Below The Beltway

In a series of posts at The Volokh Conspiracy about the Hamdan decision, Randy Barnett argues that the Bush Administration made two “colossal” errors in the days, weeks, and months after September 11th. The first, he says, was not seeking explicity Congressional authorization for the tactics that have become most controversial such as detention of […]

If the Blogfather himself is talking about it, then it would be incredibly remiss if mention was not made of the fact that 2006 is the 60th anniversary of the bikini.
The swimsuit industry should have had Brian Hyland on retainer.
When, as a teenage pop singer in the 1960s, he warbled about an Itsy-Bitsy Teenie-Weenie Yellow […]

In today’s Washington Post, Tom Boswell takes a look at the dominance of the American League in this season’s round of Interleague play.
With interleague play mercifully ending on Sunday, the AL entered yesterday’s games with a stupendous 127-75 advantage, the kind of .629 winning percentage that we associate with a 102-win champion. This season, a […]

Does Superman still fight for the American way ? Apparently not.
Nevermind Superman’s sexual orientation. Here’s another identity-related question that is likely to spark controversy as the Man of Steel soars into theaters nationwide this Fourth of July weekend in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Superman Returns”: Is Superman still American? Ever since artist Joe Shuster and writer […]

Yes, I know it sounds strange, but that’s exactly what the NHL is hoping to do:
“The House that Ruth Built” may be used to stage a hockey event.
Newsday reported on Wednesday that the NHL is looking at the possibility of having the New York Rangers play the New York Islanders in a regular season […]

President Bush will be taking the Prime Minister of Japan to Graceland:
WASHINGTON — The king is getting big-time respect from the president and the prime minister.
Elvis, of course. As in Presley.
President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are going to Graceland.
A private tour through the late rock ‘n’ roll legend’s Memphis mansion on Friday […]

Osama bin Laden has apparently issued a new tape mourning the death of the man who chopped off Nick Berg’s head:
CAIRO, Egypt — Osama bin Laden praised slain al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the “lion of holy war” in a new videotape posted on the Internet on Friday.
The 19-minute message shows an […]

Chevrolet is bringing back an old ad campaign, with a new twist:
CHEVROLET is reviving a popular 1970’s campaign featuring the musical theme “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet,” which is being substantially updated to reflect the significant changes since then in baseball, Chevrolet and how marketers communicate with consumers.
The hot dogs and the apple […]

I am a fairly regular reader of Peggy Noonan’s Opinion Journal columns. This week’s column has her cutting through the nonsense on several issues.
First, she has this to say about Hillary Clinton:
Hillary doesn’t have to prove her guy chops. She doesn’t have to prove she’s a man, she has to prove she’s a woman. No […]

The Washington Post has come out in favor of increased off-shore oil drilling.
FOR THE PAST quarter of a century, the federal government has banned oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters. Efforts to relax the ban have been repelled on environmental grounds, but it is time to revisit this policy. Canada and Norway, […]