October 2002 Archives

Archives of the entries for this month are listed below, by category. You may jump directly to categories using the navigation bar thumbnails. Please keep in mind that links do expire, and that archived links may not still be available.

American Politics

Noise Pollution
(10-30-2002) In the weeks leading up to the Bali bombing, U.S. intelligence was fairly certain that some attack was about to take place, but couldn't pin it down. "So," writes Eli J. Lake, "the administration did what it always does when it is faced with a deluge of vague threats: It scared the hell out of everyone."

The New Politics Of Pot
(10-29-2002) On the issue of pot, Americans typically want to have it both ways: they want the drug to be illegal, but the fines to be minimal. Leaders on both sides of the legalization debate are trying to sharpen the issue.

Nobel Foreign Policy
(10-27-2002) For those who advocate a more vigorous American foreign policy in support of Iranian democratic activists, an executive agreement promulgated by Jimmy Carter continues to stand in the way. As Michael Ledeen points out, "this triumph of legalism over common sense is a fitting legacy for Mr. Carter."

What Is Property?
(10-27-2002) In the brewing battle between intellectual property expansionists and intellectual property abolitionists, the debate is largely being cast in terms of utilty rather than natural right. Sonio Arrison elaborates.

Loving Gridlock
(10-22-2002) Liberal columnists regularly decry "gridlock" when programs to expand government are not passed by Congress, but ignore counter-examples (such as Congress passing tax cuts or granting fast track trade authority). So Jack Shafer asks, what's wrong with a little "gridlock?"

Brady Nonsense
(10-19-2002) From the beginning, Sarah Brady advocated policy based on emotion rather than reason. "A decade later," writes Jacob Sullum, "she and her organization, now called the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, are still trying to pass off non sequiturs as common sense." (Related)

Arms Control Delusions
(10-19-2002) One of the mainstays of Democratic foreign policy for decades has been arms control as an end in itself. Whether the problem is ballistic missiles, nuclear proliferation, chemical weapons, etc -- the Dem response has been arms control. Max Boot looks at the consequences. (More) (More) (More) (More) (More)

Rumsfeld's Rule
(10-16-2002) Donald Rumsfeld was brought into the Bush Administration for two major purposes: 1) to oversee a transformation in strategy and forces in the post-Cold War environment and 2) to reassert civilian control over the military. That so many unattributed sources are complaining is probably evidence the master bureaucratic infighter is succeeding. (More)

Prince Of Darkness
(10-15-2002) One way or another, the late Scoop Jackson, a Democrat, influenced many contemporary neoconservative defense intellectuals, including Richard Perle. Johanna Neuman profiles Perle, the "Prince of Darkness" who obsesses over souffles, among other things.

Playing By The Rules
(10-14-2002) Many of the same people who thought New Jersey's election laws should be brushed aside also have argued that U.S. foreign policy should be constrained by every nuance of international law (such as it is). Michael Barone thinks this typifies a "fundamentally adolescent attitude."

How The West Was Won
(10-13-2002) In August, conventional wisdom (including that of many of the editors of the Weekly Standard) had it that President Bush was flailing on Iraq. Then, writes Fred Barnes, "Bush staged one of the most impressive exercises of presidential power in modern times."

Michigan's Gender Bender
(10-09-2002) Michigan's Democrat gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Granholm has surged to a double-digit lead against the GOP candidate after destroying her primary competition. And as Jonathan Cohn notes, she's done it not by running as a "conciliator" or "soccer mom" but as a hard-nosed decisionmaker -- a New Woman politico.

Editorial Creep
(10-08-2002) On its front page yesterday, the New York Times published an interpretation of a poll conducted jointly with CBS that purportedly showed a majority of Americans more worried about domestic than international issues. The problem, writes David Tell, is that it showed no such thing. (More)

The Case
(10-08-2002) For most of the summer, the major television networks rolled out a steady chorus of voices exhorting the President to "make the case" for war with Iraq. As John Podhoretz points out, three of those networks didn't feel the need to air the President's most important speech to date on the topic.

