| The Kensington Review |
13 October 2006 |
| Latest Commentary: | Volume V, Number 122 |
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Congressman Shays Put Foley Scandal in Perspective -- Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT) stuck up for Speaker Denis Hastert’s handling of the Mark Foley sex scandal on Wednesday. He said, “I know the speaker didn’t go over a bridge and leave a young person in the water, and then have a press conference the next day . . . . Dennis Hastert didn’t kill anybody.” The allusion to Ted Kennedy and the death of Mary Jo Kopechne is clear, but if the standard in Washington is the body count, the Republicans have 2,755 military deaths in Iraq to explain. One wonders if Mr. Shays cleared his comment with the White House first.
French Deputies Vote to Make Armenian Genocide Denial Illegal -- This journal doesn’t consider itself hostile to French Fifth Republic, French culture, or indeed, French Fries (never Freedom Fries). Yet, when one’s friends do a stupid thing, one has a duty to point it out. Yesterday, the French Chamber of Deputies voted 106 to 19 to make it a crime in France to deny that Turkish officials in 1915 killed 1.5 million Armenians for the sin of being Armenian. One may quibble with the count, or precisely which Turks were involved, but it did occur. Those who want to deny that reality deserve argument, or even ridicule, but not a €45,000 fine and a date with a magistrate. Bush Halves Budget Deficit Three Years Early, Trade Deficit Soars -- President George “LBJ” Bush had a news conference earlier this week that wasn’t as bad a performance as he usually gives. His success stemmed from the spineless reporters who were too worried about North Korea to ask any hard questions. Had they any vertebrae, they might have challenged Mr. Bush on his assertion that he has succeeded in cutting the budget deficit in half, three years earlier than he had promised. Statistically, it is true, but since he had a surplus on inauguration day and since the trade deficit is still decaying, his record is shameful. Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank Win Noble Peace Prize -- Earlier this morning, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that it had awarded this year’s Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank. The response among most of the media was “Who?” Economists and banks usually don’t get the Peace Prize; the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards all the other Nobel Prizes, usually hands out economics awards. However, there is very little that is usual about the professor or his bank, and this goes far beyond economics. © Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux. |
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