The Corner on National Review Online

Monday, November 23, 2009

Cooling on Phil [Mark Steyn]

On the Warmergate scandal, the Settled Scientists seem to be settling on Phil Jones, head of the Climate Research Unit, as the designated fall guy. George Monbiot in the Guardian:

It’s no use pretending this isn’t a major blow. The emails extracted by a hacker from the climatic research unit at the University of East Anglia could scarcely be more damaging. I am now convinced that they are genuine, and I’m dismayed and deeply shaken by them... There appears to be evidence here of attempts to prevent scientific data from being released, and even to destroy material that was subject to a freedom of information request.

Worse still, some of the emails suggest efforts to prevent the publication of work by climate sceptics, or to keep it out of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. I believe that the head of the unit, Phil Jones, should now resign.

But . . .

I'd skip the "But . . .". It's dreary and pro forma stuff. Meanwhile, fellow Settled Scientist Tim Flannery is sounding . . . kinda unsettled:

We’re dealing with an incomplete understanding of the way the earth system works… When we come to the last few years when we haven’t seen a continuation of that (warming) trend we don’t understand all of the factors that create earth’s climate...We just don’t understand the way the whole system works… See, these people work with models, computer modelling. So when the computer modelling and the real world data disagree you’ve got a very interesting problem… Sure for the last 10 years we’ve gone through a slight cooling trend.

Really? Golly, when I said as much a few months back, the excitable lads in the George Soros typing pool at Media Matters denounced it as a "false claim." Apparently, it's now safe to say it in polite society.

11/23 10:23 PM Share

NRO: A Father-Son Bonding Experience [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $50 NRO contributor:

I have been a follower for 30 years. Now I have the privilege of having my son share NRO with me online!!

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 10:00 PM Share

NROasis [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $25 NRO contributor:

As a 26 year old living and working in DC (for one of our more leftward leaning government agencies), The Corner is like an oasis in the dessert of liberal absurdity I encounter on a daily basis. Whenever I feel an Obama induced panic attack coming on, I need only to jump over here for some much needed assurance that not everyone has lost their minds.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 09:00 PM Share

Saturday Morning Conservatism [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $100 NRO contributor:

When I was a kid, I would wake up on Saturday morning to watch cartoons. Now I wake up on Saturday morning to read Steyn's latest column and listen to Radio Derb. NRO keeps me young.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 08:00 PM Share

'Congressman Kennedy’s position on abortion can be viewed as the confused fruit of the scandalous incoherence of his father’s generation with regard to the faith and the sanctity of human life' [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

On the fraternal correction of Patrick Kennedy.

11/23 07:04 PM Share

Peer Pressure Works [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $25 NRO contributor:

My boss would probably be willing to donate several thousands more if you would agree to go out of business and remove the temptation that draws me away from work several times a day.

Sorry it took me so long to give, but eventually the peer pressure was too great from my fellow corner readers.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 07:00 PM Share

The RNC Hits the Panic Button [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

Alex Castellanos appears to be moving in to make some messaging sense of the place.

11/23 06:20 PM Share

Forty Years in the Desert [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $50 NRO contributor:

I think the last time I donated was about 40 years ago in response to an especially compelling letter from WFB. But boy is it ever time to start giving again. Bless you all.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 06:00 PM Share

Maddow's Punditry [Jonah Goldberg]

I caught Rachel Maddow's show by accident over the weekend in my hotel room. I went and looked up what I thought I heard her say. And, by golly, she really said it. Talking to Elliot Spitzer about abortion politics:

SPITZER: This is Kate Michelman`s very powerful and effective op-ed in the "New York Times" last weekend saying, "How dare you, on the issue of choice, abandon us?"

MADDOW: That`s right.

SPITZER: And this is, within each party, the same tension that you will see on - you know, replayed every time you`ve lost and -

MADDOW: Except it`s not a mirror, because on the right there is a very well-organized, well-funded conservative movement that can effectively pull the center so far to the right that it is unrecognizable. On the left, it`s a few blogs and Kate Michelman.

