I’m struck by the stark difference in the ways Democratic and Republican candidates have reacted to two events this week that at least potentially play to each party’s base voters. In the aftermath of the horrific killings at Virginia Tech, for which a mentally unstable 23-year-old was able to purchase two handguns, legally and easily, …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Kurdish Ways
Matt Yglesias usually has a lot of smart things to say about foreign policy, but his takedown of David Ignatius’s column on the Kurds isn’t as acute as usual. It isn’t even accurate. Matt claims that Ignatius doesn’t mention the looming crisis in Kirkuk, but he does:
A flash point is Kirkuk, an oil-rich city claimed by the Kurds, which
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Diversion
Please keep your “have the same amount of experience” jokes to yourself and revel in the possibilities:
A Hibatchi Hibachi in every pot! High altitude tents covered by Medicare! Supreme Court justices determined by three-pointer contests! At the very least, I like to think they’d avoid stupid wars.
UPDATE: Thanks to Chris R. for the …
Virginia Tech: What is the Lesson?
As always when the unimaginable happens, we struggle to find the lesson here: Could it have been prevented by more gun control? Tighter campus security? Better law enforcement? But the more we learn about this tragedy and its perpetrator, the more it seems to defy any big answer. I was struck by this wise essay in the University of …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Gates Defends Democrats
This nugget may get lost in all the Virginia Tech news, but Secretary of Defense Robert Gates took a pretty bold step away from all the Bush-Cheney-McCain rhetoric about the Congressional war funding debate “hurting” the troops. Here’s the key quote:
“The debate in Congress . . . has been helpful in demonstrating to the Iraqis that
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Gun Control: Still Not Likely
In another post, commenter rmarin makes the argument:
According to an IANSA report published in 2006, gun-related incidents result in 300,000 fatalities and one million injuries worldwide every year. Many of those guns come from the U.S.
Mexican authorities reported that 80 percent of guns in the country came from the U.S., 50 percent
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In the ArenaUncategorized
Sounds About Right
Lawrence Korb’s fascinating and depressing diary of a recent visit to Iraq, via Kevin Drum.
ps–I’ve been told by several Congressional sources that troops intended for Baghdad are being diverted to Diyala and other trouble spots…which makes the counterinsurgency plan even more difficult to implement in the capital.
From Reader …
UPDATE: Oy.
Who knew? Tommy Thompson tells Politico he was farmatert.
Today on the Trail: A day of mourning
Katie Rooney with an update on campaign responses to the Virginia Tech murders.
All of the presidential candidates with events scheduled today have either canceled or postponed them and most have released public statements regarding yesterday’s fatal shootings on the Virginia Tech campus. Here’s what the candidates have to say about the …
Blaming the Victims … Because They’re Total Wusses
The last time we checked in with NRO’s John Derbyshire, he was expounding on his own hypothetical bravery regarding Iranian hostage-takers. Today, we learn that he also is completely fearless in imaginary domestic scenarios as well:
Spirit of Self-Defense [John Derbyshire]
As NRO’s designated chickenhawk, let me be the one to ask:
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In the ArenaUncategorized
Wishful Thinking
Rush Limbaugh on Hillary Clinton:
If you have fallen for the notion that the Clinton machine is sort of upside down and discombobulated and doesn’t quite know what’s going on here, you are falling for more myths from the media, which is designed to make it look like she has real competition so that she can overcome obstacles rather than
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Wolf’s Wrongs
The Wolfowitz scandal has been rather opaque for me — beyond the sadly unsurprising news of a Bush administration official practicing cronyism, why is it such a big deal? The New Republic’s Michael Currie Schaffer does a great job of laying out the pragmatic case for seeing Wolfowitz’s missteps as a very serious blow to our national …
Oy.
This from Haaretz:
WASHINGTON – Former Wisconsin governor and Republican presidential hopeful Tommy Thompson told Jewish activists Monday that making money is “part of the Jewish tradition,” and something that he applauded.
Speaking to an audience at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington D.C., Thompson said that,
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