« April 2005 | Main | June 2005 »

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Blogging Update (08:51 PM) - Posting will be light over the next few days, as final exams are nearing….

The Absurdity Of Amnesty (02:49 PM) - President Bush is rightly calling the recent Amnesty “We Know Gulags” International report absurd….

The Economics Of Bratwurst (02:10 PM) - …at Marginal Utility….

Deep Throat Revealed: Not Jimmy James (01:06 PM) - Long-time suspect W. Mark Felt says he’s Deep Throat. The WaPo duo won’t confirm until he dies. UPDATE: Bernstein and Woodward confirm. AND: Lots of other conspiracy theories at NRO, many of which raise worthwhile questions. Felt wrote an entire…

On The CIA Airliner Article (10:20 AM) - Jump down to read the background. An e-mailer:Next week I wouldn’t be surprised if the Times runs a special on military transports and where to shoot them with RPGs. When does sabotaging CIA operations cross the line to treason? The…

Call A Spa Treatment A ‘Tuneup’ (09:52 AM) - When I saw that the New York Times had a spotlight article on how to convince men to go to spas, (Call it a tuneup, put TVs everywhere, and utilize big dark brown furniture.) I was excited to read yet…

A Fair Criticism (08:25 AM) - While most of the ‘abuse’ talk is bunk, there is a legitimate problem in an unusual number of deaths inside prisons used in the War on Terror, as QandO points out:But, in any event, as far as we can tell,…

The Castes Still Reign In Old Europe (08:03 AM) - From an AP report this morning:Unlike France’s referendum, which was binding on the government, the Dutch vote is advisory. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s governing party said Monday it will accept a “no” verdict only if turnout reaches at least…

As Goes California… (08:02 AM) - From The Sacramento Bee:Lawmakers voted Thursday to ban school districts from purchasing textbooks longer than 200 pages. The bill, believed to be the first of its kind nationwide, was hailed by supporters as a way to revolutionize education. Critics lambasted…

NYT: CIA Uses Secret Planes; Is Evil (07:34 AM) - In a self-congratulatory piece with a ‘by THE NEW YORK TIMES’ byline, the newspaper of record reports the stunning fact that the CIA maintains air operation ability through private/shell companies (names are named) whose only customer is that organization. Way…

Strange Way To Make It OK (07:23 AM) - In what can only be seen as classic flawed reasoning on the part of teenage girls, the condition ‘anarexia’ has become ‘Ana’, and girls are convincing themselves to embrace ‘Ana’. This is one of the strangest AP dispatches I’ve ever…

Big: Even At Warp 9.5 (07:20 AM) - The Andromeda galaxy is even larger than originally thought:…But new measurements suggest that the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way is three times broader than astronomers had thought. They now believe a thin sprinkling of stars once thought to…

Brazilian Roulette, Perhaps? (07:17 AM) - A family is found murdered in their home, two men confess, and evidently it is all part of a game:When they were arrested on May 13, Ronald Ribeiro Rodrigues, a 22-year-old glass worker, and Mayderson Vargas Mendes, an unemployed 21-year-old,…

Monday, May 30, 2005

Blip On The Hill-Dar (11:11 PM) - Mrs. Clinton will not pledge to complete a second Senate term….

Suing The Airbus Consortium (09:52 PM) - The United States is preparing to bring suit against Airbus, charging that the European Union, in an effort to deter free trade and secure unfair advantages for firms within its purview, gave Airbus illegal subsidies. Between events like this and…

Update On: Wrestling Girls at McMurray Middle (09:26 PM) - A few weeks ago, I noted with disapproval the story of a man whose daughter was finding her middle school wrestling career dissatisfying because, lacking ample female competition, she had to wrestle the boys. Since boys (rightfully) refused to fight…

Deja Vu En France (07:54 PM) - Although I think the rejection of the EU constitution by the French was good for wholly different reasons than does Patrick Ruffini, no one can disagree with the numbers and colors. Because, after all, they look oddly familiar. Click image…

He Can Dig It, She Can Dig It, We Can Dig It (07:38 PM) - It seems that American hunger for Clinton trash cannot be satiated. One of those WaPo tell-all books is forthcoming, and Drudge is highlighting a few early bits:—Bill Clinton was so upset that his weight-loss regimen in 2000 was not working…

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Defends Military (03:57 PM) - Repudiating the relentless sallies launched by the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International, General Richard Myers appeared on television to restore faith in the US military and America’s moral authority at large.WASHINGTON (AP) - Terrorism suspects held in the…

A Tuneup On A Mercedes Costs More (01:31 PM) - I’m not so sure this story amounts to racism:LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - An Alabama woman is seeking class-action status for a lawsuit against a Dillard’s Inc. hair salon for allegedly charging black women more than white women. […] Sturvisant’s lawsuit…

Two Possible al Qaeda Collaborators Caught (10:53 AM) - Tarik Ibn Osman Shah and Rafiq Sabir are to be arraigned in New York tomorrow.A complaint filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday alleges Tarik Ibn Osman Shah and Rafiq Sabir offered to provide assistance to al Qaeda during multiple…

Value of Euro “Tumbles” On Constitution Vote (09:21 AM) - The value is hovering in the $1.24 range, its lowest value of the year against the dollar. The British pound was down a marginal amount and the US dollar was up against the yen….

And No Google Logo For Memorial Day (09:07 AM) - Google, which honors every holiday under the sun, including World Water Day and International Women’s Day, has chosen not to update its logo for Memorial Day….

No Frenzy For Stone (09:01 AM) - When I read this report of Oliver Stone’s arrest for drugs and alcohol, I couldn’t help but recall Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. Neither of those two was ever arrested, and Limbaugh was addicted to painkilling drugs prescribed him after…

Memorial Day (12:01 AM) - “The Eyes of all our Countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings, and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the Tyranny mediated against them. Let us therefore animate and encourage each…

Sunday, May 29, 2005

“Slaying President Bush is simply immoral” (09:41 PM) - That is the 10th in a list of 10 reasons “Not to Kill George Bush” as written by student Jennifer McBride, in the Oregon Daily Emerald. Fascinating. McBride at least makes some sense at the end:In all seriousness, I don’t…

Those Tricky E.U. Ballots (09:24 PM) - Mark Steyn: “I haven’t seen the official ballot, but the choice seems to be: ‘Check Box A to support the new constitution; check Box B for genocide and conflagration.’” The way it is playing in France, the ballot might actually…

The Jeep Chick (08:50 PM) - My friends and I always see this truck around- though never its driver- and I deemed it bloggable on this Sunday evening, especially in light of Danica Patrick’s decent rookie showing, even if the better part of it was due…

Quelle Tragedie (07:59 PM) - The Guardian is not happy with the result in France:For the French to say no to Europe is like the English saying no to beef or the Russians saying no to vodka. Or perhaps like the heart saying no to…

“6 Shot to Death in Ohio; Victim Suspected” (07:55 PM) - A rather poorly worded headline from the Associated Press….

French Reject EU Constitution (04:36 PM) - As predicted, the referendum on the European Union constitution has been voted down by the French.With about 83 percent of the votes counted, the referendum was rejected by 57.26 percent of voters, the Interior Ministry said. The treaty was supported…

Indy 500 (12:51 PM) - Colin Powell is driving the pace car. And the sealth bomber just did its flyby. Happy racing! UPDATE: The Curse ends! Congratulations to Andretti Green racing and Dan Wheldon….

A Right-Wing Conspiracy At Dartmouth? (09:58 AM) - It is vast, as Nat Ward dutifully reports, and is in cahoots with the Olin Foundation. In all seriousness, weird obsessions with the Olin Foundation (which is shutting down and was never among the top 100 grantgivers in the US)…

In Another Sort of ‘Start Your Engines’ (09:24 AM) - The French head out to vote today on the European constitution. EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The French are heading for the polls in a key vote on the European constitution - some 42 million citizens are eligible to vote. The…

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines (01:57 AM) - The 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 is today. The green flag goes up at noon. There are six rookies, Voice over IP on the Red Bull Cheever cars, lots of beer and pretzels, at least one jug of milk,…

Saturday, May 28, 2005

“Rah-Rah,” Sayeth The Press Associated (10:24 PM) - You don’t see this every day:Associated Press Newsview: Bush’s Global Clout Seen Growing In the rarified club of world leaders, President Bush has taken his share of lumps. Critics have railed against his handling of Iraq, his perceived disdain for…

But It’s Art. Experimental Art! (05:36 PM) - Understandable:SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An exhibit showing Chinese bodies and organs is drawing protests from Chinese-Americans who say the display of corpses is offensive to their culture. Fiona Ma, a Chinese-American San Francisco supervisor, said Friday she is working with…

Dartmouth Spring Photoblogging (04:17 PM) - The high today is 73 or so, and it certainly is starting to feel like Summer. A lot of people were outside today, so I decided to do some photoblogging. Here are some shots; all were taken with a Canon…

For Hanover Readers (11:43 AM) - The Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra plays tonight in The Hopkins Center’s Spaulding Auditorium. On the program: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in b minor, Op. 104 / Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 1 in c minor, Op. 68 / Johannes Brahms.Admission is…

Paul Krugman At Princeton (11:37 AM) - TigerHawk reports on Krugman’s recent talk at Princeton University. He was civil enough, even if his audience was rather embarrassingly silly:[He] sympathized with a half dozen “questioners” who stood up and made speeches about the United States becoming an authoritarian…

Oi. (11:07 AM) - I don’t think George Bush looks Jewish, but evidently Muslim student protesters in Indonesia do. Notice the arrows pointing to his nose and mouth….

Perhaps Another Heroic Deal Is In Order (10:57 AM) - Power Line also profiles the upcoming showdown on John Bolton, and John Hinderaker quips, “We just preserved the Republic last week, but I guess the Senate minority is going to have to preserve it again soon.” On the positive side,…

Spanning The World (10:45 AM) - Everyman has a devilishly conspiratorial post up about the Democratic Committee’s odd globalization (a concept they seem to endorse when it comes to political strategy, but not in the economic sphere). Attendant to it is, of course, supreme obfuscation. Making…

Condolezza Rice Handles Protesters (09:39 AM) - Not a bad job for Ms. Rice, and an awfully tough crowd:Then, about five minutes into the secretary’s 30-minute speech, three audience members donned black hooded robes and stood with their arms outstretched, referencing the infamous photos of detainees abused…

Atlanta Crane Standoff Ends (09:17 AM) - First blogged about here, the fellow was brought down peacefully and safely via a taser. (An aspect which won’t go over particularly well in the media, which has in recent years developed a strange anti-taser bent.)…

Even As A RINO, He Is Little Help (08:40 AM) - It is eminently clear that the lovelight wanes a tick when the New York Times gets to discussing McCain’s Bolton stance:WASHINGTON, May 27 - One of John R. Bolton’s leading Republican backers, Senator John McCain of Arizona, signaled his support…

Kofi Annan Visits Darfur (08:34 AM) - At the Kalma Camp in the Sudan, Kofi Annan was greeted by thousands of refugees “lining the muddy streets.” Not greeted were 50,000 UN peacekeeping troops, because, well, they aren’t there….

Video Search At Blinkx.tv (12:26 AM) - Blinkx.tv is a very neat new video search engine for the web. It returns results in Flash format, with instant previews of all returned clips. The search functionality is great across the web, but there also seem to be content…

Friday, May 27, 2005

Scoping Out The World, Card Style (11:34 PM) - Via e-mail from Ryan Bender, I came across this wonderful Orson Scott Card essay in The Ornery American. He takes a broad view of the world; just about as far from science fiction as you can get. In fact, it…

Democrats Play Politics On Memorial Day (09:39 PM) - The Democratic National Committee is running television ads in political battleground states this Memoral Day, charging that Republicans have forsaken US troops serving overseas. WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans are accused of failing to support National Guard and Reserve troops…

The Dartmouth College Young Democrats Blog (09:14 PM) - The Democrat organization here has begun their own blog at Blogspot. Best of luck to them. UPDATE: Although their seal is a little scary. Is the Granite State supposed to be the little smudge of red in a sea of…

Looking At War Referenda (09:10 PM) - Had all of the election outcomes been reversed, US and global media outlets would have been quite comfortable calling them referenda on the Iraq War. But, as Patrick Ruffini summarizes, that isn’t the case:If the last thirteen consecutive polls are…

Leaving Well Enough Alone (04:34 PM) - For the past several hours I have been fussing with the design of Dartblog: text layout, fonts, colors, etc. Then I realized: it’s probably fine the way it is. I hope you agree….

Things That Make You Go, “Hmm.” (10:08 AM) - AP: “FDA Looking Into Blindness-Viagra Link” UPDATE: Hah. Though reports don’t seem to have changed, the AP headline now refers to ‘ED Drugs’ rather than Viagra. Guess the lawyers got to them….

Columnists Gone Wild (10:02 AM) - John Derbyshire posts some ‘overheards’ from the recent New Criterion party….

Washington Post Tries To Give Dems A Boost (08:15 AM) - This headline is frightening: “Democrats Extend Debate On Bolton” A matter of days ago, before The Heroic Pact was made, Democrats were requesting ‘extended debate’ on Bush’s judicial nominations. Only then, it was called a ‘filibuster’ (Technical details.) and that…

How To Obfuscate A Hillary Poll (08:05 AM) - Several media outlets are reporting on a CNN/USAT/Gallup poll that seemingly shows most of America wants Hillary Clinton to be President. That is the way it is spun, anyway. The actual poll showed that 39% had written her off, another…

Man On Crane Threatens Suicide, Girlfriend Dead (07:36 AM) - This story has all the markings of a made-for-TV-movie. But in reality it is pretty tragic….

Mysterious Disappearances At Huffy’s Post (07:20 AM) - The Huffington Toast is doing some hilarious posts, but this one is actually pretty good investigative work. Evidently lots of things are disappearing from the real Huffy’s Post, and the search function has been limited to one week. Read the…

Degrees Of Seperation (06:57 AM) - The AP and Reuters are busy finding instances of “mishandling” of the Koran book, including this damning piece of evidence:The unidentified prisoner, re-interviewed at Guantanamo on May 14, said he had heard talk of guards mishandling religious articles but did…

What Does PETA Think Of The War In Iraq? (06:52 AM) - Telegraph reports on the terrorists’ newest tactic: Terrorists tie bomb belt to dog in Iraq (Filed: 27/05/2005) Insurgents in Iraq attached explosives to a dog and tried to blow up a military convoy near the northern oil centre of Kirkuk….

Chirac To Ignore The Bourgeois, Working Class (12:53 AM) - The president of France is vowing to overturn the forthcoming ‘non’ vote on the EU constitution.PRESIDENT CHIRAC of France is preparing to throw Europe into confusion and put Britain on the spot by backing moves to keep the European constitution…

“So far, the 109th Congress has been a bust” (12:26 AM) - The Wall Street Journal editors are displeased with this young Congress….