Yes, that's right. Pro-choice forces in American politics and culture amount to a "few blogs and Kate Michelman."

How on earth do people take her analysis of politics seriously if she can say such things with such confidence?

11/23 05:59 PM Share

Subject: Thoughts from a Walter Reed Patient with PTSD [Rich Lowry]

Here is one more e-mail about PTSD and the Hasan shooting. Sorry I'm so tardy posting it, but I recommend reading the blog post that's linked in the e-mail (warning: salty language).

Mr Lowry,

I am a wounded Iraq War Vet. I lost my right arm to an IED in late 2006. I was a patient at Walter Reed for 9 months in 2007, the same time Major Hassan was there. I have PTSD and TBI. The attempts by the media to say this guy has PTSD by proxy are absolutely disgusting, and serve as a giant middle finger toward every Soldier like me who has actually deployed and has real medical problems. I posted the following on my blog this weekend. I'm sending you the text only version. The post on my blog has photos of me at Walter Reed with my doctors and therapists.

11/23 05:59 PM Share

Iowa Still Hearts Huckabee [Rich Lowry]

According to this Des Moines Register poll, Huck blows away other Republicans in Iowa on fav/unfav:

Mike Huckabee: 54 / 22

Sarah Palin: 37 / 55

Newt Gingrich: 42 / 36

Mitt Romney: 40 / 31

Tim Pawlenty: 17 / 10

Bobby Jindal: 16 / 10

George Pataki: 16 / 14

11/23 05:43 PM Share

Admitting It Is the First Step [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $250 NRO contributor:

Hi, I’m Stephen and I’m an NRO addict (I visit The Corner every couple hours). If I were a gambling addict, you can bet that I’d be supporting Caesars or the Bellagio. So, here’s $250. Keep the intellectual crack coming!

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 05:30 PM Share

Re: Living (Yankee) History [Mark Krikorian]

Derb: Didn't I see him in a dream?

11/23 05:28 PM Share

Never Forget Coalition Plans Rally Against Civilian Trials for 9/11 Terrorists [Andy McCarthy]

I'll be joining Debra Burlingame, Rep. Pete King (R., N.Y.), Tim Brown, and Peter Regan at a press conference tomorrow in lower Manhattan, in anticipation of a big rally the 9/11 Never Forget Coalition is organizing for Saturday, December 5, to protest the Obama administration's decision to give the 9/11 jihadists a civilian trial.

The 9/11 Never Forget Coalition has more details, here. The announcement, in part, reads:

The 9/11 Never Forget Coalition, a diverse group of 9/11 victims, family members, first responders, active and reserve members of the military, veterans, and concerned Americans, is holding a November 24th press conference to discuss the details of their December 5th rally protesting the plan to bring the 9/11 terrorist conspirators to trial in New York City.

The Coalition formed to fight the decision of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to try the 9/11 co-conspirators in New York City’s federal court, effectively giving war criminals the same rights as American citizens while endangering the safety of all New Yorkers. Two weeks ago, we sent a letter signed by 300 family members of 9/11 victims to the President, Attorney General and Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking them to reverse course. The letter has now been signed by over 120,000 Americans and is posted at http://www.keepamericasafe.com.

At the November 24th press conference, leading organizers of the Coalition will give details on a large rally which will be held on December 5th in New York City to protest the plan to bring terrorist detainees to trial in civilian courts.

Debra Burlingame, founder of 911 Families for a Safe and Strong America, said “We chose to hold it on Thanksgiving Week in the hope that our fellow Americans will join us in sending our prayers and messages of thanks to our troops and first responders, who will bear the brunt of these dangerous decisions made in Washington. Our rally on Saturday, December 5 will tell Attorney General Eric Holder, President Barack Obama and their supporters in Congress: We will fight you all the way!”

11/23 05:22 PM Share

Go Home to Momma [Mark Krikorian]

Ruben Navarette, certainly no restrictionist, offers an interesting moral rationale for why illegal aliens should pack up and return home:

In many Mexican villages, all you find are older people — many of them now working harder to earn a few extra pesos to send to children in the United States. This is, at best, a temporary solution. Folks on both sides of the border are treading water and trying to buy enough time for the U.S. economy to bounce back and for the jobs to return. At that point, they hope things will go back to the way they used to be — money flowing south.

