John Lott’s sensational lawsuit for defamation against economist Steve Levitt (and co-author of the bestselling Freakonomics) has received only limited comment in the blogosphere. When I first read that Lott was supposedly suing because Levitt and Dubner had written in Feakonomics that Lott’s work had not been replicated, I thought that sounded like a weak […]
Author Archive | Jim Lindgren
John Lott Update on His Reported 1997 Study.–
I have been meaning to post on several developments this spring relating to economist John Lott, which I am doing in two posts. As some of you may be aware, there was a dispute over whether John Lott ever did a study of defensive gun uses in 1997, as he claimed to have done. Interested […]
Rove Won’t be Charged With Leaking CIA Information.–
As the New York Times reports, there is not enough evidence to charge Karl Rove: The prosecutor in the C.I.A. leak case on Monday advised Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, that he would not be charged with any wrongdoing, effectively ending the nearly three-year criminal investigation that had at times focused intensely on […]
When Will Iran Have the Bomb?–
The insightful (but sometimes unreliable) Debka.com, presumably relying on its sources in Israeli intelligence, has an interesting short post (dated May 13) suggesting that the US and Israel differ on estimates of when Iran will have the bomb. The US estimates 3-4 years, while Israel suggests 2 years: Ten days before Ehud Olmert pays his […]
When Did Presidents Start Using Speechwriters?
In an offhand comment, the always interesting Mark Kleiman says that “No American President since Lincoln has written his own speeches.” That struck me as unlikely. In searching on the web, I found a reference to William Safire having organized a society of former presidential speechwriters, “the Judson T. Welliver society, named for President ‘Silent […]
Saddam Wasn’t a Feminist.–
There is an interesting article by A. Yasmine Rassam at OpinionJournal.com on how the plight of women under Saddam compares to the current efforts to whitewash that record: A recent report by “Global Exchange” and “Code Pink” entitled “Iraqi Women Under Siege” [available here] concluded that “the occupation of Iraq has not resulted in greater […]
Tom Cruise, Mission Disappointing.–
The opening box office totals for Mission Impossible III, while big, were less than expected: Paramount Pictures and its leading star, Tom Cruise, failed to live up to expectations this weekend when “Mission: Impossible III” opened to weak numbers at the domestic box office despite a barrage of public appearances by Mr. Cruise to promote […]
Jimmy Carter, Advocate for Hamas.–
I have to confess that this Jimmy Carter op-ed in the International Herald Tribune left me almost speechless (tip to LGF): It is almost a miracle that the Palestinians have been able to orchestrate three elections during the past 10 years, all of which have been honest, fair, strongly contested, without violence and with the […]
Did Ted Sorenson Ghostwrite Profiles in Courage?–
In the course of mulling over Ted Sorenson’s eloquent 2004 Commencement Address to graduating students at the New School, I began to think that it was a a bit odd that Sorenson should speak so eloquently about integrity, since I did’t think that he had ever delineated the nature of his contributions to the writing […]
Political Commencement Addresses.–
The current flaps over John McCain speaking at the New School and Columbia graduations and Condi Rice speaking at Boston College induced me to look a bit closer at whom schools invite to speak. The recent New School Commencement speakers have been Justice Stephen Breyer (2005), Ted Sorenson (2004), John Hollander (2003), and Bernard Lewis […]
Conservative Commencement Speakers Not Welcome.–
At the New School, some students, faculty, and staff are angry that John McCain will be the commencement speaker. As an excellent article at Inside Higher Ed. recounts, McCain was invited by university president and former Senator Bob Kerrey: Kerrey said the senator’s acceptance “is a big honor for our graduates and their families.” But […]
More on Kerry on Jefferson on Dissent.–
Like the fake story about the plastic Thanksgiving turkey supposedly served by George Bush to Iraqi troops, the phony Thomas Jefferson quote on dissent just won’t die (tip to Tim Blair). Here is John Kerry, speaking yesterday at Grinnell College in Iowa: Dismissing dissent is not only wrong, but dangerous when America’s leadership is unwilling […]
Forbes Says that Castro is Worth 900 Million Dollars.–
In Forbes’s annual list of the net worth of “Kings, Queens & Dictators,” Fidel Castro is listed as having $900 million (tip to Betsy). USAToday reports: Cuban President Fidel Castro was furious when Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at $550 million last year. This year, the magazine upped its estimate of the communist leader’s wealth […]
Thomas Jefferson’s Love of Dissent.–
Mark Steyn has been tracking down a quotation widely misattributed to Thomas Jefferson: “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” (Tip to Betsy and Tim Blair) From my research on Lexis and Westlaw, it appears that Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and ACLU head Nadine Strossen are quoting views on dissent, not of Jefferson, but of […]
Anna Nicole Smith Wins This Round of Her Case.–
On Monday, Anna Nicole Smith (AKA Vickie Lynn Marshall) won her US Supreme Court appeal of a 9th Circuit decision against her. (For background on the case, see my February post.) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in her favor. As I had blogged at the time the case was argued, the 9th Circuit’s view […]