|
Review of Recent News and Commentary
Ashbrook E-Mail Update
October 17, 2002
by
Peter W. Schramm
Homeland Security
David Tucker writes a thoughtful essay on the big question regarding homeland security: What is the relationship between freedom and security? He draws the paramaters that the discussion (not just the approval of the new department) must be placed into.
Posted 10/17/2002 10:11 AM | Link to this Entry
Condi Rice
Rice writes on op-ed (for the London Telegraph) on American foreign policy, trying to get around the "realism" vs. "idealism" schools. Short and worth reading. It’s nice to have a sensible Director of the NSC.
Posted 10/17/2002 7:41 AM | Link to this Entry
Detergent Boycott in Egypt
Procter and Gamble sells a detergent in Egypt named "Ariel." Some think it is named after Ariel Sharon so there is a boycott underway. It is in fact named after the character in The Tempest and has been on the shelf since the 1920’s.
Posted 10/16/2002 6:03 PM | Link to this Entry
Rumsfeld and Top Brass at Odds?
If this story has merit (by Ricks and Loeb) it could be worth paying attention to.
Posted 10/16/2002 5:56 PM | Link to this Entry
Another Use for Duct Tape
It has now been proven that duct tape is more effective in removing warts than liquid nitrogen.
Posted 10/16/2002 5:51 PM | Link to this Entry
Banning Billiards
Uzbekistan just banned billiard parlors. Something is up.
Posted 10/16/2002 5:48 PM | Link to this Entry
Memorize Koran and Get Years Off
If you are in prison in Dubai (and I bet that wouldn’t be fun) you could get fifteen years off your sentence if you memorize all of the Koran; only five if you memorize a third.
Posted 10/16/2002 5:42 PM | Link to this Entry
Israel to Respond
President Bush met with Prime Minister Sharon today and it was made clear by both that Israel will respond if Iraq attacks . Bush said of Sharon’s situation: "He’s got a desire to defend himself." Simple. To the point. True. Good.
Posted 10/16/2002 5:33 PM | Link to this Entry
Radio Sawa Popular
Radio Sawa is now the most popular radio station with the young in Amman, Jordan. Good.
Posted 10/16/2002 5:27 PM | Link to this Entry
American Power
Fareed Zakaria’s attempt to articulate the nature of America’s unique status as the sole superpower is worth reading. He concludes that Machiavelli is wrong in saying that it is better to be feared than loved. America is good because of its "universal values" and it is therefore liked in the world. There is more to all this, but its a start.
Posted 10/16/2002 8:35 AM | Link to this Entry
Nobel Gesture
Michael Kelly writes a good piece suggesting that either Bush is the best candidate for the Nobel peace prize and in doing so explains what peace and war mean and the good that American power has brought to a rowdy world. Not that the "Bourbons of Oslo" (as he calls them) will listen, of course.
Jonah Goldberg, in his speech at the Ashbrook Center yesterday, nicely explained that the Nobel peace prize was less a prize for Carter and more a "back-handed un-peace prize for George Bush." He also made some other nice comments on the prize. Click here for a three-minute audio excerpt of his speech.
Posted 10/16/2002 8:09 AM | Link to this Entry
PETA being Pelted
Schoolchildren in Scotland threw milk at two PETA protesters (one dressed as a cow) for ten minutes before the cops arrived to save them. The PETA sillies were trying to get the children to stop drinking milk. The children are wise.
Posted 10/16/2002 7:44 AM | Link to this Entry
Giuliani and Churchill
I was told that Rudy Giuliani was on Oprah on September 30 and they had a conversation about the value of books, especially biographies, and, notably interesting, about what Giuliani read the night of September 11th (actually the early morning of the 12th) when he finally got home to try to get some sleep. He read Jenkins’ new biography of Churchill. This is part of the transcript, from Oprah’s site.
Mr. GIULIANI: The—the second lesson is study, read and learn independently. It’s a little bit like prepare relentlessly, but it’s a lesson I learned from my mother. My mother used to tell me you can learn everything in books. Books contain the secrets of life... And her—her idea was that in books, you could find the answers to any—any of the problems that you face. And that’s how I ended up on the evening of September 11th, really the morning of September 12th, beginning to re—read and actually read a new biography of—of Churchill.
...
Mr. GIULIANI: The—the—I—you know, the best way—the best way to—to study leadership is reading biographies of the people that you admire and—and doing the best you can to incorporate those things in—in—into you. You know, I read a lot of biographies of Churchill, but I also read a lot of biographies of Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson and—you—you name it. And then I cop—and then I copied a lot of people. People that I worked for had a big, big impact on me.
WINFREY: And—and went back and read Churchill—Was it the night after the…
Mr. GIULIANI: Yeah, r—and re—read it and re—read it that night.
WINFREY: Isn’t that the first thing you read?
Mr. GIULIANI: Yes.
WINFREY: After you went home, 2:30 in the morning?
Mr. GIULIANI: I read—I went home, I found an advanced copy of a new biography of—of Churchill by Jenkins.
WINFREY: Churchill.
Mr. GIULIANI: I opened up the pages about the Battle of Britain in 1940, because I felt that that was close to what we were facing. Here they were attacked and bombed every night. And let—let me see how Churchill faced it.
WINFREY: We’ll be right back.
Posted 10/15/2002 11:21 PM | Link to this Entry
Al Qaeda’s Soft Targets
A Washington Post story maintains that "al Qaeda is resorting to more
indiscriminate attacks against ’soft’ targets," and the simplicity of these attacks "might make them more difficult to predict and prevent." Recent examples include the
carnage in Bali, sniper attacks in the Phillipines and Kuwait, suicide bombings in Pakistan and Tunisia.