But until that happens, why remain here? For pride? For hubris? To avoid accepting failure? For that, they're allowing their elderly parents — many of whom have worked their entire lives — to continue to work long hours, perhaps putting their own health in jeopardy? What if something happens to them in the process? It's not worth it. Life is short enough as it is.

If the immigrants who are in the United States can't afford to live here, then remaining is a luxury they also can't afford. They might not be better off at home. But their families might be. If so, time to go.

11/23 05:18 PM Share

So That's Why It's Taking So Long [Mark Krikorian]

From The Hill:

House Democrats are making changes to their immigration legislation to reflect the nation's high unemployment rate.

The move comes as recognition that the 10.2 percent jobless rate – which is expected to rise and remain in double-digits for much of 2010 – has altered the political landscape for an immigration bill.

"Each bill is reflective of a time. And with unemployment over 10 percent I think we need to have language that is very carefully tailored," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.).

Carefully tailored, indeed. Actually, if they were serious about immigration policy reflecting the nation's high unemployment rate, then a suspension of immigration would be in order. It's not a long-term strategy (there's a certain book that lays out one of those), but it has a lot to recommend it over the next couple of years.

11/23 05:16 PM Share

. . . and We Have a Plan [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $100 NRO contributor:

I couldn't let the opportunity pass when I learned that my donation will save or create 500 jobs in the 999th Congressional District of New Caprica.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 05:00 PM Share

Blogging WAD [John Derbyshire]

Readers of WAD can lighten my e-mail load a bit by checking to see, before e-mailing me on some point, whether the point has been dealt with in my ever-lengthening WAD blog.

11/23 04:52 PM Share

Bleeped and Not-Bleeped [Jay Nordlinger]

Thought I’d give you a sampling of mail on this “teabagger” piece — three very different letters:

Jay,

Somehow, “balls to the wall” and “balls out,” which aren’t obscene, are now considered to be so. “Balls to the wall” comes from WW2 bomber pilots and their throttle levers; “balls out” has to do with governors on steam engines. Anyway, whenever someone uses either expression on TV, it’s bleeped out. ESPN did it yesterday when a football player said “balls to the wall.”

Yet “teabagger” is okay?

All right, Letter No. 2:

I hope that we can run the term “teabagger” out of town on a rail. More than that, I hope that conservatives will embrace the Tea Party concept in every possible way. Everything about the term Tea Party has a positive connotation. Tea is good. Parties are good. Tea Parties are good, and the Boston Tea Party is part of our shared history as Americans. Before you know it, Democrats will be declaring that they’re the ones with the real Tea Party spirit.

Well, that would be interesting. And No. 3:

Jay,

You speak of the “N-word” as the worst word in American English. And I have two questions for you. First, is a word that cannot be spoken or even spelled out (“the N-word”) even a word any longer? For instance, in another 20 years, won’t there be a fair number of people who won’t know what “N-word” means?

I doubt it.

And

second, if some people are allowed to use a word, and use it with abandon, how can it really be the worst of all words? Wouldn’t the worst of all words be one that no one, anywhere, should use?

Culture, like life, is strange.

11/23 04:33 PM Share

Never Concede! [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $50 NRO contributor:

I banked this in '08 for the Re-elect Cynthia McKinney campaign, but I have been forced to admit that although she never conceded that I know of, she's not the president. I guess you guys can have it. Thanks for everything.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 04:30 PM Share

Living (Yankee) History [John Derbyshire]

If you'd like to have John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Edward Everett, or Calvin Coolidge join you in your seasonal celebrations, Jim Cooke will be glad to oblige. As well as being a fine historical-character actor, with a lifetime of treading the boards behind him, Jim is also a considerable scholar. The strength of his impersonations comes from the research he puts into them.

11/23 04:08 PM Share

Hidden Meanings (cont.) [John Derbyshire]

A most energetic response coming in here from the reader base for the Economist quiz.

