Decision ‘08 » 2005

Archive for June, 2005

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

Okay, I’m Really Late On This One…

…but if you haven’t read Peggy Noonan’s latest, you really should. I don’t always agree with Ms. Noonan; big whoop. Who says you always have to agree with someone to enjoy their work? She’s a helluva writer, that’s why I like her, and when she’s on, she’s up there with the great ones.
Her latest, on […]

No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

Richard Cohen: Insurgency is a Legitimate Nationalist Movement

Richard Cohen (who recently suggested the test of a legitimate war is if you are willing to forcibly send your grown man of a son to, presumably, die in it, in the mode of the biblical Abraham) is back with another insipid, whimpering walk down memory lane as he attempts to relive the glory days […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

Sadly, This Is Goodbye

I have decided that it’s time to end this blog. Effective immediately. That’s the bad news…the good news is I’m replacing it with Decision ‘08, the magazine! That’s right, this is the inaugural post - er, article! Article! - of the all-new format (which, ironically, is identical to the old format […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

Thursday Afternoon Quick Shots

Holy cow, will this week ever end? Hurry up and get here, three-day weekend!…
Sissy Willis has further news of the latest meme taking over the moonbat side of the blogosphere, ‘fake applause’ - remember, I’ve gone on the record in predicting a mention in this week’s Frank Rich column…
Tom Maguire has the scoop […]

No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

Bob Herbert - It’s A Quagmire, I Tell You!

Perhaps attempting to fill the void left by fellow hack MoDo, whose sabbatical mercifully continues, intensely partisan New York Times whiner Bob Herbert assures us that Iraq is, what else, a quagmire. In fact, he manages to use the word quagmire four (4) times in his latest column. In case you missed the point, […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

CAFTA In Senate Today

Things are looking hopeful for passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement in the Senate today, but the House is not scheduled to take it up until July, and it is expected to face a tougher fight there. Few things get my unhesitating support regardless of circumstance, but free trade is one of […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

Hey, All You Ragin RINOs!

Don’t miss out on the second edition of RINO Sightings; it’s sure to be a star-spangled spectacular! The post will go up on July 4th, and though Stephen said you have until Friday, because I’m feeling generous on this Independence Day weekend, I’ll accept your submissions until noon on Sunday, July 3rd.
In other words, […]

7 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

Happy Birthday To One of the Greats

Economist and pundit extraordinaire Thomas Sowell is 75 today; be sure and read his birthday column, and celebrate the best way possible, by grabbing one of his many excellent books (hat tip to Power Line)…

No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Churchill on Fragging: Trey Jackson Has the Video

Trey Jackson has come through again, this time with the video (well, audio, anyway) of supreme idiot Ward Churchill and his ‘just for grins’ musings on fragging. While the rest of the world ponders the best move to secure the peace in Iraq, Churchill contemplates the best ways to make our military less effective. […]

No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Quick Shots: I Left My Heart (On Downing Street)

The more you consider the Downing Street Memo, the more reasonable it seems. I’m beginning to think the conservatives should bring it up more. Why? Well, here’s a few reasons…
Resistance is futile…so go vote already!…
It’s just one month, but this is very good news, indeed: the army has exceeded its recruitment goals […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Payback’s A ____ (Rhymes With Witch)

Longtime reader Fred emailed me this story earlier, but I haven’t had a chance to get to it yet, so I’ll direct you to Ryan James for the details…it seems one of the justices who went with the majority on the horrendous Kelo decision has had his own property symbolically attacked by a voter who […]

No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Kos On Iraq: Things Are Terrible…and Mission Accomplished!

The great Arthur Chrenkoff catches our old buddy the Kos engaging in a particularly galling bit of cynicism: he offers two paths for Democrats to seize the high ground in the Iraq debate:

Promote a withdrawal of forces since we have achieved our mission of bringing freedom to the Iraqi people; and
We need greater accountability because […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Freedom Tower Redesign: A Step in the Right Direction

The project to rebuild Ground Zero has, thus far, been an embarrassment. We’ve had the spectacle of designs, redesigns, lack of tenants, both real and potential, and the insertion of political correctness into the mix. Of course nothing can ever detract from the site’s resonance with the American people, but we can do much better […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Today’s Worst Op-Ed…

…comes from Ruben Navarrette, Jr., in the San Diego Union-Tribune, who defends Tom Cruise’s recent Scientology-fueled rant on the Today show as an important contribution to the debate over over-reliance on prescription drugs, particularly the use of ritalin on the young.
Lauer thought that Cruise was being judgmental, and that he should keep his opinions to […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Today’s Must-Read: Claudia Says Watch Your Wallet!

The ever-resourceful Claudia Rosett has a piece up on Kofi’s latest effort at U.N. ‘reform’. Ms. Rosett notes how the threat from Congress to withhold funds has sent Kofi into overdrive again, and she uncovers this little nugget in the latest reform proposals:
…If there is one item in all Mr. Annan’s talk of reform […]

No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Tuesday, June 28th, 2005

The Heavy Thinkers Come Out Swinging

One thing about a presidential speech, or the prospect of one, even, is it refocuses the debate; for that reason alone, Bush’s speech will have a laudatory effect. There are plenty of excellent contributions out there already; unfortunately, none of those excellent contributions will figure in this post.
Nope, this post is about those heavy […]

7 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Tuesday, June 28th, 2005

A Sampling of Early Speech Reactions

Mickey Kaus - too presidential!…
Ryan James - good speech; not a Joe Biden fan…
John Hinderaker at Power Line: excellent speech - clear, confident, substantive…
Lorie Byrd - one of Bush’s best; in fact, may have written it herself…
Kos - obsession over fake applause (prediction: Frank Rich will incorporate ‘fake applause’ into his ‘fake news’ bit for […]

No Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Tuesday, June 28th, 2005

Quick Shots: The Speech And The Poll

The President’s speech, I thought, was solid, not spectacular; I don’t think it will have much of an impact in and of itself. As I’ve said many times now, we must press forward aggressively and follow up on this speech with other events, speeches, and opportunities to get media time that focuses on the […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Tuesday, June 28th, 2005

America and the Spread of Freedom

Lots of talk about this Michael Ignatieff piece in the New York Times. It’s a longish article on the promise of Jeffersonian democracy, both realized and yearned for, and whether it’s a chimera or the world’s birthright. Ignatieff both pinpoints the problem and suffers from it at the same time (then again, maybe it’s the […]