Thursday, May 26, 2005

The Final Word In Koran Flushing? (11:44 PM) - Not from Ana Marie Cox, who presumed a bit too soon that her country was to blame:So it turns out interrogators at Gitmo might have flushed a Koran or two down the toilet after all. Riots not meaningless after all!…

To Answer E-mailers… (11:33 PM) - No, there isn’t really anything called the “UN Conference to Establish Preliminary Guidelines Pursuant To Security Council Accord 592-B Subsection Q Line 47 In Advance Of Pre-Planning Discussion on Proposals to Initiate Talks With Respect To Evaluating The Potentiality of…

If Uncle Sam Doesn’t Pay For Stem Cell Research, Who Will? (11:29 PM) - Many people, according to this OpinionJournal editorial. Although I would like to see a study that measures how much scientific progress in specific arenas is affected by whether funding comes from government or from private sources like colleges, business profits,…

More Collapse Of The Big Tent (11:20 PM) - In this WaPo article, Jonathan Weisman and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum wax sensational with the downfall of the small-government GOP. (While not answering the question: if not the modern Republican party, where are small-government advocates going to go?) Quoted is Dartmouth…

Who’s Out Of Left Field, Now? (11:14 PM) - Hugh Hewitt interviews Dana Milbank:HH: Do you think, Dana Milbank, there’s a deep-seeded anti-military bias in the media? DM: You know, that comment’s gotten an extraordinary amount of publicity. I must say that I’ve, you know, always found Terry to…

Harry Reid Has A Plan For Me And My Cohort (08:23 PM) - But it doesn’t look very comfortable….

Reimporting Drugs At The Mall of America (05:24 PM) - A comment my economics professor made a week ago piqued my interest. Evidently there are Canadian MDs who commute to the Mall of America and hook American shoppers up with Canadian drugs. I don’t see any reason why this might…

For Hanover Readers (05:10 PM) - Dartmouth Chabad is hosting a dinner (with Turduckens!) tomorrow evening at 8pm at 24 School St. Their guest is Ambassador Ken Yalowitz, former ambassador to Georgia and Belarus and the current head of The Dickey Center. The conversation should be…

Ripped From The Headlines (04:54 PM) - More silliness from Law and Order. Drudge reports:’LAW & ORDER’ TIES JUDGE KILLER TO DELAY FAN; CONGRESSMAN PLANS COMPLAINT Hollywood once again jumps into bitter DC politics when an episode of NBC’s LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT suggests a judge…

Breaking News: Lethargy Reigns On The East Side (01:20 PM) - In a stunning result, the UN’s Conference to Establish Preliminary Guidelines Pursuant To Security Council Accord 592-B Subsection Q Line 47 In Advance Of Pre-Planning Discussion on Proposals to Initiate Talks With Respect To Evaluating The Potentiality of Further Diplomatic…

Dictator Chic! (10:18 AM) - It isn’t often that WaPo scoops Glamour to deliver the latest trends and styles. But for the modern-day autocratic tyrant, the Post has you covered. Mr. Il is firmly setting la mode with his platform shoes:The South Korean daily Dong-a…

Conservatives For Stem Cells (07:10 AM) - Paul Mirengoff at Power Line comes out against the President on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. But on balance, as I read the evidence, the scientists who argue that existing stem cell lines are insufficient have the better…

Leave It To The New York Times (07:06 AM) - To actually conduct a voluntary downsizing:The New York Times Co. will shed 190 employees, mostly at its flagship newspaper, the company announced Wednesday. In a statement, the company said the reductions will include “fewer than two dozen” employees in The…

The New American Idol (07:02 AM) - Her name is Carrie Underwood. But is she a Nazi?!…

Cloture Sought On Bolton This Evening (06:50 AM) - The GOP will seek cloture on debate for John R. Bolton this evening, but it is unlikely to get it. Democrats are relatively solid against Bolton and particularly against ending debate. There are evidently packages of paper records on Bolton…

CIA Overseeing Internet-Based War Game (06:45 AM) - Presumably in conjunction with Dartmouth’s eerily-well-endowed Institute for Security Technology Studies, the Central Intelligence Agency is conducting a large-scale wargame including an attack on networks: WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA is conducting a secretive war game, dubbed “Silent Horizon,” this…

Never Mess With A Euro-elite (06:40 AM) - EU president Jean-Claude Juncker is supremely dissatisfied with the way EU constitution referenda are going across Europe- with France and the Dutch set to stamp a ‘No’ on it in coming weeks. So Mr. Juncker has a humble suggestion, Financial…

Warren Beaty Gets Serious. Hollywood Serious. (06:35 AM) - From the indespensable LAT:Over the weekend, Beatty, 68, gave his first commencement speech ever to the graduating class of UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, and used the occasion to humorously but witheringly attack Schwarzenegger — much like the…

France In Disarray As ‘No’ Nears (12:25 AM) - The Times is reporting:THE leader of France’s ruling party has privately admitted that Sunday’s referendum on the European constitution will result in a “no” vote, throwing Europe into turmoil. “The thing is lost,” Nicolas Sarkozy told French ministers during an…

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

A Reason To Like ‘The Deal’? (06:57 PM) - NOW disapproves….

Go On A World Wind With NASA (04:42 PM) - NASA has free software out that uses huge amounts of data to display an animated globe with tremendous detail, including weather, topography, borderlines, and more. From what I’ve seen, it surpasses the functionality of Google’s Keyhole. Take a look here….

Major Power Outage In Moscow (04:03 PM) - The outage was caused by a substation fire. “They should work not only on global problems about company policy and its restructuring, but also pay attention to current activity,” Putin said in reaction. Translation: They are now mine….

Assorted Responses To The Chinese Megamall (03:47 PM) - “Ten million square feet? Imagine the possibilities for re-re-make (‘78, ‘04, …) of ‘Dawn of the Dead.’ I expect a Dartmouth film studies student to get right on this.” Common: “Build a bigger mall? That’s exactly what we need…” “A…

Women-in-Combat Bill Dropped (03:12 PM) - Duncan Hunter has backtracked on his provision that would limit the role of women on the front lines. I supported a similar bill here. Primary opposition came from Democrats and the Army administration which, presumably, wants as much personpower as…

Harry Reid Wants An Up-or-Down Vote (02:56 PM) - Ironic:WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called Wednesday for a swift vote on House-passed legislation to expand federal support of embryonic stem cell research and said President Bush was “wrong politically, morally and scientifically” for opposing the measure….

New Jersey Highschoolers Scrap Affirmative Action (02:05 PM) - Good old Garden State. A model Congress has banned race-based affirmative action, upheld the USA PATRIOT act, capped malpractice lawsuit rewards, and changed priorities for stem cell research. Smart kids….

The Collapse Of The Big Tent? (01:35 PM) - Howard Fineman says:I’m wondering if we haven’t just witnessed a turning point in politics. Years from now, when we look back on the “Gang of 14” deal, will we see it as the moment when the tide of conservative Republicanism…

Homer On The European Union (01:21 PM) - “There is strength in the union even of very sorry men.”…

The System Worked In D.C. Skies (09:22 AM) - I was worried about the seemingly impotent response of area and national security forces in the Cessna incident on May 11th. The plane within 3 miles of the White House. Word is now coming out that a shootdown order was…

A New Mall (08:33 AM) - The South China Mall is opening soon. [View image] It will be three times the size of Mall of America. This must be remedied immediately! UPDATE: Two e-mailers think I wanted the Chinese mall blown up. No. I want the…

The New ‘Today Show’ Producer (08:22 AM) - He’s Noah Oppenheim, a Harvard ‘00 and a conservative. (Here is his final Crimson piece. Angry fellow.) And Today staffers are not very pleased with his appointment….

Operation New Market Commences (08:08 AM) - This offensive, unlike recent high-profile Iraqi operations, is being carried out largely by US troops. About 1,000 men are occupying the Anbar province in an attempt at stopping the influx of combatants from Syria….

Another One Of Those Girlfriend Posts (07:57 AM) - Here is Samil: He is a four-day-old tigron cub: a cross between a female tiger and a lion….

Press Union: Military Targets Journalists (07:39 AM) - Another rabid reporter accusing the US military of attempting to kill heroic journos; another case of no proof or examples….

A Newfound Respect for President Karzai (07:35 AM) - The media has a newfound respect for Afghan President Karzai, now that he is disputing claims that the Newsweek story directly caused riot and deaths. I suppose he isn’t a puppet of the administration, after all!…

Voinovich’s Letter (07:31 AM) - Republican Senator George R. Voinovich, the distinguished gentleman from Ohio, is circulating a letter to all of the Senate asking opposition to Bolton. NYT reports:In the letter, Mr. Voinovich said that while he had been “hesitant to push my views…

Syria halts cooperation with U.S. (07:25 AM) - WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Syrian government has halted all cooperation with the United States in sharing information about the war on terror, Syria’s ambassador said Tuesday. I have the same reaction as everyone else: what cooperation? And if the Syrians…

Clinton Skips Reservation, Restauranteur Wants To Sue (06:47 AM) - This is funny:WHEN the owner of one of Rome’s most fashionable restaurants received a booking from Bill Clinton and his entourage, he was happy to clear the tables and order in his best food and wine. But Romeo Caraccio was…

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

It Was Inevitable (11:37 PM) - In an attempt to film a recreation of a Star Wars lightsaver duel, two people are in critical condition after their fuel-filled glass lightsabers… malfunctioned….

Coming Back From Tajik (10:57 PM) - Jared Smith, an expert at the Army’s Mountain Warfare School in Vermont, has finally returned from Tajikistan. He writes:I recently returned from my visit to Tajikistan. 48hrs of straight travel got my team home. We successfully completed our mission with…

Just Getting It Out There (10:47 PM) - This evening’s Law and Order: SVU spins a strange yarn. Several soldiers all at once begin going insane. Some kill their wives; others commit suicide. Turns out that the military is giving suspect drugs to all the soldiers in Afghanistan….

Worst Compromise Ever. (05:42 PM) - In this piece, Reuters picks up on the fact that virtually no one is satisfied with The Deal.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate sidestepped an immediate meltdown with its compromise on judges but activists on both sides expressed dismay on…

Things That Makes You Go, “Hmm.” (03:48 PM) - On the AP wire: “Child Population Dwindles in San Francisco”….

Senate Votes 81-18 for Cloture on Owen (03:44 PM) - The 18 Democrats who voted no were likely making some sort of protest against The Deal. Not surprisingly, Newly-Moderate Mrs. Clinton was not among those 18….

al Qaeda In Iraq Before the War (01:15 PM) - This Italian news report says that Ayman Al-Zawahiri was in Iraq in 1999, before the war. Here is an English translation. As Roger L. Simon observes, this about finishes the argument that Saddam was not hospitable to terrorists….

Blogging Update (10:40 AM) - I have adjusted some CSS settings and Dartblog should now render a bit better in Internet Explorer, which behaves very poorly when it comes to web standards….

Our Children Will Become Portly And Diabolical (09:18 AM) - An advocacy group, the Dove Foundation, is trying to get Burger King to cease its global marketing tie-in (its first) with Star Wars Episode III because the film is rated PG-13 and thus unsuitable for consumers of Kid’s Meals. “When…

To What End? (09:10 AM) - I just saw a girl skip with joy over to the newspaper machine, take her newspaper, and walk calmy back to her table. I’m confused….

When The State Is All-Powerful (08:10 AM) - …the people have a leg up in blogs. The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof profiles a Chinese investigative reporter/blogger who travels from town to town, photographing and journalizing corruption….

The Stem Cell Debate Is Joined (07:19 AM) - The House will vote on two stem cell bills today; one regarding adult stem cells and one broadening federal support for embryonic stem cells. I have noted many times here the success of adult stem cells and the overwhelming lack…

Of Jihad and La Joconde (07:11 AM) - I must confess I do not understand why left-wingers like Duncan Black blame America (more specifically: Donald Rumsfeld) for missing art in Iraq. Perhaps he’s been watching too many Hollywood versions of Desert Storm, like this one that has George…

‘Kerry drifted over, immediately raising the confusion level.’ (07:06 AM) - The Boston Globe has a useful bit of data that this fellow might be interested in:AT THIS POINT it comes as no surprise. John Kerry is releasing all his military records — but then again, he isn’t. During an interview…

Syrian Troops Gone (07:01 AM) - The coast was clear, so the United Nations went into Lebanon and its employees have confirmed that Syrian troops are gone. Intel is probably still active on the ground….

Where In The World Is Scott McClellan? (06:58 AM) - He has been absent the Brady Briefing Room for a few days now… Q. What about the letter of resignation, this — MR. DUFFY: Hold on a second, hold on — Q. — the letter of resignation and the bullying…

Podhoretz On ‘The Deal’ (06:44 AM) - NRO’s John Podhoretz:The major point I couldn’t get to because the baby was crying is this: Despite the language in the deal about how the Republicans won’t bring up the nuclear option until 2007, there’s other language in the deal…

Monday, May 23, 2005

Darfur: The New Tibet & Divestment (11:31 PM) - I have a terrible habit of smirking to myself at the flavor-of-the-month liberal causes. Like hybrid cars and Tibet, I can’t help but presume in the back of my mind that the latest armband-birthing craze is going to disappear when…

More Economics Textbook Fun (11:15 PM) - From a microeconomics workbook published by W.W. Norton:Ferdinand Sludge has just written a disgusting new book, Orgy in the Piggery. His publisher, Graw McSwill, estimates that the demand for this book in the United States is…That Graw-McSwill. Such low standards!…

The European Worker Compared & “Why Work?” (09:01 PM) - The ‘Strib reports:Echoes of Stalin’s discovery can be found in a recent paper by Alberto Alesina and Edward Glaeser, both of Harvard, and Bruce Sacerdote, of Dartmouth College. The authors begin from the premise that Stalin unwittingly proved: People complement…

Deal. (07:31 PM) - Democrats won’t filibuster except in extreme circumstances, and a yes/no vote will be permitted on the current nominees. AP has more. This does a good job saving face for Democrats, but the rule that allows any bill to be tabled…

‘I Like The Balloon Colors- No Red States’ (05:18 PM) - Amid blue and white balloons, so chirped Justice Margaret H. Marshall, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, at Brandeis College’s commencement. She, who wrote the gay marriage opinion that 36 state citizenries north and south have thus far rejected…

The Raelian Movement (04:50 PM) - The Raelians are some weird cult. They claimed to have created the first human clone, but it ended up being that a guy saw two similar-looking babies or something. But here’s my question: weren’t the Raelians a race on Star…

Trump University: Goes Well With Digital Libraries (01:18 PM) - Donald Trump has recruited faculty members from Dartmouth and Columbia (where’s that?) to found an online university “targeted at entrepreneurs and working professionals,” as CNNMoney reports. Trump University will focus on marketing, starting a business, and real estate. UPDATE: AP…

Your Google Homepage (10:28 AM) - The latest in the bag of tricks known as Internet, Inc. Google….

Super Karate Monkey Death Car (09:48 AM) - If the readers of this blog are anywhere near as cool as I suspect them to be, they already know about Newsradio, perhaps the best situation comedy ever to grace network airwaves. The show told the story of WNYX, an…

The Waning Allure of Anti-Americanism (08:19 AM) - The latest victim is Gerhard Schroeder:SINGEN, Germany—Three years ago, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder cynically used opposition to liberating Iraq to play an anti-American card just before elections in which he trailed his Christian Democratic opponents. He barely won a second term….