First picture:

Tea-partiers ask to cut government down to size.

"No, Mr. Citibank, I expect you to die!"

The White House staff sings the Internationale while attending Morgan Stanley's briss.

"Will Lego-Man escape the clutches of the evil Toy Baron?"

Keep reading this post . . .

11/23 04:06 PM Share

Mending Ties with Karzai [Alexander Benard]

Once Barack Obama concludes his review of U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, he must turn to the urgent task of repairing our country’s diplomatic relationship with Hamid Karzai, freshly inaugurated for another five-year presidential term. That relationship, critical to our efforts in Afghanistan, is presently in dire straits.

Trouble began in January, during a visit to Kabul by then vice president–elect Joe Biden. Biden had previously insulted Karzai by angrily storming out on him while the two were in the middle of a formal dinner. In their January meeting — the first between Karzai and a member of the incoming administration — Biden reportedly focused much of the conversation on berating Karzai for his fecklessness.

There followed a series of snubs directly from the Obama White House. Obama’s first conversation as president with Karzai was not until mid-February, fully four weeks into Obama’s term and after he had announced his decision to send 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. Later that spring, at a press conference, Obama referred to Karzai as “very detached,” and several senior administration officials leaked to the press Obama’s view that Karzai had become an impediment to U.S. goals in Afghanistan.

Matters came to a head with the appointment of Richard Holbrooke as special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Known for his brusque, overbearing style, Holbrooke quickly alienated Karzai, often chastising him in front of his own ministers and sitting in meetings with his back toward Karzai — a sign of extreme disrespect in Afghan culture. Holbrooke’s rapport with Karzai has reportedly deteriorated so much over the past few months that Karzai now refuses even to sit in a room with him.

Keep reading this post . . .

11/23 04:03 PM Share

The NRO Stimulus [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $50 NRO contributor:

I'm in charge of disbursing $100 million in stimulus funds in my state. While I'd much prefer to give that money to NRO (I could count Jonah's couch as a "job saved"), my political masters think otherwise. So my personal contribution will have to suffice for the time being.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 04:00 PM Share

Re: Lambert [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

I enjoyed this e-mail:

Subject: Well, at least I've heard of ABC

"ABC really deserves some grief for the Adam Lambert performance last night during the American Music Awards:"

Yikes. I haven't the foggiest beginning of a clue who Adam Lambert is (although I've heard the name) and what the American Music Awards are (they don't even sound familiar).

But then I realized last week not only that Oprah Winfrey's talk show has been on since I was in high school but that I've never, ever seen it. (I saw her in The Color Purple, though.)

People watch too much TV.

11/23 03:42 PM Share

Thanks, Comrade [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $28 NRO contributor:

From the People's Republic of Portland, that's $1 for every anti-Bush (What, you didn't know he was still President!?!) bumper sticker I spotted on my morning commute. Working at a very liberal college in a very liberal city, I'd be one very depressed conservative without NRO. It is indispensable to me. Thank you!

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 03:30 PM Share

Shock and Raw [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

ABC really deserves some grief for the Adam Lambert performance last night during the American Music Awards:

the "American Idol" glam rocker who sang his new song "For Your Entertainment" on Sunday's show with an elaborate, S&M-themed production. Lambert fondled a dancer, led another around on a leash, had a dancer briefly stick his head in Lambert's crotch and kissed a man.

I'll confess, too, that I couldn't bring myself to link to the amazingly critical SNL opening skit on Obama's China trip this morning after watching Lambert. Just a little too much crude for one weekend.

11/23 03:11 PM Share

The Mess that Is ACORN San Diego [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From BigGovernment:

Interestingly, the local head ACORN organizer in California, David Lagstein was caught on tape earlier this month speaking to an East County Democratic Club.

Mr. Lagstein stated: “…the attorney general is a political animal, but certainly every bit of the communication we have had with them has suggested that the fault will be found with the people that did the video and not the people with ACORN.”

