December 16, 2005
Things Were "More Secure" Under
Communism
"Now, the westerners are unhappy because the disappearance of all that
money is seen as the root of Germany's economic stagnation and high
unemployment. The easterners are notoriously unhappy because life is less secure
than it used to be under Communism, and, as this cycle continues, the westerners
are irritated that the easterners are unhappy."
-Richard Bernstein reporting from Berlin, December 6.
"Conservative" Andrew Sullivan?
Since When?
"To torture or not? In the Dec. 5 issue of the conservative Weekly Standard,
Charles Krauthammer argued for the legalization of torture under strictly
limited conditions, and criticized Senator John McCain's proposal to ban all
'cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment' of detainees by American soldiers and
intelligence operatives. Cue the firestorm - fanned in part by Andrew Sullivan,
also a conservative, who replied in the most recent issue of The New Republic,
where he is senior editor."
- Sidebar to a December 11 Week in Review piece.
Let's Hope That's Just a Typo
"Some critics wonder whether Mr. Romero would today defend the right of
neo-Nazis to march through the heavily Jewish city of Skokie, Ill. - a 1997
action that strained the A.C.L.U.'s financial resources."
- From Stephanie Strom's December 8 front-page story. The march occurred in
1977.
"Substantial Truth" to Left-Wing
Claims of "Republican Duplicity."
"Nonetheless, the deeper message of Hacker and Pierson's book will no doubt
resonate with a lot of readers - the idea that Republicans win elections by
manipulating the electoral system and misrepresenting their policies, so that
voters are unable to understand what they're voting for. There is substantial
truth to most of Hacker and Pierson's claims about Republican tactics. But is
this duplicity really the sole reason, or even the main one, that so many
moderate voters continue to help elect conservatives?"
- Contributing writer Matt Bai reviewing the left-wing book "Off
Center - The Republican Revolution and the Erosion of American Democracy" for
the December 11 Book Review.
"Sudden and Thorough Tarnishing"
of Bush Credibility in Europe
"Indeed, it would be hard to imagine a more sudden and thorough tarnishing of
the Bush administration's credibility than the one taking place here right now.
There have been too many reports in the news media about renditions - including
one involving an Lebanese-born German citizen, Khaled el-Masri, kidnapped in
Macedonia in December 2003 and imprisoned in Afghanistan for several months on
the mistaken assumption that he was an associate of the Sept. 11 hijackers -
for blanket disclaimers of torture to be widely believed."
- Richard Bernstein following Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Europe,
December 7.
Sins of the Father?
"Mel Gibson, whose 'Passion of the Christ' was assailed by some critics as an
anti-Semitic passion play - and whose father has been on record as a Holocaust
denier - has a new project under way: a nonfiction mini-series for television
about the Holocaust."
- From the "Inside Box" on the December 7 front page.
Bush Talks About the Economy As
Soldiers Die
"As he went before the cameras in the Rose Garden on Friday morning, President
Bush was aware of bad news that had not yet been made public: that 10 marines
had been killed by a bomb in Iraq. But he made no mention of the attack,
sticking to the sunny White Houses message of the day that the economy is strong
and the outlook 'as bright as it's been in a long time.' For an administration
that has been beset by trouble, it was a classic effort to change the subject,
and one that could be justified, up to a point, by the facts."
- White House reporter Richard Stevenson in a December 3 story that
carried the online headline "Bush Did Not Mention Attacks in Rose Garden
Appearance."
The "Contrarian" Anti-American
Defending Hussein
"In Defending Hussein, an American Contrarian Seeks to Set the Historical Record
Straight."
- The headline over a December 6 John Burns profile of LBJ Attorney
General turned anti-American activist and Saddam Hussein supporter Ramsey Clark.
Wishful Thinking?
"When Even Supply-Siders Say Taxes Must Rise, an Unpopular Policy Looks
Inevitable."
- Headline to an Eduardo Porter story, December 5.
