Monday, July 31, 2006
A Link (08:30 PM) - Ann Althouse unwinds, and sees the country, and hears country….
Picnic, and Other Words That Are Not Racist (08:13 PM) - It is a special art today, a taught passtime, to discover offense that might be had at things that never seemed offensive to anyone just yesterday. Governor Mitt Romney set off the latest round, with his mention of the “tar…
The Terror in Seattle (07:48 AM) - Man walks into Seattle’s Jewish Federation, shouts, “I am a Muslim-American, angry at Israel,” and shoots five gals. This happened last Friday. But it isn’t terrorism, the FBI says. Hate crime. And the press? Well…Authorities did not release many details,…
College Migration (07:28 AM) - According to this, the college-aged populations of the Northeast and Midwest are dwindling. Where are the kids going? The South, the West….
“Scoop” (06:59 AM) - I am excited to see the new Woody Allen movie, “Scoop”. “Match Point,” his first film with Scarlett Johansson, was the only really good thing I saw in 2005. If 2006 tracks similarly, his second with Johansson may be just…
University Partisanship and the Service Gap (06:41 AM) - Via a reader who describes it all as “rather shameful” and via Pajamas Media, there is this report at National Review Online of 1) The growing gap twixt rich and poor in duty to the United States of America, and…
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Dartmouth Blogosphere Rising (04:46 PM) - Robert Hansen, Senior Associate Dean and a professor at the Tuck School of Business, has started a blog which you can read here. He plans to write about economics and politics. Welcome, Professor Hansen!…
College & Conspiracies (06:34 AM) - In this Sunday morning’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the chief scrivener of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, the right Charles Mitchell, places the imbroglio at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in square: It’s easy to understand why the University of Wisconsin-Madison…
Saturday, July 29, 2006
By the Bye… (05:35 PM) - One of my on-the-side Internet projects over the last several weeks has been DartmouthViews.org, a completely open and uncensored discussion board where Dartmouth students and alumni can chat about Dartmouth and her future. I developed it in conjunction with Tim…
Friday, July 28, 2006
Drew Cline Comes Clean (11:04 PM) - The opinion editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader finally provides full disclosure: “I also have been to Portsmouth.” The rapscallion! His perfidy! Actually, the post is an interesting tale of public relations firms and the placing of opinion articles,…
Congress Mulls Tax Breaks; Minimum Wage Hike (10:19 PM) - It’s an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” bill offered up for consideration by Republicans, presumably with the quiet urging of key Democrats, that would both cut taxes and increase the minimum wage to $7.25. Professor Samwick says: “Basically,…
Defend Israel; Defend Yourselves (12:48 PM) - Jeff Jarvis is fearing for Israel. It is a strong piece; a good piece. But I think it would be even more powerful to say that, yes, the reason Israel must be protected and defended by the free world is…
Pre-September 11th Thinking (10:29 AM) - The Clinton policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has resulted in the ousting of a “highly-regarded” Arabic linguist who was helping the United States in the War on Terror, according to the U.S. Newswire release posted by Andrew Stuttaford at…
The Verdict: Unconstitutional. (07:43 AM) - New information shows that the decision made months ago by the Executive Committee of the Dartmouth Association of Alumni to cancel the planned October 2006 annual elections—to stretch out their own terms by as many as six months—is, flatly, unconstitutional….
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Syndication Deals: Now for Class Newsletters, Too (07:42 PM) - I hope that, when we 1,095 of the Dartmouth Class of 2008 leave Hanover, and when our mailboxes are graced with our little class newsletters with little news items about the big things we all are doing, I hope that…
Breaking: Company Sells You Product, Makes Money (04:34 PM) - The Agence France-Presse says that “sparks” are “fly[ing]” over the announcement just made in Irving, Texas: ExxonMobil had a gangbusters quarter, raking in $10.36 billion dollars in profit. That’s the second most profitable quarter in the company’s history. Stoked by…
When Outdoor Stand-Up Interviews Go Awry (03:13 PM) - Say, Jodi Applegate handled this guy pretty well. Link via Jon Podhoretz, who calls Jodi an “avenging angel”….
Ribald Talk (01:27 PM) - There is a grammar update on this post….
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Give That Man A Pulitzer (12:40 PM) - Grant Bosse e-mails in to call to our attention this error, perpetrated by the New York Times and its extensive editing process, and reported on by the Concord Monitor:Grumbling and slamming the phone on a reporter - it just didn’t…
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Bog Reveals Ancient Psalms Text (10:14 PM) - The first Irish early medieval document recovered in 200 years was found today: a psalm book, in a bog….
