meme orandum
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Not Even a Hedgehog By / Slate — Permalink Not long ago, I was invited to be the specter at the feast during "Ronald Reagan Appreciation Week" at Wabash College in Indiana. One of my opponents was Dinesh D'Souza: He wasn't the only one who maintained that Reagan had been historically vindicated by the wreckage of the Soviet Union. | |
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Christopher Kanis: CAREER SUICIDE — No longer trusted by the left, Christopher Hitchens has apparently decided that he has no interest in... John Cole: At Least He Is Consistent — Ronald Reagan gets a colorful send-off from Christopher Hitchens that is worthy of, well, in Hitchens case, Bob Hope and Mother Theresa. Stefan Beck: But his latest foray into self-serving contrariness is as inexcusable as it is pathetic: "The fox, as has been pointed... |
Robert Garcia Tagorda: Tell Us How You Really Feel — Ronald Reagan was "as dumb as a stump," writes Christopher Hitchens in a despicable tirade. Gary Farber: Going full-bore against what he calls the "the stupidty of Ronald Reagan," Hitchens savages Reagan, and many of his points, though not all, are accurate. Billmon: Jimmy Stewart and Carleton Young The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962 Update 4:10 PM ET: Christopher Hitchens (of... |
| Also: Steven Taylor, Steve Bainbridge, Kevin Raybould, Digby, David Allan Pell, Roger Ailes | |
Rumsfeld fears U.S. losing long-term fight against terror By / AP — Permalink SINGAPORE — The United States and its allies are winning some battles in the terrorism war but may be losing the broader struggle against Islamic extremism that is terrorism's source, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Saturday. | |
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Captain Ed: Rumsfeld, Filtered — Donald Rumsfeld gave a speech to a security conference in Singapore yesterday which was reported... Jesse Taylor: My Way, Right Away — Much has been made already of Don Rumsfeld's admission that there is a such thing as a better... Oliver Willis: Rumsfeld fears U.S. losing long-term fight against terror The troubling unknown, he said, is whether the extremists —... |
Cori Dauber: The AP covers it, with a headline of "Rumsfeld fears U.S. losing long-term fight against terror." John Cole: "Rumsfeld fears U.S. losing long-term fight against terror The troubling unknown, he said, is whether the extremists —..." Taegan Goddard: Rumsfeld Expresses Doubts — "It's quite clear to me that we do not have a coherent approach to this," Secretary of... |
| Also: Matthew Yglesias, Tom Tomorrow, Pessimist, The Poor Man, Digby | |
Cuba lambasts says former President Ronald Reagan should ''never have been born'' AP — Permalink HAVANA - Cuba harshly criticized former President Ronald Reagan and his policies on Monday, saying he should ''never have been born.'' In the first reaction to Reagan's death from the communist government, Radio Reloj said: | |
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Edward Driscoll: CUBA'S REACTION TO PRESIDENT REAGAN'S DEATH: Jonah Goldberg writes that the Gipper wouldn't have it any other way. Jonah Goldberg: From the Associated Press: "HAVANA - Cuba harshly criticized former President Ronald Reagan and his policies on Monday,... |
Stefan Beck: Reagan's feet are anything but clay, and Hitchens's column has no more impact than a rant on Cuban state radio. |
Alleged al-Qaida vow against airlines MSNBC — Permalink CAIRO, Egypt - A statement published on a Web site Monday and bearing the name of al-Qaida warned that Western airliners will be targeted for terrorist attacks. "All compounds, bases and means of transport, especially Western and American airlines, will be a direct target for our coming operations in the near future," said the statement. | |
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Jan Haugland: A statement on an Islamist web site that is thought to be linked to al-Qaeda is getting a surprising amount of attention... Stephen Green: Speculation — From the AP: [snipped quote] A few observations/questions. |
Cori Dauber: NEW AL QUEDA THREAT — And, bizarrely, I heard this story at least mentioned on two cable networks (MS and Fox. |
Reagan Legacy Looming Large Over Campaign By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, June 6 — From the shores of Normandy to President Bush's campaign offices outside Washington, Mr. Bush and his political advisers embraced the legacy of Ronald Reagan on Sunday, suggesting that even in death, Mr. Reagan had one more campaign in him — this one at the side of Mr. Bush. | |
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Tom Maguire: Bush Is Not Reagan — The NY Times finds Republicans who are worried that Bush does not fully fill Reagan's shoes. Taegan Goddard: Reagan's Legacy Looms Over Campaign — "As a political matter, Ronald Reagan's legacy presents opportunities and risks... Betsy Newmark: The New York Times looks at the impact the death of Ronald Reagan will have on the campaign. |
Ezra Klein: That may be happening, showing that cynicism isn't always misplaced. Arthur Chrenkoff: Spinning the corpse — I know that politics is politics, but it still seems to me somewhat unseemly: [snipped quote] At... KJL: "WIN ONE FOR THE GIPPER" — I'm sorry, but Bush paying tribute to Ronald Reagan is basically the same as using his death... |
| Also: Bo Cowgill, Hugh Hewitt, Digby | |
Manhunt after attack on BBC crew BBC — Permalink Saudi security forces are hunting gunmen who attacked a BBC news team in a drive-by shooting in Riyadh. Cameraman Simon Cumbers was killed and security correspondent Frank Gardner is critically ill in hospital. | |
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Emperor Darth Misha I: One of their own gets whacked (presumably while trying to dig up material for a tearful story about the nobility of the... Charles Johnson: Terrorists Attack BBC — Well, now we know what it takes for the BBC to use the word "terrorist" without scare quotes: Manhunt after attack on BBC crew. |
