Saturday, October 22, 2005

Nipped up to NY yesterday for my in-laws' 50th anniversary dinner. I have great in-laws. We did something a little different last night -- bro-in-law Mark took us to a private club in the Village called the New York Rifle Club, also known as Tiro a Segno. It's on Macdougal, I must have walked by it 100 times and never noticed it...anyway, the food was good, very traditional Italian multi-course meal, lots of wine... The unusual part was that after the celebratory Prosecco and a nice antipasto dish made with a Prosciutto-like meat called Speck, but before we got too far into the wine, we went downstairs to the rifle range and took some target practice. Here's Lisa getting ready to take aim: And me holding my first target: Yes, I'm wearing a tie, in violation of my semi-strict ties only for marrying-or-burying rule. Ties are required at the club; gentlemen are allowed to doff their jackets at the range only. Like I said, it was an unusual evening. We even stayed in midtown, in violation of Lisa's semi-strict nothing north of 14th St. rule. The rest of the gang had to head back to Jersey before we got to the cigars in the bar, so we only made it 2/3 of the way through our alcohol, tobacco, and firearms regimen. Lisa and I walked through the Village, just like old times. Big fun. I came home this afternoon, because I've got to give a talk tomorrow and also the kids need a chauffeur. Lisa gets another day of R&R in the city. Happy anniversary, Norman and Janice. 5:18:01 PM   permalink   comment []

"In a search for historical roots and moral legitimacy, some feminists and many adherents of neopagan or goddess-centered religious movements like Wicca have elaborated a founding mythology in which witches and witch hunts have a central role...Robin Briggs, an Oxford historian, is only one of many contemporary scholars rejecting this account. What unites most 'common assumptions' about witches, witchcraft and witch hunts, Mr. Briggs writes...is 'one very marked feature,' namely 'that they are hopelessly wrong.'" -- Peter Steinfels, NYT. 11:30:58 AM   permalink   comment []

Bill Keller's email to the NYT staff. Excerpt: "If we had lanced the WMD boil earlier, we might have damped any suspicion that THIS time, the paper was putting the defense of a reporter above the duty to its readers. "I wish that when I learned Judy Miller had been subpoenaed as a witness in the leak investigation, I had sat her down for a thorough debriefing, and followed up with some reporting of my own." 10:42:55 AM   permalink   comment []

DarkTimes, a daily roundup of the hidden matter in the NYT opinion universe. In one of the strongest arguments to date for NOT HIDING YOUR DAMN COLUMNISTS, Maureen Dowd writes about Judy Miller. Hed: "Woman of Mass Destruction." "She never knew when to quit. That was her talent and her flaw. Sorely in need of a tight editorial leash, she was kept on no leash at all, and that has hurt this paper and its trust with readers." There's a telling anecdote about Miller's ego, and a catty remark about her "tropism toward powerful men." Dowd questions the credibility of Miller's "credulous" reporting on WMD in Iraq -- "investigative reporting is not stenography" -- and raises doubts about her explanations of the Plame affair. She jabs at Miller's honesty toward readers. She wonders if "her stint in the Alexandria jail was in part a career rehabilitation project," and concludes that Miller's anticipated book and return to the newsroom would be a threat to the Times itself. This is an A-list takedown, overdue but essential, important work about issues of national interest and American journalism at its highest levels. The Times doesn't want you to read it. Tierney has a convoluted argument for market solutions and libertarianism that starts with Howard Stern and ends with school vouchers. "For today's liberals, though, the reactionary monopoly to worry about is the one run by Republicans in Washington...Democrats would be better off devolving power to the blue states they control and the private sector that welcomes anyone's money." 10:35:29 AM   permalink   comment []