Stories by Leon H Wolf
Posted at 1:01am on Oct. 21, 2005 Miers Ends Senate Meetings
By Leon H Wolf
Earlier today, NRO published a piece by Byron York which analyzed the demoralized mood of Miers supporters - and made particular note of their desire to see the one-on-one Senate meetings end, on the basis of Miers' less-than-stellar performance:
On a conference call held this morning, they even discussed whether Miers should simply stop visiting with lawmakers, lest any further damage be done — and so that time spent in such get-acquainted sessions will not cut into Miers's intensive preparation for her confirmation hearing.
* * *
"The meetings with the senators are going terribly. On a scale of one to 100, they are in negative territory. The thought now is that they have to end....
Almost concurrent with the release of York's piece, the Washington Times (with a tip of the hat to RedState commenter JusticeBrad) tells us that apparently, those handling this nomination are listening to at least some advice:
Posted in The Courts — Comments (28)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 3:06pm on Oct. 20, 2005 Aaaaaarrrrrrrrghhh
By Leon H Wolf
Someone needs to make the madness stop.
The most recent madness is buried in this Washington Post story (with a tip of the hat to Patterico) about some... uh... unease that some of the Senators are displaying over the written responses Harriet Miers provided to their questionnaire:
Barely concealing their irritation during a 35-minute news conference at the Capitol, Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and ranking Democrat Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.) called the lobbying on Miers's behalf "chaotic," and said the answers she provided Monday to a lengthy questionnaire were inadequate. "The comments I have heard range from incomplete to insulting," Leahy said.
Alright. I confess, I have a hard time being sad that Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy are upset. The real bomb is buried about 18 paragraphs into this story:
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Posted at 11:00am on Oct. 18, 2005 Tuesday Open Thread
By Leon H Wolf
Any unusually high participation in this open thread will be investigated by the appropriate international authorities before the final results can be certified.
Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (10)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:38pm on Oct. 16, 2005 Sunday Open Thread
By Leon H Wolf
Get your open thread on.
Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (39)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 3:46pm on Oct. 15, 2005 Iraqi Vote Turnout High on Historic Day
By Leon H Wolf
If you're watching RedHot, you've already seen some of the links we're digging up on the Iraqi Constitution Referendum.
Today was a historic day in Iraq. As the Iraqi people went to the polls in impressive numbers, the insurgency demonstrated that their cause is a losing one. Be sure to check out Iraq the Model for some great election coverage.
Yet another significant milestone has been achieved in the long-term strategic vision for Iraq and the Middle East. Congratulations to the Iraqis for making their voice heard in Democratic fashion.
As an unrelated but pleasant side effect, this is not such great news for some other folks, however.
Update [2005-10-15 16:51:45 by streiff]:Omar at Iraq the Model reports turnout in the primarily Sunni provinces of Salah al-Din (66%), Anbar (unknown), Ninevah (66%+) and Diyala (66%+).
Posted in War — Comments (84)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 3:01pm on Oct. 15, 2005 Saturday Open Thread
By Leon H Wolf
Open Thread. May the Montanists slaughter the pagan residents of Troy gloriously on the field of battle today.
Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (15)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 7:58pm on Oct. 14, 2005 Thoughtcrime.
By Leon H Wolf
The Senate stands ready to take another substantive step towards punishing thoughtcrime with the passage of S. 1145, the "Hate Crimes" funding bill. Given that Specter, Snowe, Collins and Chafee are among the bill's co-sponsors, along with moderate Democrats like Ben Nelson, Mark Pryor, and Blanche Lincoln, passage of the bill looks like a foregone conclusion.
The bill defines a "hate crime" as:
The incidence of violence motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim
Leaving aside for just a moment the appropriateness of including all of those groups in the statute, it is incontrovertible that the statute seeks to punish two identical acts based upon thoughts that supposedly were in the head of the criminal at the time of perpetuating the crime. Thoughtcrime is upon us.
Posted in Culture — Comments (112)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 2:38pm on Oct. 14, 2005 Laying my Sword Down
By Leon H Wolf
There must be a bug that is catching today. After much reflection over the last three days, I have decided that, if I cannot support the nomination of Harriet Miers, I can at least refrain from opposing it. My reasons for this are quite different from Erick's, and thusly they lead me to conclusions that are ultimately very different.
However, the end result is almost the same. For now, I'm done taking up my sword against my fellow Republicans and against the President. However, if she turns out to be the kind of justice that I very much fear she will, I am prepared to walk away for good.
More below the fold:
Posted in The Courts — Comments (79)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:11pm on Oct. 14, 2005 Friday Open Thread
By Leon H Wolf
For such an important position, this selection was a horrible one. The candidate does not have the requisite talent or experience that the position requires.
Harriet Miers? What are you talking about? I was referring to this.
Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (21)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 8:43pm on Oct. 12, 2005 The Argument Not Answered
By Leon H Wolf
Robert Bork gets it. He is one of the few, apparently, who do.
Bork was on Hannity's radio program this afternoon, and when Hannity asked him why he opposed the nomination of Harriet Miers, Bork immediately hit on the reason that I have been advocating since day one - and which I have yet to hear any pro-nomination folks answer.
Much of the discussion thus far has centered around Harriet Miers as a person: whether she is qualified, whether she is an originalist, whether she will vote to overturn Roe, whether she is pro-affirmative action, and (for some bizarre reason) whether she is a dedicated Christian. Alternately, the debate has centered for some around George W. Bush, since his endorsement has been the most substantive defense of her nomination: whether Bush a true conservative, whether his record of nominating conservative judges is enough, whether Bush is personally motivated by social conservative causes. In the third place, the argument has centered around the political wisdom of the nomination: whether this was the right move for the Republican party, whether any other judge could have been confirmed, whether opposition to Miers is harmful to the Republican party's electoral chances, whether a "fight" in the Senate over judicial philosophy would have been appropriate, and whether the resultant push for Miers has been effective.
To some extent, all of these are legitimate areas of concern and fertile ground for argument in this nomination battle. However, they also ignore the larger fact that this nomination is about more than Harriet Miers, or George W. Bush, or even short-term electoral jockeying. What is at stake here is the future shape of the federal judiciary, perhaps for an entire generation.
This nomination has done much to harm the shape of that future, and so must be rejected.