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Articles Posted by benjaminthomas

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  • The anti-war crowd has some explaining to do

    04/11/2003 6:02:47 AM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 24 replies · 247+ views
    Townhall ^ | 4/11/03 | Jonah Goldberg
    The anti-war crowd has some explaining to do Jonah Goldberg April 11, 2003 I want to rub it in the anti-war crowd's face so badly. I want to hear the protesters explain why it's a bad thing we released more than 100 children from an Iraqi gulag for underage political prisoners. I want them to talk about how they were fighting for the Iraqi people as the Iraqi people hug and kiss the American forces in Baghdad and greet the human shields with signs reading "Go Home You Wankers." I want them to explain why it wasn't worth it. And...
  • Naysayers Exposed

    04/11/2003 5:54:56 AM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 7 replies · 237+ views
    Townhall ^ | 4/11/03 | Rich Lowry
    Naysayers exposed Rich Lowry April 11, 2003 The eternal frustration of political debate is that big, complicated issues take so long to play out that it's difficult to tell who was right and who was wrong. Not so in the war in Iraq. Much remains unknown about the ultimate fate of the U.S. intervention: Will we find weapons of mass destruction? Manage to form a decent post-Saddam Hussein government? But we already know whether the invasion was a military disaster, and whether the Iraqis cheered our arrival. On these two counts, the level of sheer, cussed wrongness among journalists and...
  • Embedding Journalists

    03/05/2003 5:53:15 AM PST · by benjaminthomas · 8 replies · 290+ views
    Townhall ^ | 3/5/03 | Michael Kelly
    Embedding journalists KUWAIT CITY--In a few days, the United States armed forces will attempt to discover if it is possible to successfully place about 500 journalists in military units (down to the company level) going into war. This experiment in what the military calls ``embedding" entails grafting what amounts to a presidential-campaign-sized press corps onto an army in combat. The question of whether this is going to work, or implode, is a matter of much conversation among the involved parties here. On Monday, in the lobby area of the Hilton Resorts where the U.S. and British militaries have established the...
  • The Family Way [Impact of Fatherless Families]

    01/07/2003 4:56:12 AM PST · by benjaminthomas · 8 replies · 488+ views
    Opinion Journal ^ | 1/7/2003 | James Q. Wilson
    <p>On the deepest matters of cultural and social affairs, the best guide is to reflect on human experience. This means looking backward at those experiences, and conservatives are more inclined to do this than are liberals. Conservatives get a lot of grief for this. After all, looking backward sometimes means failing to endorse bold and desirable changes.</p>
  • Ours Not to Reason Why [Barf Alert]

    09/30/2002 5:17:50 AM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 9 replies · 234+ views
    Slate ^ | 9/26/2002 | Michael Kinsley
    Ours Not To Reason Why By Michael Kinsley Updated Thursday, September 26, 2002, at 6:50 AM PT In London Tuesday, Prime Minister Tony Blair declared with fanfare that Saddam Hussein's Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, is ready to use them against other nations, and soon will have nukes as well. In Washington, a reporter asked President Bush why Blair offered no new evidence to explain his newfound conviction on these matters. THE PRESIDENT: He explained why. Q: Pardon me, sir? THE PRESIDENT: Explained why he didn't put new information—to protect sources. That's a good joke on journalists—"protecting sources" is...
  • A Nest of Burglars

    07/03/2002 1:47:56 PM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 8 replies · 358+ views
    National Review Online ^ | 7/3/2002 | John Derbyshire
    A Nest of Burglars A note of moral responsibility among all the self-congratulatory bombast. God of our fathers, known of old, Lord of our far-flung battle line, Beneath whose awful Hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine — Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget — lest we forget! In 1897, Britain celebrated Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee — the 60th anniversary of her accession. Britain was then at the height of her power, ruling over huge swathes of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the antipodes. The jubilee celebrations were suitably grand. On June 22,...
  • Changing the World

    02/06/2002 11:56:49 AM PST · by benjaminthomas · 4 replies · 16+ views
    Townhall.com ^ | 2/6/02 | Michael Kelly
    Changing the world On Jan. 29, about midpoint through his second State of the Union address, President George W. Bush gave modest (humble, he might say) notice that he intends to change the world. Speaking of Iraq, Iran and North Korea, the president said: ``States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.'' To respond to this threat with ``indifference,'' said Bush, ``would be catastrophic.''
  • The Galileo of Global Warming