Ideas Change The World
(10-07-2002) Never heard of Resources for the Future? How about Allen V. Kneese? Decades ago, Kneese and RFF laid the groundwork for market-based environmental policies that are finally being taken seriously. Meanwhile, as Jonathan Rauch explains, RFF is trying to stay ahead of the curve in other policy areas.

Monetary Problems
(10-07-2002) Milton Friedman thinks the Fed is hindering economic recovery by choking the money supply. Larry Kudlow argues that he's right -- and that some supply-side critics should take note.

Why He Drives Them Crazy
(10-05-2002) A long line of Democrats, from Ann Richards to Al Gore and (most recently) Tom Daschle have discovered what liberal true-believers just haven't been able to admit: President Bush is a skilled political leader. Noemi Emery discusses why Bush drives liberals crazy. (More)

Stem Cells And False Hopes
(10-02-2002) After twenty years of research on animal embryonic stem cells, Maureen Condic points out, the field has yet to cure one human illness. Nonetheless, proponents of the research have gone so far as to enlist the terminally ill in their political battles. Condic wonders where it will lead. (Flashback)

Political Journalism
(10-02-2002) Jason Leopold's Salon story alleging Army Secretary Thomas White's involvement in accounting shenanigans at Enron attracted attention from important people, including New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Now, Salon has pulled the story after charges of plagiarism and inaccuracy. Paul Krugman remains silent. (Update: Krugman correction)

Torched
(10-01-2002) Months ago, Robert Toricelli had a commanding lead in polls and New Jersey and national Dems thought he could coast to victory despite his ethical lapses. Now that he's behind, those same leaders plan to replace him with a candidate who can win. As Fred Barnes notes, it's dishonest, illegal, and undemocratic. (More) (More)

Misreading The Reagans
(10-01-2002) Some years ago, the New York Times frequently ridiculed Nancy Reagan. But suddenly she's embraced a pet cause, and all is forgiven. Nevertheless, writes George Nuemayr, her husband would never have discarded moral principle for convenience.

Jane Fonda Dems
(10-01-2002) "Not since Jane Fonda posed for photographers at a Hanoi antiaircraft gun," notes George Will, "has there been anything like Rep. Jim McDermott, speaking ... from Baghdad, saying Americans should take Saddam Hussein at his word, but should not take President Bush at his." Indeed.

International

Gun Control's Twisted Outcome
(10-30-2002) Two years ago, Dan Rather upset lots of Brits by stating that Britain had a crime problem that was, aside from murder, worse than America's. The author of Guns and Violence: The English Experience suggests that making personal security the sole responsibility of government may be at fault.

Reforming Islam
(10-27-2002) Whereas America (and the West) was forced to adopt religious toleration as a political principle almost out of necessity, Islam has never reconciled the question of politics and religion (with the possible exception of Turkey). Social theorist James Q. Wilson considers the problem, and what it means to the West and to Islam.

Andean Political Winds
(10-27-2002) Neither of Ecuador's last two elected presidents survived longer than 18 months into their four year term. The outcome of the current presidential race between Lucio Gutierrez and Alvaro Noboa is unlikely to change that trend.

Climate Of Terror
(10-19-2002) For years, former President Suharto kept a lid on extremism in Indonesian (while drawing ire from American and international human rights groups). Since then, Indonesian Islamic militias have regularly targeted nightclubs frequented by Westerners. As Alex Spillius reports, the Bali attacks are only a surprise to those who haven't been paying attention. (More) (More)

Nepal's Maoist Rebels
(10-19-2002) In just six years, Nepal's Maoist rebel movement has transformed itself from a minor nuisance into a thriving insurgency responsible for 5,000 deaths (3,000 in the last year alone) and a destabilized government that was disbanded recently by the monarchy. Bertil Lintner profiles the group. (More) (More)

Hands-On Politics
(10-13-2002) The rise of political corruption in India, writes Edward Luce, "has gone hand in hand with the emergence of lower caste parties whose undisguised aim is to capture the spoils of the state." Is it the flowering of democracy, or the institutionalization of public theft?