The Ombudsgod: The difference between a militant and a terrorist at the BBC — Slit the throats of nine hostages and you're a militant. |
Thanks From a Grateful Country By / Opinion Journal — Permalink He was dying for years and the day came and somehow it came as a blow. Not a loss but a blow. How could this be? Maybe we were all of us more loyal to him, and to the meaning of his life, than we quite meant to be. And maybe it's more. This was a life with size. | |
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H.D. Miller: And although there's nothing I can add to the myriad tributes made to the man, I can simply note that he was the greatest American seen in my lifetime. Vanderleun: Grace Notes — The Eulogy THERE WILL BE A PLETHORA OF EULOGIES TODAY and in the coming weeks, but Peggy Noonan's is... Steven Taylor: Noonan on Reagan — Thanks From a Grateful Country "In his presidency he did this: He out-argued communism and refused... |
Steve Bainbridge: Noonan on Reagan — Peggy Noonan was Ronald Reagan's greatest speechwriter and one of his abelest biographers, so it... Your Name: Peggy Noonan on RR. To be young and working in his White House at that time in human history, was—well, we felt privileged to be there, with him. James Joyner: Peggy Noonan: "He studied communism, read Marx, read the Founders and the conservative philosophers from Burke to Burnham. |
| Also: Greg Ransom | |
The prisoners' conscience By / Jerusalem Post — Permalink In 1983, I was confined to an eight-by-ten-foot prison cell on the border of Siberia. My Soviet jailers gave me the privilege of reading the latest copy of Pravda. Splashed across the front page was a condemnation of President Ronald Reagan for having the temerity to call the Soviet Union an "evil empire." | |
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Clayton Cramer: Natan Sharansky, one of the more prominent Soviet human rights activists, wrote a splendid column for the Jerusalem Post... Josh Chafetz: NATAN SHARANSKY WRITES IN THE J POST on the power of belligerent rhetoric. KJL: HE SPOKE TO THE OPPRESSED — Natan Sharansky in the In the Jerusalem Post: "In 1983, I was confined to an eight-by-ten-foot prison cell on the border of Siberia. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: His words are worth reflecting on: [snipped quote] That's walking the walk. Jason Van Steenwyk: Link. It's worth the minute or two it takes to register. |
A President Who Listened By / NYT — Permalink MOSCOW — I have just sent to Nancy Reagan a letter of condolence for the passing of Ronald Reagan. The 40th president of the United States was an extraordinary man who in his long life saw moments of triumph, who had his ups and downs and experienced the happiness of true love. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: He was fortunate to have as his counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev, a Soviet leader ready to acknowledge his society's... Dale Franks: They Just Can't Help Themselves — So, when the President who is generally credited with winning the Cold War dies, who does the New York Times get to eulogize him? KJL: GORBACHEV ON REAGAN in the NYTimes: "I don't know whether we would have been able to agree and to insist on the... |
David Allan Pell: Gorby: "I think that the main lesson of those years is the need for dialogue, which must not be broken off whatever the challenges and complications we have to face. James Joyner: Mikhail Gorbachev: "I don't know whether we would have been able to agree and to insist on the implementation of our... |
Ronald Reagan NYT — Permalink Ronald Reagan, who died on Saturday after his long battle with Alzheimer's disease, projected an aura of optimism so radiant that it seemed almost a force of nature. Many people who disagreed with his ideology still liked him for his personality, and that was a source of frustration for his political opponents who knew how much the ideology mattered. | |
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David Adesnik: OBITUARY WARS: An in-depth critique of the NYT and WaPo obituaries for President Reagan could fill a book, so I'll limit myself to a few observations. Steve Bainbridge: Gorbachev Says What the New York Times Would Not — In today's NY Times, President Ronald Reagan's editorial obituary... |
Gregory Djerejian: But the Times all but shoehorns a Kerry endorsement into their obit masthead on Reagan (see last couple of lines). |
The Press and the War in Iraq By / TCS — Permalink The debate over media bias has reared its head yet again — this time regarding press coverage of the war in Iraq. Some argue that the media is not covering the good news that is occurring in Iraq, and could potentially bring about policy decisions that may be based on a false popular view of the state of the war. | |
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Jason Van Steenwyk: Invoking Godwin's Law in the Media Coverage Debate — Check out Pejman Yousefzadeh's column, The Press and the War in Iraq" in today's Tech Central Station. Pejman Yousefzadeh: MY TECH CENTRAL STATION COLUMN IS UP — The subject that will never die: The media and the occupation of Iraq. |
Matt Yglesias: Repealing Godwin's Law — May I just say that I find the charge that I'm making the astonishing charge of calling people Nazis to be rather astonishing. |
Freedom's Team Opinion Journal — Permalink Ronald Reagan died just one day after President Bush bestowed the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, on Pope John Paul II for his heroic efforts to topple communism. Those two men, together with Margaret Thatcher, deserve much of the credit for the West's success in the Cold War. | |
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Your Name: WSJ on RR — John Fund describes the covert effort to undermine the USSR, and the pipeline operation was only part of it. Wretchard: The Three Musketeers — John Fund argues that Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and John Paul II won the Cold War. |
James Joyner: John Fund — "Ronald Reagan died just one day after President Bush bestowed the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest... |