In Other News, a Victory for the Little Guy (10:01 PM) - The House of Representatives has just passed a bill to prevent law enforcement officers from seizing the firearms of private citizens during an emergency. The vote? 322-99. The Senate already cast a 84-16 earlier this month on basically the same…
Chicago Elders Put Town on Diet (09:51 PM) - That tottlin town has a group of aldermen who have decided that “trans fat”, a legal food component which, when consumed in undue quantities is unhealthy, ought to be banned. And so it was. The good news? Even the press…
Israel Prefers a NATO, Not UN, Stabilizing Army (03:41 PM) - The statement is not terribly surprising: As world leaders scramble to secure a cease-fire in Lebanon, a crucial question arises: Who will ensure the peace? Israel has suggested it prefers a NATO-led coalition _ not the traditional U.N. peacekeeping force…
The Fifty Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill (02:39 PM) - Here’s some beauty for your Tuesday….
Professors Who Speak Out Against Speech Code Punished (02:19 PM) - FIRE’s Greg Lukianoff has a detailed report (and commentary here) on the prosecution of thinkcrime at the State University of New York….
Monday, July 24, 2006
Thank You, Detroit News Reporter Valerie Olander… (04:46 PM) - For submitting your copy with one joyful detail intact: U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D- Mass., who was in town Sunday to help Gov. Jennifer Granholm campaign for her re-election bid, took time to take a jab at the Bush administration…
Looking Forward to Senate 2006 (06:28 AM) - The Wall Street Journal and Zogby predict that the GOP will hold the Senate….
Sunday, July 23, 2006
“Gotham may not know how to honor the 9/11 dead, but the suburbs do.” (10:17 PM) - Well they came, after all, from the suburbs. Steven Malanga compares Manhattan memorials to New Jersey memorials. This means that the Summer 2006 edition of City Journal—the “best magazine in America”—is out, with a bundle of articles on very fascinating…
Floyd Landis wins Tour de France (12:25 PM) - Huzzah! UPDATE: Floyd is a madman….
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Blogging Update (11:41 PM) - The updates have been sparse on this page because of general busyness. A few new projects, plenty of not-yet-answered e-mail, and two exams next week. Regular posting will resume verily….
“Nice. And such courage.” (04:41 PM) - A gorgeous little recounting of bathroom floods and street protests….
Gawker Drops Yahoo Syndication Deal (04:16 PM) - Nick Denton claims that Yahoo just did not drive very much traffic….
Friday, July 21, 2006
The Outcry That Didn’t (10:12 PM) - The Wall Street Journal prints in weekend editions a story on the “mum public” in the United States. A public that is undesirous of condemning the nation of Israel for the war it has earnestly joined against Hezbollah and (Oh,…
Can The United Nations Intervene in Lebanon? (10:03 PM) - Not, posits David Kopel, if they were complicit in the abduction of the Israeli soldiers to begin with….
Proper Grammar is “Hegemonic” (06:46 PM) - Does the academy want to end grammar?…
AP: “Nissan pulls hot car ad with Kim Cattrall” (05:41 PM) - I don’t suppose much of the Dartblog audience watched that HBO program, Sex and the City. But one of the actors from that show, Kim Cattrall—she was the libidinous blonde, recall—has done a raunchy commercial for the Nissan motor company….
Gazizza (08:28 AM) - I’ve got my Phil Hartman references mixed up, but that’s alright. Here is a post about Neanderthals and Frozen Caveman Lawyers….
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars (04:28 PM) - That will be the price to secure a square of space on the front page of the nation’s second most read newspaper and the first most influential, the Wall Street Journal. The Journal will begin selling a single front-page, below-the-fold…
Iranian Officials Sat Orchestra Prime at Korea’s Missile Launch (04:19 PM) - Christopher Hill, point man on North Korea, has disclosed that Kim Jong-il welcomed a coterie of Iranians to its intentionally provocative missile test on July 4. TigerHawk comments: “Obviously Tehran is so disrespectful of its own cover story — that…
“Marines help Americans flee Israel’s war in Lebanon” (10:23 AM) - A Reuters headline….
A Few Good Words on the Israel-Hezbollah Conflict (10:08 AM) - Nathaniel Ward’s excellent e-mail newsletter from the Heritage Foundation, located at MyHeritage.org, justly brought attention to this quote from Dan Gillerman, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations: “We have the US behind us because we are right, because we…
Just In Case (09:46 AM) - This morning at 3:14, we launched a test ICBM. The Minuteman III flew 4,200 miles and hit its target. I am inspired. Maybe we’ll take a ride to Wal-Mart this afternoon and launch an Estes at dusk….
