Month: November 2006

Move over, Borat. Here’s more Second World fun! Check out the garden dance-moves:

From Scott Horton’s speech yesterday in Berlin, Germany:

Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to read your newspaper today very carefully. In it you will find another ‚Äì now the third ‚Äì report (PDF) prepared by faculty and students at Seton Hall Law School examining the Combat Status Review Tribunal, a board composed to confirm the status of detainees in Guantanamo. Based on its determinations, detainees may be held for indefinite periods ‚Äì potentially forever. Yet, as this study reveals, most proceedings occupy only a few hours, involve no witnesses and generally little meaningful evidence of any sort. The detainees are not confronted with the accusations or evidence against them, given an opportunity to ask questions or conduct a case. Once more, the model that is adhered to is not the rich criminal or military justice system of the United States, but the model of Franz Kafka’s Penal Colony. What attitude towards justice does this reveal?

I am not here to argue for release or freedom for those detained in the campaign against terror. I am arguing for justice. That is something quite different. It may well be that Majid Khan is a serious criminal responsible for crimes against humanity. It may well be that he used or promoted the use of terror as a device. If that is so, he should be charged and given a fair chance to defend himself. This trial, fairly run, will vindicate my nation’s counterterrorism efforts. It will show those who are held for heinous criminals, if they are heinous criminals. It would promote the view in the world that my nation has and pursues a just cause, and treats those in its power with justice, though the justice be severe.

In the end justice is a glorious thing and the evasion of justice is shameful. But we must remember, as both Robert H. Jackson and Hannah Arendt have taught us, that this process is not simply about justice. It is also about the appearance of justice. Failing that, we run a severe risk. The penal colony may now be an island. But soon it may become the world.

A revealing Corner post from theocon Kathryn-Jean Lopez:

Does Anyone Really Disagree with This?

A Bush administration HHS nominee is getting grief for his involvement with a pregnancy center that believes:

"that the crass commercialization and distribution of birth control is demeaning to women, degrading of human sexuality and adverse to human health and happiness."

Passing out contraception without any deeper context or conversation is degrading and disrespectful ‚Äî to men and women. Tell me I’m crazy.

She’s crazy. We’re not talking about condoms for kids here. We’re talking about condoms for adults. We know she’s nuts because she insisted only a couple of weeks’ back that Rick Santorum – as an empirical prediction – would win in Pennsylvania. She is delusional, but she is also a fanatic. Notice how she cannot even understand how anyone could really disagree with her about the "evil" of contraception. In her cocoon, this may be true. The theocon right absolutely believes that contraception is just as immoral as gay sex. If they could ban it, discourage it, prevent its availability, they would. And with the appointment of Eric Keroack at HHS, we have new evidence they are.

(For a full treatment of the theoconservative position on abortion, contraception, heterosexual sex and end-of-life issues, check out Chapter Three of my book. It includes a careful dissection of Rick Santorum’s book, and his profound hostility to the concept of American freedom. And it contains my favorite index item in the book: "clitoris: purpose of." Like I’d know.)

Check out this exit poll analysis of the first anti-gay-union amendment to fail. It’s from Arizona. You find some obvious data that bear out what we already know. Women are marginally more in favor of gay unions than men – but it’s not that big a gender gap. Men split 50-50. Women broke 53 – 47 against a constitutional ban. The under-30s voted against the amendment by a whopping 61 to 39 percent. I expect in a decade or so that many of these amendments will be repealed by similar margins. Education is a key indicator of being anti-gay or not. Those with dropped out of high school favored the amendment by a huge 65 to 35 percent. Those who graduated college opposed it by a narrow margin. Post-grads were overwhelmingly opposed.

The only ethnic group to favor the amendment by a large margin was black, by 61 – 39 percent. Karl Rove’s attempt to peel off a few black votes by gay-bashing was not stupid. It was based on the data. African-Americans are easily the ethnic group most hostile toward gay rights. The reasons may have more to do with education and class than race. But black homophobia exists – as any inner-city resident knows only too well. Sadly for Rove, prejudice alone can’t get blacks to change their partisan alignment. Next time, Rove might want to try and exploit other fears and prejudices to win votes. This one is strong – just not strong enough.

Remember when Republicans actually supported individual liberty? Here’s Mr Schwarzenegger, one of the few real conservatives left, extolling Milton Friedman. As a fellow immigrant who came to love America because of its promise of freedom, I second every word. And I long for the day when the GOP can once again become the party of individual freedom, rather than collective fear, debt, and intolerance:

(Hat tip: Ryan.)

Sacha Baron-Cohen comes out of character to talk about the idea behind Borat. In my view, it was better to have stayed silent.

National Revew Online’s editor recently proclaimed that most conservatives "won’t buy or read" "The Conservative Soul" because of my attacks on the Bush administration. On November 17, the Heritage Foundation had a dinner to commemmorate the 25th anniversary of the 1981 Reagan tax cut. Bruce Bartlett, who helped draft the 1977 Kemp-Roth bill, was informed he was not invited because of his criticism of the Bush administration’s reckless fiscal policies. Wednesday night, libertarian Ryan Sager spoke to a little free-market group on the Hill called the Prosperity Caucus. Heritage often plays host to their events. But when Heritage found out that Sager was the speaker this month, the Prosperity Caucus was asked to take things elsewhere.

I don’t think many Republicans and conservatives have come out of denial yet about what was done to conservatism in Bush-Rove-DeLay years. Or perhaps the first stage of coming out of denial is anger at those who came out of it years ago.

Never seen this before. Wish I hadn’t now. Happy that Howie Mandel no longer has the mullet.

"General [Eric] Shinseki was right that a greater international force contribution, U.S. force contribution and Iraqi force contribution should have been available immediately after major combat operations," – General Abizaid, finally contradicting Rumsfeld, under oath.

Soho, London, 6.15 am, post-party.