Why Stalin loved Tarzan and wanted John Wayne shot Telegraph — Permalink The Soviet dictator was also a film buff who'd teach Eisenstein how to make movies. Simon Sebag Montefiore delves into the newly opened Politburo archives Every one of Stalin's houses had its own private cinema, and in his last years, the cinema became not only his favourite entertainment but also a source of political inspiration. | |
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Brian Doherty: The Dictatorship of the Cinema Buff — A lengthy and darkly comic look, from UK's Telegraph, at the topsy-turvy madness... Michael DeBow: Stalin's movie-watching habits are described in this article in The Telegraph. (Registration required, I think.) |
Nick Gillespie: This piece about Stalin's love affair with flicks—and his order that John Wayne be assassinated—is real-life black humor at its best (worst). |
Reagan's Next Victory By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON — The outpouring of respect and affection for Ronald Reagan — the principled president and principal Alzheimer's victim — may help resolve the impasse blocking greater federal support of the use of embryonic stem cells in biomedical research. | |
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Jan Haugland: How Reagan can save lives after his death — William Saffire speculates that all the outpouring of respect for Ronald... KJL: SAFIRE ON STEM CELLS — He hopes embyronic stem cell research will be Reagan's "next victory." |
Tom Maguire: And the specific issue that may vex President Bush will be stem cell research; if Nancy Reagan and William Safire are... |
A Thumb on One Side of the Scale? By / WaPo — Permalink After a while in this job you know what stories are going to produce controversy and mail. Thus it was with mixed feelings that I read the story about presidential campaign advertising by Post staff writers Dana Milbank and Jim VandeHei on the front page May 31. | |
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Deacon: The Washington Post blows off its critics — Michael Getler is the Washington Post's ombudsman. |
S.L.: Distortion — Unprecedented Headline Good catch by Michael Getler, the ombudsman at The Washington Post, who chided his... |
Explosions Rock Kufa Mosque Compound By / AP — Permalink KUFA, Iraq - Explosions rocked the compound surrounding the Kufa mosque on Monday after ammunition used by fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr apparently caught fire, witnesses and Shiite militia members said. At least nine people were hurt. | |
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Emperor Darth Misha I: "Mosque" is, apparently, Arabic for "compound full of heavily armed loons with a tendency to blow up for no reason at... Captain Ed: The al-Mahdi army used a mosque in the "holy city" of Kufa to store ammunition which caught fire, causing an unknown... |
Charles Johnson: Mosques = Ammo Depots — Oh, the humiliation. The holy mosque in Kufa has blown up. |
The liberal terminology of abortion By / Boston Globe — Permalink A FEDERAL judge in San Francisco last week struck down as unconstitutional a recent federal law that bans partial-birth abortion. Or is that what it bans? Consider how the illegal procedure was identified in news accounts of last week's ruling: | |
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Ampersand @Amptoons: Eugene Volokh links to a Jeff Jacoby column about how reporters discuss parital-birth abortion. |
Eugene Volokh: Terminology and the media: Jeff Jacoby has a good column on the subject in the Boston Globe: [snipped quote] There are... |
The First 100 Days TNR — Permalink We elect a president and then gang up on him. That process, I think, is under way now. Ronald Reagan's first 100 days is as good a time as any to set down some long-evolving thoughts about the presidency. Reagan has come to the task in a period of complexity, confusion, and danger hardly matched in modern times. | |
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Dale Franks: A Bleak Outlook — It's extremely worthwhile to read over this analysis, from the May 2, 1981 edition of The New Republic, of Ronald Reagan's first 100 days in office. |
Matt Yglesias: Even The Liberal... Jeez. TNR is reprinting some awfully harsh commentary on Ronald Reagan. |
The Liberator By / TCS — Permalink In 1917, with the advent of the communism in Russia, Vladimir Lenin and his coterie of thugs, gangsters and murderers could perhaps have been forgiven for having thought that no earthly power would deny victory to the ideology of Marxism-Leninism. | |
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Bill Hobbs: Reagan, The Liberator — Pejman Yousefzadeh's essay on Reagan, The Liberator, is not to be missed. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: ANOTHER TECH CENTRAL STATION COLUMN — A tribute to Ronald Reagan. |
Despite Agreement, Insurgents Rule Fallujah By / WaPo — Permalink FALLUJAH, Iraq — The travelers entered Fallujah first through a checkpoint operated by the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, a U.S.-trained paramilitary unit meant to add muscle to the American-led occupation. The men in black berets distractedly waved cars past, onto the city's main street. | |
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Gary Farber: I was saying that reporting in Iraq is dangerous? See if this story doesn't curl your hair. Read The Rest Scale: 4 out of 5. |
Kevin Raybould: Well, it does not seem to have worked very well [snipped quote] This was a defeat, make no mistake about it. |
Nothing stuck to 'Teflon' president By / USA Today — Permalink As a young congresswoman, I got the idea of calling President Reagan the "Teflon president" while fixing eggs for my kids. He had a Teflon coat like the pan. Why was Reagan so blame-free? The answer can be found in the label that did stick to him — "The Great Communicator." | |
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Deacon: Today, that ninny is at it again, using the sad occasion of Reagan's death to remind USA Today's readers of her little... |