Senator Voinovich: Vote for Bolton (09:35 AM) - Saying that John Bolton cannot become the issue (an important point) and praising his ability to drive hard the generally listless international body, Republican Senator George Voinovich writes in the Washington Post this morning that he ought to be swiftly…
Hugo Chavez Silencing Critics in Media (08:51 AM) - Well, these sorts of people usually do have to silence their critics. Otherwise their critics start making sense….
Calm Down on Stem Cell Funding (08:05 AM) - You know, this is still America. The people in Washington? They just can’t do all that much to us. I am a supporter of embryonic stem cell research. President Bush, in his heart of hearts, may not be. And we…
“Dividing the Arab World” (07:16 AM) - On National Public Radio, the host just described the battle between the Islamist nationalist terrorist group Hezbollah and the nation of Israel as doing just that: Dividing the Arab word. The host intoned, silently, that this was just one of…
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
The Hezbollah Missile Problem (01:19 PM) - The problem? They are better than we thought, according to the gentlemen at Vital Perspective. I imagine the unsaid good news amid this fiercer fighting is that each time Hezbollah impresses with its weaponry, Israel can continue to destroy terrorists…
“Well, Europe is ahead of us, anyway.” (08:41 AM) - Just now, across from my spot at the cafe, I’ve overheard one professor (or administrator; I could not determine) say that to another. It was the first time I have ever heard anyone say that to anyone, with respect to…
Marriott Bans Smoking in Rooms, Bars, Smoking Lounges (07:38 AM) - To each hotel megalomaniac his own, but here is what I found particularly irksome about the new policy:The change in policy will start in September, and guests who smoke in hotel rooms face a clean-up fee ranging from $200 to…
India Blocking Websites, Blogs? (12:02 AM) - Very disturbing — and surprising, really — news out of Mumbai and New Delhi….
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Welcome Back, My Friends, To The Blog That Never Ends (09:50 PM) - It was a scorcher in down-home Orem, Utah today, and the sturdy data center which houses Dartblog.com just gave up. (Or, rather, gave up after the municipal electric gave up and the UPS gave up and the diesel gave up….
AP: Tabloid retracts Britney Spears story (01:30 PM) - Heh:DUBLIN, Ireland - The U.S.-based National Enquirer published a rare apology and retraction in its British edition Tuesday to pop star Britney Spears, whom the tabloid last month reported was ready to split from husband Kevin Federline.Oh, but she was…
In New Hampshire’s Largest Newspaper, Dartmouth Republicans and Democrats Come Out Against Proposed Constitution (07:17 AM) - Adam Patinkin ‘07, president of the New Hampshire College Democrats, and Rahul Sangwan ‘07, president of the Dartmouth College Republicans, have come out in the pages of the New Hampshire Union Leader against the proposed new constitution. The piece is…
Monday, July 17, 2006
American Evacuation Update Re: Lebanon (12:36 PM) - Many other countries have already pulled their citizens out of Lebanon, but the United States, not panicking, has been slower to do so. Now, plans are in place:A commercial ship escorted by a U.S. destroyer will start evacuating some Americans…
Israeli Patriots and Arrows (11:42 AM) - This news is about twelve hours old—stale—but a little fun nonetheless. Vital Perspective, written by a couple of seers somewhere in the twisted corridors of Washington, reports:Israel has moved batteries of Patriot anti-missile missiles into the Haifa area. The defensive…
John McCain on Defending The Mid-East Democracy (11:32 AM) - John McCain may or may not be one of those ‘Republicans in Name Only’ (never liked that way of viewing things, myself), but he gets the big things right….
Everything in Proportion (11:26 AM) - Jay Nordlinger: “Our old friend proportionality,” et cetera, of course….
Israeli Ground Forces in Lebanon? (08:19 AM) - If this AP dispatch is accurate and complete, then news reports of Israeli boots on the ground in Lebanon, while true, do not signal a turning point in the war, or a move to conventional, extended warfare. Instead, it appears…
The Warmongering French (07:42 AM) - TigerHawk notices something odd: France’s nationalistic, boots-in-the-street, tanks-roll-round parades on Bastille Day. Well, come to think of it, this world is host to only a very small number of powerful nations which do not do public military demonstrations, with tanks…
Bush: “Get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit” (07:37 AM) - Unaware that a microphone was on, President Bush expressed to Tony Blair the thoughts of pretty much everyone in the civilized world….
WSJ Newstracker (07:24 AM) - The Wall Street Journal has established a free Middle East Newstracker, available here. It is updated constantly….