Ignoble Laureates
(10-13-2002) Le Duc Thu. Yasser Arafat. And now Jimmy Carter. As Neil J. Kressel writes, the Nobel Prize since its inception has gone to scoundrels, simpletons, and well-intentioned bumblers like Jimmy Carter. It's part of the logic of the prize. (More)

Storm Over Stormont
(10-11-2002) Under the Good Friday Agreement, the IRA was supposed to decommision its arms. It hasn't, and that threatens to blow up the entire deal. The Economist explains what went wrong.

Hamas On Top
(10-10-2002) There's just one problem with American demands that the Palestinian Authority become more democratic: the Americans may eventually get their wish. Alan Philps notes that if Arafat's regime is displaced, the successor is likely to be Hamas. (More)

Tories On The Couch
(10-08-2002) "Instead of rethinking its message," writes John O'Sullivan, "the Tory party has experienced a collective nervous breakdown." O'Sullivan analyzes the collapse of British conservatives, and suggests defense of democracy (as opposed to transnational progressivism) as a rallying principle.

UMI, RIP
(10-07-2002) A little over one year ago, Islamist rebels in Central Asia's Fergana Valley were ascendant. Now, explains C.J. Chivers, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has largely been destroyed as a result of the war on terror, and its charismatic leader, Juma Namangani, is reported dead. (Update)

A Latin-American Axis
(10-05-2002) An anti-American leftist radical is about to win the Presidency of Brazil, and as defense policy expert Constantine Menges has been pointing out for a while, a "Lula" regime could become a Latin American focal point for organizing and exporting terror, including nuclear terror. Deroy Murdock elaborates.

Turtle Dove
(10-03-2002) Interestingly, the highly publicized Iraqi letter that "accepted" a return of UN inspectors was co-authored by none other than Kofi Annan, who effectively conspired with the Iraqis behind the backs of Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice. Franklin Foer profiles the little general, who once bragged he could "do business" with Saddam Hussein.

Brazil's Gathering Clouds
(10-01-2002) Brazil occupies half a continent, touches almost every country on that continent literally and figuratively, and has a bigger economy and population than Russia. And in a few days, explains Faith Whittlesby, Brazil will elect a revolutionary anti-American leftist. (More)

Goodbye To Europe?
(10-01-2002) As Europe drifts ever further from the United States, one school explains the chill in terms of European envy over American power. Victor Davis Hanson posits a slightly different theory.

Books and Arts

The McGovernite Majority?
(10-30-2002) In The Emerging Democratic Majority, John Judis and Ruy Teixeira argue that demographic tends are set to produce a new, "McGovernite" Democratic majority. Tod Lindberg thinks the work is better as a call to arms than political analysis. (More)

Phillips Nonsense
(10-28-2002) In 1990, George Bush was President and Kevin Phillips was excoriating wealth, privilege, and GOP fiscal policies. Flash forward 12 years to Wealth and Democracy, and once again a Bush is President and Phillips is excoriating wealth, privilege, and GOP fiscal policies. As Clay Waters notes, at least not many people call him a Republican any more.

You Can Look It Up
(10-19-2002) In the 16th edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, editor Justin Kaplan received considerable criticism from conservatives for omitting great quotes like Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Roger Kimball says the forthcoming 17th edition is only a slight improvement. (More)

Mencken's Axe
(10-17-2002) H.L. Mencken's literary criticism could be as brutal as his other writing, for which he made no apologies: "The quacks and dolts who have been mauled in these pages all deserved it; more, they all deserved far worse than they got." A new collection captures the curmudgeon in action.

Eyes Wide Shut
(10-17-2002) Breakdown, the latest book by Washington Times national security correspondent Bill Gertz, chronicles the shortcomings of U.S. intelligence that led to 11 September, including the treatment of Osama bin Laden as primarily a financier (not organizer) of terrorism. Joshua Sinai thinks its the best explication of the failures to date.

Flashback: The Trite Stuff
(10-11-2002) With the announcement of former President Jimmy Carter's Nobel Peace Prize, the Wall Street Journal reproduces a 1996 review of his book, Living Faith. Gabriel Schoenfeld concludes: "How a great country came to be led by someone like Jimmy Carter is a historical puzzle that is likely to remain unsolved."

