If you haven't heard about the ongoing scandal at Eastern Michigan University, involving its president, administration, and the murder of a student, details are here, occasioned by (finally) the president's firing last night by the EMU Board of Regents. Basically, what happened was this: a student was murdered in her dorm room at Eastern late last fall. For weeks, the school administration claimed her death was accidental and that no foul play was suspected. But then, suddenly in February of this year a male student was arrested for her murder. Since then, evidence has come forth indicating that several in the university administration sought to cover up the fact that the student had been murdered, fearing that such news would harm the school's image.
As if the school's image is in great shape now.
I mention this story to highlight what I think is fast becoming a fundamental in our society: never trust bureaucracies and administrations. Too often, they're defensive, seeking to hide information, and far from always concerned with what's right.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Where's Osama?
(Via Instapundit and The Corner) Michael Ledeen suggests that, given that the recent video clip released of Osama Bin Laden appears to be from 2001 or 2002, Osama may be dead. After all, why not make a new video of him?
Rolling with the polls
Three very early polling numbers concerning the 2008 presidential election caught my eye.
1] On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton continues to lead in New Hampshire--but not by much. She leads Barack Obama only by 27%-23%. Not much of a lead; the Clinton campaign has tried so mightily to make Hillary seem as the "inevitable" winner. So far, it's not succeeding.
2] People say Rudy Giuliani can't win the GOP nomination, or that he's badly slipping. I dunno-here, an American Research Group poll has him, nationally, leading the field by 13 points. And
3] in state polls, in Pennsylvania Giuliani leads the Republican field by 26 points. He also leads in Ohio.
There's a long way to go, but 2008 shapes up as a very interesting year. Hillary is not inevitable. And Rudy can win.
1] On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton continues to lead in New Hampshire--but not by much. She leads Barack Obama only by 27%-23%. Not much of a lead; the Clinton campaign has tried so mightily to make Hillary seem as the "inevitable" winner. So far, it's not succeeding.
2] People say Rudy Giuliani can't win the GOP nomination, or that he's badly slipping. I dunno-here, an American Research Group poll has him, nationally, leading the field by 13 points. And
3] in state polls, in Pennsylvania Giuliani leads the Republican field by 26 points. He also leads in Ohio.
There's a long way to go, but 2008 shapes up as a very interesting year. Hillary is not inevitable. And Rudy can win.
Iraq PM Maliki and his statement
Ed Morrissey over at Captain's Quarters makes an important point today concerning Iraqi prime minister Maliki and his recent statements to the news media. Nearly everyone, led by the NY Times, reported that Maliki claimed Iraq and its government can now stand on its own, even if the Americans leave. But that wasn't all Maliki said, and why did so many major media outlets miss this? Begin quote:
Readers who want the whole story have to read the Los Angeles Times to find out what else Maliki said about the Iraqi position:
Maliki, a Shiite, put on a brave face in the wake of the rising demand in the U.S. among Democratic and Republican legislators for withdrawal from Iraq.
He pleaded for time, pledging to achieve the passage of legislation that Washington has demanded as a condition of its continuing support, including an oil revenue sharing law, a revised constitution and the easing of government work restrictions for former supporters of President Saddam Hussein, who was captured, tried and executed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Maliki also said that Iraqi security forces could use more training from U.S.-led forces and needed more weaponry.
Perhaps someone could ask the layers of editors and fact-checkers at the Gray Lady why this got left out of their report. It adds another dimension to the story, a context which shows a politician trying to reassure his constituency that their government can survive an American pullout -- not endorsing one, as the Paper of Record's report implies. Maliki has to make sure that Iraqis do not lose confidence in the government in order to keep the tribes from throwing in with the various insurgencies for their own perceived protection, once we do withdraw.
The real news story is that Maliki has asked the Congress to remain patient. He has not given up on passing reform through the National Assembly, and understands that the US wants to see that reform start as soon as possible. Unfortunately, both papers chose to de-emphasize that part of the story, and in the case of the New York Times, overlook it altogether.
Readers who want the whole story have to read the Los Angeles Times to find out what else Maliki said about the Iraqi position:
Maliki, a Shiite, put on a brave face in the wake of the rising demand in the U.S. among Democratic and Republican legislators for withdrawal from Iraq.
He pleaded for time, pledging to achieve the passage of legislation that Washington has demanded as a condition of its continuing support, including an oil revenue sharing law, a revised constitution and the easing of government work restrictions for former supporters of President Saddam Hussein, who was captured, tried and executed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Maliki also said that Iraqi security forces could use more training from U.S.-led forces and needed more weaponry.
