From the WSJ Opinion Archives
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Let's
Make a Deal
If a high-value unprivileged belligerent is behind Door No. 1, will the
CIA be able to find out what he knows? It's looking more likely now, as the
White House and "balking Republican senators" have agreed on a legislative
compromise. The Chicago Tribune reports:
The compromise spells out specific acts--such as murder, mutilation, intentional serious bodily injury and sexual assault--that are "grave breaches" of the Geneva Convention and could subject interrogators to prosecution. The White House says this provides "clear guidance to our men and women in uniform as to what puts them at risk for criminal prosecution." . . .
[Sen. Lindsey] Graham, who had joined [John] McCain and Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., in forcing the White House to temper its original proposal, said he thought the compromise would prohibit simulated drowning, or "water-boarding" as a CIA interrogation technique.
But Graham didn't rule out other aggressive techniques like sleep deprivation or playing loud music. He said the legislation would not spell out which "alternative interrogation techniques" are permitted and which are prohibited.
The White House had insisted the CIA's interrogation of detainees could not continue without clarification, and Bush said that test has been met with Thursday's agreement.
Former terror prosecutor Andy McCarthy gives a tentative thumbs-up:
On first impression it certainly looks like the White House and the McCain/Warner/Graham faction have done an admirable job of working out their differences. Early predictions that the President was getting rolled seem to have been greatly exaggerated. And the McCain bloc got its principles validated without disabling the CIA program, which they have always maintained was not their intention.
National Review's Byron York has some reporting on how the deal was struck, and he also notes that it looks like a Zonk for the soft-on-terror left. Duncan "Atrios" Black: "Yes, McCain sells out the country and Democrats look like crap." The ACLU: "We urge lawmakers to stand firm in their commitment to American values and reject this charade of a compromise."
A New York Times editorial urges Democrats to take a stand against tough interrogation of terrorists:
The Democrats have largely stood silent and allowed the trio of Republicans to do the lifting. It's time for them to either try to fix this bill or delay it until after the election.
As blogger Tom Maguire notes, "since Dems have been hiding behind St. John on this issue, they will have a hard time announicng [sic] at this late date that McCain lacks the integrity and judgment to be trusted." They also will have a hard time embracing the proposition that we should sacrifice the lives of American women and children in order to be kind to the likes of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed--unless they really, really want badly to lose the election.
'You
Don't Condemn My President'
CNN reports on a show of patriotism from a pair of liberal Democrats:
Two of President Bush's staunchest domestic critics leapt to his defense Thursday, a day after one of his fiercest foreign foes called him "the devil" in a scorching speech before the United Nations.
"You don't come into my country; you don't come into my congressional district and you don't condemn my president," Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, scolded Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, was blunt in her criticism of the Venezuelan leader. "He is an everyday thug," she said.
YouTube has video of the Rangel comment, which came in an interview with Fox News Channel. We received one email from a reader who cynically termed this a "Sister Souljah moment," a reference to Bill Clinton's criticism of a moonbat rapper in front of a black audience in 1992. We respectfully reject such heads-I-win-tails-you-lose partisanship. Rangel's and Pelosi's motives are beside the point; the important thing is that they did the right thing, and they deserve praise for it.
Radio Iowa reports not all Democrats are doing the right thing:
Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a democrat [sic], [yesterday] defended Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's United Nations speech in which Chavez called President George Bush the devil. Harkin said the comments were "incendiary," then went on to say, "Let me put it this way, I can understand the frustration, ah, and the anger of certain people around the world because of George Bush's policies." Harkin continued what has been frequent criticism of the president's foreign policy.
Harkin says Bush came to office saying he wanted a new humility in foreign policy in reaching out to other countries, but Harkin says Bush's actual policy has been heavy handed. Harkin says the anger against Bush is generated from the Iraq war, which Harkin says was "unnecessary."
And how did Harkin vote on that "unnecessary" war? In favor.
The liberal Boston Globe also takes issue with Chavez, noting, "Bush can be called many things but not the ultimate embodiment of evil." That's what's known as praising with faint damnation.
Blue
Steele?
Maryland's U.S. Senate campaign is shaping up to be one of the most entertaining
of this political season, because it exposes Democratic insecurities about matters
of race. In a heavily Democratic state, the Republicans have nominated a black
man, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, and he has a decent shot of beating the Democratic
nominee, Rep. Benjamin Cardin.
Black Marylanders, who normally vote Democratic in overwhelming numbers, may not warm to Cardin, a person of pallor who defeated ex-Rep. Kweisi Mfume in last week's primary. Little wonder the Dems are on the defensive. The Baltimore Sun reports that Dems are up in arms over the slogan "Steele Democrats":
The bright blue placards and bumper stickers made their debut yesterday in Baltimore during an event announcing a new coalition of Democrats supporting the lieutenant governor's U.S. Senate bid. . . . The state Democratic Party chairman immediately accused him of "identity theft." . . .
Donald F. Norris, a professor of public policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said that while such cross-party coalitions are a routine campaign gimmick, Steele's new signs are "underhanded" and a "dirty trick." . . .
To add to the party confusion, a Democrat with the last name Mfume endorsed Steele yesterday.
Michael Mfume--son of former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kweisi Mfume--linked arms with Steele in Baltimore. . . .
Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman and NAACP leader, has spoken frequently of his friendship with the candidate who defeated him in the Democratic primary, Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin.
Last night, the elder Mfume said that he is sticking with Cardin. "I'm supporting Ben 100 percent," he said.
Michael Mfume is best known as the writer and director of "Ax 'Em," a 2002 horror movie that has a very selective appeal.
Next
Stop, the Senate
"Big Rig Plows Through House"--headline, KATC-TV Web site (Lafayette,
La.), Sept. 20
Reporting
News, or Selling Stemware?
