Black Support for Bush

This is an interesting poll conducted by Black America's Political Action Committee. It found that 41% of the black voters surveyed approve the job Bush is doing (in March of 2001 it was only 19%). And then note this report from the NAACP convention. Jesse Jackson called President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft "the most threatening combination in our lifetime." This is pretty outrageous. The next thing we might hear is that Michael Jackson will accuse Sony executives of racism! Isn't politics fun?

France and Islam

Christopher Caldwell writes about why it is not crazy for Frenchmen to think that there are too many Muslims in France; why they don't assimilate, how the welfare system helps terrorism, how Saudi Arabia subsidizes extreme Islam, etc. Note that of France's 230 major imams, none is French. And then look at Victor Davis Hanson's piece on "Our Enemies, the Saudis."

LAX Terrorism

The reporting on the terrorist shooting at LAX on the Fourth of July is not very satisfying. This site, laexaminer.com, has the most comprehensive account of the many possibilities. Follow the various links to media sources. Then see this (typically) fine and amusing piece by Mark Steyn on the issue on what this guy was up to and how the authorities spoke about it. And consider this piece by an LA cop (writing under a pseudonym, Jack Dunphy) as he criticizes both politicians and law enforcement types for saying that there is "no evidence" to support a terrorist motive. He goes through the evidence known to officials on the 4th of July.

Middle East

Although it is odd to use the terms "Intifada fatigue" the point may be well taken from this Christian Science Monitor article: many Palestinians are beginning to question the value of a policy of killing civilians. It's a start.

Ted Williams

The greatest hitter of all time died. This George Will column nails it. RIP.

From Football to the Army

Pat Tillman, a 25-year-old starting safety for the Arizona Cardinals has turned down a $3.6 million contract, joined the Army and is now in basic training. He wants to become a Ranger. His younger brother joined with him. He declines all interviews, has never explained himself in public (or to the Cardinals’ coach), he is just doing it. The coach thinks his decision is "honorable." This may be worth watching.

Postmodernism

Jonah Goldberg nails the core of postmodernism and why it’s dangerous in this article by musing on Stanley Fish's article in the latest issue of Harper's. There are a couple of links worth following, to Berkowitz as well as Fish.

Black Market for Cigarettes

In this article from Reason it is estimated by British Customs that one in five cigarettes smoked in Britain were smuggled. This is costing the government about 2.8 billion Pounds in lost revenue, and costing legitimate tobacco sellers about 25% of former income. I guess the Brits still haven't learned that when taxes are too high, and the same product can be bought (in Belgium, for example) for two and a half times less, people will smuggle. So far this year ten U.S. states have raised cigarette taxes (including Ohio). In New York the city government now makes four or five times more profit on a pack of Marlboros than Philip Morris does. The cigarette tax in N.Y. (state and city) is now 100 times more than it is in Virginia. Is there no smuggling going on here? There will be. Besides, you can buy a pack of Camels online for about $2.70. Compare that to N.Y. City where it costs $7.25. This other article from Reason has more.

George Washington

Matthew Spalding considers the way the Great Man has been considered in recent film/TV productions, focusing on the Fourth of July PBS showing of "Rediscovering George Washington" and praises it for it shows that (as Jefferson said) perhaps the strongest feature in Washington's character was "prudence". If you have the chance to see it (written by Richard Brookhiser and produced by Michael Pack) take it. You will be reminded that everything in politics revolves around 1) adherence to republican principles and 2) character. All else is uninteresting and unimportant.

Wife-Carrying Competition

Estonia has won the world wife-carrying competition! And for the fifth year in a row, no less, beating competitors from eight other countries. This is an impressive feat. Note that there is a trademark "Estonia carry" technique that enables the couple to get around the 254 meter track (over hurdles and pools, etc) the fastest. It is said that the competition stems from a local legend of a village which stole wives from neighboring villages. I bet this sort of thing happened regularly, and not only in Estonia. The question is, why?

Past Editions: July 3, 2002 | June 27, 2002 | June 20, 2002 | June 13, 2002 | June 6, 2002 | May 30, 2002 | May 23, 2002 | May 9, 2002 | May 2, 2002 | April 25, 2002