Posted 10/15/2002 3:56 PM | Link to this Entry
Jonah Goldberg Speaks
Jonah Goldberg, the editor of National Review Online, spoke at the Ashbrook Center a few hours ago to over three hundred mid-westerners with a fair sense of humor. He was well received by all, and well loved by the young. They were curious to see whether a man who writes for a living (and writes well!) can also speak well. They were not disappointed. He wound up the watch of his wit, and it struck, even me. You can hear him by clicking here.
Posted 10/15/2002 3:05 PM | Link to this Entry
Undressing the Victorians
Roger Kimball discusses "Exposed: The Victorian Nude," an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, but is really elaborating on Edmund Burke’s statement that "manners are of more importance than law," and therefore says thoughtful things on the current culture wars.
Posted 10/15/2002 11:17 AM | Link to this Entry
Democracy in Iraq
Victor Davis Hanson writes thoughtfully about the possibility of establishing some form of democratic rule after the tyranny ends in Iraq. Although it is not going to be easy, and it will certainly not be perfect, freedom is the only thing that hasn’t been tried. And it is worth the trying. Although the piece is long it is worth reading. This is the first of many on this topic that you will see because a discussion of the issue is both necessary because the regime will soon fall, because it is in our interest, and because the subject brings up fundamental political issues that always merit discussion.
Posted 10/15/2002 11:05 AM | Link to this Entry
Amiri Baraka the Poet
In case you are interested in seeing a first class evisceration of the great poet of New Jersey, here is John Derbyshire doing it perfectly. Jonah Goldberg brought to my attention the wonder-poet’s defense of himself . Read and be outraged.
Posted 10/15/2002 10:53 AM | Link to this Entry
Hillary for President?
This is a good way to end the so-called working day. I just saw the results of a poll by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion which found that 69 percent of Americans do not think that Hillary Clinton should ever run for president.
Posted 10/14/2002 5:18 PM | Link to this Entry
Pat Buchanan and the Left
Andrew Sullivan’s blog brought to my attention this article by Ronald Radosh on Pat Buchanan’s latest effort to promote one certain kind of right wing view. It is a new weekly magazine called The American Conservative. Now in its second issue (I will get around to reading it soon enough), Radosh has some sound opinions about how Buchanan’s kind of Right melds nicely into the Left; struggle against globalism, American imperialism, and so on. Just in case you are predisposed to be uncritical of Buchanan, take a look at it.
Posted 10/14/2002 4:43 PM | Link to this Entry
Talent Leads Carnahan
This Zogby Poll in today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch shows a "a seismic shift," according to pollster Zogby, from his September poll because the numbers are almost exactly reversed. Talent has 47.3 to Carnahan’s 40.8 percent. Notice how the story emphasizes an "anti-incumbency wave" that is sweeping across the country. This is the first I have heard of this wave. Is it possible that it is, more precisely, a pro-Bush and/or pro-GOP wave? And, can journalists be honest enough to admit it? Keep looking for this anti-incumbency wave and let’s see who will ride it.
Posted 10/14/2002 12:32 PM | Link to this Entry
Lenin Ramirez Sanchez
Remember the terrorist Carlos the Jackal? Well, it turns out that his brother Lenin is now director of energy of Venezuela. So, let me get this straight: Lenin is now heading the energy department of an OPEC country, the same OPEC that Carlos took hostage in 1975 and even killed three of them. Isn’t politics interesting?
Posted 10/14/2002 12:10 PM | Link to this Entry
Saddam’s Sons
In case there is any doubt in your mind about the quality of the regime that Saddam Hussein has built you should read this story from Newsweek about his two sons. It is clear that his sons have the souls of tyrants, and nature has not made a mistake: tyranny is both inherited and cultivated. And these true sons, trying to outdo their father, make sure that (as Macduff says):
Each new morn,
New widows howl, new orphans cry; new sorrows
Strike heaven on the face.
Yet, we must be satisfied in knowing that, at least in part, justice means that measure for measure must be answered. They will bleed for it.
Posted 10/14/2002 11:41 AM | Link to this Entry
War on Iraq Means War on Terror
Reuel Marc Gerecht thoughtfully explains why the war against Iraq is necessary in order for the war on terror to succeed. He explains how the Europeans (despite what some of their intellectuals and political elites say) will be drawn closer to America because of common interest. And Gerecht also explains why fear of American power will draw more Middle East states into our orbit. This has already been proven to be true; he cites Pakistan as the best example. He says that conducting an effective war against Iraq will ensure the continued support (especially intelligence sharing) of those Arab states still sitting on the fence.
Posted 10/14/2002 9:57 AM | Link to this Entry
Bush’s Rhetoric
President Bush has had a terrific three weeks. His success, according to Bill Kristol, has had to do with his "clarity, toughness and straightfordwardness with which he has marshalled his arguments." But now Bush has to move from seeking support to fighting a war. His purpose now becomes the defeat of Saddam and this will mean that he has to start deceiving and misleading because his audience is no longer the American public or our allies, it is Hussein himself. And even though Saddam knows we are going to attack him, tactical
surprise is possible and--given the fact that he has some useable weapons of mass destruction--necessary in order to minimize casualties. So Kristol reminds us that over the next many weeks and months Bush will have to use the fog of war to keep Saddam Hussein off balance and we should keep this in mind if we note a change in his rhetoric: He will now start lying, as he should.
Posted 10/14/2002 9:34 AM | Link to this Entry
Past Editions:
October 10, 2002 |
October 3, 2002 |
September 26, 2002 |
September 19, 2002 |
September 12, 2002 |
September 5, 2002 |
August 29, 2002 |
August 22, 2002 |
August 15, 2002 |
August 8, 2002 |
August 1, 2002 |
July 25, 2002 |
July 18, 2002 |
July 11, 2002 |
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
|
Member Organization.
