The New York Times’ Bob Herbert is unimpressed with Republican Party Chair Ken Mehlman’s address to the NAACP. Writing of the event, Herbert characterizes it thus: One of President Bush’s surrogates went before the N.A.A.C.P. last week and apologized for the Republican Party’s reprehensible, decades-long Southern strategy. The surrogate, Ken Mehlman, is chairman of the Republican National Committee. Perhaps he meant well. But his words were worse than meaningless. They
July 19, 2005
Preparing for Battle
Byron York, writing at the Corner, notes: There has been a brisk traffic today in buying web addresses that could be used to oppose Edith Brown Clement, were she to become the new Supreme Court nominee. The addresses opposeclement.org and supportclement.org were both purchased by the anti-Bush Leadership Conference on Civil Rights today—allowing the group to simultaneously oppose Clement and stop her supporters from using the pro-Clement address. Another address,
July 19, 2005
In which I discuss hermeneutics with a leftover steamed dumpling from last night’s dim sum meal, 4
steamed dumpling: “In a New York Times op-ed this morning, Stanley Fish makes the intentionalist argument that the ‘textualist’ approach to interpretation favored by justices like Antonin Scalia is incoherent, noting that ‘textualists insist that what an interpreter seeks to establish is the meaning of the text as it exists apart from anyone’s intention’—that, from Scalia’s perspective, what’s important is ‘what is “said,” not what is “meant,”’—an empty gesture, in
July 18, 2005
Overheard inside a Musayyib bunker, Monday, July 18
First militant: “Ever watch ‘H.R. Pufnstuff,’ Marwan? Some pretty trippy shit happening on that show, brother—talking flutes, magic mushrooms, polka-dotted horses… Not to mention Pufnstuff himself. I mean, what is he, anyway— how did he come to power, what’s his beef with the witch, what does he do for sexual companionship…? These questions plague me, friend…” Second militant: First militant: Second militant: First militant: “Say, do we have any Doritos?”
July 18, 2005
Union, Jack
Writing in The Australian, Emma-Kate Symons notes how Britain’s commitment to “multiculturalism” (at the expense of a more vigorous policy of promoting assimilation, which tends to earn supporters the “racist” label from academics and a progressive intelligensia drunk on its own self-righteousness) is forcing many of its cultural spokesmen into the uncomfortable semantic position of having to deny what to just about everyone else is painfully self-evident—namely, that Muslims are,
July 18, 2005
My first brief interview with Karl Rove’s breakfast burrito
me: “So. That Joe Wilson sure is giving you a heap of trouble, isn’t he?” Karl Rove’s breakfast burrito: “I’m not at liberty to discuss that at this time.” me: “Yes or no, then: Karl Rove outed Joe Wilson’s covert CIA operative wife, Valerie Plame, in retaliation for the Ambassador’s high-profile criticism of the Iraq war.”* Karl Rove’s breakfast burrito: “I’m afraid I can’t comment on that either.” me: “You
July 18, 2005
Justice delayed
The National Journal’s Stuart Taylor Jr. offers up “Five Reasons Not to Put Gonzales On the Court.” Worth a read—particularly if you are one of Gonzales’ supporters. For his part, protein wisdom insists that, if pressed, he could probably come up with, like, eight reasons not to put Gonzales on the Court. Without even breaking a sweat. But that would just be showing off.
July 17, 2005
Random Andy Rooney thought, Sunday, July 17, 7:37 PM EST
…Ever notice gum? Because I have. And I don’t much care for it. It’s like jerky beef that way…
July 17, 2005
The ninth set of 20 films that if you haven’t seen you should see immediately or risk having protein wisdom sneer at you like certain embarrassingly snobby blue state gourmands sneer at salt water taffy and chili-cheese fries
1980s, group 9 The Right Stuff (1983) Risky Business (1983) Sans soleil (1983) Scarface (1983) Silkwood (1983) Sleepaway Camp (1983) Star 80 (1983)
July 17, 2005
obligatory mention of the biggest non-scandal to have grandstanding Democrats calling for firings (and, in the case of some politically retarded partisans, the impeachment of a non-elected official) since, well, the last time they tried pulling this same stupid stunt
them: “The lesson here is that a patriot like Joe Wilson who dares speak out against Bush policy needs to be aware that Bush’s pack of pit bulls is going to come right after his wife, even if it means they will treasonously out her as a covert agent along with the entire network of covert agents who worked and are working with her! Joe should have remembered that their