“Peretz, don’t worry, we’ll be seeing you at The Hague.” (07:18 AM) - So went the shouts at this large left-wing rally in Tel Aviv to protest Israel’s effort to defuse the terrorist organization Hezbollah. “Israel is overreacting” also seemed to be a popular slogan. The protestors, specifically, called for negotiation with both…
It’s Canada (07:01 AM) - If John Hinderaker has accurately enumerated the frontrunners in this year’s Miss Universe contest—and trust in that, friends—then, gee, it doesn’t seem like much of a contest at all. Viva Canada. UPDATE: Sheesh, she’s younger than me!…
Sunday, July 16, 2006
One More for the Road (10:53 PM) - The Washington Post memorializes Bill Miller, who died on July 1 at the age of ninety-one. He was Frank Sinatra’s longtime pianoman, an extremely talented man. He is also one of the few pianists these days whose playing will be…
Karl Rove Secretly Controls the New York Times (07:36 AM) - Arthur Sulzberger the younger gave a quiet announcement to his Board of Directors yesterday: “During an internal investigation, we reached the regrettable conclusion that Karl Rove has been running this newspaper since at least August, 2002.”…
Russia Declares Israel’s Reaction “Disproportionate” (07:09 AM) - Moscow and some Eurofriends are condemning Israel’s response to soldier-abduction and town-missiling as larger— that is to say more effective—than the original aggression. Quite. It is almost as if Israel wants to win this war against a bloc of nations…
Dear Brother (07:02 AM) - Former New York Times Mid-East Correspondent Youssef Ibrahim pens a letter to his brethren who are about to die for nothing more, at this late date, than the chance to fight one Jew. Not for land or liberty or a…
Saturday, July 15, 2006
“Nah,” They Said. (11:53 PM) - Edith Lederer reports for the Associated Press: “N. Korea rejects U.N.’s limited sanctions.”…
MSNBC Reports on Students at American University of Beirut (06:00 PM) - Via an e-mail from reader Alex Riemer, this MSNBC report on forty American students, all taking an Arabic program this Summer, trapped in Lebanon. The end of the article notes:U.S. State Department officials are discussing the possibility of evacuation with…
Ready for War (05:43 PM) - The Strategic Forecasting folks have just dispatched this, with the headline “Red Alert”:We are now in the period preceding major conventional operations. Israel is in the process of sealing the Lebanese coast. They have disrupted Lebanese telecommunications, although they have…
A Dispatch from Beirut (04:19 PM) - Dartmouth sophomore Harrison Davies is studying overseas this Summer, and just left Beirut, where he had been taking classes. Harrison sends the following message and photograph of Lebanese soldiers stationed just outside his dormitory: Thursday night was the last night…
Say, Didn’t There Used To Be A Blog ‘Round Here? (11:11 AM) - A quick glance at the official blog of the Alumni Governance Task Force — the group which drafted a proposed new constitution for Dartmouth’s Association of Alumni — reveals a major change of heart. Not as regards the text of…
Friday, July 14, 2006
Oh, Please (11:59 AM) - I was reading this list of purportedly correct uses of the English language to which “pedants” routinely object. (That’s right: “To which.”) But when the writer started defending the phrase “near miss”, I just closed the browser window and went…
World Unstable; Dollars Purchased (11:42 AM) - TigerHawk: “In times of trouble, money does not flow to just any port of refuge. It comes to the United States. I think we all know why.”…
It’s Summertime and the Readin’ is Easy (11:31 AM) - If you are searching for more Summer reading and would like to know what the new Poet Laureate of the United States of America is reading, you would do well to go over to Drew Cline’s blog and read last…
A Letter from Bill Carney, Class of 1975 (08:39 AM) - Bill Carney is a member of the Dartmouth Council of Alumni and was asked, like his fellow Councillors, to vote on the proposed new constitution preliminarily—that is, before it goes out to the whole alumni body. (It will go out…
Ten to One (08:20 AM) - There should be a large stone statue of John Bolton somewhere, soon — at least before it becomes taboo to depict the human form. At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, where every freedom-loving nation, hating Islamism, showed…
Viva Zidane (08:10 AM) - It is July 14, and Greg Gutfield says, “Happy Bastille Day, France. Your hero’s one of us.”…
“another victory for the gun lobby” (07:54 AM) - The Reuters news-‘n-opinion Agency reports a Senate action to halt firearm confiscation thusly:WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to prohibit the confiscation of legally owned guns during an emergency like last year’s Hurricane Katrina, marking another victory…
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Major Donors at Harvard Take Larry Ellison’s Lead (02:48 PM) - The folks at the Chronicle of Higher Education ask, “Could one of the largest fund-raising machines in higher education be struggling for major gifts?”…
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (02:12 PM) - A “phenomenal” missile defense test….