Perhaps someone could ask the layers of editors and fact-checkers at the Gray Lady why this got left out of their report. It adds another dimension to the story, a context which shows a politician trying to reassure his constituency that their government can survive an American pullout -- not endorsing one, as the Paper of Record's report implies. Maliki has to make sure that Iraqis do not lose confidence in the government in order to keep the tribes from throwing in with the various insurgencies for their own perceived protection, once we do withdraw.
The real news story is that Maliki has asked the Congress to remain patient. He has not given up on passing reform through the National Assembly, and understands that the US wants to see that reform start as soon as possible. Unfortunately, both papers chose to de-emphasize that part of the story, and in the case of the New York Times, overlook it altogether.
Why are some Republicans turning against the war in Iraq?
Did you catch this? Antiwar Democrat Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill) says there will be more Republicans to come, and she believes she knows why. "I just see the growing fear in their eyes on this," she said. More details, and my source for the quote, can be found here.
I have no doubt she's right, in that too many Republicans are frightened of polls. It's not a principled position. Fundamental: we can't make policy solely based on polls. If we had, we wouldn't be one nation right now. We'd be two, with a Confederate States of America existing to our south--because Abraham Lincoln would have abandoned the Civil War in the summer of 1864 when, as most observers claimed, Northern public opinion had grown tired of the war.
I have no doubt she's right, in that too many Republicans are frightened of polls. It's not a principled position. Fundamental: we can't make policy solely based on polls. If we had, we wouldn't be one nation right now. We'd be two, with a Confederate States of America existing to our south--because Abraham Lincoln would have abandoned the Civil War in the summer of 1864 when, as most observers claimed, Northern public opinion had grown tired of the war.
Who?
Admit it, that's what you said when you saw the headline for this story.
And that's why he's dropping out...
And that's why he's dropping out...
North Korea nuke reactor shut down, but...
...but they only do so after receiving a nice tidy shipment of oil. The Bush administration hails this development. I dunno--no, we don't want the crazy North Koreans to have a nuclear weapon; but you could easily argue, as one of the commenters here did a week or two ago, that this smacks of appeasement. What's North Korea going to demand next time? You can bet this will be repeated, and that they'll up the ante next time.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
McCain won't quit...
...and remember the other day? I predicted he wouldn't...here's confirmation via NR's The Corner.
Whispers caught on tape...
Both John Edwards and Hillary Clinton would like to exclude rinky-dink, third-tier candidates from future Democratic presidential debates. No surprise there. Some buzz about it for the past day or so. But remember--most ordinary Americans won't care about this. It's too inside-baseball, political-junkie-ish. Always remember that most ordinary Americans are too busy with the details of their daily lives to care mush about this kind of stuff.
Don't know much about history...
Many have already commented on the outrageous comments that appeared recently from Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota). To refresh your memory, here they are: On comparing Sept. 11 to the burning of the Reichstag building in Nazi Germany: "It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that. After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it and it put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted. The fact is that I'm not saying [Sept. 11] was a [U.S.] plan, or anything like that because, you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box -- dismiss you."
Of course, it's an outrage to draw comparisons between the Bush administration and Nazi Germany in and of itself. But another reason to be outraged is Congressman Ellison's ignorance of history. Let's examine how ignorant it is: 1] The Reichstag fire occurred in February 1933, around a month after Hitler and the Nazis had come to power in Germany. The fire was almost surely set by a single Dutch communist, Marin van der Lubbe; Hitler however immediately assumed that the entire Communist Party was behind it (though he had little evidence for that). 2] In 2001, however, no one denies that President Bush was correct to blame 9/11 on Al Qaeda and Islamofascism in general. Hitler created a threat for which he had little evidence. Bush didn't. 3] Hitler did indeed use the threat of communist terror to gain broad new powers. He was able to get the German legislature (the Reichstag) to pass a bill called the Enabling Act, which basically suspended the constitution and civil liberties. But 4] say what you will about the Patriot Act or other anti-terrorism legislation sought by the Bush administration, the fact remains that the Constitution has not been suspended and neither have civil liberties. And the raging antiwar blogosphere, which probably helped give Congressman Ellison ideas for such a remark as he made, is proof of it. More details here.