Another Look At The SAT I Version 2 (07:48 AM) - Julia Bernstein looks at the new SAT in The Dartmouth this morning. Here is her conclusion. I disagree with most of it, but at least the College Board is facing scrutiny, as it should.The institution of a writing section of…

Nous Devons Voter ‘Non’ (07:42 AM) - Andrew Stuttaford looks at the forthcoming EU Constitution votes in several countries and their relative importance….

What Is the Social Security Trust Fund, Anyway? (07:27 AM) - Professor Samwick offers an introduction to the Social Security Trust Fund. He also asks:As an aside, we often hear this phrase attributed to the President as having called the Trust Fund “a bunch of worthless IOUs,” but I cannot find…

The Importance of Following Suit (07:23 AM) - I find it funny that so many media outlets are reporting on Newsweek’s new sourcing requirements and editorial policy, but none are telling their readers that they will adopt the same reforms….

Tuesday Is The Day (07:19 AM) - To go nuclear. I don’t have any particular affinity for the judges in question, but I wonder if any political credits would be gained by the GOP if they backed off on this one. The interesting response is, if there…

New York Times Donates Column Inches To U.N. (07:12 AM) - On the front page, no less. The article, “U.N. Forces Using Tougher Tactics to Secure Peace” talks about a decade-long shift in UN policy from merely placing blue helmets on the ground and expecting genuflection to giving those blue helmets…

US: The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (06:54 AM) - The Annan administration’s hitherto-veiled operating pretense is outed at last: the United States is big and evil.NEW YORK - Secretary General Kofi Annan’s chief of staff called the United States an “ungainly giant” that only plays by its own rules,…

How Goes Washington? (06:47 AM) - The fight against unbelievable fraud in the Washinton gubernatorial election continues. It goes to trial today.The challenge was to go to trial Monday. Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges moved the case to the county auditorium to accommodate the…

Operation Squeeze Play Nets 300 (06:42 AM) - A large-scale joint operation in Iraq, with both Iraqi and American forces, is coming to a close. Nearly 300 terrorists have been found and captured in the operation spearheaded by the Iraqi Security Forces, which seem to get better at…

Sunday, May 22, 2005

No, Give Me The Hydrospanner (10:38 PM) - Star Wars: Episode III has broken just about every opening record.Destined to be one of the biggest blockbusters, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith blasted off with an estimated $158.5 million since Thursday. The $113 million space…

Good Can Be Dramatized, Too (10:10 PM) - The anti-Moore film Kilometre Zero is making the rounds. Instead of focusing on partisan politics, it paints a positive view of the Iraq War.CANNES, FRANCE – Twelve months after Michael Moore scooped Cannes’ top award with “Fahrenheit 9/11,” - a…

It Tolls For Thee, Progressives (09:04 PM) - Roger L. Simon joins the chorus of ex-liberals in pronouncing the death of his old faith.So what’s left? Well, I’m sorry to say that today the answer seems almost tragically simple because Newsweek has spelled it out for us. The…

Scattered Hopes In Iran (03:04 PM) - A certain blogger once said, “democracy is not an event; it is a process.” AP reports that all of the reform candidates in Iran have been disqualified. Only six out of the 1,010 possible candidates were approved by Iran’s Guardian…

Plumer: The Case For Attack of the Clones (02:42 PM) - Brad Plumer weighs in on Sith over here in a pretty good review, although I disagree. I’ll just reprint his opening, because it shows how well he knows the blogosphere audience.Let me be the first, I think, to slap this…

“Welcome To Queer Life In The 21st Century!” (02:28 PM) - So begins something called ‘The Little Black Book’, an evidently tax-payer supported gay guide being handed out in sex ed classes in public high schools and middle schools in Massachusetts. It is a highly reckless (and feckless) piece of pamphletage….

So Long, Sailin’ (02:05 PM) - Ripped from the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle…I’m leaving the left — more precisely, the American cultural left and what it has become during our time together. I choose this day for my departure because I can no longer…

Welcome Back My Friends, To The Show That Never Ends (12:21 PM) - The word ‘Deansanity’ will one day become old and tired to me. But today is not that day. Not when the fellow keeps saying things like, “The insinuation that the President continues to make to this day that Osama Bin…

Bon Voyage, Okrent (11:42 AM) - Daniel Okrent says goodbye today in a pretty good column. He is sure to leave some clenched fists with one of his parting shots:Op-Ed columnist Paul Krugman has the disturbing habit of shaping, slicing and selectively citing numbers in a…

The Jihad On Drugs (08:07 AM) - Afghanistan has been quietly carrying out a jihad on opium and it has been at least partially successful. Perhaps more so than the one America has been waging for a much longer amount of time.KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - Last year at…

BugMeNot.com (07:10 AM) - BugMeNot.com is a very neat website that will quickly assign you usenames and passwords for a whole host of websites that usually require free- but annoyingly lengthy- registration….

CAFTA Re-cap (07:04 AM) - Over at RealClearPolitics, Froma Harrop has a simple overview of CAFTA and its likely effects….

It’s not Wall Street, but it does have its moments (06:57 AM) - Fox reports on the Iraqi Stock Exchange:In less than one year, the newly formed Iraqi Stock Exchange has tripled its trading volume, with growth rates unheard of nearly anywhere else. “The market since it’s opening last year is doing very,…

The British Press Calls “Abuse!” (06:36 AM) - Guardian, reporting on an interview Dr. Rod Barton gave to The Observer, is carrying this article:Dramatic details of conditions at Camp Cropper, the top-secret Baghdad prison where Saddam Hussein is being held, have been revealed by a senior UN weapons…

“More proof of the blogosphere’s muscle” (12:25 AM) - BusinessWeek reports on the Pepsico fiasco:Bloggers Finger a New Victim An inept analogy by PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi prompted a storm of criticism, followed by an abject apology — more proof of the blogosphere’s muscle For a glimpse of the blogosphere’s…

Saturday, May 21, 2005

A Response From ‘The Dartmouth’ (11:26 PM) - In a partially satirical post earlier in the week, I criticized the editorial board of The Dartmouth for their Verbum Ultimum column, which bemoaned the ‘tenor’ of the recent trustee election. Opinion editor Ben Taylor sends this:In defense of The…

Science Fiction In The Corner (11:20 PM) - Between the constant assaults on Star Trek: TNG and the recent puerile reviews of Star Wars: Episode III (“Just a horrid mess of part-digested theme fragments from Julius Caesar to Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, kitted out with over-the-top FX,…

A Marine Is Interviewed By NBC News (07:10 PM) - And, as usual, they are only interested in one angle:NBC interviewed me again last night - good stuff, but they harped on the casualties. I told them it was war; they wanted to know if a whole squad was killed…

Message To Newbies (04:32 PM) - RedState busts Huffy-ton for hotlinking one of its images, which is a horribly impolite and unethical thing to do, since it steals bandwidth from the content creator and because hotlinks are often uncredited, as it was in this case. Dartblog…

Why Yes (02:41 PM) - As a matter of fact I do believe Harvard is unconstitutional….

What Would We Do Without Meaningless Polls? (11:56 AM) - A new AP poll has some shocking results:More than three-quarters of Americans say the Senate should aggressively examine federal judicial nominees and not just approve them because they are the president’s choices.Difficult to argue with that. In fact, I might…

Wendy’s CEO In The Journal (11:51 AM) - I just read this piece at Opinion Journal, written by the CEO of Wendy’s Restaurants (Home of the triple bacon cheeseburger, oh yes.) Jack Schuessler. His company handled the finger ordeal almost flawlessly and- get this- his recounting has some…

U.K. Paper Prints More Saddam Photos (11:47 AM) - Tabloid that it is, The Sun just can’t get enough controversy….

Funny Numbers At Sploid (11:22 AM) - The all-caps, impact font-laden SPLOID! is worth few people’s time. But I happened to visit there today to see a giant headline splashed across the top, “30,000+ Iraqis Protest Occupation.” I didn’t think that could be true, so I checked…

Dutch Blaze Path, French To Follow (10:53 AM) - The Dutch are on their way to giving the European Union constitution a big thumbs down.A poll for RTL television indicated 54% would vote No, with 27% voting Yes. The Dutch vote is purely consultative, but politicians have said they…

It’s An Honor Just To Be Nominated (10:48 AM) - I have been informed that Dartblog was named the recipient of a somewhat dubious award yesterday. Capital….

How Holy Is The Koran? (09:58 AM) - A former Newsweek religion editor explains:The Quran is not “the Bible” of Muslims. It is infinitely more sacred than that. To use a Jewish analogy, it is more like the oral Torah first revealed on Mount Sinai, which was later…

Friday, May 20, 2005

AP: “U.S. Condemns Saddam Photo Publication” (10:49 PM) - Will headlines like that buy us some of the soft power that countries like France are so self-impressed with? I hope so….

Dean Approaches Day 100 As Chairman (10:41 PM) - And USA Today reports that some Dems are displeased with his performance:Some Democrats are frustrated by the contrast between the two approaches, even as they praise Dean’s efforts to revitalize flagging state parties. “Democrats should be stirring things up, roiling…

Bow Before The Verbum Ultimum, Lest It Smite Thee (08:17 PM) - The editorial board of The Dartmouth weighs in on the trustee election in its Verbum Ultimum today. It isn’t a particularly noteworthy piece, but the crux of their argument is the fact that there was real campaigning this time. Here…

Newsweek’s New Format (08:12 PM) - In light of recent events, Newsweek has altered its format to better appeal to its median customer. Looking good….

“Freedom! Freedom!” (07:34 PM) - They shouted for freedom in Communist Cuba. That is wonderful- I just hope the Cuban opposition doesn’t expect America to fight its war. AND: CNN’s subheadline is hilarious: “Some refuse to take part, saying it was sponsored by Miami exiles.”…

E-Mail Your Friendly Local F.E.C. (06:29 PM) - RedState and Kos have information on the FEC’s proposed regulation of internet communications and citizen’s media. Make sure to e-mail the FEC and tell them what you think….

By The Way (06:25 PM) - Tom is right. Those with the chance must see Star Wars in a theater equipped with digital projection. I, sadly, had to settle for a third-rate venue with faulty sound, weak film projection, and a small screen. See this in…

Bush’s Stem cell Conflation (03:50 PM) - Developments in the stem cell debate today:WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Friday condemned stem cell research advances in South Korea and said he worried about living in a world in which human cloning was condoned. He said he would…

Hillary: GOP Craves Absolute Power (02:10 PM) - Riffing on the Star Wars message, Hillary had some harsh words for the GOP at a Democratic fundraiser in Albany:”What I see happening in Washington,” Clinton continued, “is a concerted effort by the Administration and the leadership in Congress to…

Nielsen, Get Thee To Iraq (10:43 AM) - One of the most popular television programs in the new Iraq is “Terrorists in the Hands of Justice,” where, as USA Today reports, “Insurgent suspects confess on television. Some testify they were paid for attacks on Iraqi or U.S. forces.”…

$16.5m In 2.5 Hours (09:38 AM) - Star Wars: Episode III set an all-time record for midnight openings of $16.5 million in box office revenue. That figure includes only showings at 12:01a on 5/19/2005. Other midnight-openings: SW: Episode II - $6.2m LotR: The Return of the King…

‘Damaged Goods’ or ‘Sensational Headlines’ (09:18 AM) - The Economist headlines its cover story on the American economy, “Damaged Goods” and leads in with a graphic of half-crushed metal cans with the ‘American Brand - Capitalism’ label on it. But the article is actually a very positive survey…

The Site Meter Weblog (09:15 AM) - Site Meter, unofficial arbiter of weblog traffic for the blogosphere, has a blog up that will make server maintenance and new features public. Neat….

UN Brass Sings For Supper (07:34 AM) - WashTimes: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s chief of staff yesterday acknowledged that scandals involving Iraq, peacekeeping and human rights have hurt the world body, but said any move to freeze or cut U.S. dues would set back the cause of reform….

Two Star Wars Links (07:27 AM) - Tom Bozzo presumably saw the final episode, but hasn’t yet written his thoughts. And Jason Broander did and thought positively of it. He compliments the film’s grandeur which was indeed its finest asset….

Antonin Scalia: God’s Justice and Ours (07:13 AM) - If anyone is going to convince me that the death penalty is a good idea, it is probably Scalia. But this, though it is well-considered, still hasn’t proven to me the government’s right to kill citizens. (…via Hispanic Pundit)…

Jackson Judge Nixes Larry King (07:05 AM) - Hilariously, “The judge in Michael Jackson’s trial ruled against allowing talk show host Larry King to appear for the defense, deeming King’s testimony irrelevant.” Just his testimony, your honor?…

Vacation In Democracy (06:58 AM) - The countrymen of Communist China will, for the first time since 1949, be permitted to visit democratic posterchild Taiwan.BEIJING (Reuters) - China is to lift a decades-old ban on mainland tourists visiting political rival Taiwan, state media reported on Friday,…

In The ‘Wonderful’ Department… (06:54 AM) - The Sun U.K. is running a photo of Saddam Hussein in his underwear on its cover today.The Sun newspaper quoted U.S. military sources as saying they had handed over the pictures “in the hope of dealing a body blow to…

Tying Paychecks To Performance (06:47 AM) - In some way, most employees and organizations are held in some sort of financial fealty to performance: do good, get more; do bad, get less. The United Nations has conveniently excused itself from this norm by extracting large sums of…

France And The European Union (06:41 AM) - The French people have long been expected to vote down the EU constitution when the national referendum comes on May 29th, even though Chirac has been campaigning strongly for it. Now, though, the expect vote seems closer, but still favors…

Global What Now? (06:35 AM) - The polar ice caps are growing in size. Nature reports that the East Antarctic ice sheet gained about 45 billion tons of ice between 1992 and 2003. In a war I don’t fully understand, this occurance is in line with…

Thursday, May 19, 2005

The Healthy Human Flesh Alternative! (11:35 PM) - The faux-cannibalistic venture of Tuck student Mark Nuckols is now live on the internet at EatHufu.com….

Scientists: Sumatra quake longest ever recorded (08:46 PM) - New data coming in on the Sumatran-Andaman earthquake shows some record-setting statistics. “Normally, a small earthquake might last less than a second; a moderate sized earthquake might last a few seconds. This earthquake lasted between 500 and 600 seconds (at…

“A Class By Itself” (07:24 PM) - The level of inaccurate history on the filibuster in the MSM is reaching comic levels, as Power Line shows with several examples….

Eine Kleine Nachtmusikblogging (04:35 PM) - If only to disappoint Jeff Harrell, who commended this mini-survey to me in the hopes that he’d find out “what the kids are listening to these days,” here are the statistics of my digital music collection, which is in actuality…

The Ranks of Soda (04:25 PM) - Diet Pepsi tastes bad, but evidently the editorial opinion of Power Line is that Diet Coke is worse. How ridiculous. Coca-Cola products, in nearly all arenas, surpass those of Pepsicola. Here is the cola ranking: 1. Coca-Cola 2. Pepsi 3….