Shakeseare First Folio Sells for $5.2M at Sotheby’s (09:03 AM) - The 1623 volume had previously been in the care of Dr. William’s Protestant Library, since 1716. Making that, AP reports, “the longest uninterrupted ownership by a public library of any copy” of Shakespeare’s First Folio. It is not mentioned who…
The Israel-Hezbollah War (08:33 AM) - It has always been a war over there, in all but name, and to be realistic about it, it probably won’t be called a war even now. But the strikes are hard and frequent, it seems. Washington Post is posting…
(S)he Begs to Differ (08:28 AM) - Ben Barres is a scientist. (S)he used to be Barbara Barres. (S)he disagrees with Larry Summers, here….
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Alumni Council Voted Again; Not Unanimous (05:36 PM) - A developing story here on the Hanover plain is a June re-vote of the Dartmouth Alumni Council on the proposed constitutional overhaul. Illustrating the disparity between the Council and the Dartmouth community at large, the Council previously voted unanimously in…
Rocketbust (03:54 PM) - Over the years I have directed not a few souls to the dulcet videographic libations of Amanda Congdon, who hosted the two-minutes-per-day Rocketboom program right here. She’s a comely twentysomething; an aspiring actress living in Manhattan (though she now resides…
Additional Soldiers Abducted; Israel Continues to Send Aid (10:57 AM) - Islamist warriors—Hezbollah, this time—have completed a military action against Israel in a cross-border mission to abduct two and kill three Israeli soldiers. The two are now in terrorist hands, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called the raid “an act…
Forty (09:11 AM) - How significant is it that Bush’s poll numbers are recovering?…
U.S. News & World Report: “gun control is a political loser” (08:19 AM) - It really is, isn’t it? It is almost (but only almost) a matter of sorrow that the Democrats have learned not to listen to the anti-gun zealots. After all, doing so made them look plenty silly to people who would…
Lashkar-e-Toiba and Students Islamic Movement of India (08:04 AM) - Get to know the acronym SIMI, reports the Times of India. A non-Islamic nation composed of free people, enriched by free trade, and secured by comity with the Western world, India is now a target for exactly the sort of…
Chinese Spy Cases Increase; Arms Secrets Transferred (08:01 AM) - Popular Mechanics (But doesn’t this seem like the sort of thing that should be on the front page of a newspaper?) reports on a recent spate of cases involving Chinese spies, and concludes that a Chinese arms build-up has been…
Vladimir Putin’s Inimical Interests (07:46 AM) - In the New York Times on Monday, former Russian chess champion and professional supercomputer-slayer Garry Kasparov gives President Bush some advice as he heads into the next “Group of 7” meeting. (“I say ‘Group of 7’ rather than ‘Group of…
Egypt and Israel Share a Red Carpet (07:43 AM) - Your friendly local TigerHawk has the photographic evidence….
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
“His Coffee’s Really Not That Bad” (07:28 PM) - Here is Ned Lamont’s latest television advertisement as he continues to frump Joe Lieberman in a bid for the Democratic nomination in Connecticut. It isn’t an especially remarkable ad, I thought, but for the very last line. The gal who…
Photo of Mozart’s widow found (01:38 PM) - The BBC reports that in the town archives of Bavaria—wonderful things, town archives are—was just found the very first, the very last, the only surviving photograph of Constanze Mozart, born Weber, the wife of Wolfgang Mozart….
Six Metro Explosions in Mumbai (10:42 AM) - It is July 11th in India, as a series of terrorist explosions strikes the public transit system reports the Times of India….
“Power Line Library” (08:14 AM) - It is located in Iraq. Wonderful news, wonderful pictures….
The Bastion of What, Now? (07:49 AM) - From a generally-very-silly New York Times piece this morn about the recent gay marriage ruling: Perhaps most telling of all, the state’s highest court ruled last week that gay couples cannot legally marry, and explained its decision by suggesting that…
Monday, July 10, 2006
Breaking News (05:51 PM) - A U.S. District Judge has just ruled that members of Congress “are not above the law”. Really….