"Using stem cells harvested from patients' own bone marrow, researchers
reported Wednesday that they improved cardiac function in heart attack patients
months, years--and even decades--after the patients suffered their attacks,"
reports the Los Angeles Times:
The infusion of stem cells boosted cardiac pumping efficiency by 7 percent in three months--a modest gain, but still an improvement for a chronic condition.
In one case, a patient who had suffered a heart attack 30 years earlier showed an 11 percent improvement after the treatment, according to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The German researchers also found signs that patients can continue to improve with repeated stem-cell treatments.
Now here is how the Associated Press reported the same study:
Giving heart attack survivors stem cells from their own bone marrow did little to repair their damaged hearts, according to the three best studies to date of this controversial therapy.
The modest results suggest more study is needed and, some scientists say, demonstrate the need to lift political limits on using cells from embryos, which offer more promise for turning into heart-repairing tissue.
Which interpretation of the findings is right? Probably this is one of those half-empty/half-full situations, and either is defensible. But note how the AP waits only until the second paragraph to go off on a tangent about "the need to lift political limits on using cells from embryos, which offer more promise." (The L.A. Times piece goes off on this tangent, but later in its report and without taking sides.) Isn't it clear that the AP reporter has an agenda beyond reporting the news?
Israel
Got a New Haircut, Has Been Working Out
"Palestinian PM Won't Recognize Israel"--headline, Associated Press,
Sept. 22
If You Can't Read This, Wait a Couple of Years
"N.Y. English Scores Drop Sharply in 6th Grade"--headline, New York Times, Sept. 22
"Reading Scores Rise for City's Eighth-Graders"--headline, New York Sun, Sept. 22
Bean
Counters Branch Out
"Rice Gets Failing Grade for Diversity"--headline, Houston Chronicle,
Sept. 22
Don't
They Also Run Big Companies and Vacation in Exotic Locales?
"Billionaires Only Occupy Forbes 400 List"--headline, Associated Press,
Sept. 22
This
Just In
"Autumn Arrives"--headline, Herald Times Reporter (Manitowoc, Wis.),
Sept. 22
News
You Can Use
"No matter your age, if you are reading this, you are growing older."--Al
Neuharth, USA Today, Sept. 22
Why
Not Just Tell Them to Stay Away From the Forum?
"Government Officials to Announce Recent Efforts to Combat Fraud Targeting
Hispanics at Forum in New York City"--headline, Federal Trade Commission
press release, Sept. 22
'I
Can't Believe It's Not Healthy Tissue!'
"Scientists Gain Insight Into Cancer's Spread"--headline, HealthDay.com,
Sept. 20
Thanks
for the Tip!--CVI
"Health Tip: Rake Leaves Safely"--headline, HealthDay.com, Sept. 22
Bottom Stories of the Day
- "Police Do Not Investigate Info Leak Form Kubice's Report--Husak"--headline,
Ceske
Noviny (Czech Republic), Sept. 21
- "Removal of Tree Is Approved"--headline, Times
(Trenton, N.J.), Sept. 22
- "Sheriff's Office Reports 'Uneventful' Night"--headline, Tallahassee
Democrat, Sept. 22
- "Rare Judicial Impeachment Hearing Ends With Little Action Taken"--headline,
Legal
Times, Sept. 22
- "No News Here . . . Gates Still Richest"--headline,
Seattle
Times, Sept. 22
- "Boise Woman Not Chosen as a Finalist for 'The Biggest Loser' "--headline, KTVB-TV Web site (Boise, Idaho), Sept. 21
Pre-Emptive
Insanity
"A federal judge on Wednesday denied a former Republican congressional
candidate's request for a restraining order barring President Bush or Vice President
Richard Cheney from bombing Iran or Syria," reports the Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph:
Mary Maxwell, 59, of 179 Loudon Road, Apt. 10, Concord, filed a lawsuit Monday against Bush, Cheney and other "unnamed defendants actively engaging in acts of war against Iran and Syria in the guise of the war against terrorism."
Maxwell's suit seeks a ruling that the administration lacks legal authority to pre-emptively attack either Iran or Syria without a Congressional declaration of war, and that radioactive fallout from the use of nuclear weapons in any such attack would endanger people around the world, including herself [sic].
Sounds like "herself" is already suffering from the effects of something, whether or not it's radioactive fallout.
(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to John Williamson, John Hartness, Arnold Nelson, Chris Scibelli, Joseph Lazauskas, Eric Protzman, Joe Perez, Chris Flanigan, Joel Goldberg, David Hyman, Ed Lasky, Paul James, Russ Smith, Fred Butzen, Fran McDonald, Jason Hart, Craig Ray, Jeff Dobbs, Samuel Walker, Brian Rom, Mark Wallace, Edward Schulze, W.C. Varones, Jim Orheim, Joel McLemore, Marion Dreyfus, Ruth Papazian, Jason Woodward, Joseph Tully, John Dickson, Stefan Sharkansky, Lee DeCovnick and Ann Johnson. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)
Today on OpinionJournal:
- Review & Outlook: If Chavez and Ahmadinejad made a mockery of the U.N., it was only because the U.N. has made a mockery of itself.
- Daniel Henninger: Hosni Mubarak should call Benedict XVI.
- Peggy Noonan: Answer Chavez, for the world is as hot as "the devil."
- The Journal Editorial Report: Tune in this weekend to see Peggy Noonan and the shah's son.
And on the Taste page:
- Review & Outlook: A new report shows educators to be woefully unqualified.
- Dana White: A single girl tries global dating.
- Brian Anderson: How New York's Human Rights Commission violates rights.
- Naomi Riley: A new report from Parliament makes English Jews wonder whether to celebrate a milestone.
