Interesting bit on the transgendered and their quest for civil rights, from Jonathan Last at the Weekly Standard: It is impossible not to acknowledge the difficulty of the transgender life. The sheer lengths to which some of them go in order to change their bodies are staggering and — in the truest sense of the word — pitiable. Transsexuals who are born male often go through an agonizing process to

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Scott Erickson was arrested Sunday on assault charges. Meanwhile, boxer Felix “Tito” Trinidad announced his retirement on Sunday. Coincidence? You tell me…

American cycling legend Lance Armstrong notes that many French cycling enthusiasts are stupid and gauche: Since he started dominating the Tour in 1999, Armstrong has heard accusations of drug use. He steadfastly denies using performance enhancers and never has failed a drug test. He said he couldn’t understand the behavior of fans who jeer him. ‘I think it’s an indication of their intelligence,’ he said. ‘I’m not here to be

Writing in the Boston Globe, Cathy Young sums up my feeling regarding that vulgar display of mushmouthedness engaged in recently by the parents of Johnny bin Walker (at the press conference announcing their son’s plea bargain): That Walker and Lindh still love their son is understandable. No one is asking them to disown him or curse him. But they could have expressed some grief, regret, and shame over their son’s

“Despite the influx of all-inclusive hotels in the last 10 years, Negril, located on Jamaica’s west end, has retained a rustic image that remains attractive to back-packers and adventure seekers alike. It is also the place where many women come to sample the local delicacy — a delicacy that does not come on a menu. “Amidst the hand-gliders, speedboats and sunbathers, there are the buffed (and not so buffed) bodies

The National Review‘s Stanley Kurtz has more on increased federal funding (via grants for “area studies”) for the Middle Eastern Studies establishment, a group of scholars representing an entrenched disciplinary worldview that Kurtz argues is weakening — rather than strengthening — our knowledge of the Middle East: [Joel Beinin] is the man who America’s scholars of the Middle East have chosen to lead them — a man who explains the

Writing in Dissent, Mitchell Cohen takes some object lessons away from a read of Hardt and Negri’s Empire: ‘Being-against’ [the authors’ proscriptive, ontological position of choice] allows Hardt/Negri to bring together under the same rubric Chiapas, fundamentalism, and Tiananmen Square. Participants in the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and the intifada may not realize it — one might say that they may have only local focus rather than decentered global

Glenn Frazier has the skinny on those so-called anti-American protests in Iran, including observations from Persian bloggers reporting out of Tehran. Manufacturing consent, indeed.

So here’s the deal: I finished off the better part of a bottle of Maker’ Mark fine Kentucky bourbon last night. By myself (and with the aid of a six-pack of club soda). You want answers from me? Wait until tomorrow, when I’ve shaken the corn out of my head. (Of course, you’re more than welcome to join me for lunch. I’ll be the guy at Taco Bell with the