James Joyner: Patricia Schroeder [quote] As a young congresswoman, I got the idea of calling President Reagan the "Teflon president" while fixing eggs for my kids.[end quote] |
Ronald Reagan Telegraph — Permalink Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States who died on Saturday aged 93, turned to politics after a career in films, and proved in Washington - far more effectively than in Hollywood - that the best actors are those who appear to put in the least effort. | |
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Tom Smith: Telegraph obit for RR — Here's the UK Telegraph obit for RR. It's detailed,if not particularly sympathetic. |
Michael DeBow: (Registration required, I think.) The Telegraph obituary for President Reagan is here. |
15 Years Later, The Remaking Of a President By / WaPo — Permalink The uplifting tone with which journalists are eulogizing Ronald Reagan is obscuring a central fact of his presidency: He had a very contentious relationship with the press. Most reporters liked the Gipper personally — it was hard not to — but often depicted him as detached, out of touch, a stubborn ideologue. | |
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Nick Confessore: From Howard Kurtz's article on the late Ronald Reagan's contentious relationship with the press: [snipped quote] If... |
Michael Graham: REAGAN'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS — Howard Kurtz acknowledges a truth about Reagan that's largely been ignored |
Echoes of Iraq war as Bush marks D-Day By / MSNBC — Permalink President Bush and the leaders of the world gathered on the coast of Normandy Sunday, where the tide of war turned 60 years ago. The president gave a stirring but solemn speech commemorating the heroes of D-Day, and the sacrifices of World War II. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: Bush did a credible job of responding during an interview with Tom Brokaw. It reminded me of one of Ronald Reagan's old lines. Atrios: Consider this statement: Bush: "I think it's fair to say that, you know, that the enemy didn't lay down its arms like we had hoped." |
The Poor Man: Roll tape: "Is that the essence of the difference between the United States and Europe these days, that we're more... |
Move to Stiffen Decency Rules Is Losing Steam in Washington By / NYT — Permalink After awards-show expletives and Super Bowl breast-baring, federal lawmakers began lining up to attach their names to election-year legislation to rid the airwaves of material they considered indecent. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: And sure enough, today the NY Times wrote that the legislation is stalled. |
TChris: Indecency Rules May Die in Senate — Conservatives who were obsessed with the Superbowl appearance of Janet Jackson's... |
Reagan's gifts to Americans By / Boston Globe — Permalink FIFTY YEARS from now — take this to the bank — few serious students of American history will dwell as much as contemporary commentators do on what a fabulous communicator Ronald Reagan was, or what a genuinely nice guy he was, or how he never described a glass as half-empty. | |
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KJL: Thomas Oliphant praises Reagan in the Boston Globe today: "[W]hat the critics forget is that Reagan stuck with this... |
Greg Ransom: MORE "Reagan's gifts to Americans". |
Preserving CIA Status Will Test New Chief WaPo — Permalink The White House-sanctioned photos said it all: George Tenet with President Bush at Camp David as the Afghanistan war began. George Tenet seated behind Secretary of State Colin L. Powell at the U.N. briefing on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. | |
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James Joyner: WaPo — Preserving CIA Status Will Test New Chief "Of all the challenges that face Tenet's successor, John E... |
Tbogg: Failing upward... Mind boggling: Of all the challenges that face Tenet's successor, John E. McLaughlin, when he steps... |
Report: Gore Calls Fla. Mayor 'Dishonest' AP — Permalink MIAMI - Al Gore harshly criticized U.S. Senate candidate Alex Penelas, saying his fellow Democrat was "the single most treacherous and dishonest person" he dealt with during the disputed 2000 presidential campaign. | |
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Steven Taylor: It's Good to Know he isn't Bitter — Gore Calls Fla. Mayor 'Dishonest' [snipped quote] Even if true, this statement is... |
Captain Ed: Gore Continues His Self-Immolation — Al Gore lashed out at a fellow Democrat earlier today for not enthusiastically supporting his attempt to steal the Florida election. |
Government to Close in Honor of Reagan AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal government will be closed Friday in honor of former President Ronald Reagan, the White House announced Sunday. Exempt from the closing are operations department and agency heads determine ''should remain open for reasons of... | |
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Jeralyn Merritt: Update: The federal government will close all offices on Friday in honor of President Regan. |
Libertarian: WELL, AT LEAST THERE IS ONE THING TO CHEER ABOUT after the death of Reagan. |
Spacecraft Prepares to Orbit Saturn and Its Moons By / WaPo — Permalink After a 6 1/2-year journey spanning nearly 2.2 billion miles, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft is speeding toward its final rendezvous with Saturn, opening the discovery phase of one of the most ambitious scientific space missions ever attempted. | |
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Stephen Green: 2004: A Space Odyssey — The Cassini-Huygens probe (probes, actually) is almost ready to enter Saturn's orbit — by... |
Gary Farber: CASSINI-HUYGENS. Saturn! Saturn! Saturn! Crossing the Rings! Phoebe! Titan! Titan! Titan! Read The Rest Scale: 4.5 out of 5. |
Final applause for the ultimate feelgood president By / Sydney Morning Herald — Permalink For many Americans, Ronald Reagan was immortalised not long after he became president, when a crazed would-be assassin fired a bullet one inch from his heart. As Mr Reagan was rushed into the operating theatre at George Washington University Hospital, he... | |
