The Corn & Miniter Show -- # 9

This week, David Corn and Richard Miniter discuss humor in political campaign ads; the media excitement in the first black presidential candidate over the first Hispanic candidate. On the Republicans’ side, they try to figure out Rudy Giuliani’s position on abortion and how it could affect his chances; Tommy Thompson surprising surge ahead in the PJM Straw Poll, and uneasiness among the ranks regarding the Iraq war. Click “Play” above for your viewing pleasure!

(MP3 audio version available HERE)

Boris Yeltsin: Lessons for America

People who think the Bush years have usurped freedoms and reversed decades of progress “don’t even begin to know what junta really means nor what it feels like to live in a dictatorship.” Part one of a moving first hand account of the death of the Soviet dictatorship, what came after, and what it means to us today in Iraq.

by Oleg Atbashian

Capital Punishment: The Stupidity Defense


In the ongoing and ever-contentious capital punishment debate, few have noticed that the State of California - in the footsteps of the U.S. Supreme Court - has carved out its own special exception for those with a low IQ. Burt Prelutsky has.

by Burt Prelutsky

"I Did What I Thought Was Right"

British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s legacy will only be properly assessed decades from now. Richard North explains why.

by Richard North

You Take the High Road, I'll Take the Low Road: Westhawk looks at Bing West’s latest trip report from Iraq. Bottom line: Iraqis on the ground are doing well but Iraqis at the top are screwing up.

When Worlds Collide: Scientific American looks at the Godzilla of all natural catastrophes: the fate of the solar system when the Milky Way collides with the Andromeda Galaxy two billion years from now. “This close encounter of the galactic kind could easily kick our solar system to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, and there is a small chance we might even take up residence in Andromeda.”

The Shoe And the Other Foot: Winds of Change looks at why “House Democrats are suddenly balking at the tough lobbying reforms they touted to voters last fall as a reason for putting them in charge of Congress”.

A Mine-Resistant Vehicles for Iraq: Defense Industry Daily looks at possible replacesments for the HMMWV patrol vehicles in Iraq, and the controversial proposal to supersede the M-16 with the M-4.

Picking Himself Up: After a hitting a rough path, Roger Simon thinks Rudy Giuliani may be back in form.

The Fort Dix Six -- DIY Terrorism: “The organic emergence of terrorist groups, whose only connection to al Qaeda is through the media, shouldn’t come as a surprise. We will see this again and again. One reason is that in open source warfare, the barriers to entry are nearly zero. Anyone can participate. All you need to do in order to join, is to act.” (Global Guerillas)

Find Madeline McCann: A Myspace site becomes the focal point for the search for a British child who was believed kidnapped from a resort in Portugal. Reward - £100,000. “If you have any information please call the police on (00 351) 218 641 000.”

Doubt of Africa: Trouble is brewing in one of America’s major oil suppliers, Nigeria. Joseph Farah explains. Global Guerillas has more.

Rules of Engagement: This old newsreel video clip from the Smoking Gun recalls the rules under which the Greatest Generation won World War 2. And the phrase “martyred” at the end of the video clip has an unaccustomed application.

Inmates in Charge of the Asylum: The UN plans to name Zimbabwe head of the Commission on Sustainable Development. Western countries are “concerned”. Samizdata is rolling on the floor laughing.

Getting Tufts on Critics of Islam: The Volokh Conspiracy and the Foundation For Individual Rights in Education take on (here and here) what Eugene Volokh calls Tufts University’s decision to punish a student newspaper for blasphemy against Islam.

Upgradeable Jail Cells: PrawsBlawg and Professor Bainbridge asks whether it is a good idea to allow affluent people convicted of minor crimes to pay for special jail cells which protect them from the menaces of the prison population.

Happy Mother's Day

Just in Time For The Weekend: Daniel Davis praises Budweiser. (Crooked Timber).

Defeat and Defeatism: Similar words, but there’s a world of a difference between them. (Neo-Neocon)

Everything Old Is New Again: “Who woke up Old Europe? France, Ireland and England this week showed us the future. They were the center of the new. It looked good. We can learn from them.” (Peggy Noonan @ OpinionJournal)

Inminent Terror Attack Against Americans in Germany? U.S. and German officials fear terrorists are in the advanced planning stages of an attack on U.S. military personnel or tourists in Germany.

