In a comment to this review of a recent performance of Wagner’s Ring by the English National Opera, commenter Laon makes a fascinating assertion that I had not previously heard: Hitler turned away from Wagner in the final years of WWII.

Read on if you’re interested:

(more…)

In today’s L.A. Times, there is a good letter from Brian McCabe of Progress for America on that lousy David Greenberg op-ed about judicial filibusters:

(more…)

It would be hard to top this moving Mother’s Day tribute by Jeff Goldstein. So I won’t even try.

Senator Chuck Schumer says he detects “a whiff of extremism in the air the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades.”

You know what they say . . .

The smeller’s the feller.

Captain Ed nails Chuckie S. between the eyes. He notes that Schumer yesterday urged President Bush to tell conservatives not to use harsh language to criticize Democrats:

In his radio appeal, Schumer sought to draw Bush more directly into the fray by urging the president to denounce some conservatives who have used harsh language to criticize the Democrats.

“I am making a heartfelt plea to you, Mr. President. When you came to Washington, you said you wanted to change the climate in D.C.,” Schumer said. “Those stating these abhorrent views count themselves as your political allies. One word from you will bring a halt to these un-American statements. That would be a way to strengthen democracy here at home.”

Meanwhile, Schumer’s leader Harry Reid has called the President a “loser” and a “bad president,” and his nominees “bad people.” Ted Kennedy has likened the President’s nominees to Neanderthals. Reid called Clarence Thomas an “embarrassment” and said that one of his dissents resembled an “eighth-grade dissertation” — then it later became clear that Reid had not read the opinion, or (probably) any others by Thomas. Of Janice Rogers Brown, Reid said — without any support — “She is a woman who wants to take us back to the Civil War days.”

I am making a heartfelt plea to you, Senator Chuckie S. Those stating these abhorrent views count themselves as your political allies. One word from you will bring a halt to these un-American statements. That would be a way to strengthen democracy here at home.

P.S. One more thing . . .

UPDATE: Hugh Hewitt has more.

Kevin Drum has a post asking commenters to tell a little about themselves, including:

City, country, age, gender, educational background, profession, hobbies, how they define themselves politically, favorite sites, etc. sort of thing.

To this I would add: tell us something interesting about yourself — especially something most people don’t know.

It has proved an interesting thread, and I’d like to try it here. I’ll start:

Marina del Rey, California; USA; 36; male; B.A. in English and music from Cornell University; J.D. from University of Texas at Austin; attorney.

I enjoy playing with my kids, blogging, music (I play piano and guitar, have written a little rock and classical music), reading (especially narrative non-fiction like Ed Humes), and yelling at the L.A. Times.

I am conservative but not doctrinally so: for example, I am pro-gay rights; in favor of a “beyond all possible doubt” standard for death-penalty cases (and am very concerned about innocents on Death Row); anti-Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, and other conservatives whose rantings give sensible conservatives a bad name.

I hesitate to name sites I visit, for fear I’ll leave some out, but I definitely never miss Instapundit, Captain’s Quarters, Power Line, Michelle Malkin, Pejmanesque, Spoons, Xrlq, Beldar, Hugh Hewitt, The Interocitor, JustOneMinute, Tim Blair, How Appealing, Romenesko, L.A. Observed, PressThink, Volokh, Kevin Drum, Winds of Change, Calblog, Baldilocks, PrestoPundit, BoiFromTroy, Dean’s World, and many others.

I was a very good golfer as a little kid. I won a kids’ tournament and was runner-up the next year. Ben Hogan told my dad I was good! Then I screwed up Ben Hogan’s opinion of me by hitting his golf cart while he was shagging some balls out on the course. He jumped in the air when I did that.

How about you?