December 5, 2003 by s.z.

Now I know what Andrew's problem is -- he's experiencing side effects from the Republicen (TM).  Thanks, War Liberal, for clearing that up. 3:59:23 AM

It's One Thing to Bash Gays, But Derb Went Over the Line When He Bashed Goatees! Here's an angry Andrew Sullivan to explain it all to you: DERBYSHIRE WATCH: Defenders of John Derbyshire at National Review argue that he simply holds arguments against homosexual relationships or sex and is not "anti-gay" or prejudiced. This despite the fact that he has in the past simply avowed that he doesn't "like" homosexuality.  Look, it's a free country. Derbyshire should be free to like or dislike whatever he wants.  But these are not arguments. They're, well, prejudices.  Then he writes something like this : "The goatee is an abomination, and engenders a cloud of suspicion about the wearer's sexual orientation."  I'm not defending the goatee.  And I understand he's trying to make a jocular comment.  But this is a simple, bald declaration that someone's orientation alone - their involuntary identity, not anything they might or might not do - is "suspicious."  Again, imagine if someone had written that he despised beards because they "engender a cloud of suspicion about the wearer's possible Jewishness." would anyone pass this off as simply humor? Would any serious person publish it?  Why is National Review proudly publishing bigotry?  And they wonder why "social conservatives have been losing the political debate over gay marriage." We feel for you Andrew.  It's almost enough to make us abandon the whole "social conservative" movement.  Wait, we already did -- too bad it's not enough to make YOU abandon it.  FYI, Derb was replying to a post by Rod Dreher, who, writing about an article in GQ which disparages goatees, said, "At last, Andrew Sullivan and I are united on something." So, Derb was presumably casting aspersions on fellow Cornerite Rod's sexual orientation with his "jocular" little remark.  That Derb: what fun he must be at parties. 2:37:25 AM

I Was an Undercover Bush Hater for Bill O'Reilly! Well, not ME -- Steve Young of "Jewish World Review."  Here are snippets of his report, taken from the transcripts of Bill's show: O'REILLY:  What happened?  Tell us what happened there.  YOUNG:  Well, it turned out not to be such a "hate Bush" meeting as much as a well, we don't particularly care for the president.  And hopefully we can put in a guy... O'REILLY:  So is it -- we don't care for the Bush -- right, we don't care for him, rather than we hate him? YOUNG:  Yes, the worst thing they called him was, well, "we don't feel that he's 'compassionate' nor 'conservative.'"  That was the worst thing that I heard.  There was nothing there that was actually hate-filled.  So, case closed.  No hate.  Except you can't get ratings from that kind of a non-story.  Watch Bill show his fairness and balance a little later in the program: O'REILLY:  Let's be honest. YOUNG:  Yes, sir? O'REILLY:  I mean, these people loathe the president.  All of them.  YOUNG:  Nobody said that, though.  O'REILLY:  I don't care whether they say it or not, they loathe him.  And they ought to be, you know, men and women enough to admit it.  But that doesn't matter.  Who cares? What does matter is there's big money behind this meeting.  Now this meeting in Hollywood was to introduce these people, who we just showed you, to a group called America Coming Together. YOUNG:  Yes. O'REILLY:  Who's behind that?  [Financier] George Soros.  He's pledged $10 million.  Now what this is, and my new column, which will be out tomorrow, breaks the story.  They're trying to get younger people, under 30, who don't ordinarily vote, to mass vote against the Republicans.  That's the strategy.  And they want to use the celebrities to do it.  YOUNG:  Well, actually, it's even more than that.  They feel that they can get a lot more people, including women, African-Americans, and other minorities, people who would normally vote Democrat that didn't vote before or... O'REILLY:  Yes.  They want registered people.  Sure. Damn Democrats, trying to get people to vote against the Republicans.  And using celebrities and money to do it!  How much lower could they sink!  Thank God we have Bill O'Reilly looking out for us, alerting us to this kind of conspiracy!  As his radio show slogan reminds us:  who knows what Bush-loathing lurks in the hearts of men?  The O'Reilly knows! 2:21:41 AM

