Bridges Re: Firing Line Here is the information you need, pursuant to several inquiries from readers who wish access to Firing Line. The Hoover Institution in California, which owns and houses the tapes, has...

If he wins.(results of possible election of John F. Kerry as president)
September 13, 2004... IF the Democrats win the White House, it will be because liberals are more worried about a reelected Bush than conservatives are about a President Kerry. Conservatives have various complaints about President Bush: He has imposed some tariffs....

Two JFKs, divisible.(John F. Kennedy; presidential candidate John F. Kerry)
September 13, 2004... I NEVER knew John Kennedy, and John Kennedy was not (sigh) a friend of mine, but among the legions of those who are no John Kennedy, John Forbes Kerry probably heads up the list. Their names are similar: their given name John; their mothers'...

The prosperity killer.(investors' opposition to candidate John F. Kerry)
September 13, 2004... IT'S hard to remember the last time Wall Street was as repelled by a presidential candidate as it is by John Kerry. Many stock analysts are convinced that the mere threat of a Kerry presidency has caused equity values to slump in the past two...

The 'squeeze' play.(taxation and the middle class in presidential campaigns)
September 13, 2004... IVORY-TOWER economists have a mathematical model for just about any occasion. They even have one--the "median voter" model--that predicts how successful politicians will compete to craft tax plans pandering to the middle class. This...

The energy mirage.(candidate John F. Kerry's energy proposal)
September 13, 2004... ONE of the few "big ideas" John Kerry has put forward is a sweeping federal program to secure energy independence. This idea is by no means new: It has been embraced to varying degrees by every major national politician for the past 30 years....

The missus.(Teresa Heinz Kerry)
September 13, 2004... WHEN Teresa Heinz Kerry, as she is now known, first slipped into the public consciousness, we were titillated by the promise of unique copy to come. Here was an older, sophisticated woman, cushioned by enormous wealth and, we hoped, possessed...

The nomination, explained.(presidential candidate John F. Kerry)
September 13, 2004... 'IS there any way," we were once asked by a studio executive after he had read our latest script, "that you could show the main character doing something incredibly heroic and totally saving the day in a simple one-page scene we can slap on the...

In Vietnam.(John F. Kerry's Vietnam War record)
September 13, 2004... LAST May, when the newly formed group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth first spoke to the press about John Kerry, the men--mostly Kerry's fellow officers from the four months he skippered a Navy Swift boat in Vietnam--seemed divided on the issue...

A futile foreign policy.(John F. Kerry's foreign policy proposals)
September 13, 2004... JOHN KERRY is worried about his record of support for gay unions, abortion-on-demand, and other hot-button liberal causes that rile moderate swing voters outside of New England. One way to counteract the image of an out-of-touch Boston liberal...

Kerry, Smoked Out.(presidential candidate John F. Kerry)(Humor)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... KERRY, SMOKED OUT He would have been pre-emptive, too, Although with more panache, More allies (ask Joe Biden) and More like the grunts in M*A*S*H. How Michael Moore reacts to John's Most recent fliperoo...

The long view.(presidential candidate John F. Kerry)(Humor)
September 13, 2004... "The Frenchurian Candidate" FADE IN: EXTERIOR--AIRPORT TARMAC--DAY A press conference in progress. Flashbulbs, camera crews, shouted questions. The Kerry campaign plane in the background. Senator John Kerry stands at a...

Believe it.(The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World)(Book Review)
September 13, 2004... The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World, by Alister McGrath (Doubleday, 306 pp., $23.95) NOT long ago--just 34 years ago, to be exact--"many had come to the view that religion was on its way out," Oxford...

Sunlight and Silence.(Poem)
September 13, 2004... SUNLIGHT AND SILENCE Of all my worldly goods and society, Nothing is left but a table and chair, A lamp casting dim light on a dark book, And a grinning skull that will outstare My blinking gaze unto eternity. ...