Race And IQ
(10-03-2002) "There are people who have never read a single word of The Bell Curve, writes Thomas Sowell, "but who are convinced that they not only know what it says, but also know what the motivation was for saying it." Sowell continues his series of columns on Race and IQ. (More) (More)

A New Religious America
(10-02-2002) In A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation, Diana Eck argues that immigration since 1965 has fundamentally changed what was a Christian nation at the Founding. "The only problem with this title," asserts Philip Jenkins, "is that it is flat wrong."

Texana

Jug Free
(10-30-2002) The South Austin Jug Band doesn't have a jug player. And they don't play jug music. But as Rob Patterson notes, they are a band, they come from South Austin, and they play a tight mix of newgrass/bluegrass.

Crash And Burn
(10-23-2002) Since 1977, the 3600 block of Washington Avenue in Houston has been a musical hub, with the famous Rockefellers in the 1980s and 90s, and the Fabulous Satellite Lounge more recently. But the music is about to end, as the Satellite has to make way for a pizza joint. John Nova Lomax reports.

The Two Faces Of Kirk And Sanchez
(10-19-2002) Democrats in Texas have hailed Ron Kirk and Tony Sanchez as their dream team, two seemingly moderate figures with appeal to important ethnic groups in Texas. But as Ruben Navarrette points out, both candidates have treated their minority appeal as a double-edged sword. (More)

Slobberbone
(10-11-2002) Denton-based Slobberbone is a typical Texas band in that its music doesn't easily fit any category. It's a bit of alt-country, metal, punk, and alt-rock all rolled together. And it's attracted the attention of National Review's John J. Miller.

Armey Of One
(10-10-2002) Retiring U.S. Representative Dick Armey is always one to advocate free markets and decreased regulation. Unless, as Michelle Cottle explains, he wants to punish the Belo media group, whom he blames for his son's poor political showing in the race for his seat.

Saint Arnold
(10-06-2002) Saint Arnold is the patron saint of brewers. It is also the name of a Houston microbrewery with extraordinarily devoted fans. David Kaplan profiles the brewery and its devotees.

Texas Tea Leaves
(10-02-2002) "One of the biggest misconceptions about Texas, " writes David Guenther, "is that it is a Republican state. It has trended in that direction over the last three decades, but Texas is really more of a Bush state." With Bush gone, Guenther thinks the GOP will re-elect a governor and Senator -- but may not attain sweeping control in the state.

Society

WarDriving And NetStumbling
(10-29-2002) "There's something just plain wrong about a city where you can find 100 open wireless networks in a half hour and not one public bathroom," says WarDriver Ken Fandello about Manhattan. Indeed.

Profiling Nonsense
(10-27-2002) For weeks, the psychobabbling talking heads assured talk show viewers that the D.C. sniper was a lone, disaffected, white male, possibly a militia member and probably an NRA member. Oops. Jonah Goldberg now wants to know what happened to the angry white male?

Music Industry Spins Falsehoods
(10-23-2002) Much as it did with cassette tape technology, the music industry continues to blame weak sales on technology (mp3s and cd recording) instead of a malaise in musical creativity. Here, musician Janis Ian demolishes the notion that technology is hurting recording artists.

Thinking About Troy
(10-22-2002) Was Troy a thriving metropolis or simply a princely seat of little more consequence? The debate over the topic has grown surprisingly heated.

Slipping Appeal
(10-19-2002) "By any standard," writes Collin Levey, "[Colin] Powell is the herald of society becoming more colorblind by the year." Unless your name is Harry Belafonte.

Solves The Boy Problem
(10-13-2002) Most people haven't heard of A.C. Gilbert, but his erector sets helped revolutionize the toy market in America in the first half of the twentieth century. Bruce Watson's The Man Who Changed How Boys And Toys Were Made tells his story.

The Rise Of Christian Radio
(10-09-2002) If you haven't checked the non-commercial end of your radio dial lately, you might be surprised. Christian radio is rapidly seizing dial space among the usual college and NPR stations. As Michelle Malkin explains, NPR liberals are none too happy.