    04/27/2001 7:36:53 PM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 497+ views
    The American Spectator | May 2001
    It's not PC to blame Mother Nature Now the global warming debate reveals that what Bob Tyrrell calls the plutomores (from the Greek plutos, “riches,” and moros, “fools”) have reached high positions in the Bush administration. Fooled entirely by the copious press and television coverage of the Democratic victory in Florida, for example, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill seems to believe he was summoned to Washington to serve as a token Republican in the administration of Al Gore. The Alcoa corpocrat devoted his first presentation to the cabinet to an earnest plutomoronic tract on global warming, urging his baffled companions to ...
  • Vanity: YOU SAY YOU WANT TO BE A DEMOCRAT?

    04/26/2001 5:58:45 AM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 8+ views
    Unknown | 4/25/01 | Unknown
    YOU SAY YOU WANT TO BE A DEMOCRAT? God Bless America !!! Jessie Jackson has added former Chicago democrat congressman Mel Reynolds to the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's payroll. Reynolds was among the 176 criminals excused in President Clinton's last-minute forgiveness spree. Reynolds received a commutation of his 6 1/2 year federal sentence for 15 convictions of wire fraud, bank fraud & lies to the Federal Election Commission. He is more notorious however, for concurrently serving five years for sleeping with an underage campaign volunteer. This is a first in American politics: An ex-congressman who had sex with a subordinate won clemency ...
  • Vanity: West Wing Continues Wishful Thinking

    04/25/2001 7:15:18 PM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 16+ views
    4/25/01
    One reason I like to watch The West Wing on NBC (besides it being very well written and very well made) is to watch with glee as liberal Democrats try the old technique of "wishing to make it so." Aaron Sorkin continues to write episodes that run parallel to, but oh so far away from, events that happened in the Clinton administration. He did this in the movie, The American President as well.In tonight's episode, we see "Charles Ruff" (as played by Oliver Platt) indicate that if the President so much as told a tiny fib in a civil deposition, ...
  • Poll: US Nuke Power Anxiety Easing

    04/25/2001 1:37:30 PM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 18+ views
    Associated Press ^ | 4/25/2001 | Will Lester
    Poll: US Nuke Power Anxiety Easing By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans have grown slightly more comfortable with nuclear power over the past two years, an Associated Press poll suggests, with half now saying they support using nuclear plants to produce electricity. Supporters of nuclear power were significantly more likely than they were two years ago not to mind a nuclear plant close to their homes. The poll was conducted for the AP by ICR of Media, Pa. The support for the nuclear option now being considered by the Bush administration was strongest among men and ...
  • “The Regulars Are Coming Out!”

    04/19/2001 12:41:55 PM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 218+ views
    National Review ^ | 4/19/2001 | Rich Lowry
    “The Regulars Are Coming Out!” Paul Revere was in the middle of it all that April 19, 1775. Today is one of the most stirring dates in American history. That it won't be remembered except in certain precincts of New England is a sign of the poverty of the nation's historical memory — of the way that some of America's most exhilarating stories are neglected as mere children's bedtime stories instead of enjoying their proper place, as a foundation of American civic life. April 19th, 1775. Remember it, honor it: the date of Paul Revere's glorious midnight ride. As ...
  • Absolute Scandal

    03/26/2001 7:33:58 AM PST · by benjaminthomas · 22+ views
    National Review Online ^ | 3/26/2001 | Kathryn Lopez and David Limbaugh
    Absolute Scandal The Clinton-Reno years. By Kathryn Jean Lopez, NR associate editor March 26, 2001 11:00 a.m. David Limbaugh, a lawyer and syndicated columnist, is author of the recently released Absolute Power: The Legacy of Corruption in the Clinton-Reno Justice Department. Kathryn Jean Lopez: What made you write Absolute Power? Don't we know enough about the Clintons' disregard for the law already? What's the point of revisiting it? David Limbaugh: Admittedly we are all intimately familiar with the Clintons' many scandals, but I believe that many of them were underreported and under-emphasized by the major media. Plus, this is the ...
  • Former partner tries to stop &lt;i&gt;killing of child&lt;/i&gt;