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Hindrocket: The Sydney Morning Herald, one of Australia's leading papers, publishes some of the world's nuttiest left-wing columnists; the link is to a column by one Marian Wilkinson. |
Tim Blair: MARIAN CAN'T COUNT — At the end of her sneering Reagan obituary ("running against Jimmy Carter, one of the most... |
Kerry Suspends Campaigning By / AP — Permalink BOSTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Sunday that he was suspending "overtly political" campaigning in the coming days in observance of former President Reagan's death. | |
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Stephen Green: It's the Right Thing to Do — Unlike some people, John Kerry knows how to lay politics aside, when laying politics aside is called for: [snipped quote] Folks, that's called class. |
James Joyner: World Leader Reagan Tributes — Several stories linked on Drudge at the moment indicate something about Ronald Reagan's... |
Shock over shooting of BBC crew BBC — Permalink The attack on BBC's Simon Cumbers and Frank Gardner near Riyadh has been condemned by their media colleagues as well as British and Saudi officials. Irishman Cumbers, 36, was killed and Briton Gardner, 42, was injured after coming under fire from gunmen. | |
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Tim Blair: BBC STAFFER KILLED — Cameraman Simon Cumbers has been shot dead and BBC Middle East correspondent Frank Gardner wounded... |
Arthur Chrenkoff: Question of the day — Now that a BBC cameraman has been killed and a BBC journalist wounded in a gun attack in Saudi... |
'D-Day's outcome was the beginning of a new Europe' Observer — Permalink Tony Blair has frequently been accused of lacking a sense of history. Not any more. Talking to the Prime Minister in his study (complete with famous sofa), I was struck by his critical reading of the 20th-century past. | |
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Andrew Sullivan: "- Tony Blair, understanding how the Anglo-American alliance is as critical to the survival of freedom today as it was sixty years ago. |
Judith Weiss: UPDATE: More about public opinion on how to deal with Hitler. "... there were people arguing throughout the 1930s... |
Iraqi judge orders arrest of American aide to Chalabi Telegraph — Permalink An arrest warrant has been issued for Ahmed Chalabi's right-hand man in Baghdad, the American consultant Francis Brooke, who tried to stop the recent raid on the politician's headquarters in the Iraqi capital. | |
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Josh Marshall: This article in the Daily Telegraph has to be one of the most disjointed and confused articles I've read in a long time. |
Kevin Drum: THE NOT-LONG-ENOUGH ARM OF THE LAW...More scuttlebutt on Chalabi: "An arrest warrant has been issued for Ahmed... |
The Press: Too Far From the Story? By / WaPo — Permalink It's a curious vocation that calls you to risk your life for a story. This occurred to me over dinner last week during a visit to the shabby confines of The Post's Baghdad bureau. | |
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Gary Farber: REPORTING FROM IRAQ: it's not fun, it's not pretty, it's not easy, and sometimes it just can't be done. |
Cori Dauber: She concludes: It is worth asking whether these conditions make coverage overly negative, expressing journalists'... |
Palestinians turn on tunnel men By / Reuters — Permalink RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Mustafa used to fear little but a periodic Israeli army raid as he dug arms smuggling tunnels into the Gaza Strip for the Palestinian revolt. Now he has to worry about the neighbours too. | |
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Charles Johnson: "Tunnels Are Harmful" — Even the most prolific Palestinian stringer for al-Reuters, Nidal al-Mughrabi, is beginning to... |
Emperor Darth Misha I: Clue Successfully Distributed in Rafah (Thanks for the link to LC E-Man) "Sun 6 June, 2004 05:43 By Nidal al-Mughrabi... |
Throwing Away the Key By / NYT — Permalink Nine years as a prosecutor taught me this: given time, people will get used to anything. A criminal proceeding can drag out for a year over dozens of appearances in court. Very quickly everyone involved grows strangely comfortable. The defendant will get used to being the defendant. | |
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Steve M.: The emotional climax of Mark Costello's "Throwing Away the Key" is the story of a man who was convicted of securities fraud when Costello was working as a prosecutor. |
TChris: Thinking About White Collar Crime — Today's New York Times Magazine features articles that will interest those who... |
Tough By / TNR — Permalink This is wartime, which is no time to be soft. The terrorists are tough, and so we must be tough. I am feeling tough, and toughly I feel also that too many children are being killed by the right side in this war, by my side, by Americans and by Israelis, in whose actions I am differently and willingly implicated. | |
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Gary Farber of Amygdala: Leon Wieseltier makes necessary points, as he so often does. [quote] "This is wartime, which is no time to be soft.[end quote] |
Matt Yglesias: Conservatives, on the other hand, seem to have concluded that, via the mysterious quality of moral clarity (rightly... |
THEY KEPT GOING UP By / New York Post — Permalink BEHIND an exposed strip of sand, steep bluffs command Omaha Beach. Perfect for enemy artillery observ ers and machine-gun emplacements, the high ground grants only a few narrow passages into the French countryside. | |
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James Joyner: Ralph Peters captures the bravery of those who stormed the beaches quite nicely: "If courage is about fear overcome,... |
Stephen Green: Required Reading — Ralph Peters, on the men who fought 60 years ago at Normandy. |