South Park Republicans
(10-07-2002) The media presents a stereotype of Republicans as staid, religious moralists or Alex P. Keatons. As Stephen W. Stanton points out, the growing ranks of non-traditional conservatives blow those stereotypes right out of the water.

Google Degraded
(10-05-2002) It had to happen sooner or later. Previously, changes to Google's search engine pleased its many users, helping the service become the world's most popular. But the latest tweaks have not been received well, explains Paul Boutin.

Other Headlines

Iraq's Unsanctioned Voices

Sale: Small Crime Is A Big Deal

Craig: No Treat For Steve Case

Pleszczynski: A Memorial Mess

Goldberg: What We Saw At The 'Memorial Service'

Adelman: The UN Dawdle

Sowell: Disgruntled Conservatives

Tomkins: Cheap Ride To Marlboro Country

Pollock: Jeb Jumps Ahead

Tasteless: Dems Turn Wellstone Funeral Into Political Rally

Bartlett: Forget The VAT

Leo: The Intellectual Left Has Lost Its Moral Bearings

FBI's Angry White Male Theory On Anthrax Likely Wrong

Dem Chances In House Fading

Saletan: The Guilty Indulgence State

Henary: The Battle Of Big Education

Lula Wins In Brazil

London: Indonesia, Model Ally

Iraq And Al Qaeda

Paul Wellstone, RIP

Elder: More Gun Control?

Limbaugh: Talent v. Carnahan

Lehrer: Profiles In Confusion

Muslim Groups Urge Crackdown In Indonesia

Review: When Sixties Boomers Reunite

Gallagher: NARAL's Death Merchants

Wohlstetter: American Telecom's Gang Of Four (Plus Gore)

Babbin: Time, Terror, and Arms Control

Pipes & Schanzer: Militant Islam's New Strongholds

Saddam Ceausescu?

Will: Jimmy Carter, Disappointed

The IRA Unmasked

Russian Governor Gunned Down In Moscow

Wood: The Ed School Racket

Dale: Peace Through Spite

Elder: What If Colin Had Attacked Harry?

High Tension Over Nigeria-Cameroon Border

Lambro: Carnahan Campaign Struggling

Bai: Bush's Machiavelli

Croke: Maddening Martz

Neumayr: Clinton's Cuban Spy

Joffe: Axis Of Envy

George Bush, Partisan-In-Chief?

Beinart: Prize Fight

Foer: Air War

Peretz: The Pride

Bischoff: The Two Faces Of Iran

Johnson: Europe's Anti-Americanism

Doherty: Michael Moore, The Left's Weeping Clown

Balko: Freedom Rock

Krauthammer: Don't Count On France

Gurfinkiel: What France Sees In Iraq

Labash: Muscular Republicanism

Nevius: More Editors, Fewer Words

Friedman: Campus Hypocrisy

North Korea: Cheating On Nukes For Years

Bernstein: Of War And Peace

Blankley: Falwell Was Wrong

Neumayr: Falwell Was Right

Tyrrell: The Worst President Of The 20th Century

Mallon: The Land Of Giants

Goldberg: Hitler v. Hussein

Sowell: Facing Up To Evil

Bockhorn: MP3 And Me

Missile Defense Test Successful

Marshall: Terror Not New To Indonesia

Terror In Southeast Asia

Northern Ireland Peace Unravels

Brazil's Deepening Crisis

Morris: Endangered Incumbents

Leo: The New Prohibitionists

Sammon: After The Attacks (1 of 3)

Sammon: After The Attacks (2 of 3)

Sammon: After The Attacks (3 of 3)

Lott Takes Off Gloves With Pentagon Brass

Barta: Texas Senate Candidate Try To Ride Bush Coattails

Bali Is The Price Of Indulgence

Slashdot: The Geeky Model For Internet Publishing

Grand Designs (Book Reviews)

Will: Saddam's Long Shadow

Cheney Is Fulcrum Of Foreign Policy

Conservatives Block State Nominee

Schweizer: Reconsidering The Cuban Missile Crisis

Hanson: Democracy In The Middle East

Tell: State Of The Dems

Gerecht: A Necessary War

Robert Byrd, Shameless

Corry: Transparent Times

Venezuelan Civil War?