Of course, it's an outrage to draw comparisons between the Bush administration and Nazi Germany in and of itself. But another reason to be outraged is Congressman Ellison's ignorance of history. Let's examine how ignorant it is: 1] The Reichstag fire occurred in February 1933, around a month after Hitler and the Nazis had come to power in Germany. The fire was almost surely set by a single Dutch communist, Marin van der Lubbe; Hitler however immediately assumed that the entire Communist Party was behind it (though he had little evidence for that). 2] In 2001, however, no one denies that President Bush was correct to blame 9/11 on Al Qaeda and Islamofascism in general. Hitler created a threat for which he had little evidence. Bush didn't. 3] Hitler did indeed use the threat of communist terror to gain broad new powers. He was able to get the German legislature (the Reichstag) to pass a bill called the Enabling Act, which basically suspended the constitution and civil liberties. But 4] say what you will about the Patriot Act or other anti-terrorism legislation sought by the Bush administration, the fact remains that the Constitution has not been suspended and neither have civil liberties. And the raging antiwar blogosphere, which probably helped give Congressman Ellison ideas for such a remark as he made, is proof of it. More details here.
Scrooge arrives early...
...as the politically-correct attack on Christmas trees has already begun. Can't they at least wait 'til Halloween?
Setting a timetable without setting a timetable...
So now Senator Lugar and others want to set a timetable without setting one (January 1st as a target date for re-deploying U.S. forces). If they believe this will appease Democrats and other war critics, if they think this sends a message of strength and resolve to our allies, not to mention to our enemies, and most importantly, if they think this is a way to effectively do battle with our terrorist opponents, they are sadly mistaken.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
More hate speech...
And it comes from what you'd think would be an unlikely source: Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams came from Ireland to Texas to declare that President Bush should be impeached. In a keynote speech at the International Women's Peace Conference on Wednesday night, Ms. Williams told a crowd of about 1,000 that the Bush administration has been treacherous and wrong and acted unconstitutionally.
"Right now, I could kill George Bush," she said at the Adam's Mark Hotel and Conference Center in Dallas. "No, I don't mean that. How could you nonviolently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that."
"Right now, I could kill George Bush," she said at the Adam's Mark Hotel and Conference Center in Dallas. "No, I don't mean that. How could you nonviolently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that."
UN-believable
Why doesn't the continuing mess at the United Nations get more attention? Oil-for-food scandals, corruption at its bureaucracy's highest levels, scandalous behavior on the part of UN "peacekeepers", and now they can't even begin to plan renovations of the UN complex in New York without it going massively overbudget--before any dirt has been shovelled. Details here.
Iraq interim report
It will be a light day of blogging for me both today and tomorrow; I'm on the road. In the meantime, the administration's report on Iraq and its benchmarks of progress is out; details here. Obviously President Bush would have liked it to have been better. But why can't we wait until September to make final judgments? What's the big rush? Iraq and the war on terror are issues too important to judge with political polls on the brain. I'm talking to you, Senators Lugar, Domenici, Hagel...
And don't forget the positive information on Iraq I pointed to here yesterday.
At the same time, this news--that analysts are suggesting that Al Qaeda is now at its strongest point since 9/11--is something the Bush administration must explain to the American people, and seek to rectify.
And don't forget the positive information on Iraq I pointed to here yesterday.
At the same time, this news--that analysts are suggesting that Al Qaeda is now at its strongest point since 9/11--is something the Bush administration must explain to the American people, and seek to rectify.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Trump, Trump everywhere
It's a good question---why indeed does Donald Trump have this mania to have his name out there everywhere, on products, television, land, casinos, etc etc. Lately there's been Trump Vodka, Trump Steaks, and now there's Trump...office furniture. Maybe he's short on cash. Maybe--but I suggest it's instead that he's not short on ego.
There's a prairie fire a' burnin...
...on the illegal immigration issue. Many people want action taken, to control our borders, to crack down. Both parties need to be aware of it; I'm not sure either fully is. So people are taking action locally. Here's the latest example: Prince William County officials voted unanimously last night to move forward with one of the toughest immigration policies in the country. The eight-member Board of County Supervisors passed a resolution that requires police officers to ask about immigration status in all arrests if there is probable cause to believe that a suspect has violated federal immigration law. The resolution also requires county staff to verify a person's legal status before providing certain public services.
UPDATE: and this will only throw gasoline onto the fire---translating our electoral ballots into Chinese? And the Bush administration supports this kind of stuff? Fundamentally a bad idea.
UPDATE: and this will only throw gasoline onto the fire---translating our electoral ballots into Chinese? And the Bush administration supports this kind of stuff? Fundamentally a bad idea.