Dartblog: Always Ahead of the Curve! (05:11 PM) - This past May, I wrote in “The Original Micromanager” about a very interesting new release from England’s Opera Rara label, called Mozart: The Supreme Decorator. In the post I mentioned the importance of this release and the unique musicology behind…
First Under The Guillotine? Medical Research. (04:44 PM) - It is difficult to believe that President Bush has come this far without exercising veto power over a single piece of Congressproduct. Either the Capitol is writing remarkably little or else no one in the White House is paying attention…
Unconstitutional, Unless You Do A Referendum (03:59 PM) - Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court famously ruled in 2003 that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional, making it legal for people of the same sex to get married in that state. Today, that same court ruled against a coalition of…
Japan Considers Preemptive Strike Against North Korea (12:15 PM) - Japan, which pursuant its own constitution cannot project military force, is weighing the preemptive strike option as regards North Korea, whose (mostly) failed missile tests last week rumbled Tokyo’s bow.TOKYO (AP) - Japan said Monday it was considering whether a…
The Electioneering Begins, Continued (10:39 AM) - Scott Johnson at Power Line comments on the leaked e-mail which seems to set up a sort of ‘campaign strategy’ in favor of the proposed new constitution at Dartmouth: All Dartmouth alumni, regardless of their opinion on the constitution, seem…
Tom Brokaw Joins Fight Against Global Warming (07:21 AM) - How many celebrities does it take to impose the shadow of the future on humanity? I’m supposing the answer is somewhere near infinity, and that people don’t actually consider an assertion more convincing when one more television name signs on…
“Mais Pourquoi, Mais Pourquoi, Mais Pourquoi?” (07:10 AM) - The big thing that happened at the soccer game yesterday afternoon was that a French fellow head-butted an Italian. Here’s the video….
Sunday, July 09, 2006
The Electioneering Begins (08:15 PM) - The e-mail reprinted in full below was mass-mailed on Thursday, July 6 to the members of the Dartmouth Class Officers Assocation by that association’s president. The subject line is, “Support for the Alumni Constitution,” referring to the controversial proposed constitutional…
Embracing its dhimmitude, BBC bans “dhimmi” (08:12 PM) - At the world news website of the British Broadcasting Company, you cannot submit a comment to a news article—they call it the ‘Have Your Say’ section—with the word ‘dhimmi’ in it. It is automatically censored. Because ‘dhimmi’ is offensive to…
The Prepositional ‘Absent’ (03:49 PM) - It appears that both Ann Althouse and Sasha Volokh attach something lawerly and distasteful to the use of the word absent as a preposition. I think it sounds nice that way. UPDATE: Sasha Volokh corrects me. He did not make…
I Won’t Dance, Madame, With You (09:51 AM) - In 1892, a man called T.A. Faulkner had a wonderful piece of polemic against the act of dancing, called, “From the Ball-Room to Hell”.But let us turn our attention again to the dancers, at two o’clock next morning. This is…
New Delhi’s Fully-Cocked Test (08:22 AM) - It is a testing pile-on, and here comes India, initiating a test launch this morning of its new nuclear-capable Agni III missile. “The launch of the missile, with a range of 1,865 miles, is seen as a routine test, and…
Mahmoud, Once More, With Feeling (07:34 AM) - The state executive stands before a crowd of the like-minded—brought together, as have been rooms with similar intents in decades past, 1) by religion and 2) by a desire to impose that religion on all, or else deprive the others…
A Cute Photograph for a Sunday Morning (07:13 AM) - The below picture moved on the Reuters wire on June 30. It shows a little mouse hitching a ride on the back of a little frog. ‘Twas in Lucknow, India that this picture was taken, so perhaps you now understand…
The Special Alliance of English-Speaking Peoples (12:38 AM) - Taylor Owen wonders if the special relationship between the English and the Americans, which has carried humanity through much, isn’t holding together so well….
Even if North Korea Can’t Get Its Missiles Up… (12:28 AM) - D’apres this fascinating (and free) Wall Street Journal backgrounder, it can still sell working missiles to other nations. North Korea’s biggest customers for missiles are, in descending order: Iran, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan….
Saturday, July 08, 2006
The Doctor’s Comments (08:09 PM) - It seems that the gal’s been 86’d at the University of Arizona, but I find it compelling and mysterious how someone who can craft comments like these might actually be on the research faculty of a large state university, and…
All Those Little Things (09:18 AM) - ‘Twas a close one. Had you heard about the United Nations Small Arms Conference? It is (now was) one of the most brazen examples of the ‘international community’ attempting to short circuit state sovereignty and impose its law—determined not by…
Friday, July 07, 2006
Miss Popular (07:43 PM) - Way back when Britain acceded to the European Union, its government commissioned an estimate of how many foreign workers would migrate to within the United Kingdom in search of a better work and a better life, as a result of…
One True Inherent Meaning (07:37 PM) - Eugene Volokh gets grammatical on homosexual marriage. I think he deliberately misses the distinction between meaning and function, but a fascinating post nonetheless….