Law enforcement officials tell said US air marshals have been diverted to provide expanded protection of flights between Germany and the United States.

“The information behind the threat is very real,” a senior U.S. official said.

German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble told reporters, “The danger level is high. We are part of the global threat by Islamist terrorism.”

Of particular concern, according to U.S. and German law enforcement officials, is Patch Barracks, the headquarters for U.S. European Command, near Stuttgart. (ABC News)

That Congress' Poll Numbers Are As Bad As Bush's —according the latest AP-Ipsos poll— means that the time could soon be ripe for a populist third party candidate, says Sean Hackbarth. (The American Mind)

Bad New For Wal-Mart, Good News for the Economy: Do you think that Wal-Mart posting its worst monthly sales figures is a bad omen for the country’s economy? Well, think again: “One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that if Wal-Mart does poorly on the day after Thanksgiving sales, it’s going to be a boom Christmas. The reverse is also true: when sales are up at Wal-Mart, it’s a bad sign for the economy.

Why is that? Well, simply put: No-one likes to shop at Wal-Mart unless they have to. It’s always crowded, the checkout lines are understaffed, the place is dirty, the parking lot is a mess … My discount retailer of choice is Target because it’s clean, the aisles are wider, and I can rush in and out quickly if I need just a couple things. ” (Bob Krumm)

Perpetuating The Victim Industrial Complex : Amy Alkon takes a hard look at radical feminism. (Advice Goddess)

Insurgents Teaching Iraqi Kids How to Make Bombs: “Eleven-year-old Seif Abdul-Rafiz and his two brothers were left with no choice but to leave school and work so as to help their unemployed parents make ends meet.

Unable to find a job, Seif resorted to making bombs for Sunni insurgents who are fighting US troops in Iraq.” (IraqSlogger)

"How the CIA Failed America:" Richard Perle gives his version on the Tenet book controversy. (WaPo)

Break Out the French Wine “A French president who openly admires America is an embarrassment to those who view us as the country bumpkin cousins of the sophisticated Europeans. American pundits and politicians who say we should change our foreign policies to win the European popularity contest ought to be feeling a little embarrassed too.” (Fred Thompson @ NRO)

"The Infallible Guide to the Soul of the Blogosphere:" Daniel Drezner has some fun at the NY Times’ expense.

What If A Rally Was Held To Keep You Out of Prison and Only Three People Showed? What Would That Feel Like? Ask Paris Hilton.

City Boy Rudy Charged With Snubbing Country Folk: “Did Rudy Giuliani’s campaign snub an Iowa farmer couple because they weren’t millionaires and hence wouldn’t be a suitable prop for Rudy’s anti-“death tax” campaigning?” asks Greg Sargent at TPM.

The national blogospheric attention has temporarily overwhelmed the bandwidth of the Anamosa Journal-Eureka, the Jones County, Iowa paper that first reported the story.

Lilekgate Update: Michael Malone @ ABC’s Silicon Insider weighs in on popular columnist/blogger James Lileks getting shafted by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

“James Lileks is far bigger than the newspaper that employs him, is its single most effective bastion against falling subscription revenues, and is its most powerful marketing and promotion tool. To rip that platform out from underneath its single most important asset now makes the “Strib” the poster child for the astonishingly stupid and suicidal decisions made by newspapers in the 21st century.”

Mike Wallace Asks The Tough Questions: In a taped 60 Minutes interview set to air Sunday night, Wallace asked GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, whether they broke the strict church rule against premarital sex when dating.

Romney said, “No, I’m sorry, we do not get into those things,” but still managed to blurt out “The answer is no,” before ending the line of questioning. (Drudge Report Flash)

So Much For Law and Order in Gaza: Clashes between the rival Hamas and Fatah forces have re-erupted, injuring at least six people torpedoing a new security plan aimed at halting the wave of violence and restoring law and order. (Ynet)

Waiting For, Not Rushing To the Big Sleep: Applications for legal euthanasia in the Netherlands fell sharply as patients opt to be sedated until they die a natural death. (AP)