Apropos of the Sonny-Schwenkler Torture Tussle, I’ll mention briefly the following as non inconsistent positions to take on torture and torture-related issues:
(1) Torture banned by treaties to which we are a party should not be practiced for any reason.
(2) The secret use of torture in outrageously extraordinary circumstances is probably inevitable.
(3) One dunk may not [...]

At The Corner, Byron York is unable to understand how the left could possibly be serious about wanting to put Bush Administration officials in some kind of courtroom or hearing room to sort out how badly they abused, circumvented, or otherwise violated the law. I’m not sure that I’m the first conservative with halfway decent [...]

Here’s a horrible idea:
Justice Kennedy, for example, could simply write, “I agree with many of the arguments by four of my colleagues that statute X is unconstitutional, but I do not believe we as a court should overturn the considered and democratically accountable wisdom of Congress without more consensus.”
In the name of judicial restraint, I, [...]

We all know that Michael Gerson’s theoretical compassion cashes out in practice as a seemingly neverending string of tendentious and condescending attacks on mean old Republicans. But who, exactly, are these people? Could they be…straw men? Bear with me as we consider Gerson’s latest missive:
[...] compassionate conservatism has come under criticism for a variety of [...]

Ross has blogged some essential remarks on the meaning of conservatism that bear much further comment. Mark Schmitt implicates Ross in an alleged school of thought that has given up on rediscovering “the moral absolutes of conservatism” in favor of “purely improvisational, tactical positioning.” Schmitt complains that these are “elegant, short term solutions disguised as [...]

In his American Conservative review of Matt Yglesias’ new book, Heads in the Sand, Austin Bramwell contends that, “[i]n the end,”
it is unclear whether Yglesias seeks anything more than an internationalist fig leaf for the policies he happens to prefer.
So what if he does? As my long trail of blog crumbs reveals, I have deep [...]

What a bizarre article in the LA Times about the Republicans’ awkward torment: the first half is a quick survey of the disarray, confusion, and bad karma that’s plaguing the national party, while the second half is a long transcription of Republican squabbling over cap-and-trade.
Let me go out on a limb and suggest that cap-and-trade [...]

I know this is a stretch as a thought experiment, but bear with me.
Imagine that the Nazi party were somehow able to rise to power in Germany without relying on, or even incorporating, an anti-Semitic plank. (I know, I know, just imagine.) Imagine then the incredible wealth of Jewish brainpower and manpower that would have [...]

I’m inclined to agree with Sonny’s cut-the-hurt-feelings-and-campaign take on the hot story of the day. I don’t think Bush was talking about Obama. I really could care less whether Bush was talking about Obama, because the inanity and tiresomeness of Bush’s remarks are equally profound whether he was thinking overtly about Obama or thinking covertly [...]

Now obviously the powers of the Vice Presidency have increased considerably during the last two administrations, and just as obviously being veep in a McCain presidency is a special case, since the heir-apparent aspect of the office will be magnified by McCain’s age, his disinterest in vast swathes of policymaking, and the possibility that he [...]

“If it was just for the presidency, it would have ended a long time ago,” says [Ron Paul] supporter Tom Martin, 50, a database administrator from State College, Pa. “The idea was to reinvigorate the Republican Party back to its principles and, more than that, to reinvigorate the American people back to its principles.” — [...]

I’d like to endorse my American Scene colleague Noah Millman’s incisive comments on diplomacy and benign American power:
our unipolar moment makes diplomacy look rather different than historical models. And for that reason, non-coercive “win-win” bargains may be genuinely elusive, howsoever disposed the next President may be to seek them.
As Noah goes on to explain, some [...]

I think “when Hillary Clinton entered ‘No Spin Zone’” may soon appear in the dictionary beside the word “desperation.” — K-Lo, The Corner
Picturing wattled old Hill and Bill (O’Reilly) side by side, getting foundationed, patted, and powdered before launching into whatever unholy schtick they’ve planned makes for about as nightmarish a vision as I can [...]