Racism At Dartmouth? (02:04 PM) - Ariel Rosa saw a funny Photoshopped photograph on the Dartmouth facebook and presumes to lecture the student body on how racist it is in The Dartmouth today. The piece says:Undoubtedly, there will be those who dismiss my comments as “overreacting.”…

Ward Churchill Defends His Indian Heritage (01:56 PM) - Well… not really.I made four dispositive points in my report. I am an Indian because: 1. I call myself an Indian. 2. Other people (who do not have televisions or read newspapers or turn on the radio or leave their…

I Hate Late Starts (01:51 PM) - I am waiting for my backup economics class to start. I completely missed my usual morning class because of Star Wars and the fact that I don’t have one of these….

Give Star Wars A Chance (10:24 AM) - Episode III was far from a disappointment. In fact, I believe it may eventually be remembered as the best film in the series. More specifically, film history may one day forget episodes I and II, and hold III, IV, V,…

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Blogging Update (06:44 PM) - Light blogging today… now I am headed out for a meeting and then, hopefully, to see Star Wars at midnight. UPDATE: Worth every moment. I will write about it soon….

Ted Kennedy On Filibuster (03:16 PM) - The big man from Mass is speaking right now, as I watch on C-SPAN2. His voice has become quite grating after just five minutes….

Bill Clinton: Iraq Changes Good for Region (03:12 PM) - Speaking in Copenhagen, Fmr. President Clinton said that the political changes in Iraq, including parliamentary elections in January, will help bring stability to the region….

The Question Of The Time-Honored Filibuster (12:51 PM) - The New York Times weighs in:The U.S. Senate likes to call itself the world’s greatest deliberative body. The greatest obstructive body is more like it. In the last session of Congress, the Republican minority invoked an endless string of filibusters…

For Hanover Readers (12:41 PM) - A great debate is taking place this afternoon on American foreign policy. Two liberals, two conservatives, and Professor Allan Stam as moderator. Bring popcorn.THE JOHN SLOAN DICKEY CENTER presents U.S. POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?…

Portman, The Web, and Calrissian (12:35 PM) - Jeff Harrell rails against the typgraphic limitations imposed by the modern computer keyboard. And yet, that very same digital frontier which so militates against proper punctuation affords him facile access to the comely Natalie Portman, and her newly bald head….

No Loyal Opposition In Canada (09:27 AM) - No opposition at all, for that matter. After I commented on the move of prominent conservative Belinda Stronach to the Liberal party’s cabinet- dashing hopes for the ouster of Paul Martin and weakening the marginal opposition that the conservatives provide-…

In The Dartmouth… (07:50 AM) - Economics professor Meir Kohn has an excellent piece on liberal bias in the academy, where it matters and where it does not, and what needs to be done to improve teaching. Alice Taubes ‘08, whose father is the chairman of…

Trump Backs WTC Re-Build (07:36 AM) - Fellow tri-staters have a new backer: Donald Trump. His press release, in PDF, is here, and it announces that Trump will be spearheading an effort to get the original World Trade Center twin towers rebuilt stronger, safer, and taller than…

Reports Of al Qaeda Leadership Presence In Iraq (07:26 AM) - Reuters report here. It begs the question: would it have been easier for al Qaeda to grow roots in Iraq under two years of US occpation and the attendant din of dead terrorists hitting the dust every day, or under…

Revisionist Terminology At WaPo (07:14 AM) - From the Washington Post article on the parliamentary script for implementing the option: The rule change Frist is seeking to bar the use of the filibuster for judicial nominations has been dubbed the “nuclear option” because of its potential to…

A Potential Hillary Challenger (07:11 AM) - Some fellow of whom I have never heard, as CBS delightfully reports with its Sins Of The Father headline, “Nixon Son-In-Law Vs. Clinton?”:Republican Edward Cox, a son-in-law of President Nixon, will soon form an exploratory committee for an expected run…

Darth Vader: Such A Republican (07:02 AM) - George Lucas stretches it thin saying that Star Wars is an allegorical look at the Bush administration. But Patrick Ruffini has decided to embrace the silliness….

The American Dream Is Alive and Well (06:58 AM) - OpinionJournal looks at the recent Journal and New York Times features on class struggles, and notes some significant journalistic distortion in the research used to make the claim that upward mobility in America is dying….

Wonderful Timing (06:56 AM) - Jeff Jarvis: “What a rotten week Jon Stewart picked to take off. What he could do with Newsweek…” Yeah. He could even say, “Newsweek? More like… NewsWEAK!” and then stare into the camera like a dope until the audience starts…

George Galloway Goes To Washington (06:46 AM) - George Galloway, in the Senate: “Senator, I am not now, nor have I ever been, an oil trader. and neither has anyone on my behalf. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one -…

White House, Pentagon Continue To Press Newsweek (06:39 AM) - Scott McClellan’s new line is “do all that they can to help repair the damage that has been done.” And the Pentagon- whose bureaucrats are not often backers of Bush- is echoing those sentiments. As one reporter snarkily suggested, perhaps…

Move Me Down To Kentucky (06:37 AM) - There is some sense of decency in at least one Kentucky movie theater: ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) - The owner of two Kentucky theaters has refused to show the new Jane Fonda film “Monster-in-Law” because of the activist role the actress…

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Party Shuffling Up North (09:30 PM) - One of Canada’s conservatives moves to join the Liberal cabinet, making the conservative outster of Paul Martin less likely. And the “one-party state,” as Canada has been described to me by at least one Canadian friend, continues….

The Old Gray Lady Free Trade Agreement (09:16 PM) - Julia Bernstein tells us what she’d pay for the New York Times columnists:David Brooks - $4 Maureen Dowd - $4 Thomas L. Friedman - $4 Bob Herbert -$ 1 Nicholas D. Kristof - $2 Paul Krugman - $2 Frank Rich…

Only A Sith Thinks In Absolutes (06:38 PM) - What a crock. In today’s presser, Elisabeth (Bumiller?) had a give-and-take with McClellan regarding the White House stance on Newsweek, which I said yesterday was an ill-advised step but nonetheless isn’t incorrect on its merits. Q. Are you asking them…

Annan Warns Bush That Security Council Is Useless (06:22 PM) - The US and Britain are moving toward bringing Iran before the Security Council to levy punishments for its dangerous and illegal nuclear weapons program. But, as USA Today reports, Kofi Annan is giving that silly old Bush warning that his…

All ‘Star Wars’ All The Time (05:04 PM) - In London, they are celebrating Star Wars with a live orchestra, actor appearances, and a romp through all 6 Star Wars films. Wow. And I just got finished watching some Star Trek: TNG episodes which, John Derbyshire ought to note,…

Pat Buchanan is bearish on conservatism (01:17 PM) - Pat Buchanan says, “The conservative movement has passed into history,” which probably means that it is firmly seated in the present….

Hunter S. Thompson on Apple Computers (01:10 PM) - Well, it’s not really Thompson:Here in hell, this and Wonkette are the only websites we can see. It took a while, because everyone here has dial-up and uses an Imac. A mouse with one button? Christ, Jobs, it’s 2005. It’s…

A Shameless Doubleplug (08:46 AM) - Glenn Reynolds kindly plugs my Trustee Election piece, so I think I ought to as well. Click….

Ack. (08:44 AM) - This fellow nabs me on a not-very-well-considered post about the English language. I will try harder to defend my stodginess next time!…

New York Times To Charge For Online Op-ed Page (07:39 AM) - Markos is correct:Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, the proprietor of the popular left-wing blog Daily Kos, said that come September, he’ll stop linking to the Times Op-Ed pages. “I think this is the best way they can become irrelevant,” said Moulitsas. “If…

Do Soldiers Receive Any Cultural Training At All? (07:09 AM) - That question was snarkily asked yesterday in my National Security class. Courtesy of WaPo, the answer, vis-a-vis Flushgate, is yes:The Pentagon memo, among other directives, barred military police from touching the Koran. If a copy of the book was to…

Dartmouth Inside The Beltway (07:03 AM) - WashTimes’ Inside the Beltway recently had this to say about faculty giving: Staff at Yale University gave Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry $20 for every $1 they gave President Bush during the 2004 presidential campaign. At Duke University, the…

The Latest Oil for Food Reports (06:56 AM) - Here are links to PDFs of the latest reports from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations: Report On Oil Allocations Granted To Charles Pasqua & George Galloway (France and Britain) Report on Oil…

Oil For Food Scandal Update (06:50 AM) - The Senate Subcommittee reports are coming out fast and furious now. The latest one focuses on the US, charging that Washington looked the other way during the 90s when Saddam was getting indirect kickbacks from oil that eventually ended up…

Federal funds used to promote religion (06:42 AM) - I usually don’t agree with the ACLU’s freedom-from-religion lawsuits, but this one strikes me as appropriate:NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that the federal government has improperly used taxpayer dollars to fund Christian…

Harvard Finally Accepts Diversity (06:37 AM) - After being the home of argyle sweaters for hundreds of years, Harvard University, after a contentious faculty vote, has finally decided to accept Polo shirts as proper apparel. Just kidding. The New York Times reports that Harvard is going to…

Report: N. Korea Wants Rice (06:35 AM) - TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea has asked China to arrange a visit to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a Japanese newspaper said, but Japan’s top government spokesman said Washington had denied the report. Strange. Perhaps someone like John…

Khodorkovsky Found Guilty In Russia (06:32 AM) - Mikhail Khodorkovsky- an anti-Putinite and partially a political prisoner- was found guilty. MOSCOW (AP) - A Moscow court said it considered Mikhail Khodorkovsky guilty on most of the charges against him in the politically charged case, the Russian news agency…

Monday, May 16, 2005

Playing The ‘Number Game’ In Iraq (09:26 PM) - Tom Temple gets me wrong:Joe brought up the body count number game again. I get sincerely angry when people pooh pooh the civilian deaths… Even if we use the 21,000 number (the sum of the deaths reported by news agencies)…

Bolton Argues For Bolton (09:13 PM) - See the now infamous Bolton himself, in a video intended to subvert his candidacy. It may actually win him credits in some quarters. But he is indeed quite strident- more so than an ambassador should be- but he also speaks…

Woe Is The Cable News Network (06:41 PM) - Two sad points on CNN’s ratings: first, FNC- a consistent doubler of CNN’s ratings- actually quadrupled it last week. And CourtTV outpaced CNN for the first half of May. Bad stuff. I’d love to see CNN turn this around- perhaps…

Al and Ann (06:35 PM) - Ann Althouse listened to Al Franken for an hour- 59 minutes more than I could stand him, the few times I tried- and wasn’t impressed. Surprisingly, Althouse reports very few attempts at humor. Even Limbaugh tries to run a parody…

“I just find it puzzling.” (03:09 PM) - Scott McClellan’s words on the Newsweek Flushgate. I could be wrong, but I think it is a mistake for the administration to jump into the fracas here. Both McClellan and Rice have made comments along the line of, ‘They’re hurting…

Big-Budget Film (03:00 PM) - Star Wars: Episode III is set to cost employers $627 million in lost productivity, and untold billions as coders everywhere cry over the fall of the Jedi Council afterwards….

AP Counts Deaths In Iraq From Arbitrary Date (12:41 PM) - The AP report, “More Bodies Found in Iraq, Total Up to 48,” is headlining on a lot of news outlets right now. Fourty-eight is quite a many for one day in Iraq. In fact, it is nearly a third of…

Has Anyone Considered… (10:30 AM) - …that you can’t really flush a book down the toilet? But judging from all the talk at Austin Bay’s site, the damage to US/Afghani relations is already done. I can’t imagine that Michael Isikoff got any sleep last night. UPDATE:…

Kofi At Penn (09:21 AM) - Annan is now giving the commencement address at Penn. Taylor Buley has webcast instructions here, but RealPlayer is required, so that’s a no go for most people. UPDATE: Roger L. Simon has posted some liveblogging….

Savor The Victory (07:43 AM) - With this election, a shot across the bow of academic autocracy will be heard far and wide. A vicious cycle will be broken. This billion-dollar company we call Dartmouth, good as it already is, will actually have to turn an…

Another Senate Report, Another Corrupt Official (07:30 AM) - Today, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs investigations subcommittee releases its latest report on OFF. The Associated Press has some advanced details:WASHINGTON — Russian leaders received millions of dollars in Iraqi oil allocations from top representatives in Saddam Hussein’s…

‘One of Us’ Marches For The Kremlin (07:14 AM) - This is sad to see: an endless parade of blindly loyal Russian teens in lockstep, ostensibly celebrating WWII’s end, but actually a sobering and sickening demonstration of Putin’s growing power. The AP reports here, and says in part:MOSCOW - Tens…

A Little Piece Of History Repeating (06:51 AM) - Who are the fundamentalists? The same back and forth has been going on for years. Today, OpinionJournal digs up a 1984 Wall Street Journal op-ed that explores the more extremist side of liberalism. It makes a good point that seems…

Au Revoir, Newsweak (06:49 AM) - Today’s Cox and Forkum is right on the money….

The Showdown At NPR (06:41 AM) - New York Times has a fairly complete story on the matter, although reporter Stephen Lebaton reliably casts it in a Bush vs. the World light. Everyone, including the chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, has remarked…

Finding The Hidden Cars (06:35 AM) - Rick Lee has edited the mine photos to more clearly display the sunken pickup and the third car. Neat….

HuFu Goes Live (06:30 AM) - If you are at Dartmouth, you are probably already aware of Mark Nuckols, the Tuck student who is starting HuFu, a company that will sell artificial human meat. I’ve been informed that their website is to go live within 24…

Sunday, May 15, 2005

The Widening Media Gap (10:21 PM) - Editor and Publisher reveals some details of a new study to be released tomorrow which shows an ever-wider gap between the average media consumer and the average media provider. A few key points of interest:43% of the public say they…

Newsweek Story Moves Fast (09:49 PM) - Both AP and Reuters are going full-bore on the phony Newsweek story. This is going to be the big story for tomorrow’s news cycle. The only major outlets playing it down will probably be Newsweek and its big brother, WaPo….

Without Fail (09:36 PM) - “Star Wars” raises questions on U.S. foreign policy, AP reports. UPDATE: And the Times loved it! Better than the original series, reviewer A. O. Scott says. MORE: Lucas’ comments at the premiere reinforce the Bush connections. Oh well, c’est la…

Kofi Annan To Give U. Penn Commencement Speech (08:55 PM) - Taylor Buley has a preview of Annan’s forthcoming “statist garbage”. (Heh.) Tomorrow will be Annan’s first major public appearance since UNSCAM cracked the media shell….

abortion puts the next baby at risk? (08:45 PM) - A report in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology seems to conclude as much. I doubt it’ll get much attention in the MSM….

