JONATHAN STEELE’S HORROR: “The Guardian reports on the historic first democratic constitution adopted by an Arab country in a referendum. Jonathan Steele’s piece, which appears to be a news story and not an opinion column, drips with the bitterness of defeat. . . . Is this sort of reaction really just resentment at the fact that a right-wing Republican has promoted a war which is leading to the creation of a democratic republic in Iraq? Or is it not more the case that the likes of Steele actually find something deeply horrifying in the very idea of Arabs choosing democracy.”

JOHN PODHORETZ writes on the New York Times’ sudden turn against Judith Miller:

Previously, when newspapers have taken their own work to task, it has resulted from one of two causes. A reporter was caught committing outright acts of plagiarism or fabrication — as with The Washington Post’s Janet Cooke or the Times’ Jayson Blair. Or the paper needed to clear the name of an innocent person whom the newspaper had effectively tried and convicted of a serious crime — as the Atlanta Journal and Constitution did to Richard Jewell, falsely accused of the 1996 Millennium Park bombing, and the Times did to Wen Ho Lee, falsely accused of spying.

THE issue that has ostensibly caused this unprecedented character assassination is Miller’s involvement in the public exposure of CIA operative Valerie Plame. And in this case, no one at the paper is accusing Miller of making anything up — because she never published anything on the subject. Nor can anyone accuse Judith Miller of harming the reputation of an innocent — because, again, she never published. . . .

OF course, none of this Miller character assassination has anything to do with the Valerie Plame story. Rather, it has to do with the war in Iraq, weapons of mass destruction — and the peculiar solipsism of both the staff of The New York Times and the paper’s liberal readership.

Read the whole thing. I think that driving the war issue is the Baby Boomers’ Vietnam era conceit that right-thinking people are always “against the war,” regardless of circumstances. Or which war.

UPDATE: David Adesnik on a different story exhibiting the same phenomenon: “I think the real lesson of this article is that journalists are unable to comprehend Iraq except through the prism of Vietnam.”

GEORGE GALLOWAY: “TERROR’S LORD HAW-HAW” — except that I think Lord Haw-Haw was actually amusing.

HERE’S MORE ON ROSA PARKS, noting that her appearance wasn’t quite as spontaneous as myth has it. I knew about her connection to the Highlander Center.

AMERICANS FOR BETTER JUSTICE, the anti-Miers nomination group made up of Bush supporters, has a TV ad up on its site that will be running on Fox News starting tomorrow.

IS WALMART GOING GREEN?

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has unveiled an environmental plan to boost energy efficiency, cut down on waste and reduce greenhouse gases tied to global warming as part of a wider effort to address issues where it has been pummeled by critics.

Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott said the world’s largest retailer wants to be a “good steward for the environment” and ultimately use only renewable energy sources and produce zero waste.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: A reader who works at WalMart sends this link on an experimental energy-conserving WalMart.

LILEKS HAS MADE IT to #23.

J.D. JOHANNES, recently back from Iraq, writes on the “2,000th casualty” PR event:

Unfortunately, the media and the anti-war factions will never see Staff Sgt. Alexander as more than number 2000–a number used to wage a political battle. . . .

Unlike the pundits who will bray this evening on the cable channels and the activists who will hold vigils in Washington, D.C., I have been to the country where these men died.

I have been to the exact village where 1,998 died.

I have walked the dirt roads of Al Amariyah. I have been in businesses and houses around Amariyah. I have rode in a humvee up and down the bomb littered roads leading into Amariyah.

I may not have known Lance Corporal Butler, but I spent months with Lance Corporals–many in the Corps for less than a year–who patrolled Amariyah. . . .

Numbers 2,000, 1,999 and 1,997 also strapped up every day to stand on a wall many in America are willing let crumble. And to those who would let that wall crumble, they are just numbers.

They are not men of action and conviction, to the anti-war faction, they are merely numbers of sufficient quotient to send a press releases and hold press events.

I asked Marines all across Al Anbar province two questions:
1. If something goes bad and you die here. What would you think of people who used your death to protest the war.
2. After being here, and knowing what you know, would you still join the Marines/volunteer for this deployment?

The answers were invariably the same.

They did not want their death to be used as a prop and they would make the same decision all over again. These young Lance Corporals and Non-Commissioned Officers volunteered to join the Marines, many with the intent of coming to Iraq. And while few would say they like war, they all recognize the necessity of it.

The Marines and soldiers who fight in Iraq are not numbers, but the media and certain groups are treating them as if they were. Number 2,000 was a national treasure, just as number 1,435 was and number 2,038 will be. For what is the value of a man who will fight a war for others who despise him?

But for those who are willing to take action, there would be no wall at all hold back evil and those men and women on the wall deserve more than a number.

Read the whole thing.

ROSA PARKS HAS DIED: LaShawn Barber has a huge roundup post.