Continuing, Mr. Lagstein stated: “…we are fully cooperating, some of the investigators visited our office this morning and I think they really understand what’s going on.”

Shockingly, we now learn that the ACORN office in National City (San Diego County) engaged in a massive document dump on the evening of October 9th, containing thousands upon thousands of sensitive documents, just days prior to the Attorney General’s visit.

11/23 03:01 PM Share

'Twas the Night Before Christmas . . . [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $50 NRO contributor:

'Twas the night before Xmas
And the Review was on line
With the banter of Jonah
And the humor of Steyn
When K-Lo and Lowry
And Victor and Jim
Started to raise
An incredible din
Poor Nancy's defeated
Her health bill's no more
It was soundly defeated
When brought to the floor
So O gets no present
For the hour is late
But here is my 50
Glad I could donate

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 03:00 PM Share

Jeb vs. Crist [Rich Lowry]

Another right-wing radical, namely the former popular, reformist governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, takes a shot at Charlie Crist. You have to read between the lines, but it's not hard to do.

11/23 02:45 PM Share

A Pink Thanksgiving (No, This Has Nothing to Do with San Francisco) [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

An e-mail:

Subject: Brine Your Turkey!!

Most years I send out an email to my friends and acquaintances telling them to Brine their Thanksgiving Turkey. I had never been much of a turkey eater until I brined mine. Then it was hard to keep from eating it as I cut it. My preference is to use the recipe from the Patron Saint of MY kitchen: Alton Brown. Here is the link.

Remember:
1) Brine your turkey
2) Cook to temperature based on a probe thermometer (not the pop-up)
3) Remember, brined turkeys look a tad bit pink (that is why we check the temperature to reassure ourselves.) 4) ENJOY! So, I would be much obliged if you could pass along this (or a similar brine) PSA.

Thank you. And have a blessed Thanksgiving!

11/23 02:41 PM Share

Why the Liberal Anger Over the Asian Tour? [Victor Davis Hanson]

There is a surprising amount of liberal discomfort, here and abroad, with the underwhelming nature of President Obama's Asian tour. Apparently this results from displeasure over the lack of any substantive dialogue with the Chinese about climate change (and China's inordinate coal burning), censorship, the lack of human rights, Tibet, unfair trade practices, etc. (In the president's defense, if we are going to borrow at an annual rate of $1.6 trillion for further entitlement spending, some of it floated at low interest from the Chinese, we are not going to have a lot of leverage with our creditors.)

The liberal discontent (even in the New York Times, of all places) is strange, inasmuch as Obama campaigned on exactly this sort of multilateralism and deference to the UN. In this new approach, America doesn't try to "get" anything from anyone, but simply listens, and as a guest abroad defers to its hosts. After all, Obama has rejected in explicit language the notion of American exceptionalism. The Nobel Peace Prize committee correctly sensed Obama's departure from the past and preemptively awarded him the prize, both as praise for his utopian rhetoric and as a reminder than the first multilateral president should govern as if the United States is merely one among many nations in the world.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy sensed this as well at the UN, in reference to Iran. I think most nations have caught on and are making the necessary adjustments, and the Asian tour will be followed by many more like it: inspirational photo-ops, soaring "I am the first Pacific, African, Latin American, etc. president," assurances that change abroad can happen as it has in America (as exemplified by Obama himself, of course), implicit "reset" criticism of the previous unilateral administration, and hope-and-change rhetoric about new multilateral partnerships, followed by a town-hall question-and-answer session (probably censored).

So again, why the unease with Obama's trip?

Keep reading this post . . .

11/23 02:40 PM Share

Hey, You! [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $25 NRO contributor:

You there ... yeah, you ... the one reading this here post. I used to be an NRO free-rider just like you. I finally ponied up, though, and it feels GREAT. Won't you join me?