The Simpsons (08:28 PM) - Has anyone noticed that The Simpsons has become- in addition to highly unfunny over the past few seasons- especially political in the past few episodes? Liberal, bien sur. It is really a turn-off, particularly because the political humor isn’t even…

Exploring Abandoned Mines In Vermont (07:39 PM) - Although it was cloudy, rainy, and extremely foggy, I made a nice sojourn to some abandoned mines this afternoon with a friend. Here are some neat pictures of the area. Parking was easy enough, but there was a bit of…

Off To Explore Some Mines (03:42 PM) - New Hampshire is chock full of oddities. So in the pouring rain, I’ll be hanging around some exposed and possibly deadly mineshafts this afternoon. If the rain lets up, prepare for the blogosphere’s first-ever mineblogging….

How Many Iraqi War Deaths? (03:17 PM) - 100,000 is a favorite number of anti-war activists. It ostensibly is the number of Iraqi innocents killed since the Iraq War begin. Trouble is, it’s very wrong. The number comes from the Lancet Study, which reported that 98,000 Iraqi non-militants…

Newsweek “May” Have Erred (02:58 PM) - What has been offered as an admission of error and apology just isn’t much:WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newsweek magazine on Sunday said it may have erred in a May 9 report that said U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay,…

The Grace Of Their Presence Falters (07:57 AM) - Arianna H. explains to the peons why we shall have no golden words from her tony coterie this Sunday:Sunday is traditionally a day to kick back and take a breath. To leisurely read the paper, take a walk, dawdle over…

Tsunami Relief Is Just Sitting There (07:49 AM) - Robert Clayton Dean didn’t donate. “The UN was being put in charge, so I sent my charity dollars elsewhere.” And apparently, he had good reason….

DePaul University Gets Red (07:25 AM) - By now, many blog readers are well-aware of the DePaul story, wherein Thomas Klocek was fired essentially for expressing the incorrect view on Palestine/Israel. It is a pretty disgraceful action on the part of DePaul, and for me, rings echoes…

They Love Losers And Junk! (07:22 AM) - Just a snippet of one of the best NRO e-mails ever: But obviously President Bush and his team LOVE LOSERS and JUNK!!!!!!!!! I know President Bush always feel very good about himself , but Since the Iraq WAR has been…

Gumby Is Back! (07:15 AM) - Read all about it….

Hillary Clinton’s Commencement Speech (07:10 AM) - Drudge reports on the “mass hysteria”:”Everyone was screaming and jumping up and down. It was mass hysteria,” claims a graduate of a women’s liberal arts college in Decatur, GA, site of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s commencement day address this weekend.Wow. It…

Saturday, May 14, 2005

The Wheel Spins Both Ways (09:27 PM) - Friend Chris Langevin on pronouncing foreign words via the rules of one’s own language:I loved your post about Ms. Rrrrod-RRRRigeZZ, and I had to weigh in, since this has long been a pet peeve of mine. Never once in my…

Old Gray Lady On The Evil Gray Empire (06:47 PM) - Chien Wen Kung links to the Times’ original review of Star Wars: A New Hope. Exerpt:In opposition to these good guys are the imperial forces led by someone called the Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) and his executive assistant, Lord…

Grocery Store Wars (05:54 PM) - I’ve just been made aware of this. Sure to be a favorite for organic-buying Star Wars-loving college students!…

The Mystery Of The Insurgency (01:43 PM) - The Week in Review section is the most liberal section of the New York Times- and that’s saying a lot. So it probably isn’t much of a surprise that the feature story this weekend is “The Mystery of the Insurgency”,…

Saddam Sought To Help Chirac Win Another Term (01:17 PM) - The ho-hum report of France’s complicity with dictators and terrorists comes from Telegraph News in Britain:Saddam Hussein’s spies planned a wide-ranging scheme to bribe members of the French political elite in the run-up to the Anglo-American invasion, including an offer…

The Huffington Toast Keeps Going (11:57 AM) - Ann Althouse says it is better than the HufPo, and doesn’t even need it as an impetus anymore. She’s right. The next step- as this is what Huffington has been doing- will be for HufPo to try to get the…

Support Nuclear Proliferation (11:38 AM) - That is what environmentalists ought to be shouting. Not only can broadened nuclear energy make the United States more Earth-friendly and less energy dependant, but now, nuclear batteries will mean fewer disposable alkalines leaking into the ground….

New Englanders Fail To Stop Execution (11:32 AM) - Their signs to the effect of “Protect life” did not have much effect two nights ago, when Connecticut put to death serial killer Michael Ross. I sympathize with their cause, but not their methods. Seems like candlelight vigils rarely hold…

“There Is No Terrorist Threat. None” (11:26 AM) - Those words rank near the top in the Michael Moore idiopedia. Now, they are echoed at Cannes once again, surely to rousing applause.CANNES, France (Reuters) - A British documentary arguing U.S. neo-conservatives have exaggerated the terror threat is set to…

USC-LA Goes All Digital (11:24 AM) - From the New York Times:HOUSTON, May 13 - Students attending the University of Texas at Austin will find something missing from the undergraduate library this fall. Books. By mid-July, the university says, almost all of the library’s 90,000 volumes will…

Justified Protectionism? (11:21 AM) - After eliminating global quotas, including textile imports from China, the government has been warned by producers that thousands of jobs are in jeopardy. The administration, responding to a recommendation from the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, is going…

Friday, May 13, 2005

Haitham al-Yemeni Killed (09:34 PM) - al-Yemeni became less useful when we captured Abu Faraj al-Libbi, and the prospects of al-Yemeni leading us to bin Laden dimmed. The al Qaeda bomb expert was killed in Pakistan when one of the CIA’s Predator drones launched a missile…

Annan’s Morphing Story (09:26 PM) - This is old news, but that AP picked it up and is pushing at the same time the Subcommittee report is going strong, means that OFF is creeping up above the fold. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan did not initially tell…

A Cinderella Story (09:21 PM) - Duncan Currie at The Weekly Standard writes on the victories of Peter Robinson and Todd Zywicki. Therein, you can read even more praise for the function of blogs in alum relations….

Saddam Begins Memoirs (07:02 PM) - If I can find a way to purchase Saddam’s memoirs without having any actual money go to him or his legal defense team, I will be the first in line. He is evidently a good writer….

George Galloway Hops The Pond (06:43 PM) - The British politician who lobbied against war in Iraq and against economic sanctions all the while getting big kickbacks from Hussein through the UN Oil-for-Food program is coming to the US, LGF reports. And he’ll be on Tony Snow’s radio…

Searching For A Mandate In Hanover (06:38 PM) - I would love it if full voting details were released, so that we could determine more accurately what alums announced with their votes- though I recognize that it is the College’s right not to reveal that data. But I think…

Huffington Is Toast (01:04 PM) - I linked Huffington’s Toast a day or so ago, but if you haven’t been keeping up with it every few hours, you are really missing out!…

Trustee Commentary And Blogs (12:31 PM) - Trustee-elect Todd Zywicki sends this:Allow me to second Robinson’s quote at the end of this article: “I learned far more about what is actually taking place in Hanover, New Hampshire, from blogs, for the most part run by undergraduates and…

An Argument For Loose Speech (11:02 AM) - A reader e-mails in:A key feature of English, as spoken, is that universal pronunciation rules are pretty hard to come by (I imagine this is a result of the language’s propensity for borrowing and its somewhat tortuous history–see ‘the great…

Fox News Channel’s Sources (08:13 AM) - Heh: The first thing Fox knew about the lost plane over D.C. was that the RNC was evacuated….

On The Subject Of Girls In Violence (07:58 AM) - A more serious version of that wrestling story is playing out in the armed forces. A bill in the House would bar women- who already cannot fight on the front lines- from serving in combat support units, where they still…

DeLay: Democrats have ‘no class’ (07:19 AM) - The fellow is entitled to a defense, but this isn’t a good one….

The Daily Penn On Dartmouth Trustees (06:59 AM) - The Daily Pennsylvanian- U. Penn’s newspaper- reports on the Dartmouth Trustee election, underlining its unusual competition. The article came out today, but was apparently written before the results were announced. UPDATE: Insider Higher Ed also has a ‘savor’ piece. And…

“Johnny, Beat That Girl Or You’re Suspended.” (06:39 AM) - Jerry Connors, the father of Meaghan, a seventh-grader at McMurray Middle School in Washington, is suing the school to force boys on the wrestling team to wrestle his daughter. It seems that league laws say that if an opponent refuses…

Arizona Border Patrol Ordered To Stand Down (06:33 AM) - U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers, The Washington Times…

Jeff Jarvis Says… (06:32 AM) - The internet needs a sarcasm tag. I tend to agree, but I doubt it’d ever be applied consistently….

Speaking My Language (12:31 AM) - Different River picks up on my ‘Foreign Word Pronunciation’ post of yesterday morning, and disagrees on a few points. I do concede that very few people in America pronounce ‘latino’ as LAT-in-oh. But I would hold that that pronunciation is…

Does The Airbus A380 Make Sense? (12:23 AM) - Kalb notes that big jets are going out of style (diseconomy of scale and all that) and the new Scarebus just might not make sense. “[C]hances are, the biggest role of the A380 will be as a freighter, which may…

Some Jeopardy Questions From FNC (12:21 AM) - TVNewser reports that CNN will be helping Jeopardy celebrate its 25th anniversary with some special questions. Noting the oddity of Jeopardy seeking a promotional partnership with a network of declining value, some possible Fox-themed questions are offered. Answer: The only…

Thursday, May 12, 2005

The BBC Looks At Two-Headed Aliens (10:27 PM) - My friend Tory Fodder notes another one of those “let’s examine people of faith” articles which just seem so demeaning. On a slightly related note, I just got back from a lecture by Lehigh Professor Michael Behe, an intelligent designist….

So, What Does A Trustee Do? (10:09 PM) - The Alumni site says:Dartmouth has a small Board of Trustees in comparison to other Ivy League institutions. As a result, each member becomes highly involved in important policy-making decisions and will serve on Dartmouth ‘s Board for the next four…

Looking At The Election Math (10:01 PM) - Tom Preacher ‘72 sends this note:There’s probably a very simple explantion that I’ve overlooked, but right now I’m confused about the math in the official announcement. There were two slots open, so presumably each voter could cast two votes. (That’s…

“Say, Lisa, What Are The Bloggers Saying About This?” (09:59 PM) - Nathaniel Ward rounds up reactions on the twin petition victories in the Dartmouth Trustee Election. UPDATE: The commenters at Roger L. Simon’s site are must-reads as well. My favorite:Delightful news. It’s the first time in more than 40 years since…

Official Dartmouth Press Release (05:49 PM) - On the Trustee Election is here. Good, good news. 24.3% of alums voted- that’s 15,334 people- and, since multiple votes could be cast, there were 35,107 votes. 48% of voters gave at least one vote to Robinson; 45% to Zywicki….

Following In The UN’s Footsteps (03:14 PM) - The pen is not always mightier than the sword- unless the pen belongs to a soldier tapping nuclear launch codes into the computer at NORAD- but the European Union, in the grand tradition of its oft-squabbling environs, does seem to…

John Bolton (01:24 PM) - Looks good to make it in. If all of these rumors today turn out to be false, I’m going to have an awful lot of egg to wipe off! (Still less than Ana Marie Cox, though.)…

Congratulations To New Dartmouth Trustees (12:03 PM) - Congratulations to Peter Robinson and Todd Zywicki, who will now have seats on Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees. UPDATE: The early word comes from John MacGovern ‘80, who is familiar with the election. VitW has a third-source confirmation. Nathaniel Ward is…

Those Anonymous Sources (11:04 AM) - Newsweek’s editors may have blood on their hands, as well as the shame of giving impetus to large, dangerous anti-American protests….

Proper Pronunciation Of Foreign Words (09:25 AM) - John Derbyshire is exactly correct. If you are from an English-speaking nation, you speak English. If you speak English, you pronounce foreign words as standard English pronunciation would dictate. Therefore, the correct pronunciation of ‘latino’ is LAT-in-oh, not La-TEEN-oh. This…

The End Of The Prime Directive (08:38 AM) - USA Today publishes an editorial celebrating Star Trek. After this friday, when the final episode of Enterprise airs, there will be no new Star Trek on TV for the first time in 18 years….

Huffington’s Toast (07:50 AM) - This is the best parody yet….

Differing Report On D.C. Cessna (07:21 AM) - The AP report Fox dug up- buried in the regular wire- says that security procedures worked well, and gives a step-by-step recounting of what happened. I’ll reprint it in the extended….

Oil For Food Update (07:07 AM) - The Senate investigation (not Volcker, unsurprisingly) has found that British lawmaker George Galloway and French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua personally received oil allocations from Saddam Hussein even as he was defying the US and international law. Both were against US…

Gingrich Says He ‘Might’ Run For President (07:03 AM) - After visiting New Hampshire and Iowa, under the guise of ‘helping to frame the debate,’ Gingrich is finally admitting that he has the Oval Office in his eyes. He can’t win….

Iran Hints At Slowing Down Nuke Program (06:59 AM) - File this under ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’:VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran is considering backing away from its threat to immediately resume activities that can be part of the process of making nuclear weapons, in an apparent attempt…

Bolton On Board (06:56 AM) - Hegel, Chafee, and Murkowski are getting stronger on Bolton. This is great news, and it looks like’s going to get confirmed….

The Little Cessna And DC (06:36 AM) - I stayed up late last night to watch CSPAN replay Scott McClellan’s briefing after the plane incident. Almost the entire briefing was on that topic. Not surprisingly, most of the reporters, by the end, seemed concerned about why they weren’t…

Cries of Diversity Fall Silent (06:32 AM) - Two Democrats in Congress are saying that attempts to hire a few conservatives at PBS are illegal. Why? Making PBS offices women and black-friendly didn’t raise a fuss. Is it because of the coincidence that the current administration is Republican?…

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Major Changes At CNBC (07:51 PM) - TVNewser has the details. UPDATE: And I am sad to see Dennis Miller’s program go. Forget Tina Brown: Miller is one of the few remaining smart people on TV. His show needed more time and a better timeslot. UPDATE: And…

What Right To Happiness? (04:40 PM) - My friend Michael Belinsky has an upcoming piece in The Dartmouth that is going to make me, and other conservatives pretty mad. That is because it makes a marginal amount of sense. I’ll publish a small excerpt here and just…

Update: More Workers Go For 401(k) (04:19 PM) - I noted yesterday a new report that showed more and more workers investing in 401(k) plans, and used it as evidence that, when offered the choice, people actually do prefer to invest their retirement savings. My father, whose work is…

More Truck Nostalgia (04:16 PM) - The F-150 is commended to me by Jamie Hunt:By all means, get a pick-up, and I’d recommend an F-150. Bought a ‘94 in ‘98 when I lived in the fair city of Baltimore and it ran like a charm. And…

See The USA In Your Chevrolet (01:28 PM) - About a year ago I resolved upon making an F-150 or S10 my first vehicle purchase- whenver I start making some money. I don’t have any brilliant reasons why. I suppose they just feel like the kind of vehicle I’d…

Mssrs. Becker and Posner: (01:16 PM) - I enjoy your blog. But it looks boring. That’s no good. Signed, Joe…

Madeleine Albright’s Surface-Level Analysis (10:08 AM) - Last night, Albright had this to say on Bill Maher’s television program:If I were Kim Jong Il, I would read the message of Iraq to be, if you don’t have nuclear weapons, you get invaded, and if you do have…

Bill Maher On Starbucks (10:01 AM) - First thing on which I’ve ever agreed with him: “New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a ‘decaf grande half-soy, half-lowfat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra…

8. On Fortune Cookies and the Lottery (09:49 AM) - Our favorite New York Timeser, Jennifer 8. Lee, reports on the latest Powerball lottery. I bet I know what Ms. 8. Lee’s lucky number is……

5 Ideas for a Better Dartmouth (08:02 AM) - Joseph Asch ‘79 shares some good ideas in The Dartmouth this morning, including advocacy of an open budgeting process that might prevent some rather embarrassing expenditures.Under today’s secret budget system, it takes digging to find out that the Dean of…

The Huffington Parody (07:26 AM) - When the “good people” blog, you had better watch out. The great unwashed sometimes revolt. Case(s) in point: Bluffington Post, Huffington Is Full Of Crap, and Huff and Blow. They aren’t quite as funny as the actual THP. I think…

Columbia and the ROTC (07:22 AM) - The Journal editorial digs up some history:The gay issue does seem to offer Columbia a convenient alibi for refusing to participate in ROTC. But however one feels about the policy—and reasonable people can differ—surely it isn’t as egregious as the…

Putting The Green Light In Context (07:12 AM) - At Dartlog, Emmett Hogan gives thanks for FIRE’s recent upgrade of Dartmouth’s free speech policies. Alston Ramsay is a bit more suspicious….