Everything I Didn't Need to Know About Life, I Learned at TOWN HALL Here's the recap of today's best -- it features hair envy, scary dolls, and more about selling your kidneys.  Plus, everybody is persecuting David Limbaugh. Helle Dale Maybe George Bush really DOESN'T have super powers.  Damn!   Remember when President George W. Bush gazed into the eyes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and decided he knew the man's soul, here was a man he could trust? Instead, Mr. Bush ought to have had chills running down his spine. While Mr. Bush may be many things a courageous president in difficult times, for one a perfect reader of the human soul he is not, as developments in Russia have demonstrated.  David Limbaugh Everybody is picking on Christianity -- hey, maybe somebody should write a book about that!  There is an intrinsic bias in our popular culture against Christianity, and it's getting worse. The only thing that isn't clear to me is whether the liberal secularists who deny it are oblivious to the discrimination or are being deceitful. I actually think there is some of both.   Jonah Goldberg Jonah is jealous of John Kerry's hair.  Plus, he doesn't think Kerry's reasons for not liking Bush are good enough. Let me put it this way: There's nothing wrong with saying Osama bin Laden is an evil maniac. But if your rationale for that statement is rooted in the fact that bin Laden doesn't like Pop-Tarts for breakfast, well, then it was nice talking to you. Kerry's arguments are closer to Bush-doesn't-like-Pop-Tarts than a serious case from a serious candidate.  Rich Lowry Rich thinks his own hair is just as nice as John's.  Sen. John Kerry has come to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York to deliver a major foreign-policy address, and he looks great. With his cragged face and silvery hair, he is the very picture of a senator. But at a time when Democratic activists are fed up with a party establishment that they think hasn't been confrontational enough toward President Bush, Kerry's senatorial looks aren't necessarily an asset.  Clifford D. May Cliff, unlike DIANA WEST, got the name of that EU group right.  It must have been that email from Sadly, No! that tipped him off. To its credit, the European Union commissioned a study of anti-Jewish hatred, incitement and violence, its causes and possible cures. To its shame, the watchdog group that undertook the study – the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) -- decided not to publish it.  Chuck Krauthammer  George Bush has driven Howard Dean crazy, just as he has so many other people.  Oddly enough, Charles doesn't see this as a sign that something may be wrong with Bush. But it's time to don the white coat again. A plague is abroad in the land. Bush Derangement Syndrome: the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency -- nay -- the very existence of George W. Bush.  Thomas Sowell Well, Adam Smith would let people sell their kidneys! When the issue is posed as "the free market" versus "compassion for the poor," which do you think is likely to win out?   Mike Adams We join Mike in the middle of an ongoing crusade against the UNC-Wilmington administration for withdrawing university support from the campus chapter of the College Republicans (and just because they wouldn't admit non-Republicans into the club).  Mike claimed previously that if Dems were allowed to join the group, they could have engineered a hostile takeover of the College Republicans!  A university administrator said that the kids should just have learned how to keep their foes from doing that.  Mike does not agree. Is it better to, a) force students to allow opponents to join their group, while helping them to craft policies that deny these opponents leadership positions, deny them the right to vote, as well as procedures for kicking them out of the group, or, b) just let the groups keep their opponents from joining in the first place.  Well, there are no federal laws barring Democrats from joining the Old Republicans, but they haven't engineered any coups yet, as far as I know.  Anyway, you'd think that a grown man would have better things to do than worry about this stupid "controversy," but then you read his bio and you realize he doesn't. John McCaslin John has a new dolly. The new talking Ann Coulter doll is outselling all talking presidential action figures made by toy maker Talking Presidents, the company's John Warnock tells this column. And pick up some extra batteries for the Coulter doll, because when you press her button she speaks - in no uncertain terms - 14 different phrases. "At least when right-wingers rant there's a point," she begins. A conservative blond lawyer, this doll with a brain and backbone frequently sends the staunchest liberals running for the hills.  Eeek!  If the doll actually does have a human brain in that tiny head, no wonder liberals run away from it.  Of course, the doll's brain would be about the same size as the real Ann's brain, but it just wouldn't rattle around so much. And that concludes today's Town Hall Review.  You can go about your business now. 2:05:28 AM