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 02:40 PM Share

Confounding Matt Bai [Ramesh Ponnuru]

The New York Times Magazine writer ponders a paradox that doesn't exist:

Earlier this month, almost a year from the day when Barack Obama rode the wave of history into Grant Park, he had one of those weeks that makes his presidency seem, at times, so confounding. First Obama endured an electoral embarrassment, watching his party lose off-year gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia. . . . Then, just five days later, as Obama’s manifest political weakness was still being dissected on cable TV, the president stood in the Rose Garden and hailed the passage in the House of Representatives of the most comprehensive health care bill in the nation’s history — a bill he had helped pass, narrowly but solidly, by making a rare weekend visit to the Capitol to lobby for it personally. It was, as Obama acknowledged, just a first step, but it was a step no other president had managed to scale, and it seemed to confuse this issue of how powerful a president Obama really is. If Obama has no coattails, then how was he able to pressure nervous lawmakers into making such a perilous vote? And if he had enough influence to get health care reform done, then why were his coattails missing?

Here's another way of presenting the same facts. In the same week, Obama's party lost two governorships and saw 39 members of his party vote against his chief initiative. Doesn't seem quite so interestingly contradictory now, does it? Two other questions that Bai's opening paragraph raises: Under what circumstances does a 220-215 vote count as "solid" as well as "narrow"? And if House passage was only a "first step," then how can we conclude that Obama got health-care reform "done"?

Eventually Bai hits on a way to resolve the supposed paradox. "[W]hile Obama’s personal brand may not be directly transferable to other candidates, it can still be leveraged into public support for his agenda." And what's the evidence for this contention? There is none:

The real problem for Obama is that he hasn’t really done that yet. The White House has, to this point, mostly directed its power to persuade toward committee chairmen and other lawmakers, turning its attention to a broader public campaign only sporadically, when pressed to defend its agenda by tea-party protesters and fading poll numbers. As a result, perhaps, public support for each of Obama’s signature initiatives, including health care, remains lower than support for the president himself. In other words, without a sustained sales pitch to the voters, Obama has yet to convert his personal good will with the electorate into corresponding enthusiasm for his agenda.

Bai is being unfair to the president. It's not for lack of trying! In September Obama gave a televised address to a joint session of Congress to talk up the biggest item on his agenda. It's hard for any president to do more to grab people's attention as he makes his case. But the address doesn't seem to have done much to make the health-care bills popular. Getting Obama to talk more probably isn't going to help the Democrats.

11/23 02:39 PM Share

Chanukah Snub [Tevi Troy]

I have a piece at JTA about the White House's decision to cut the size of the White House Chanukah party in half. For a White House and administration that are keenly aware of the need to reward political allies, they sure seem to take the Jewish vote for granted. Meanwhile, JTA's Eric Fingerhut also reports that Republican presidential candidates, including Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney, are trying to outdo each other on how strongly they support Israel. As I note in the Fingerhut piece, “If you want to be a conservative candidate, you have to check that pro-Israel box,” as strong support for Israel is one of the key elements that unites conservatives. Perhaps Jewish voters concerned about this administration's Middle East policies should check out what the Republicans are up to.

11/23 02:21 PM Share

No Censorship Here [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $200 NRO contributor:

This year I'm giving what I would normally have given to Yale to those who defend us from creeping sharia rather than tacitly submit to it. Keep it up, NRO.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 02:20 PM Share

NRO & Marriage [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

This, I promise, is our last day of looking like PBS (minus the taxpayer subsidies!). I couldn't resist sharing this one from a $20-contributing mom:

Thank you for consistently challenging me and my reasons for *why* I believe *what* I believe; for making me laugh; for pushing me to dig deeper; and reminding me to never give up but keep fighting the good fight and never losing sight that God, family, country are the greatest gifts we have in this life.

Heh, from my description above, NRO (especially The Corner) sounds pretty similar to my husband ...except he's hotter.

11/23 02:03 PM Share

NRO: Your Higher Education [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $15 NRO contributor:

I just recently graduated from college and NRO and my subscription to the magazine were the lone oases of sound judgment and thought for four years in a desert of liberal ideology run amok. I only hope my small donation will allow NR to sustain its efforts of providing similar support to other isolated and beleaguered college conservatives.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 02:00 PM Share

Lou Dobbs for ... President? [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

He's weighing his options, he tells Fred Thompson.