One Way To Boost Brand Awareness (07:01 AM) - Even though it probably isn’t good business, is to begin producing electric/hybrid cars. Mitsubishi is doing just that.Scandal-plagued Mitsubishi Motors will start selling electric cars in 2010, aiming to showcase its technological prowess in an effort to fix its battered…

Spending Package Passes (06:49 AM) - Well, the $82b is through. It includes a substantial sum ($600m) for a new embassy in Iraq, as well as an increase in the spousal death benefit for fallen soldiers from $12k to $100k. This increase applies retroactively to soldiers…

A Loaf Of Bread Costs A Nickel! (06:48 AM) - The Rolling Stones are touring again….

Operation Matador (06:26 AM) - The large-scale Marine operation in western Iraq is, by all accounts, extremely effective. U.S. Marines pushed through a lawless region of western Iraq near the Syrian border in a military offensive aimed at supporters of the country’s most wanted terrorist,…

The John Kerry Plan Fails (06:09 AM) - Iran has outright dismissed UN Security Council threats over its nuclear plans….

Even The Underdog Gets Sick (06:04 AM) - A few security holes have been discovered in Firefox, and patches are forthcoming. In the meantime, I highly recommend Zonelabs’ ZoneAlarm….

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Quotations Quotations (11:12 PM) - The Dartmouth has many times misquoted people or taken their comments out of context. One great advantage of blogs is that the record can easily be set straight. In the case of Professor Samwick and the Social Security debate, the…

“The We’re Smart, You’re Dumb Party” (11:10 PM) - Hispanic Pundit notes a funny op-ed in the LA Times from Yale professor David Gelernter, who observes the Democrats’ increasingly anti-self-reliance rhetoric….

Campus Blogosphere Rising (10:11 PM) - When conservative Yalie Eliana Johnson ran the now-defunct Yale Diva blog during the early portions of the 2004 election cycle, her comment sections (when the spammers decided to relent) were full of obtuse, vitriolic spew from liberal students. There was…

Got A Condo Made Of Stone-a (09:46 PM) - Scientific investigations have revealed that Tutankhamun, born in Arizona, died of gangrene, and have also put together a sketch of how he likely appeared….

Chalk It Up To Inherent Biological Differences (07:35 PM) - Finally, scientific confirmation of the timeless aphorism, “Girls are mean.”…

Getting Trippi In Hanover (05:40 PM) - Political strategist Joe Trippi, of Dean campaign fame, will be up at Dartmouth this Friday, May 13th, to participate in a panel discussion called “Representation and Politics in the Digital Age.” That discussion is part of the larger Cyber-Disciplinary May…

Dean Breaks Party Lines To Endorse Candidate (01:20 PM) - No, not a moderate Republican. A socialist….

Star Trek And Women’s Studies (11:37 AM) - Regular readers know that I’ve been going through all the seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD- the Dartmouth library has all of them in stock. Pretty neat. Usually, they are all available. But lately I’ve been noticing…

Shh. (10:42 AM) - John Podhoretz at NRO reviews the final Star Wars film: “It opens next week. I saw it, and here’s the thing: It’s unbelievably bad. I’m telling you this because movie critics won’t.” Oh, it can’t be that bad. And even…

Au Revoir, Dollar Menu (10:10 AM) - Detroit is talking about putting a tax on fast food. Jeff Jarvis has a great response.If we’re really going to improve the quality of life via fiscal policy, I say let’s tax checkered flannel shirts, polyester suits, car alarms that…

The Classic Russian Inverted Umbrella Gag (08:15 AM) - Putin’s wife is awfully amused:…

100 Days (07:56 AM) - 100 days ago, John Kerry promised to release his military records. He would not do so during the campaign and he will not do so now. I am very curious to see these records, so head over to PoliPundit for…

Standing Tall Against Terrorists (07:43 AM) - The bribed and coerced:TOKYO (Reuters) - An Islamic militant group said it was holding a badly wounded Japanese man after an ambush near a U.S. base in Iraq, but Japan’s government said on Tuesday the incident would not affect its…

UN Gets Suit Affirmed; Reuters Declares Victory (07:36 AM) - In the Volcker Committee’s quest to silence naysayers and remove all evidence of Annan’s wrongdoing from public light, a suit was filed to prevent Robert Parton- one of the investigators who resigned from the Committee in protest- from giving documents…

More Workers Go For 401(k) (07:28 AM) - Amazing but true: most Americans voluntarily choose to invest their retirement money in 401(k)s, which often end up in the stock market.NEW YORK (AP) - More workers are contributing to 401(k) retirement accounts, but many are still too heavily invested…

Governors Against REAL ID (07:25 AM) - They need more money:There is concern among some states that they’ll get stuck with a large tab to pay for implementing the new rules and that getting a driver’s license will become a bigger headache for law-abiding residents. “Governors are…

Hans Blix Blames America First (07:18 AM) - In a rather sad conference attended by Yoko Ono and others, Hans Blix said that it was America’s fault that nuclear non-proliferation is not happening, and, riffing off an old Democratic storyline, that the “international community” feels neglected.UNITED NATIONS (AP)…

NYT: Homosexuals Biologically Different (07:13 AM) - The report begins:Using a brain imaging technique, Swedish researchers have shown that homosexual and heterosexual men respond differently to two odors that may be involved in sexual arousal, and that the gay men respond in the same way as women….

Monday, May 09, 2005

Fake News At HotWired (10:01 PM) - A Wired News writer- Michelle Delio of New York- has been accused of possibly inventing dozens of stories. A recent probe, the results of which have been specifically not denied by Wired, has revealed that many sources cited in Delio’s…

Dutch Activists Try To Get Nuclear Football (09:47 PM) - While in the Netherlands, President Bush’s hotel room was nearly invaded by Dutch activists impersonating IAEA inspectors. They had binoculars and wore signs that identified themselves as Citizen’s Inspectors. MAASTRICHT, Netherlands (Reuters) - Dutch police arrested six activists on Sunday…

The Social Security Showdown (08:31 PM) - Jon Shea liveblogged the debate and has some good comments….

No More Speech Code Confusion (08:10 PM) - I have been very tough on Dartmouth for the presence of vague, shadowy speech codes that could- and were- selectively enforced against groups and students that did not follow a politically correct hardline. Dartmouth’s “red” rating from FIRE was a…

Larry David Is Blogging (05:28 PM) - Alright, wish granted. And Larry is pretty darn funny with his “support” for John Bolton….

Hating Hate Crimes (04:49 PM) - La Shawn Barber has been doing an excellent job exposing the folly of “hate crime” legislation, which, near as I can tell, is geared toward imposing stiffer or lighter penalties on criminals depending upon their personal feelings about their victim….

The Dartmouth Review Of Blogs (02:52 PM) - The Dartmouth Review takes on the blogosphere with this piece. Dartblog is called “shockingly disturbingly comprehensive for a college freshman” and many other Dartmouth-related blogs are taken as exemplars of the blogosphere at large, which might not be the fairest…

“The British have been our poodles since 1945.” (02:00 PM) - Just another wonderful quote from my national security course….

For Hanover Readers: Showdown At Rockefeller (01:55 PM) - …Bumped to top… On Monday at 6p in the Rockefeller Center’s Hinman Forum, two excellent professors will debate Social Security reform. Since the topic is, on its face, rather boring to some people (non-economics students), I have created this exciting…

The ‘Stop Democracy’ Gravy Train (12:51 PM) - Chuck Hegel is still sitting on the media-adored fence in the “filibuster” debate.WASHINGTON - At least some Senate Republicans still hope to negotiate a deal to end the fight over filibusters of judicial nominees. “My goodness, you’ve got 100 United…

The SELF-REFERENTIAL APTITUDE TEST (12:40 PM) - Sawyer Broadley e-mails in this excellent puzzle, which would probably do a better job of evaluating learning aptitude than the current College Board exam. It is reprinted in the extended, and has one unique answer….

Alan Colmes Sure Can Pick ‘Em (12:37 PM) - An interesting exchange on the Alan Colmes radio program yesterday….

When In Rome, Do As The Americans Do (10:35 AM) - Kos is calling George Bush selfish in response to this snippet from an AP report:After Bush finished [his opening remarks], Vike-Freiberga then explained that they would take four questions — one for each president. Again, Bush tried to interrupt, saying,…

Paging Larry David (10:30 AM) - One of the great things about blogs is that you can quite literally judge them by their covers. The Huffy Blog isn’t very good. But Ann Althouse is right- it’d be much more entertaining if Larry David were a contributor….

Time Traveler Con (09:33 AM) - The conclusions are really great….

The New York Times Report Report (09:13 AM) - Orin Kerr at VC notes this New York Times article, which reports on an internal committee commissioned by the Times with an eye towards increasing credibility:In order to build readers’ confidence, an internal committee at The New York Times has…

That Haydn Symphony (08:56 AM) - The one I couldn’t recall: it is #98 , and I was thinking specifically of the first movement, an Adagio - Allegro. I had in mind those wild glissandos in the strings that serve as the Allego section’s main statement….

CNBC’s ‘Topic A With Tina Brown’ Cancelled (08:51 AM) - It is being lamented as the end of adult conversation on TV. For those that seek more than traditional TV glitz, a great choice is Peter Robinson’s PBS show ‘Uncommon Knowledge’….

Pentium Laptop Chic (08:48 AM) - I don’t know any girls that actually carry a notebook like this. Is it really a good way to sell computers?…

DCUJL Added To HeinOnline (08:07 AM) - The Dartmouth College Undergraduate Journal of Law has been added to HeinOnline, the first undergraduate journal to be indexed there….

Sometimes, Ad-Hoc Works Best (08:02 AM) - I think Chris Anderson is right: the first rule of the blogosphere is do not generalize about the blogosphere. Aggregators and groupblogs are fine and dandy, but all of these academic, introspective questions like, “What is a blogger?” are just…

Terrorist Targets In Jersey (07:48 AM) - Kearny, New Jersey- close to where I live- is evidently a prime target for terrorist attacks. There is a chemical plant that processes chlorine gas there, and the EPA says the plant is a lethal threat to 12 million people….

The Animal Liberation Front Attacks (07:25 AM) - Executives at Forest Laboratories on Long Island have been subjected to violent attacks and thefts because their company subcontracts out to another firm which uses animal testing.Early one recent morning, the wife of a pharmaceutical executive was followed to her…

It Is Dragging A Bit, Isn’t It (07:22 AM) - I just noticed that the title of my last post was a sendup of common instant messaging parlance. That means it is a slow news day….

OMG! OMG! OMG! (07:05 AM) - The Huffington Post is live. It is clearly the awesomest blog ever. Read about how the husband of Elaine from Seinfeld likes gay marriage. (He’s sarcastic!) Or read John Cusack’s farewell to Hunter Thompson. (He’s late!) Or read Ellen DeGeneres’…

Google Runs Into DNS Problems; Goes Down (07:01 AM) - Google was down for 15 minutes yesterday when someone fudged up a DNS entry. Ha….

U.S. Offensive in Western Iraq Kills 75 (06:56 AM) - Within the first 24 hours of a new offensive operation near the Syrian border in Obeidi, 75 terrorists have been killed….

Shadows Of Hillary (06:18 AM) - Coming soon to ABC: Commander-in-Chief, a new show with a female Democrat President. Quite the reality-based community, huh? Drudge reports: “Actress Geena Davis, a Democrat political activist, will play the president.”“It’s not in your face, preaching politics,” a network source…

Sunday, May 08, 2005

Sunday Photoblogging (05:36 PM) - Here is Rollins Chapel, as seen from the balcony of Baker Tower.Scott Meacham ‘95 has historic information on Rollins at his website….

Illegal Aliens Threaten To Vote Out Dems (04:56 PM) - They are illegals, so you can’t exactly expect them to understand the rules. Nonetheless, this photo, snapped by Michelle Malkin at an anti-REAL ID “undocumented workers protest” in Rockville, MD, lists some of the funnier protest chants. Among them: “The…

Protesting Health (04:34 PM) - Last week I praised the FDA’s decision to preclude groups with very high HIV infection rates from donating sperm and thus passing on the disease. During parents weekend yesterday, some Dartmouth students protested this policy, saying that ‘Gay does not…

The Most Annoying Flash Movie Ever (04:23 PM) - Wow, this is bad….

Zarqawi Stronghold Raided; Six Dead Terrorists (11:53 AM) - Coalition forces have breached the compound of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi near the Syrian border. Six terrorists were killed and a remarkable 54 were captured.Weapons caches were found during the operations in Qaim city, and 54 terrorists were detained, the military…

Reid Calls Bush A Loser (09:06 AM) - Democratic leader in the Senate Harry Reid, at a civics discussion with teenagers, called President Bush “a loser.” He then had one of his staffers call Karl Rove to apologize. Shouldn’t the minority leader be able to come up with…

A Giant Wire Ball With A Person Inside (07:31 AM) - I can’t claim to understand this, but it is the best excuse for light blogging that I’ve ever seen….

Jones-less Bob Jones (07:09 AM) - For the first time in 78 years, the president of Bob Jones University will not be named Bob Jones….

Putin Waxes Imperial; Observes Kicks (07:05 AM) - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday urged leaders of the 12-member club of ex-Soviet states, some of them already shifting to the West, to stick together to fight extremism and terrorism. Putin also observed some odd ceremonies,…

Airbus and Boeing Fight For India’s Business (06:55 AM) - The choice for India was between an airplane, and an airplane where things fall off the ceiling of the fuselage and whack you on the head. Obviously, they chose Boeing. France is upset by that decision, saying Airbus was not…

EU And UN On The Center Stage (06:42 AM) - Those two organizations are the figureheads for current nuclear talks with Iran. So far, the will for nuclear power and weapons in Tehran has not relaxed one bit, no matter the rhetoric coming from either organization.TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said…

Iraq’s Cabinet Complete (06:37 AM) - The six vacant positions have been filled: four by Sunnis….