Rumsfeld Doesn't Request Bangladesh Forces for Iraq By / LAT — Permalink DHAKA, Bangladesh — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Saturday made the first visit here by an American defense chief in decades, but he stopped short of asking this Muslim nation that is one of the largest contributors of troops to the United Nations to send soldiers to Iraq. | |
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Gary Farber of Amygdala: Someone with past experience with U.S. military involvement in his country has a view. |
Hugh Hewitt: So I am against those who call for the United States to [set] a time-table for U.S. forces and its allies to withdraw... |
Right-Leaning Policy Won a Nickname: Reaganomics By / WaPo — Permalink Through the prism of the right, Ronald Reagan's economic policies in the 1980s were a rainbow, a vision that was largely responsible for the nation's remarkable economy in the 1990s. Through the prism of the left, Reaganomics was a storm that devastated the poor and left huge budget deficits in its wake. | |
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Brad DeLong: ": THIS IS YOUR JOURNALIST ON DRUGS: Possibly the most bizarre thing I will read today, by Glen Kessler in the Post:" |
Max B. Sawicky: THIS IS YOUR JOURNALIST ON DRUGS — Possibly the most bizarre thing I will read today, by Glen Kessler in the Post:... |
An Optimist's Legacy By / WaPo — Permalink One measure of a leader's greatness is this: By the time he dies the dangers that summoned him to greatness have been so thoroughly defeated, in no small measure by what he did, it is difficult to recall the magnitude of those dangers or of his achievements. | |
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Gregory Djerejian: A Farewell to the Gipper — George Will has some thoughts on America's greatest post-WWII President: "In the... Cori Dauber: And surely that's as important as the fact that he was an optimist who made people feel optimistic again. One final thought. Steven Taylor: Will on Reagan — George Will's column on Reagan in today's WaPo (An Optimist's Legacy) is worth a read: [snipped quote] Indeed and indeed. |
Matthew Yglesias: Try it — it's fun! George Will I. I wrote this colum fifteen years ago. George Will II. The White House is worth a flip-flop. Deacon: The "undisputed leader in the free republic of our hearts" — Here is George Will's tribute to Ronald Reagan. James Joyner: George Will — An Optimist's Legacy "One measure of a leader's greatness is this: By the time he dies the dangers that... |
Ronald Reagan Dies at Age 93 By / WaPo — Permalink Ronald Wilson Reagan, 93, a movie actor who became one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century, died today at his home in California. As 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989, he redefined the nation's political agenda and dramatically reshaped U.S. | |
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Virginia Postrel: Lou Cannon, whose biographies of Reagan are the most definitive so far, wrote an obituary for the WaPost. The Poor Man: Brad DeLong gives Reagan mixed marks; some are kinder, some harsher. Smash: In Memoriam — Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1911-2004 From his final public speech, at the 1992 Republican Convention: [snipped quote] Goodnight, Gipper. |
David Allan Pell: Actor, Governor, President, Icon James Joyner: Lou Cannon — Actor, Governor, President, Icon "A movie actor who became one of the most popular presidents of the 20th... Pejman Yousefzadeh: "We are witnessing today a great revolutionary crisis, a crisis where the demands of the economic order are conflicting directly with those of the political order." |
| Also: Bill Hobbs, Ramesh Ponnuru, Kevin Drum, Daniel Drezner, Josh Marshall, Stryker, Phillip Carter, Jan Haugland, Tom Maguire, Josh Chafetz, Brian Linse, Taegan Goddard, Jeralyn Merritt, Harley, Robert Garcia Tagorda | |
Ronald Wilson Reagan WaPo — Permalink RONALD REAGAN'S was perhaps the most personal of all American presidencies, in the sense that it derived from the firsthand experiences — personal and tangible — of the president himself. This isn't to say that Mr. Reagan, who died yesterday at the age of 93, put his stamp on every aspect of his administration — far from it. | |
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David Adesnik: Perhaps as penance for the failures of their respective obituaries, both the NYT and WaPo have published masthead editorials that contradict the obituaries' basic message. Steve Antler: Principled leadership without unprincipled nuance... Via the Corner, a Washington Post Reagan obituary with ideas that... |
QD @SouthernAppeal: Probably just as well. The Washington Post does and does a pretty good job. KJL: KUDOS TO THE WASHINGTON POST THOUGH — "Never mind that a number of respected and influential figures in the last... |
Effect on U.S. Politics Still Felt By / LAT — Permalink No one since Franklin D. Roosevelt reshaped American politics or restored the primacy of the presidency more than Ronald Reagan. Reagan redefined the message of the Republican Party, expanded its reach to working-class voters who had rejected it for... | |
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Howard Kurtz: The Los Angeles Times: "No one since Franklin D. Roosevelt reshaped American politics or restored the primacy of the presidency more than Ronald Reagan. Betsy Newmark: Ron Brownstein looks at Reagan's political legacy. "This may be the most telling measure of Reagan's impact. |
James Joyner: Ron Brownstein (LA Times) — Effect on U.S. Politics Still Felt "No one since Franklin D. Roosevelt reshaped American... |
Ronald Reagan, Party Animal By / Slate — Permalink I've registered as a Republican exactly once in my life. The year was 1980, and Ronald Reagan, who died today at the age of 93, was seeking the GOP nomination for president. Teddy Kennedy was challenging President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination, and in Massachusetts, where I then lived, Kennedy was certain to win the primary. | |