11/23 01:53 PM Share

Goldman Sachs Can't Fix Washington's Problem — and Ours [Nicole Gelinas]

Several readers objected to my Saturday post on Goldman Sachs and the government. One of my points was that if people don't like the fact that Goldman is making tons of money because of an implicit government guarantee, they should blame the government, not Goldman. “Goldman is a player, not a referee, and it cannot change the rules,” I wrote.

“Do you have any evidence to support this proposition?” asked one Corner reader. “I think [people] are angry because the rules were made by ex-Goldmanites and friends of Goldman.”

Wrote another:

At the interagency [government] meeting hosted by the US Treasury [in the fall of 2008] to discuss the AIG bailout, the US Treasury secretary,” then Henry Paulson, “was the former chairman of Goldman. At the meeting there was also a representative of the private sector, the then-current chairman of Goldman. Voila! Goldman gets 100 percent back [on its AIG contracts]. That is how it is done in places like, say, Guatemala.

And a third reader:

I would have a little more sympathy for your argument that GS is just taking advantage of bizarro world rules written by the government … except, as you must surely know …, there is a revolving door between GS and Treasury, the Fed, and a host of other government regulatory agencies that are writing these rules.

Thanks to everyone for writing.

Here is my problem with the idea that Goldman has unfairly used its connections, brains, money, and power to take advantage of the system: People cannot take advantage of you unless you let them.

Keep reading this post . . .

11/23 01:50 PM Share

NRO: Refreshing! [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $100 NRO contributor:

If the refresh button on Firefox wears out, I'm blaming you guys

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 01:40 PM Share

KSM in NYC [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From my interview with former federal prosecutor and Bush-administration official Bill Burck elsewhere on NRO today ("Tom Brady & KSM"):

LOPEZ: How can the White House fix this?

BURCK: Admit their error and call the whole thing off. Use the military-commission process if they want to try KSM — that’s what it’s there for. History, legislation, and common sense all support it. And also, stop hiding behind the attorney general. Everyone is sticking to the script that it was the attorney general’s decision, but as a White House veteran, albeit in a different administration, I know that a decision of this magnitude could not have been made without the explicit or tacit support of the White House and the president. The president should step in and say that he is overruling the attorney general (or, really, reversing his own decision). That is not going to happen, of course.

There's more here.

11/23 01:30 PM Share

Good Thing We Don't Charge Per Click! [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $50 NRO contributor:

If I gave you a quarter for every time I've clicked on the corner over the past year, it would wipe out my annual income.

Most of the time I click, there's new content or an old post I should have read more closely. Even those times when there is no new content, part of me says, "Good, they're still there."

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 01:20 PM Share

Cosmic Visions [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

From a $25 NRO contributor:

Had a dream last night in which Cosmo barked to me about donating to NRO. Since I am on SS, my funds are limited. Time to give Cosmo his own blog.

Merry Christmas, Happy Thanksgiving and the best 2010.

Contribute to NRO here.

11/23 01:00 PM Share

A ‘Teabagger’ Summa [Jay Nordlinger]

Once upon a time, I wrote a heck of a lot about Jimmy Carter, and how outrageous he was as an ex-president: ghostwriting speeches for Yasser Arafat and so on. (Yes, he did.) I was something of a Carterologist. But then I got somehow . . . tired, and repetitive. And I said I would swear off Jimmy Carter. I largely have, although, funnily enough, I have an item about him in my Impromptus for tomorrow. Sort of the same with the Hollywood Left and its romance with the Castro dictatorship: I used to write a lot about that, and still dip into it from time to time. But, after a while, what more can you say?

I tell you why I bring this subject up: For the last month or so, I’ve written, in dribs and drabs, about the issue of “teabagger”: what conservatives should do about this vexatious term (if anything). In the new National Review, I have an entire piece on this subject — drawing my dribs and drabs together. That piece is available at NRO, here. I hope and trust that others will give their own views. As for me, I’ve said my piece, kind of literally. See what you think. And I’ll be yammering on about something else soon . . .

11/23 12:55 PM Share