$9,250 To Play Ball (06:33 AM) - That is the price of this eBay item- a temporary professional contract to play a half-inning with the River City Rascals. It guarantees at least one at bat, a real jersey, and 20 tickets for friends and family. Bids to…

Worst Headline Of The Day (12:26 AM) - The honor goes to CBS News, for: “Church Whacks Dissent, Gay Rights”…

Damned If You Do… (12:15 AM) - The New York Times, which in a puppy-like manner lapped up John Kerry’s 2004 assertion that homeland security is in tatters and shipping depots and ship ports are a breeding ground for terrorists as far as the eye can see-…

Reuters Finally Says It (12:12 AM) - “U.S. Leans More on Iraq Troops to Fight Insurgents” The major shift in casualties has been occuring for about a month now, but this acknowledgement means that the fact that Iraqis are fighting for themselves is becoming less and less…

Saturday, May 07, 2005

It’s Just An Excuse, Now (11:59 PM) - 1,950 nude Belgians posed for what photographer Spencer Tunick is calling a “happening”. Maybe it was a happening the first time it was done….

AP’s Follow-up To MIT TimeTraveler Convention (09:48 PM) - David Guttenfelder, writing for the Associated Press, reports on the future problems of Nepal in this article, “Year 2062 Proving Tough for Nepalese.” Yes. And I’ve heard bad things about next Tuesday, too….

A Star Wars Primer (09:44 PM) - Some people I know (who shall not be named lest they be stoned in their respective town squares) never saw the original Star Wars movies, and asked for an overview of the plot. This neat Flash file at MSNBC will…

Indian Culture Rising (09:42 PM) - With all of the hypersensitivity about the Indians and Indian students and Dartmouth’s old Indian mascot and all the rest and all the rest, it strikes me as just plain strange that the annual Pow-Wow hasn’t been renamed. Today was…

“AP: You’re Gone, Blogosphere Is Up” (09:40 PM) - Kudlow has some darn high expectations for the incipient blog editorial board/media buying conglomerate- Pajamas Media….

The Day Is Over Already (07:31 PM) - The light posting continues, as I try to wrap a week’s worth of work into a small morsel of time on Sunday….

The Best TV Mothers (09:27 AM) - Marge Simpson is number one on the list….

Volokh v. American Federalists (08:16 AM) - Eugene Volokh is having a debate with the American Federalist Journal about gays, lesbians, and women in the military….

Love The Drake (07:51 AM) - As I’ve mentioned, my family is up in Hanover for the First-Year Family Weekend. My mother made the mistake of bringing me a big box of Drake’s Coffee Cakes. I love Drake’s Coffee Cakes. Drake’s is something of an east-coast…

The Essence Of Style (07:41 AM) - Using the Amazon.com internal search function, Taylor Buley comes up with unique phrases from some popular political books….

“Don’t Sue Your Customer Base” Take Two (07:35 AM) - NYT: Antipiracy Rule for Broadcasts Is Struck Down by an appeals court.”You’ve gone too far,” said Judge Harry T. Edwards during the oral arguments, as he pressed a government lawyer to justify how the agency could possibly set standards governing…

The Domino Effect (07:27 AM) - ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Pakistan has arrested at least seven more suspected terrorists since this week’s capture of a senior al-Qaida figure wanted for two bombings against President Pervez Musharraf, top officials said yesterday. We capture Abu Farraj al-Libbi, interrogate him,…

Volcker Fights US Subpoenas (07:24 AM) - Alright, now I’m worried:UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The chief of the U.N. oil-for-food probe accused Congress of jeopardizing his work and asked a House committee to return secret documents, saying the lives of some witnesses could be at stake. But…

Cable News Ratings Buzz (07:22 AM) - Bill O’Reilly has lost one million viewers in his cume since October 2004:A CNN insider says: “FNC should be less concerned with Zahn’s performance and more concerned with the fact that O’Reilly continues to hemorrhage viewers month-over-month since October.” Here…

New Yorkers Want Full Term From Hillary (07:13 AM) - A poll says as much. But I can’t exactly see the New York Times slamming her when she declares that ‘this is the most crucial election of our lifetime’ and skips out of town. In fact, they’ll sing about her…

Charlie Rangel Loves Diversity (07:09 AM) - New York Democrat Rangel- who introduced draft legislation during last year’s presidential election and then blasted Bush for secretly advocating a draft- reacts to the news that the Congressional Black Caucus isn’t voting lockstep with the Democrats anymore. “Why any…

Friday, May 06, 2005

The Big Tent Strikes Again (04:52 PM) - While this new poll has Democrats favoring Hillary at 40%…Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, was favored by 25 percent of Republican voters for the 2008 GOP nomination with Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona at…

What Happened To Activist Judges? (02:46 PM) - GREENBELT, Md. - A federal judge has blocked a county school system from instituting a new health curriculum that includes discussions of homosexuality and religion and a demonstration on how to use condoms….

Going Like Gangbusters (02:38 PM) - The PDA market is booming. One day, everyone will have a tricorder….

A Test For Vermont (02:26 PM) - Though I am against the death penalty, there is something satisfying about Vermont being forced to try a capital case:BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Vermont, a famously liberal New England state that abolished capital punishment decades ago, is about to see…

Commencement Speaking (10:45 AM) - Roger L. Simon is worried that embattled Kofi Annan won’t make it to his nephew’s graduation at Penn. He has cause to worry. Besides his legal troubles, Annan has cancelled on colleges before. I rounded up college commencement speakers here….

Alert: Complete Synaptic Disconnect (07:57 AM) - It’s Bad Op-Ed Friday. Read this succulent opinion piece from today’s The Dartmouth. It concludes, amusingly:We simply cannot with impunity tell other nations that they can’t have nuclear weapons when we ourselves are building more, and have an arsenal of…

It’s A Revolution! (07:49 AM) - The brand-new Google Web Accelerator promises to put your internet connection into hyperspace! It shall do this through the groundbreaking technology of “caching”! Download Google’s newest product! Without thinking! Quick!…

Choose Your Battles (07:46 AM) - The editorial board at the Journal doesn’t like the GOP going after Paul Volcker and his committee’s credibility when there are significantly larger fish to fry….

Hamas In The Shadows (07:43 AM) - Terrorist group Hamas isn’t doing as well as might have been expected in Palestinian elections today and yesterday:Partial and unofficial returns from Thursday’s elections in 84 towns and villages in the West Bank and Gaza Strip showed Fatah leading the…

Light Blogging Alert (07:39 AM) - Today begins Freshman Family Weekend, so my family is coming up and blogging will be light for a few days……

Totten Among The Lebanese (07:30 AM) - Michael Totten:Two Hezbollah groupies invited me to have coffee with them downtown. We argued rather passionately about politics, as you can imagine, but they were good sports about it. They gave me a Cuban cigar as I went on my…

Ideological Diversity In The Black Caucus (07:25 AM) - The Washington Times reports that Congressional Black Caucus members are no longer voting exactly the same on every issue, and therefore no longer voting in lockstep with the Democratic Party. …But as the American social climate has changed and more…

A Gender Pay Gap (07:20 AM) - The Dartmouth reports that Dartmouth has a large “gender pay gap”, which somehow means that male professors are paid more than women on balance….

Star Wars III: Best Since ‘Empire Strikes Back’? (07:12 AM) - Variety says so.The Force returns with most of its original power regained in “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.” Concluding entry in George LucasGeorge Lucas’ second three-pack of space epics teems with action, drama and spectacle, and…

Good Economic News (07:08 AM) - Productivity is up 2.6% in this quarter. Other projections:Economists believe that even with the recent economic slowdown, Friday’s employment report will show an increase of 175,000 jobs in April, up from an increase of 110,000 jobs in March….

American Cars “Junk” (07:06 AM) - Standard & Poors has reduced the debt ratings of General Motors and Foord to “junk” status.That isn’t likely to affect either company immediately — both have enough cash to fund operations for a while — but it signals to investors…

Not Much Left To Say (07:04 AM) - For the pinstripes….

Gay Sperm Donors Not Allowed (06:53 AM) - “The part I find most offensive - and a little frightening - is that it isn’t based on good science,” Cathcart said. “There’s a steadily increasing trend of heterosexual transmission of HIV, and yet the FDA still has this notion…

Tony Blair Wins Reelection (06:49 AM) - Naturally. Hey, where did those “Brits Voted With Iraq on Their Minds” headlines go?…

Bloomberg’s NYC Budget (06:45 AM) - Under Michael Bloomberg’s proposed budget, New York City will see a $3.2b surplus this year, which is good news. But, in contrast to many politicians, Bloomberg is also revealing the attendant projections for deficits in the following two years. More…

Thursday, May 05, 2005

The Evolution Review In Kansas (09:04 PM) - Kos remarks on the ridiculous mock trial going on in Kansas over whether evolution of creationism ought to be taught in public schools. I happen to agree with the “evolution is the best theory we have, but believe whatever you…

This Just In (08:37 PM) - Ana Marie Cox’s secret exit poll data show a landslide victory for John Kerry in the United Kingdom! Real data show a Blair win….

Hillary Gets Prolific (03:35 PM) - Have a look at FriendsofHillary.com - the official website for Hillary Clinton’s comrades. It already looks like an early campaign headquarters:And the front page of the website is a form to support her “Count Every Vote” effort. Wow. She’s done…

The Road To Abu Ghraib (03:24 PM) - Critics on the left have long held that confidential memos and shady dealings in the upper echelon of the Bush Administration resulted in the “torture” at Abu Ghraib. For a moment forgetting the unforgettable- that Saddam’s uses of that prison…

Maazel’s ‘1984’ (03:20 PM) - Anthony Tommasini, surprisingly, gives Lorin Maazel’s new opera ‘1984’ a very negative review….

Women Are Obsolete (03:16 PM) - Sorry, Lauren! ThisisLondon reports:Human eggs which could grow into embryos have been created in a laboratory for the first time, scientists announced yesterday. They were created by scraping stem cells off the surface of ovaries and exposing them to a…

The Net Closes (11:46 AM) - Even more captures of terrorists in Afghanistan/Pakistan….

Of Phobia And Language (11:09 AM) - Jeff Harrell makes sense:More broadly, “homophobia” is a way of saying, “Your opinion is invalid.” See, it’s not an opinion at all; it’s a phobia, a psychiatric abnormality that needs to be corrected with therapy, or possibly medication. Calling someone…

The Thing With Haydn (09:55 AM) - I love the music of Franz Joseph Haydn. I don’t think I’ve ever failed to appreciate in some way every work of his that I have heard recorded or performed. Of course that is true: he is one of the…

Teapot Cracks; Tempest Continues (09:43 AM) - It ends at 11:59p tomorrow night, and The Chronicle of Higher Education has printed a piece on the Dartmouth Trustee election, calling it a “battle for academic freedom.” The article omits several important things, such as the many mishaps that…

“They send you a gift, but they want something.” (09:35 AM) - The Taiwanese are being very cautious about China’s gift of two giant pandas….

War Wins In Referendum On Iraq War (09:27 AM) - It looks as if Tony Blair is going to be re-hired. Just as in the re-election of George Bush, the Brits are going to say, “yes” to broader democracy in the only poll that really matters….

Single-Mindedness And Undue Dwelling (07:52 AM) - Duncan Black (Atrios) wants Tony Blair- the liberal- “to get a smack from the electorate” because he supported the Iraq War. I am curious how prevalent this attitude is among the American left….

“Don’t Go There” (07:42 AM) - Peggy Noonan’s article this morning is a great read:I was at a wedding, standing just off the dance floor, when a pleasant young man in his 20s approached, introduced himself and asked where I’d had my hair done. I shook…

The Playstation Portable (07:37 AM) - Already hacked….

Happy Cinco de Mayo! (07:33 AM) - Today, May 5th, we celebrate one of the greatest defeats of the French ever. In fact, the battle for Mexico is just one in a long list of military humiliations for the French. I am currently aware of only one…

The Carnival of the Vanities (07:31 AM) - I usually do not advertise the various Carnivals, but this week’s CotV is being hosted by friend Taylor Buley at Fresh Politics. Go have a look….

Delays In Freedom Tower Construction (06:52 AM) - Security delays prompted by the NYPD are halting the constructiong of the Freedom Tower at ground zero, and redesigns may result, CNN reports. Perhaps these guys will get a chance to be heard….

In The Black (06:47 AM) - The United States government took in more taxes than it predicted. WaPo says: “The Treasury Department this week reported there would be a $54 billion swing from projected deficit to surplus in the April-to-June quarter, after an unanticipated gush of…

New Low-Alcohol Wine Targets Women (06:38 AM) - There is a new 9.8% alcohol wine out from Beringer aimed exclusively at women. I’d claim that inherent differences between men and women made Beringer think this was a good idea, but, well, you know….

Strange Explosions (06:36 AM) - Two “makeshift grenades” went off outside the British Consulate in New York early this morning. No one was injured, and the building is alright. But the description of the grenades was very strange:Police said both devices were toy grenades that…

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Surprise, Surprise (10:23 PM) - Ratings are still strong for scandal-laden American Idol. It’s almost as if ‘Idol’ viewers were attracted to controversy….

An Exchange With A Liberal (09:19 PM) - Sometimes they are funny. What follows is a series of e-mails, printed verbatim, with someone named Monty. His e-mail address was @aol.com. Watch and be amazed as I play the conservative caricature! Monty: _I’m Bored - The 14 Defining Characteristics…

Brazil Declines Washington’s AIDS Money (05:15 PM) - The BCC reports:The US development agency, USAid, had offered Brazil around $40m (£21m). But Brazil’s top Aids official, Pedro Chequer, said the US’ conservative approach to treating the disease would not help. Correspondents say references to prostitution are likely to…

Free Trade Is The Only Fair Trade (05:09 PM) - Advocating something called “fair trade” (Is that the secret ingredient in Dartmouth’s overpriced and underwhelming Fair Trade Coffee?), Democrats in Congress are opposing the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The moderates turning against CAFTA are: Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Artur…

“Exaggerated For Political Ends” (05:04 PM) - That is how Iraqi political officials are describing media reports of a hostage standoff outside Baghdad:Iraqi forces searched a town near Baghdad Monday for evidence of dozens of Shi’ites said to have been taken hostage by Sunni militants, a claim…

More On The Texans: Banning Cheerleaders (01:57 PM) - The world is upside down down there!…

A Brilliant New Invention (01:41 PM) - This is highly necessary. I have many times nearly lost my Leatherman to the long arm of the TSA. UPDATE: Sawyer Broadley e-mails in, informing me that my Leatherman would have ended up here….