    03/20/2001 4:42:54 AM PST · by benjaminthomas · 20+ views
    Drudge Report ^ | March 20, 2001
    Former partner tries to stop killing of child A man who is taking legal action to stop his ex-girlfriend killing their child returns to the High Court on Tuesday to seek an injunction. The man, who lives in Coventry and has two children from a previous marriage, told the BBC that he wants to change the law to protect the child. He also wants to fight for the rights of fathers. He said: "As a father, under the UK law I have no rights. As a child it should have rights. "Somebody has to stand up and fight for it ...
  • Roger Ebert's Political Movie Reviews: Quills [Barf Alert]

    12/21/2000 3:59:31 AM PST · by benjaminthomas · 52+ views
    Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 12/15/2000 | Roger Ebert
    QUILLS*** 1/2 (R) December 15, 2000 Marquis de Sade: Geoffrey Rush Madeleine: Kate Winslet Coulmier: Joaquin Phoenix Royer-Collard: Michael Caine Fox Searchlight Pictures presents a film directed by Philip Kaufman. Written by Doug Wright, based on his play. Running time: 123 minutes. Rated R (for strong sexual content including dialogue, violence and language). BY ROGER EBERT Some are born evil, others choose evil, and some have evil thrust upon them. We are most inclined to forgive the members of the first category. The Marquis de Sade, for example, was hard-wired from birth as one of the most villainous of God's ...
  • Media Fault Supreme Court; Gore is the Real Villain

    12/13/2000 4:10:14 AM PST · by benjaminthomas · 23+ views
    Vanity | 12/13/2000 | self
    As I surfed the major news channels last night after the USSC announcement, it was clear they had decided on how this decision should be spun: "The Supreme Court, on a partisan 5-4 basis, decided this election." Also, "the votes that could have decided this were not counted."What utter nonsense! Consider:1. Gore never led. So if no action had been taken by either side, Bush would have won. So the SC being involved (due to Gore's actions -- which I'll get to below) didn't decide this election. It only helped keep it from being stolen. 2. Gore started this imbroglio ...
  • Could Bush Re-Contest if Gore Went Ahead?

    12/08/2000 2:42:48 AM PST · by benjaminthomas · 26+ views
    PBS NewsHour | mine own self
    Why is it the received wisdom that if Gore goes ahead at any point, with any recount, that the burden then is on Bush to prove Gore didn't win? Last night on PBS, Jim Lehrer was having a round table with several (mostly) liberal pundits, including the execrable Tom Oliphant, and they basically saying that all Gore has to do is get a recount that puts him ahead and then it's all over. Why have they all along assumed that the four or five times Bush has won the count, he's not really ahead?[end naive rant about liberal media bias]My ...
  • Press Turns on a Dime to Begin New Era of Watchdog Journalism

    12/01/2000 3:28:48 AM PST · by benjaminthomas · 8+ views
    Wall Street Jounal, A1 | 12/1/2000
    The Bush team's handling of the news of Cheney's heart attack remings some journalists of his keep-away attitude during the Gulf War. "I have concerns about whether he believes in a free-flow of information," says Gene Roberts, former executive editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • Al Forgot to Sell Himself

    10/18/2000 4:45:59 AM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 24+ views
    NY Post ^ | 10/18/2000 | Dick Morris
    AL FORGOT TO SELL HIMSELF Wednesday,October 18,2000 BUSH was Bush. Gore was Gore. The third debate was really a tie. That means that Bush, who entered the debate ahead, won. In a forum in which the candidates' personalities were on display in the final round, Gore strutted and crouched, pontificated and pounced, smirked and attacked. Bush acted almost as if Gore weren't there. He spoke with dignity, self-possession, poise and a measured pace. On health care, Gore's attacks served to make key points. But he did so at a heavy price in likeability. In the first debate, Gore was the ...
  • They're Both Liars [Barf!]

    10/06/2000 10:14:39 AM PDT · by benjaminthomas · 7+ views
    Salon ^ | 10/6/2000 | Jake Tapper
    They're both liars! Bush and Gore have each been known to stretch the truth. Bush just does it better. By Jake Tapper Oct. 6, 2000 | It was one of the more revealing moments of body language during Tuesday night's presidential debate. Asked how he responds in a crisis, Gov. George W. Bush recounted Texas fires and floods, praising Federal Emergency Management Agency director James Lee Witt. Then it was Vice President Al Gore's turn to speak. "I accompanied James Lee Witt down to Texas when those fires broke out," Gore said. And as he did, Bush furrowed his brow, ...