Solid states.(State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century)(Book Review)
September 13, 2004... State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century, by Francis Fukuyama (Cornell, 160 pp., $21) THIS is a very useful, intelligent, and short book by Francis Fukuyama, a leading political thinker. It examines a central issue in...

Cursed and blessed.(Dylan Thomas: A New Life)(Book Review)
September 13, 2004... Dylan Thomas: A New Life, by Andrew Lycett (Overlook, 434 pp., $35) MODERN poets all too often live lives that, but for their poetry, differ little from those of common stewbums, wastrels, lunatics, or brutes. Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), a...

Night moves.(The Village)(Movie Review)
September 13, 2004... 'HOW come we never heard about the magic rocks before?" asks a befuddled character in The Village, M. Night Shyamalan's new film. By this point in the film, audience confusion will likely have given way to irritation. Shyamalan, who has brought...

Mozart et al.(Salzburg Festival, music)
September 13, 2004... Salzburg, Austria THIS is Mozart's town--and don't you forget it. Of course, you can't: His portrait greets you at the airport, and it's stamped on all the candy. People dress up as him, on the streets (e.g., in woodwind ensembles). Every...

2004 Caribbean Post-Election Cruise.
September 13, 2004... Sailing November 13-20 on Holland America Line's MS Zuiderdam SELL-OUT LOOMING! JOIN CONFIRMED SPEAKERS ace political strategist DICK MORRIS, conservative Rep. PAT TOOMEY, renowned author VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, Islam expert BERNARD LEWIS, GOP...

Grammar of a scent.(odors in everyday life)
September 13, 2004... SMELL is the uncultivated sense. We have lost the sensitivity of dogs and sharks, and we do not improve the little that we retain. Sight, hearing, and taste have all been disciplined by the arts, and you may sample the results in concert halls,...

The new warhawk.(candidate John F. Kerry's views on Iraq War)
September 13, 2004... NEW YORK, AUGUST 10 SIX months ago I ventured in this space that the Democratic position on the war in Iraq was the single most critical question in U.S. politics. The statement made on Monday by Senator Kerry is the climactic event in...

What did McGreevey prove?(resignation of New Jersey Governor, James McGreevey)
September 13, 2004... NEW YORK, AUGUST 13 IN the matter of the resignation of Governor McGreevey, the impulse is to say: Let it alone--it is a private act. But that is the thoughtless, even cowardly way of disposing of the event, because it is tied in so many...

Can you read?(portrayal of charter schools in the media)
September 13, 2004... NEW YORK, AUGUST 17 THE New York Times treats as the topmost news item of the day a report that students at (most) charter schools are doing worse than students at (most) public schools. These are data put together on fourth-grade...

The book on conservatives.(letters to the editor)(Letter to the Editor)
September 27, 2004... Ramesh Ponnuru's review of our book The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America ("Not Quite Right," August 9) was so warped that we have decided to break a pledge never to complain about any of our critics. Ponnuru chooses to ignore...

In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 28 states worth 274 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 20 states worth 231 electoral votes (270 needed to win).(for the record)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * In The Hotline's survey of state polls, President Bush leads in 28 states worth 274 electoral votes and John Kerry leads in 20 states worth 231 electoral votes (270 needed to win).... Newsweek poll: Bush 52 percent, Kerry 41 percent, Nader 3...

Vice President Cheney: "[Kerry] declared at the Democratic convention that he will forcefully defend America--after we have been attacked.(for the record)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * Vice President Cheney: "[Kerry] declared at the Democratic convention that he will forcefully defend America--after we have been attacked. My fellow Americans, we have already been attacked."... "There is a difference between leading a...

Sen. Zell Miller (D., Ga.): "Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator.".(for the record)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * Sen. Zell Miller (D., Ga.): "Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator."... "In [the Democrats'] warped way of thinking, America is the problem, not...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R., Calif.): "To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don't be economic girlie-men.".(for the record)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R., Calif.): "To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don't be economic girlie-men."... Sen. Sam Brownback (R., Kan.): "A fundamental principle of our democracy and our Republican party...

Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R., Md.): "[Kerry] recently said that he doesn't want to use the word 'war' to describe our efforts to fight terrorism.(for the record)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R., Md.): "[Kerry] recently said that he doesn't want to use the word 'war' to describe our efforts to fight terrorism. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I don't want to use the words 'commander-in-chief' to describe John...

Nader on Kerry: "He is surrounded by consultants who are losers.".(for the record)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * Nader on Kerry: "He is surrounded by consultants who are losers."... Nader fails to make ballot in Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas.... Bill Clinton, in New York Sun: "I don't know why the Republicans hate me so much. It is...

David Letterman: "Here's some important news.(for the record)
September 27, 2004... * David Letterman: "Here's some important news. The U.S. is bracing for its third hurricane this year. When John Kerry heard this he said, 'This is proof that President Bush is losing the war on weather.'"

John Kerry seems to be sinking.(The Week)
September 27, 2004... * John Kerry seems to be sinking. When did Gore endorse him?

"All men are mortal.(The Week)
September 27, 2004... * "All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal." That truism spins a bond across all but the widest chasms. We wish for Bill Clinton, and his family, that he have a full and speedy recovery.

Before the balloons had been cleaned up in New York, John Kerry launched a blistering attack on Bush's National Guard service and Cheney's five Vietnam deferments.(The Week)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * Before the balloons had been cleaned up in New York, John Kerry launched a blistering attack on Bush's National Guard service and Cheney's five Vietnam deferments. It's not the first time he has spoken in this vein, for all his fulsome...

The Democratic seething has led--surprise!--to a new round of stories questioning President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard.(The Week)
September 27, 2004... * The Democratic seething has led--surprise!--to a new round of stories questioning President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard. These new questions involve a man named Ben Barnes, a former speaker of the Texas House,...

Did President Bush really tell Matt Lauer that we could not win the war on terrorism?(The Week)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * Did President Bush really tell Matt Lauer that we could not win the war on terrorism? Looking over the transcript of the Today show, we can see two alternative interpretations of his remarks. Either Bush was saying that we could not win the...

Brown: a great decision--except for schools.(1954 Brown vs. Board of Education)(Advertisement)
September 27, 2004... Oliver Brown--the plaintiff in the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision--sued a school board, not a public park commission, even though such facilities were also segregated. Within the private sector, discrimination was pervasive. ...

That was certainly a barnburner Zell Miller delivered at Madison Square Garden.(The Week)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * That was certainly a barnburner Zell Miller delivered at Madison Square Garden. Republicans were thrilled to hear a Democrat forthrightly zinging his party on national-security issues. Most of his specific criticisms were well-aimed. John...

On the opening night of the Republican convention in New York, three women shared their pride in the bravery and self-sacrifice of the loved ones they lost in the 9/11 attacks.(The Week)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * On the opening night of the Republican convention in New York, three women shared their pride in the bravery and self-sacrifice of the loved ones they lost in the 9/11 attacks. The widow of one of the passengers who stormed the cockpit on...

When Arnold Schwarzenegger told Democrats and other pessimists not to be "economic girlie-men" on Tuesday night of the Republican convention, more Americans saw it on Fox News than on any other network.(The Week)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * When Arnold Schwarzenegger told Democrats and other pessimists not to be "economic girlie-men" on Tuesday night of the Republican convention, more Americans saw it on Fox News than on any other network. It was the first time Fox beat all of...

The protests in New York during the Republican convention flopped, despite the impressive turnout at Sunday's mass perambulation.(The Week)(Brief Article)
September 27, 2004... * The protests in New York during the Republican convention flopped, despite the impressive turnout at Sunday's mass perambulation. In their tolerant and open-minded way, organizers had promised to shut down the convention, to send the...

Not Like Kerry's.(Poem)
September 27, 2004... NOT LIKE KERRY'S Bush didn't debark from a cruiser As sheepish vets banged tambourines: Some firemen threw him a party The previous evening, in Queens. From Laura came nary a "Shove it." A bounce had...