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Howard Kurtz: Slate's Tim Noah sounds a contrarian note: "As an antigovernment crusader and as a warmonger, Reagan turned out to be all bark and no bite . Roger Ailes: Here's a good first line of defense for the coming epidemic of St. Ronnie's Dance. Brian Linse: Slate's Timothy Noah. And for my own personal comment? I can say that after 3 years of GW Bush I have a newfound appreciation of what a great leader president Reagan was. |
Tom Tomorrow: Those were not good years...as Timothy Noah reminds us: "But the only hot war waged during the Reagan administration... Joe Gandelman: AP —A more critical look at Reagan's goals versus his policies in "Ronald Reagan: Party Animal." Slate. |
Former President Ronald Reagan Dies at 93 By / AP — Permalink WASHINGTON (AP) - Ronald Reagan, the cheerful crusader who devoted his presidency to winning the Cold War, trying to scale back government and making people believe it was "morning again in America," died Saturday after a long twilight struggle with Alzheimer's disease. | |
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Matt Welch: Bye, Ron: Reagan's dead; go turn on your television or radio. Pejman Yousefzadeh: Job well done, Mr. President. We'll miss you. And I'm sorry for rooting against you 24 years ago. Chalk it up to the mistakes of youth. James Panero: R-Day — The death of Ronald Reagan, our great president, comes on the eve of the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day. |
Mitch Berg: For The Gipper — Ronald Reagan passed away today. Michael Totten: The Death of Ronald Reagan (Updated) Ronald Reagan is dead. I am not a member of his fan club. John Hawkins: Ronald Reagan Tribute — For those of you who are unaware, Ronald Reagan has passed away at his home in California. |
| Also: Jeralyn Merritt, Robert Garcia Tagorda, Jeff A. Taylor | |
Wide Gaps Seen in U.S. Inquiries on Prison Abuse NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, June 5 — Disparate inquiries into abuses of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan have so far left crucial questions of policy and operations unexamined, according to lawmakers from both parties and outside military experts, who say that the accountability of senior officers and Pentagon officials may remain unanswered as a result. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: ETCETERA Congress is becoming concerned with the DoD investigation of Abu Ghraib. |
TChris: But the panel, hand-picked by Rumsfeld, is hardly independent, as evidenced by remarks made by one of its members,... |
Statement from Senator John Kerry on the Death of Ronald Reagan Kerry for President Press Room — Permalink Senator John Kerry released the following statement today: "Ronald Reagan's love of country was infectious. Even when he was breaking Democrats hearts, he did so with a smile and in the spirit of honest and open debate. | |
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Tacitus: John Kerry himself issued a statement of gracious hypocrisy, praising the deceased for having "shaped one of the... Oliver Willis: John Kerry: "Ronald Reagan's love of country was infectious. Even when he was breaking Democrats hearts, he did so with a smile and in the spirit of honest and open debate. Brian Linse: Other links: The Washington Post's Lou Cannon. [via: TPM] Daily Variety (subscription required) "Reagan's Liberal... |
John Cole: Maybe they will listen to John Kerry, who struck exactly the right tone (and, IMHO, his statement was better than Bush's): "Ronald Reagan's love of country was infectious. Tom Maguire: Kind words from John Kerry, both in his statement and his High School commencement speech: ...We're a nation of optimists. |
It Was Twenty Years Ago Today By / Opinion Journal — Permalink We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. | |
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James Joyner: Update: Apparently, this is the enduring image of Reagan: An interesting retrospective: NYT — Reagan Story Archive AP... Josh Chafetz: PRESIDENT REAGAN'S SPEECH COMMEMORATING THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY, delivered twenty years ago today at Pointe du Hoc, France, is still well worth reading. |
QD @SouthernAppeal: Pont du Hoc: My favorite passage from the Pont du Hoc speech: The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing... Michael DeBow: Two reprints just posted on OpinionJournal: Robert L. Bartley's 1989 assessment of the Reagan legacy, and the text of Reagan's 1984 speech at Pointe du Hoc. |
Mourning in America: Ronald Reagan is Dead AP — Permalink Ronald Wilson Reagan (search), the 40th president of the United States, died today at his home in California. He was 93 years old and had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease. | |
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Joe Gandelman: We'll be posting links to news stories on Reagan such as this one here. And we'll add additional links throughout the even for you. Damian Penny: Reagan is dead — He passed away today at age 93. I was terrified of Ronald Reagan when I was a child. Emperor Darth Misha I: [This post has been moved up from June 5th, when it first appeared] Haven't been watching the news today, so I only just... |
Steve Dillard: President Ronald Wilson Reagan: RIP. Words cannot express what your life meant to the cause of freedom and liberty. Baldilocks: It's a sad day, but he's been released from his purgatory of Alzheimer's disease. God rest your soul, Mister President. Susanna Cornett: Goodbye, Ron — President Ronald Reagan is dead. RIP. |
| Also: Joe Katzman, Jan Haugland, Edward Driscoll, Charles Johnson, Jon Henke | |
Quotes: Associates React to Reagan's Death AP — Permalink Nancy Reagan: "My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has passed away after 10 years of Alzheimer's disease at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers." President George W. Bush: "He always told us that for America the best is yet to come. | |