Barry Bonds and the FOX All-Stars...
It turned out to be an exciting All-Star game last night, with the American League eventually emerging triumphant (again), 5-4. But of course the real story of the night was Barry Bonds, the center of attention, with his career coming to an end, chasing Hank Aaron's record, still eager to defy his critics, yet hungry for love and adulation, but...thoroughly muddied by scandal. But the big game was at his home park, and he got to start and bat second, and get the huge ovations he obviously craved. There's an excellent column on Barry and the game in today's Washington Post by its lead columnist Thomas Boswell, and he makes an excellent point: Barry Bonds isn't the only big leaguer to have done steroids. Far from it. Yet it's as if he's the visible symbol, the scapegoat, on whom everyone is taking their anger and cynicism concerning the steroid era. Maybe not completely fair but, as Boswell explains, Bonds is so flawed and inconsistent and hypocritical that it's hard to feel too sorry for him: Of course, much of the reason San Francisco sticks with Bonds is because fans here are so aware, and honest, that they were right beside Bonds, cheering and egging him on as he hit 73 home runs in 2001, won four straight MVP awards and took the Giants on a trip to the World Series. Many fans in many other cities, as well as those of us in the media who seldom raised enough Cain about the obvious cheating in the sport, find Bonds a useful target. What, we didn't notice the constant offseason transformations that allowed mature sluggers to add 20 or 30 pounds of muscle in a winter?
Bonds's curse is that, for all those fans throughout the majors who taunt him with asterisk signs and Barry BALCO banners, he's the most extreme case. Bonds is not the marginal minor leaguer who decides he needs an edge in order to make the majors or the ordinary player who craves to be a star. Bonds was a three-time MVP before he ever met Victor Conte. So the analogy is to the corporate kingpin, already enormously wealthy, who games the system to get even more filthy rich.
In the end, this All-Star Game -- on a night that baseball has dreaded all season because the sport's most notorious star would be on center-stage display -- ended as well as it could. Bonds got his cheers. And, for an indisputably great career, he deserved them. But he didn't get the home run he wanted so much with its shallow appearance of vindication. Instead, his long fly ball died at the wall, much as his quest to be seen as the game's true home run king will probably also fail as the years pass .
Bonds's curse is that, for all those fans throughout the majors who taunt him with asterisk signs and Barry BALCO banners, he's the most extreme case. Bonds is not the marginal minor leaguer who decides he needs an edge in order to make the majors or the ordinary player who craves to be a star. Bonds was a three-time MVP before he ever met Victor Conte. So the analogy is to the corporate kingpin, already enormously wealthy, who games the system to get even more filthy rich.
In the end, this All-Star Game -- on a night that baseball has dreaded all season because the sport's most notorious star would be on center-stage display -- ended as well as it could. Bonds got his cheers. And, for an indisputably great career, he deserved them. But he didn't get the home run he wanted so much with its shallow appearance of vindication. Instead, his long fly ball died at the wall, much as his quest to be seen as the game's true home run king will probably also fail as the years pass .
Pop culture update...
In a follow-up to a story I commented on yesterday, one of the teens in the car with the little girl who appeared (from a YouTube video) to have taken Ecstasy claims the toddler was not given the drug. No word however concerning why, on the video, several in the car were heard saying that the little girl was "rollin'" from having taken the stuff. No word either on why anyone would want to post a video like this in the first place. Maybe we don't talk enough about the dangers faced by the YouTube generation...
In brighter news, take heart Bruce Springsteen fans--the Boss apparently plans to release a new album late this fall. And good news for Miss New Jersey---it appears the blackmail attempted against her isn't going to work. Good for her for standing up to the bad guys. It's another part of the danger of today's 24/7 cable news world, perhaps---blackmailers perhaps believe their job is easier these days, that just the prospect of loud accusations of wrongdoing, having them broadcast and repeated, as surely they always are, for at least 24 hours on a number of different networks, will be enough to intimidate someone, guilty or not, true accusations or not.
In brighter news, take heart Bruce Springsteen fans--the Boss apparently plans to release a new album late this fall. And good news for Miss New Jersey---it appears the blackmail attempted against her isn't going to work. Good for her for standing up to the bad guys. It's another part of the danger of today's 24/7 cable news world, perhaps---blackmailers perhaps believe their job is easier these days, that just the prospect of loud accusations of wrongdoing, having them broadcast and repeated, as surely they always are, for at least 24 hours on a number of different networks, will be enough to intimidate someone, guilty or not, true accusations or not.
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