“Listening in Not a Bad Idea When It’s Your Tunnel” (10:10 AM) - Kathryn Lopez observes that Chuck Schumer, he just doesn’t mind….
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Amnesty Int’l Considering Adding Abortion to Roster (05:49 PM) - Peter Spiro, writing at Opinio Juris provides some details and (if I am not reading too much into his post) some support….
Calderon Victorious in Mexico, Continued. (04:20 PM) - Felipe Calderon is the official winner of Mexico’s presidential election….
“The death of Mr. Lay in all likelihood will render the government’s hard-fought victory null.” (01:53 PM) - The New York Times reports on the death of Kenneth Lay and chooses the above to summarize the import of his untimely death, the words of a former federal prosecutor. Mark me down with Tory Fodder, who comments, “Death did…
Headline of the Day (01:25 PM) - AFP: “Putin compares stomach kiss incident to stroking a cat” Vladimir Putin was walking through the Kremlin last week, the full posse behind, and happened upon a small boy fully foreign to him. So Vladimir Putin stopped, countenanced the strange…
“Let’s ensure a level playing field and treat as equals each Dartmouth alumnus seeking a seat on the Board.” (12:49 PM) - In the pages of The Dartmouth this morn, alum Tim Dreisbach, who has long been involved in alumni affairs, argues against passage of the proposed constitution, upon which all alumni can vote starting September 15. The article makes a special…
Marriage Ruling in Georgia, Too (11:28 AM) - Rejecting a lower court’s legal reasoning, the Supreme Court in Georgia has reversed in a technical, not substantive, challenge to that state’s constitutional ban on gay marriage. The lower court had accepted arguments that the ban was illegally enacted because…
Japan Gives the Expedite Order (10:34 AM) - Is there any remaining doubt that Kim Jong-il’s decision to recklessly launch a series of not-entirely-controllable missiles as a “test” has caused wide-ranging destabilization in the arena? First Taiwan announces its planned test of a medium-range missile, and now Japan’s…
New York Court Rules Against Gay Marriage (10:30 AM) - The State of New York’s ultimate appeals court—surprisingly, I think, being as the pro gay marriage movement had looked forward to this ruling with optimism—rejected arguments in favor of gay marriage this morning, ceding to New Yorkers the right to…
Taiwan to Test Fire A China-Capable Missile (08:38 AM) - This announcement is probably destabilizing, although it is difficult to dismiss the beauty of this small island’s continued willingness to flout one of the world’s most powerful nations—and one which claims, but is unwilling to fight for, a Taiwan under…
Kim the Dunce (08:05 AM) - Scott Ott: “The United Nations Security Council, outraged at this week’s missile tests by a nuclear-capable North Korea, takes up debate today on a resolution to sanction that nation’s dictator with ‘one minute of time-out for each missile launched.’” If…
Yale Listens to Yale (06:55 AM) - It is so often said and so easily ignored that the president of a university, while he is fully expected to lead uniquely, strongly, and passionately, is still mere steward of an institution created and underwritten by everyone who is…
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Young Senators Needed (12:57 PM) - The Internet has recently been abuzz about some comments Senator Ted Stevens made from that highest of wells, regarding the Internet itself and how it works. Stevens was engaged in a peroration in opposition to an idea called ‘network neutrality,’…
The Game Theory of Soccer (12:35 PM) - Here is an interesting note from Paul Mirengoff, the political commentary world’s resident soccer fan. He oberves that forwards are disappearing in professional play, especially in this current World Cup tournament. “Too many teams,” he says, “employed only one forward…
In New Jersey, Anything But Cut Spending (11:37 AM) - New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine learned that Trenton (our fair capital) does not have enough money to balance the budget. So what he did is, he shut down the casinos. In the words of an e-mailer, “How did this man…
“An Experiment.” (11:27 AM) - It seems to me a matter of some significant national concern that people like these exist. Even just one or two….
A Short Note To Glenn Reynolds Regarding Snack Cakes (10:42 AM) - These are fatty, yes, but patriotic indeed. Bought some last weekend. Delicious….
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
John, to Abigail (10:41 AM) - Philadelphia July 3d. 1776 Had a Declaration of Independency been made seven Months ago, it would have been attended with many great and glorious Effects … . We might before this Hour, have formed Alliances with foreign States….
George, to Martha (09:35 AM) - Phila. June 23d 1775. My dearest, As I am within a few Minutes of leaving this City, I could not think of departing from it without dropping you a line; especially as I do not know whether it may be…
“Independence Day” — Gregory Pence (05:15 AM) - Dartblog reader and Union-Leader cartoonist Gregory Pence drew the above cartoon, an alternate version of the drawing appearing in holiday editions of New Hampshire’s newspaper….
