Moammar Qaddafi: what got into him?

National Review, Jan 26, 2004 by Roman Genn

* David Frost once tried to encapsulate all the obsessions of English tabloid readers in a single imaginary headline. It came out something like: SEX-CHANGE VICAR IN MERCY DASH TO PALACE CORGIS. Well, one of the Queen's pet corgis ("a short-legged long-backed dog with foxy head"--Webster's Third) could have used that vicar on December 22nd last, when Princess Anne came calling on her Mum. Anne brought along with her a dog of her own, a bull terrier named Florence. A dogfight ensued, and Her Majesty's corgi was fatally mauled. The only people who might extract anything positive from this sad little dog-bites-dog story are opponents of the death penalty. It was assumed by everyone when the story first came out that the offending terrier was Princess Anne's other terrier, Dotty, who had attacked two children in Windsor Great Park some months previously, an incident that had led to the Princess's being fined ?500. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (patron: H. M. the Queen) had actually called for Dotty to be put down. Now that the true corgi-killer has been identified, everyone feels bad for innocent Dotty. Even Florence seems likely to be spared the ultimate penalty: Latest news as we go to press is that Florence will be put in care of a dog psychologist for resolution of the "issues" she apparently has with royal corgis.

* In the ongoing campaign to transfer all of our country's private wealth into the pockets of plaintiffs' attorneys, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America has produced a handbook for its members, advising them on courtroom strategy and tactics. On jury selection the handbook offers this advice: "It is helpful to divide the jurors into two groups: the personal responsibility group and compassion-altruistic group. Jurors who are extreme on the personal responsibility bias, or who have a high need for personal responsibility, will strongly favor the defendant. In contrast, jurors who are extreme on the compassionate-altruistic bias, or who have a high need for compassion, will strongly favor the plaintiff." This ambulance-chasers' vade mecum goes on to warn its readers that the "personal responsibility" group members tend to espouse traditional family values, and often have strong religious beliefs. "The only solution," warns the shakedown-artists' guide, "is to identify these jurors during voir dire [pretrial questioning of potential jurors] and exclude them from the jury." Of course it is. We wouldn't want people who believe in personal responsibility sitting in judgment on our errors and follies, would we? Much less religious people--amongst whom, after all, compassion and altruism are quite unknown.

* The abuse of the word "allegedly" in the media reached a new low in the Columbus Dispatch recently. An article stated: "[Bush] insisted Iraq comply with years of United Nations resolutions. When the Iraqi ruler allegedly refused, Bush led an effort that destroyed Saddam Hussein's regime." Perhaps we should now start calling the Dispatch an alleged newspaper?