SOME DUBIOUS WAR REPORTING FROM LEBANON at NRO. Note, however, the difference between NRO’s response and TNR’s.

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey notes the difference:

Every publication eventually makes a big enough error to warrant a retraction and an apology. Even here at CapQ, I’ve had to do it a few times, and believe me, it never feels good. One has to resist the urge to rationalize mistakes and spin enough to avoid admitting error. Just as with customer service, where I often described my management position as “professional apologizer”, editors have to bite the bullet and admit error to maintain organizational credibility.

Kathryn Jean Lopez did so here. Notice that she did not blame the critics for pointing out the error or assume that the criticism was motivated by some sort of conspiracy. She didn’t, in essence, blame the customer for a faulty product. She took quick action to investigate, found obvious shortcomings, and issued an apology and a detailed accounting of the problem.

Had Franklin Foer done that when the story fell apart at TNR, he could have not just saved the magazine from a credibility collapse, he could have enhanced its standing. Instead of acting professionally, he assumed the Nixonian posture that anyone questioning TNR’s product must automatically be an enemy against whom all defenses were necessary. Instead, even in an apology, he couldn’t help blaming the customers for a shoddy product.

Incidentally, I share Michelle’s analysis of the failure at The Tank. It was poor work, and it has been highlighted as such.

Indeed.

ANOTHER UPDATE: More here. “At the very least, Smith has earned a suspension from NRO, but considering the magnitude of his fabrications, termination seems warranted.”

SOME THOUGHTS ON survival kits.

COOKBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS from Megan McArdle.

ROOMBA BLEG: So the Insta-Wife is looking at the new Roomba kind of wistfully, but I’m skeptical. We tried an earlier-generation Roomba and returned it after a week. It was noisy, and couldn’t be left to clean unsupervised, which kind of defeated the point. Anybody have experience with the latest generation? It’s been four years, so I imagine they could have improved it considerably.

UPDATE: Reader Adam Sullivan recommends the Electrolux Trilobite instead.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A mixed bag on the Roombas. Some people love ’em, others report experiences more like mine. The Trilobite seems a bit pricey. My sense is that I’m not quite ready to dive back into the robo-vacuum pool just yet.

TOASTING the father of energy drinks: “Concerned about training misinformation, Cade and his researchers at the University of Florida collected the sweat of freshman football players in rubber gloves during practice in the fall of 1965 and found something startling: each one lost 2.5 to 4.2 liters, or as much as 9 pounds, each session.”

DAVID HARDY HAS A COLUMN ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT in the Contra Costa Times, but their lame registration system makes it nearly impossible to read — it forces you to sign up, then dumps you onto the front page, forcing you to reload the link to get there. But here’s a key excerpt:

In law school, we were told to be careful what we ask for, because the fates may give us just that. If the Supreme Court upholds a broad Second Amendment right, tens of millions of gun-owning Americans will be reminded of the high court’s role as protector of their Constitution.

If it goes the other way, those millions will be asking how arms ownership, expressly mentioned in that document, is unprotected while abortion (no where mentioned) is broadly protected.

They will come to believe that the Constitution is merely a paper covering for arbitrary judicial rule. This is not a lesson we want taught in a democracy.

I think that’s right. And here’s some advice for the folks running the Contra Costa Times website, too!

UPDATE: Dave Hardy says you can bypass the registration with this link.

MICKEY KAUS sees a connection between immigration and social security reform.

INSTAPUNDIT is in the ABA’s 100 top law blogs list, and you can vote for me if you like. (Bumped.) If you don’t, then the terrorists Greenwalds will have won.

GIFTS FOR YOUR SON: A guide from Engadget.

AT GAY PATRIOT, a review of the new Beowulf movie.

MASSACHUSETTS WILL VOTE on abolishing its state income tax, and Howie Carr is enthused. “You say it can’t be done? Well, in 2002, when the same question was on the ballot, the underfunded working people still managed to get 45 percent of the vote.”

BOOS FOR HILLARY IN IOWA: “At the Heartland Presidential Candidates Forum in Des Moines, community activists lustily booed the Democratic frontrunner after she declined to commit to passing comprehensive immigration reform in her first 100 days in office.” She really is the most conservative Democrat running.

BRING IT ON: Anti-aging drug going into human trials.

IN SEARCH OF the elusive $30,000 millionaire.

TIM RUTTEN ON CNN’S YOUTUBE DISASTER: “In fact, this most recent debacle masquerading as a presidential debate raises serious questions about whether CNN is ethically or professionally suitable to play the political role the Democratic and Republican parties recently have conceded it. . . . In other words, CNN intentionally directed the Republicans’ debate to advance its own interests.”

BLU-RAY VS. HD-DVD: I won’t say I’ve taken sides, exactly, but I did buy this Sony Blu-Ray DVD player last week. So far I’m pleased with everything, except the price, which was a bit high. I’ve watched two films — Die Hard and 300 — and the video (and audio) quality is excellent. I’ve also skimmed around a bit in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is supposed to have an excellent HD transfer and the picture does look very good (though that serves to demonstrate in places just how out-of-date the special effects are). The Blu-Ray player also (and this is what got me off the dime) plays the AVCHD DVDs from my HD camcorder perfectly, and with excellent quality. Setup was easy, and my only real complaint is that the boot-up process seems a bit slow. Yeah, this means I’ve given up holding out for the combo player — but with HD-DVD players dropping in price substantially, well, I’ve still got room for one of those, too.

HAS LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP’S LONELY GENIUS MOMENT PASSED? I don’t think so. I’ve never used research assistants to write my stuff — and for those who do, I think that their stuff tends to read as if it were written by . . . research assistants.

FEAR THE G-DRIVE? “Google’s Gdrive (and Its Ad Potential) Raise Privacy Concerns.”

A LOOK AT THE VAST GAP between copyright law and actual behavior. (Via Larry Solum).

A PROBLEM FOR RUDY? “Rudy’s flexible interpretation of his marital vows has always been a source of irritation to many conservatives, but if he has indeed used taxpayer funds inappropriately, then he may have trouble on the horizon.”

NUCLEAR BOMB: “Lions for Lambs’ Could Lose $25 Million.” One can only hope.

JASON WHITLOCK ON race, violence, and politics. (Via Brutally Honest).

BOB OWENS RESPONDS TO THE NEW REPUBLIC’S LATEST. Excerpt: “The bottom line is that the Scott Beauchamp debacle was a test of editorial character for The New Republic under Franklin Foer’s leadership. For over four months, the magazine has answered that challenge by hiding behind anonymous sources, making personal attacks against critics, asserting a massive conspiracy against them, while covering up conflicting testimony and refusing to answer the hard questions.”

DEATHS FALL AGAIN IN IRAQ. Not surprisingly, Democrats now want to change the subject: “The debate marks a shift from only a few weeks ago when the Iraq war was the dominant point of contention among the top Democrats. With violence down in Iraq and Democratic campaigns eager to distinguish themselves before the all-important Jan. 3 caucuses in Iowa, healthcare is emerging as the party’s preferred topic.” All of this advantages Hillary — more pro-war (despite her waffling) and more healthcare-oriented than either Richardson or Obama. Oh, and there’s Edwards, I guess.

RYAN SAGER on Ron Paul: “While I’d be delighted if the GOP were gripped by libertarianism – that is, a resurgent commitment to economic and social freedom – the truth is actually quite the opposite. . . . Big-government, big-religion, globophobic, populist conservatism – this is the message that’s got real traction in the first Republican primary.”