Monday, July 03, 2006
“Automatic D.Q. For ‘Reversal of Fortune’” (07:38 PM) - We’re eating pizza, burgers, and watching the Annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest from old Coney Island on ESPN. They’ve just listed the official rules of this heavily-regulated sect of the competitive eating sport. Among them, the ‘reversal of fortune’…
Calderon Victorious in Mexico (12:26 PM) - Reuters reports the news from Mexico:MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s conservative presidential candidate Felipe Calderon declared victory on Monday in a bitterly contested election and official returns appeared to show his leftist rival could no longer catch him. Calderon said…
Fifty Million Dollars (11:24 AM) - That is the probable price tag of a public relations campaign commensurate with the heave-up George Mason’s recent basketball success gave the Virginia university. According, at least, to the low-end estimations of economist C. Scott Bozman. Todd Zywicki notes the…
Listen, Everyone Already Knew That There Was a Signal System in Place! (07:21 AM) - The New York Times covers America’s preparations to oppose swarming British Regulars at Lexington and Concord. Heh. Did you catch the byline? UPDATE: This must have already been marked by a thousand people, but is it not just grand that…
The Soma and the Damage Done (06:56 AM) - Andrew Seal, editor of Dartmouth’s progressive Free Press publication, updates himself on the Dartmouth governance debate and gives this take on the “leadership arc” envisaged in the constitutional proposal which will go out to all alumni for a vote on…
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Mexico Votes (10:16 PM) - Mark in Mexico is writing about the returns in real time. UPDATE: The next morning, the vote is still too close to call, at least by the quicktab count already done. A full-scale counting will therefore begin on Wednesday. If…
The Philippines Bans Capital Punishment (06:16 PM) - There is good news from the Asia-Pacific region today, as the Philippines, for the second time in her history, has banned the death penalty for all crimes. This happened a decade ago, but capital punishment was reinstated in 1993, with…
Quiet, Dusty, Saint Michaels, in the State of Maryland (05:45 PM) - From a profile of little St. Michaels, which the Rumsfelds and Cheneys call home: “The houses have names. Mr. Rumsfeld’s is Mount Misery and is just across Rolles Creek from a house called Mount Pleasant. On four acres, with four…
The Revelation Policy (05:04 PM) - Jeff Jarvis puts some words in the mouth of Bill Keller: “I will reveal a secret government program when I can show that it violates the law or abuses the power given under that law. I will reveal such a…
Welcome, Miriam (04:43 PM) - Congratulations to David and Rabia Gale, on the birth of little Miriam!…
Was John Fitzgerald Kennedy a ‘king,’ too? (11:49 AM) - John Hinderaker posts audio of a 1961 speech by President Kennedy to the American Newspaper Publishers Association. In it, he asks that newspaper editors consider not just the question, “Is it news?” in considering stories for publication, but also, “Is…
Rated ‘PG’ for Godliness (11:32 AM) - The story that a children’s cartoon movie was rated ‘PG’ rather than ‘G’ because of its religious undertones may not be true, according to this report. That’s probably right, although Roy Blunt’s criticism of the subjective nature of the MPAA’s…
More Silly Soccer Stuff on a Sunday
…Extra: Sexy Soccer Girl Photo! (09:33 AM) - France beat Brazil yesterday, didn’t she? I think the game ended with a score of one to zero. (My friend watches these things.) That means that that very first goal determined the outcome of the game—folks scurried around for the…
Saturday, July 01, 2006
The Right Brothers — Back Again (04:46 PM) - Brian with The Right Brothers was kind enough to send along the band’s newest release, “Remember: A Military Appreciation Project.” The new album was released on June 13 (and is available for purchase here). It is a collection of old…
Evidently It is Sweeps Week on the Internet (09:30 AM) - Tigerhawk celebrates Maria Sharapova’s victory over Anna Smashnova. Somewhere in the world there is an Associated Press photo editor with just a swell life….
The State of the Times (09:01 AM) - Peggy Noonan earlier this week gave a good gloss to the New York Times and its run of dagger-eyed revelatory reports on just how—with which specific tactics—crime fighters and intelligence officers across the country have kept America unblistered every day…
Jon, See If You Can Follow Me On This (08:30 AM) - The people of New Jersey elect you, after you say you won’t raise taxes. You propose raising taxes. The people, through their local representatives Democratic and Republican, say no. You threaten to shut down the New Jersey government to have…