BRAZIL GUN REFERENDUM UPDATE:

The size of the rejection was seen as a protest at the failure of public policy on security and as a reflection of discontent with the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. . . .

The No campaign – the effort against the ban – made much of the failure of public policy to deal with the threat of violence. The Yes campaign was seen to lack substance and ultimately failed to present convincing arguments on the risks of gun ownership.

Opinion polls on the eve of the referendum revealed a strong correlation between rejection of the ban and disapproval of Mr Lula da Silva’s government.

Gun control is usually a loser when it goes to a popular vote.

BELLICOSE WOMEN IN IRAQ: Read the whole thing.

PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: Sen. Coburn’s office emails:

Constituent phone calls [regarding the antipork Coburn Amendment] from 10/17/05 to 10/21/05

Out of state calls for Coburn HUD/Trans Appropriation amendments (including a dozen Alaskans and 2 dozen from the state of Washington).

Pro 256 Con 0

In-state calls for Coburn HUD/Trans Appropriation amendments

Pro 121 Con 0

Should Members of Congress forgo their annual automatic pay raise and put the savings toward Hurricane Katrina recovery costs?

Yes 91%
No 9%

678 total vote(s)

Pretty good stuff; no wonder Coburn is hanging tough. And no wonder other folks in the Senate don’t want this to gather momentum.

Meanwhile, reader J.A.M. emails:

Here’s a link to my post about the response I received from two out of three of my Washington representatives from Michigan:

http://www.synyx.com/2005/10/porkbusters-response.html

I’m not impressed at all with Senator Levin’s email, but Congressman Ehlers gets at least a B for his. No word from Debbie Stabenow.

Reader Sudi Beheshti emails:

I emailed my congressman, Sam Johnson, R – 3rd District, TX, regarding helping with the effort to cut spending. Here’s his response. He doesn’t talk about specific cuts, but it seems to be a better than average form letter!!

Thanks for all your efforts in the PorkBusters project!

(Johnson’s letter is in the Extended Entry area — click “more” to read it).

And reader Julie Martin-Korb emails about what’s happening in Maryland:

In September, I wrote to Maryland Senators Sarbanes (D) and Milkulski (D) and Representative Chris Van Hollen (D) suggesting that the federal highway funds earmarked for the Montgomery-Prince George’s InterCounty Connector (ICC) be donated to Katrina relief. I previously forwarded to you and posted on Porkbusters the non-response I received from Senator Sarbanes. I have not yet heard from Sen. Mikulski or Rep. Van Hollen.

I also wrote to Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich (R) with the same suggestion. I called upon him to lead the way for other state governors and demonstrate the compassion of the people of Maryland by donating the federal ICC funds to Katrina relief. Today I received a two-page responsive letter from Robert L. Flanagan, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation.

Flanagan’s response is also below — click “More” to read it.

(more…)

MY ADVICE TO CHRISTIANS, JEWS, HINDUS, ETC: Start blowing things up and beheading people. This will gain you enormous solicitude from the powers-that-be:

A West Yorkshire head teacher has banned books containing stories about pigs from the classroom in case they offend Muslim children. The literature has been removed from classes for under-sevens at Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School in Batley.

British banks are also abandoning piggy banks for the same reason. And though it’s characterized as toleration, I think it’s really out of fear of violence.

No, I’m not serious about the advice. But they need to think about the incentive that’s being created here, or I fear that others will take the lesson. When you reward behavior, you tend to get more of it.

UPDATE: Several readers email to observe something that seemed obvious to me, but maybe wasn’t — that this sort of behavior is unfair to Muslims, since it stereotypes them as excitable and easily offended. That’s a common vice of political correctness, of course, as it tends to belittle and demean the very people it’s ostensibly concerned with. Meanwhile, reader Michael Murphy emails: “Well, I suppose we should be grateful that books containing references to Jews or which feature Jewish characters are not removed from the shelves lest they offend.”

Give ’em time.

GOOD NEWS FROM THE TROOPS: The Mudville Gazette has articles on both troop recruitment and troop retention. Greyhawk particularly likes this explanation given by a soldier for why he reenlisted: …”because as I look around at the state of this nation and see all of the weak little pampered candy-asses that are whining about this or protesting that, I’d be afraid to leave the fate of this nation entirely up to them.”

TOM MAGUIRE has much more on the latest Plame developments: “Even some aficionados are growing weary of this speculation and leak-parsing (but not me!).”

THE PLANK is a new group blog at The New Republic.

CAN’T STOP THAT BOY: Lileks is up to #37 #28 on Amazon.

PAYOLA IN THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY:

The city council here has awarded the Newark Weekly News a $100,000 no-bid contract to publish positive news about the city, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported in Monday’s editions.

Then again, we’re talking Newark here, so there may be a degree-of-difficulty issue. (Via NewsAlert).