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Tacitus: This is not altogether surprising — Ronald Reagan is, for most of them, their antithesis in most things — and in some... KJL: In a list of reactions to Ronald Reagan's death from "friends, family and fellow politicians" we find Danny Glover's:... Jeralyn Merritt: Here's a quote from John Kerry: [snipped quote] Kerry's official statement is here. |
Jonah Goldberg: REAGAN ACCOLADES — Here's a whole list of nice reactions and one classic from Danny Glover, who's probably not hanging... Tim Blair: RONALD REAGAN — Mark Steyn: "Only Reagan could have stood there and declared without embarrassment: Tear down this wall! — and two years later the wall was, indeed, torn down. |
J-Lo dances down aisle Reuters — Permalink LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) — Actress-singer Jennifer Lopez has married her current boyfriend, salsa singer Marc Anthony, barely five months after breaking her much-publicized engagement to actor Ben Affleck, Us Weekly reported Saturday. | |
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James Joyner: J-Lo Marries, Again — Somehow, this event has been overshadowed by the celebration of the men of D-Day and the death of... KJL: WHAT WOULD BE IN THE NEWS... ...J-Lo & Marc Anthony got hitched. If for even a second you think I just married a dead Roman, ignore. |
Oliver Willis: Then Again... J-Lo got married again. Let the bashing commence. |
Soros Likens Sept. 11 to Abu Ghraib AP — Permalink This is a partial transcript from "HANNITY & COLMES", June 3, 2004, that has been edited for clarity. SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: This morning, George Soros (search), who is described by some as Daddy Warbucks of the Democratic Party was introduced by Senator... | |
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Steve Bainbridge: In my view, it is possible to think that Blankley said some very suspect things, while also thinking that Soros is a bad... Daniel Drezner: He said the following on the June 3rd Hannity & Colmes: [snipped quote] Mark Kleiman says this demonstrates "how much of... |
Max B. Sawicky: The Hannity and Colmes segment with Tony Blankly just oozes anti-semitism. |
Bush Ratings Show Historical Levels of Polarization By / Gallup — Permalink PRINCETON, NJ — An analysis of Gallup Poll data reveals extreme and unprecedented levels of polarization in George W. Bush's job approval ratings. Currently, Democrats and Republicans evaluate the president very differently, with Republicans overwhelmingly positive and Democrats decidedly negative. | |
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Billmon: But trying to tie Soros to John Kerry's coattails simply isn't going to work - except with the brain dead faithful, and they're already rock solid. |
Ruy Teixeira: Independent Voters and the Bush Presidency — Gallup has put out an interesting new analysis discussing the high levels of partisan polarization in views of Bush. |
Ronald Reagan dies at 93 CNN — Permalink LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Former President Ronald Reagan died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93. Reagan led a conservative revolution that set the economic and cultural tone of the 1980s, hastened the end of the Cold War and revitalized the Republican Party. | |
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Doug Allen: Former president Ronald Reagan died at 93. reaganrev.jpg June 05, 2004 Virtual Real Estate Kevin Raybould: Reagan Dies — He died at home, surrounded by his children. He was 93. Taegan Goddard: Reagan Dies — Former President Ronald Reagan "died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles," CNN reports. "He was 93." |
PinkDreamPoppies @Amptoons: R.I.P. Ronald Reagan — Ronald Reagan died today. This is CNN's write-up. Captain Ed: Farewell, Ronald Reagan — Only minutes after our radio show ended, I found out that President Ronald Reagan had passed away after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. |
Reagan Dies After Long Battle With Alzheimer's Disease By / WaPo — Permalink Former president Ronald Reagan died at his California home this afternoon after taking a turn for the worse in his decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 93, the longest-surviving former president in U.S. history. | |
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James Joyner: WaPo — Ronald Reagan Dies: 40th President Reshaped American Politics [quote] "This is a sad hour in the life of America," Bush said after speaking with Nancy Reagan by telephone.[end quote] Jeanne D'Arc: Ronald Reagan — I'm not going to say much of anything about the death of Ronald Reagan, because obviously I didn't like... |
Micah Sifry: Down the Memory Hole — President Bush says: "Ronald Reagan won America's respect with his greatness, and won its love with his goodness. C. D. Harris: Ronald Reagan R.I.P. President Ronald Reagan. He was 93, the longest-surviving President in United States history. |
Wars Put Strain On National Guard By / WaPo — Permalink With almost 40,000 troops serving in the unexpectedly violent and difficult occupation of Iraq, the National Guard is beginning to show the strain of duty there, according to interviews and e-mail exchanges with 23 state Guard commanders from California to Maine. | |
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Andrew Olmsted: The National Guard may be reaching its breaking point under the strain of massive deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. |
Mathew Gross: But first check out WaPo's report on the strain Iraq is placing on the National Guard. |
Kerry Postpones Campaign to Honor Reagan AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry plans to take time off the campaign trail to observe Ronald Reagan 's death, saying Americans "bow their heads in prayer and gratitude that President Reagan left such an indelible stamp on the nation he loved." | |
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Captain Ed: Kerry, speaking about the opposition's greatest inspiration for generations, said this in a press release shortly after... |
Steve Soto: Update: Kerry, in suspending his campaign for a couple of days due to Reagan's passing, nails the differences between... |