German Human Rights Activist On Iraq

Hanson: The German Way

Spertzel: Iraq's Unchanging Position

Flashback: Carterpalooza!

Varadarajan: The Nobel Evil Prize

Sowell: The Houdini Award

Last: Left Behind

Anti-Chavez Protestors Hit Caracas

Pakistani Fundamentalists Faring Well In Elections

Sanders: Is Al Qaeda Destabilizing Indian And Pakistan?

Tyrrell: Show Trial Democrats

Clegg: Cochran And The Coaches

Miller: PBS Liberals Attack Missile Defense

Chait: The Liberal Case For War

Aydintasbas: Change The Iraqi Regime

Freese: Taxing Telecom

Sowell: Dangerous Restraint

Martinovich: Turning The Arab Street To Main Street

Southeast Asia Easy Source For Al Qaeda Recruits

Dan: Saddam's Terror Banker

Poll: Russians Disinterested In Iraq

Kelly: Bush's Doctrine Of Armed Evangelism

King: Fencing Off The Public Domain

Craig: Bush And Wall Street

Tyrrell: Peace Through Might

Babbin: October SGO

Rosenbaum: How Left Idiocies Drove Me Away

Shiflett: News-Flow Mania

York: Leahy's Surprise Attack

O'Sullivan: The Other Deteriorating Peace Process

Varadarajan: Whose New Yorker Would You Rather Read?

Gillespie: Bush's Winning Streak

Bandow: Thinking About Cyprus

Lambro: No Easy Escape For Divided Dems

Lieberman: Why Dems Should Support Bush On Iraq

Jeffrey Goldberg Interview: Party Of God

Menashi: Comfort's Cost

Review: Mario Vargas Llosa's Feast Of The Goat

Reynolds: Health Coverage Hysteria

Schwartz: Brawling With Babs Online

Wong: Decline Of A Great Airline

Israel Readies Arrow Missile Defense

3G Troubles In Europe

Canadians Censor Ayn Rand Institute Literature

CIA: Iraq Expanded Weapons Program After 1998

Kaletsky: Blair's Secret Weapon

Harding: The New Model Candidate

Hoagland: Crisis And Political Character

Ignatius: Possibilities Of A New Iraq

Pei: China's Governance Crisis

Pakistan's Khaki Election

Goldberg: Why Not Terminator Or Rudy In NJ?

Beinart: Win Win

The Iraq Coalition Coalesces

Letts: Clinton Wows The British Left

Krauthammer: The Myth Of "UN Support"

Miller: Have Dems Learned Anything

Hayes: The Baghdad Dems

Tell: Not So Innocents Abroad

Hitchens: Clinton's Hypocrisy

Mead: Misunderstanding The Rice Doctrine

Crona & Richardson: Revoke Saddam's Probation

White: When Black Men Speak Their Minds

Marx: Geeks And Geezers

George: New Jersey's Liberal Constructionists

Johnson: Leviathan To The Rescue

Palm Trees In New Jersey?

Fund: Election Through Litigation

Rimensnyder: Ann Coulter, Bitch Goddess

Steyn: Put Up Or Shut Up

Hochman: Property Of The Democratic Party

Last: Clinton v. Clingon On Iraq

Boyer: Bush Cuts Deal, Isolates Daschle

Still No Budget From The Senate

Lindberg: Net Reduction In Incoherence

Corry: The Dems' Bad Week

Kurtz: Baghdad Dems Get A Pass

Goldberg: More Tired Antiwar Arguments

Blankley: President Daschle

Mayer: Don't Change NJ Ballot

Podhoretz: Feeding Dem Chaos

Frum: Muslim Radicalism And Europe

Goldberg: Tiresome Arguments Of War

Charen: Spending Like Drunken Sailors

Murchison: What Happened To Democratic Hawks?

Gaffney: Return Of The San Francisco Dems

Seized Material Not Uranium