The Left-o-sphere’s Gameplan (12:46 PM) - I just ran across this at Daily Kos’s blog:If CNN basically covers this [Michael Jackson] story all Saturday, it’s news. It’s not a debate. It is news, and malaria isn’t. Instead of wishing it wasn’t news, we need to subvert…

The Texans Are Not Alright (12:30 PM) - Drudge’s account of hecklers at an Ann Coulter speech dovetails nicely with the earlier-linked one from St. Thomas. The Texas students were even more crude, vulgar, and disruptive though. I’ve never been a big fan of Coulter, and she was…

Major al Qaeda Arrest (10:42 AM) - The number three man is in US custody. And the trail to OBL is heating up….

Beware the Wal-Mart (10:12 AM) - Another profile of low wages at Wal-Mart, this time from NYT. At the end of the piece, though, one counterexample is given:By contrast, Jamie Schifferer, manager of the health and beauty aids department at a Wal-Mart in Algonquin, Ill., said…

Get Flagrantly Elated! (09:34 AM) - The new SAT is garnering negative reviews in other quarters, as well. [Obscure titular reference here.] EXCLUSIVE: Dartblog has obtained a copy of the new SAT……

Surprisingly Difficult. (07:51 AM) - The original Pong game; in Flash form….

Even More ‘Bush Was Right’ (07:46 AM) - In the pages of the Guardian:We must respect American power, and also acknowledge that the world sometimes has much need of it. As Sir Michael Howard, wisest of British strategic thinkers, often remarks: “If America does not do things, nobody…

In Which The Academy Keeps Digging (07:37 AM) - This excellent piece by Scott Johnson explains exactly how shadowy speech codes are used for coercion and manipulation at colleges. A highly recommended read….

Quote Of The Morning (07:35 AM) - “By one estimate 73% of all scholarly and extracurricular activity on American college campuses is ridiculous. The only effective way to combat it is through ridicule.” - James Taranto…

The Good Side Of Bolton? (07:21 AM) - Impossible! Fox News has been the only fair and balanced member of the MSM on the Bolton issue, reporting on the bad as well as the good….

Post-9/11 Covert Ops (06:57 AM) - This is an interesting BBC article about the CIA team sent in after September 11th to assassinate OBL….

The Bloomberg Party (06:47 AM) - MSNBC’s David Shuster (not one of the cool kids, evidently) snuck into Michael Bloomberg’s post-WHCA-dinner party along with Alison Stewart. The account:”On a dare, the two of us went to the VIP entrance,” Shuster blogs on MSNBC.com. “Alison smiled and…

Add This To The Pile (06:41 AM) - More bad news for the Banque Nationale de Paris, to the tune of $470m….

Correspondence To Z-Man (06:34 AM) - Evidently, we’ve got his mail:U.S.-led forces have recovered a letter they believe was addressed to Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi complaining about low morale among his followers and the incompetence of leaders in his terror network, the military said Tuesday….

Useless Innovation (06:29 AM) - NEW YORK, May 3 /PRNewswire/ — Loews Cineplex today announced that it will begin publicizing the start times of feature presentations. Beginning with the Company’s locations in Connecticut on May 13, Loews movie listings will note that the feature presentation…

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

A Humble Observation On Gun Control (11:07 PM) - From Paul at Right Side of the Rainbow:Thirty-eight states now allow private citizens who pass background checks and proficiency tests — and, in Texas anyway, a daylong class on self-defense law — to carry firearms in the public square. We’ve…

Odd Star Wars Trivia (11:00 PM) - Moriarty at AICN confirms rumors that playwright Tom Stoppard worked on the script for Star Wars: Episode III. Wonderful. Stoppard’s Arcadia has been my favorite play since I read it two or three summers ago. I suppose Stoppard is more…

Not Quite Galluping To The Right (10:54 PM) - Look for this Gallup/USAT poll, in which 48% of respondents said that the Iraq War wasn’t “worth it”, to be somehow contorted into an ex post facto argument that the war itself was wrong….

Wireless Fidelity At Dartmouth (10:49 PM) - Improvements in Dartmouth’s wireless network continue (802.11g relays still aren’t functioning nominally) but the New York Times profiles Dartmouth’s advanced network this morning in the Technology section. Key IP functionality includes VoIP and video-over-IP, the latter of which Dartmouth students…

For Your Information (10:48 PM) - A list of Iraq’s new cabinet, divided up into Shiites, Kurds, Sunnis, and Christians….

Dartmouth Trustee Election Update (06:43 PM) - Petition candidate Professor Todd Zywicki has sent his second and final e-mail out to the alumni network. It is reprinted in the extended. Those who have not yet voted may do so here. UPDATE: Peter Robinson’s second e-mail is reprinted…

For Hanover-Based Readers (04:19 PM) - DINESH D’SOUZA ‘83 Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford Author of the New York Times bestseller “What’s So Great About America?” and “Letters to a Young Conservative” Senior policy analyst at the Reagan White House from 1985 to 1987 Speaking on, “Why…

Bending [The Definition Of] Gender (03:04 PM) - A medical student inquires about my pet peeve of the misuse of the word ‘gender’. In response to my usual spiel, he sends:That’s what I thought too, but in our Endocrinology class we had a couple of panels from people…

Never Fear (02:31 PM) - If you are worried about the broad conservative bias at the New York Times, Media Matters has you covered….

Google: Only Accepting Anti-Conservative Ads? (02:15 PM) - This looks bad….

Passing It On: Windows User Survey (01:08 PM) - I am a Windows user, as are most Dartblog readers, so we all have an interest in making the OS as good as it can be. To that end, a manager in the Windows department at Microsoft has e-mailed out…

Down With DeLay? (10:52 AM) - A Crimson op-ed attempts a DeLay takedown….

There’s just no need for “Star Trek” anymore. (10:32 AM) - Orson Scott Card is very wrong….

More Social Security Polling (09:01 AM) - Jon Shea directs me to these USAT/Gallup poll results, and they are a mixed bag. Most Americans continue to say that major reform in SocSec is needed within two years. They are also in favor of higher taxes as opposed…

Googlation (08:58 AM) - Tom Bozzo may be right that Googlation is the latest craze on the internets. (There are two internets, you know!) But Newsradio was Googlating before Googlating was cool….

Sustainability Director Is No Joke, Sadly (08:47 AM) - Susan Noel pens a letter to the editor in The Dartmouth. As all who read will wonder what that title and position might mean and what it might cost the parents paying tuition, also consider the recent announcement that the…

Washington Governor Update (07:16 AM) - Things are moving along swimmingly for the GOP in Washington, as AP reports:WENATCHEE, Wash. - The Republicans won an important victory Monday in their legal challenge to the election of Gov. Christine Gregoire when a judge allowed them to use…

India and Pakistan Move Towards Peace (07:11 AM) - Finding a temporary agreement over Kashmir, India and Pakistan declared their peace process “irreversible” after an impromptu meeting between Musharraf and Singh, which originally was just going to be a voyage to see a cricket game.”I was cautiously optimistic about…

Reuters Photog Has Fun (06:58 AM) - Oh geez. What is this doing in an official Reuters photoset?…

Jane Fonda’s Nonexistent Transmogrification (06:51 AM) - Ann Althouse is not impressed with Fonda’s performance on Bill Maher’s television program….

An Underground Test For North Korea (06:47 AM) - Major movements are taking place in N. Korea that intel agents are intrepreting as signs of an upcoming underground nuclear test, Reuters reports.The influential Chosun Ilbo, quoting a government source, said U.S. spy satellites had captured frequent movements of trucks…

Where Have All The Verbs Gone? (06:45 AM) - CSM reports on the vague and sometimes verbless slogans in Britain’s current election.Labour’s initial “Britain forward not back,” was skewered in the land of Shakespeare as verbless. And the Conservative’s “Are you thinking what we’re thinking?” was lampooned as too…

The Fruits Of Lien Chan In China (06:34 AM) - Taiwan opposition leader Lien Chan’s visit to China has not done much, it seems. China has offered Taiwan a pair of giant pandas and some sort of economic concessions on fruits and tourism. After seeing Chan’s warm welcome in China,…

Good To Know (06:29 AM) - After wrongly accusing US soldiers and the United States government of the worst kind of duplicity, the Italian investigation into the Sgrena incident attempts to save the faces of Sgrena (“Her Truth,” remember.) and Berlusconi by blaming it all on…

Monday, May 02, 2005

U.S. searches for pilots of two missing jets (10:25 PM) - Searches are ongoing for pilots of two downed F/A-18 jets in Iraq. UPDATE: From Reuters….

More On The Frist Filibuster (10:19 PM) - Aaron Harnly at Columbia e-mails in to add his comments on the Frist filibuster:I think they’re arguing over whether it’s a good idea, not whether it’s permissible. And I agree that some Democrats are inconsistent on the issue; then, again,…

The Logician’s Take On Nuclear Proliferation (10:12 PM) - Tom Temple at The Hanover Collaboration:It makes sense that countries would want nuclear weapons. It also makes sense that countries wouldn’t want other countries to have nuclear weapons. Since countries get to decide what they do and not what other…

Foam Fingers For Bush Judges (10:10 PM) - You too can own a blue foam finger that says, “Vote… don’t obstruct.” But if you did, you’d look just as silly as the liberal protesters….

Environmentalists: How About Nuclear? (10:08 PM) - Semizdata asks: “With the price of crude oil holding over $50 per barrel, how long will it be before the more flexible parts of the Green movement start arguing that nuclear power is actually not such a bad idea after…

Countering V-Day (09:55 PM) - P-Day, of course. How about this: eliminate the both of them and let’s go back to good old Valentine’s Day….

Meeting Senator Hagel (09:48 PM) - Just got back from a dinner/soiree/schmooze thing with Senator Hagel. Interesting guy; a good speaker. The crowd was entirely Republican, so he played down (way down) his moderate-liberal tendencies. He alluded to John Kerry’s “respected in the world” campaign theme…

For The Record (01:27 PM) - Pat Robertson does not speak for the GOP….

Putting One Voice Behind ‘One China’ (01:18 PM) - The United States, in the ongoing Taiwanese struggle for independence, officially adopts the ‘One China Policy’. On its face, the phrase invites two assumptions: either the United States supports the reunification of Taiwan back into the Communist Chinese government, or…

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish! (01:05 PM) - Sing along! [But I still want a hi-fi copy!]…

Why Can’t He Fade Away? (01:00 PM) - JohnKerry.com is alive and kicking. It is still churning out feel-good PR like a well-oiled campaign machine. Is Kerry running in 2008? GOP Bloggers thinks so:Noting “his family wants him to run again,” Washington Whispers learns that Sen. John Kerry…

Shock! Horror! Malfeasance At ‘Idol’! (12:21 PM) - I cannot be the only one to suspect that this whole ABC News vs. American Idol war is a conspiratorial ploy with players in both camps colluding to manufacture controversy. Neither network would be above such pulp- their histories show…

Volcker Update: Slip Sliding (09:53 AM) - The United States continues to lead the investigation into UNSCAM. The Times reports:The United States Congress is demanding the right to hear from two investigators who quit the United Nations inquiry into the Oil-for-Food scandal because they felt that it…

The Worst Fabricated Scandal Ever (09:11 AM) - High and mighty news outlets like al-Jazeera, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Ynetnews, and of course Nick Denton’s brilliant SPLOID!, are reporting:The U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld paid a secret visit to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and offered him freedom and…

They Keep Going At Princeton (08:17 AM) - If I were back in my home town right now, I’d take a drive down to Princeton and set up a big black umbrella (their rainbow one needs a less-flamboyant foil) on top of a Hebrew National hot-dog cart, hang…

Good On Ya (07:01 AM) - Australia is not kowtowing to terrorists, despite one of their kidnappings, and will remain committed to destroying what is left of the insurgents in Iraq. This draws a stunning contrast to Italy and Spain, both of which cut and ran…

The Calm (07:00 AM) - WaPo reports:Reports of credible terrorist threats against the United States are at their lowest level since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to U.S. intelligence officials and federal and state law enforcement authorities.Which is, of course, exactly when we…

More Hints At Withdrawal (06:57 AM) - And Democrats, meanwhile, have fallen all but silent on the Iraq War. Their one issue falls from beneath them, and they move on to another…WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and other foreign troops in Iraq will likely start pulling out in…

A Preliminary Meeting (06:54 AM) - UNITED NATIONS (AP) - For the seventh time since it took force in 1970, the world’s nations gather Monday to reassess how well the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is keeping the lid on man’s most terrible weapons. Perhaps time would be…

Finding An Analogy (06:48 AM) - Jeff Jarvis:They kept trying to say that our war in Iraq was Vietnam (or the Soviet Afghanistan): the no-win quagmire. But that dog didn’t hunt. So the search is for another analogy.Maybe, just maybe, this war is new….

Liberal Bias At PBS? (06:46 AM) - Say it ain’t so!…

No Satellite Mystery (06:27 AM) - Without any proof save the absence of the MSM ‘bandwagon effect’, Kevin at Wizbang is declaring the satellite story to be false. The Jawa Report also expresses incredulity as to how a satellite can measure speed, even though a satellite…

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Journey Of The Sorcerer (08:31 PM) - The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: number one at the box office. Nerds rule the world. UPDATE: More details here. THHGTG grossed $84,826,000 $21,707,000. (Oops. Thanks to e-mail fact checkers, especially Brian Ross who says, “Looks like nerds aren’t quite…

Economics Textbook Humor (04:23 PM) - You’ve got to love the one-liners in economics textbooks:What is the source of this excess burden? Basically it is the lost value to consumers and producers due to the reduction in the sales of the good. You can’t tax what…

The NBC News Channel (09:02 AM) - Drudge is flashing: **EXCLUSIVE** MSNBC TO CHANGE ITS NAME, THE DRUDGE REPORT HAS LEARNED. THE ALL-NEWS CABLE NETWORK, WHICH WAS FOUNDED AS JOINT EFFORT BETWEEN MICROSOFT AND NBC, WILL SIMPLY BECOME ‘THE NBC NEWS CHANNEL’… TOP SOURCE EXPLAINS: ‘THE NEW…

Why Movies Are Bad And Tickets Cost Too Much (08:50 AM) - I am not a cheap person, but I do at least strive towards fiscal efficiency. And I know that I don’t get 10- or even 5- dollars of utility out of seeing a movie these days. Perhaps this partly explains…

More Confirmation Of Sgrena’s Lies (08:17 AM) - US soldiers have once again been exonerated in the death of a covert Italian intel agent and minor-injury of a Communist reporter. It seems that satellite photography tracked the incident (as it does just about everything these days) and has…

The Return of Family Guy (08:09 AM) - The excellent show Family Guy returns to the airwaves tonight at 9p EST for another crack at being able to produce a decent rate card. Here’s to its success….

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (12:39 AM) - So the empire of Cheap Clear Channel has finally collapsed in on itself. The radio giant Clear Channel Communications said yesterday that it would spin off its entertainment unit and sell a 10 percent stake in its outdoor advertising division…

The Oil for Food Primer (12:38 AM) - In response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the long arm of UN bureaucracy sprang to inaction. Within hours, resolution 660 was passed, which told Saddam Hussein that the Security Council did not like very much what he was doing,…