by JAMES TARANTO
Thursday, November 7, 2002 2:54 P.M. EST

Terror Defendant Is Stanford 'Mentor'
Blogger Eugene Volokh reports that Stanford Law School has invited lawyer Lynne Stewart to be a "Visiting Public Interest Mentor." She'll spend two days on campus next week, during which, among other things, she will offer "one-on-one mentoring sessions" for students who "are interested in doing criminal defense work," according to an e-mail announcing the appearance.

So who is Lynne Stewart? She's the lawyer for Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. So far, so good; even mass murderers are entitled to legal representation when they face criminal charges. But as a September New York Times magazine profile made clear, Stewart's representation of the "blind sheik" goes beyond doing her professional duty:

As Stewart got to know her new client, she came to see him as a fighter for national liberation on behalf of a people oppressed by dictatorship and American imperialism. She came to admire him personally too, for his honesty, his strength of character, his teasing humor.

"I've made up my mind," the sheik would say. "I'm going to marry you, and that will solve everything."

"And what do women get if they fight in jihad?" she would ask. . . .

Stewart threw herself into the case with the passion for which she was known in criminal-defense circles. At trial she tried to convince the mostly black jury that the sheik was not an unfamiliar figure to them. "He has advocated for the suffering of his people at home, in Egypt," she said in her opening argument. "He has advocated by any means necessary, and that is not acceptable to this government." . . . When the jury returned with a conviction, she wept.

There's more. As we noted in April, Stewart has been indicted on charges of "providing material support and resources to an Islamic terrorist group." CNN reported that the indictment alleges that she and three accomplices helped Rahman "direct terrorist activity from his prison cell."

Stanford's action is the equivalent of an American university in 1943 inviting someone who's a Nazi sympathizer and alleged Nazi collaborator to be a "mentor" for its students. One wonders how long it will be before some university invites Osama bin Laden himself to be a guest speaker.

'Your Aggressive Baby Killing Tactics'
Atlanta radio host Neal Boortz reports (sixth item) on another campus dustup, this one at Chicago's St. Xavier University. It seems that Robert Kurpiel, an Air Force Academy cadet, sent an inoffensive e-mail seeking help in making college students around the country aware of the annual Academy Assembly, which discusses "very important issues dealing with politics." One Peter Kirstein, a professor of history at SXU, received a copy of the message and went ballistic, sending the cadet the following reply:

You are a disgrace to this country and I am furious you would even think I would support you and your aggressive baby killing tactics of collateral damage. Help you recruit. Who, top guns to reign death and destruction upon nonwhite peoples throughout the world? Are you serious sir? Resign your commission and serve your country with honour.

No war, no air force cowards who bomb countries with AAA, without possibility of retaliation. You are worse than the snipers. You are imperialists who are turning the whole damn world against us. September 11 can be blamed in part for what you and your cohorts have done to Palestinians, the VC, the Serbs, a retreating army at Basra.

You are unworthy of my support.

Kirstein, whose university Web site includes a virtual shrine to Karl Marx, ended up issuing a halfhearted apology: "As one who believes in non-violence and the avoidance of conflict, I could have been more circumspect and creative in my communication with [Kurpiel]," he writes.

Prof. Bad Example
"Upsetting stereotypes of Vietnam-era protests by flower-draped co-eds and flag-waving veterans, younger Americans are more likely to support the use of military force against Iraq than are senior citizens," the Christian Science Monitor reports:

Americans aged 18 to 29 back US military action by a 3-to-1 margin (69 percent to 23 percent). In contrast, support falls to 51 percent among those aged 65 or older, 31 percent of whom oppose a war against Iraq, according to three surveys by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

The Monitor is not terribly persuasive in its attempts to explain the generation gap. It floats the theory that "older people tend to be more risk-averse"--but one could just as easily say younger people tend to be more averse to the risks inherent in leaving Saddam Hussein in power. "A tendency for young people to reflect mainstream views could contribute to the generation gap," says the Monitor. But this logic is circular. It amounts to saying a tendency for young people to reflect mainstream views could contribute to the tendency for young people to reflect mainstream views.

Here's our theory: Young people, who are or have recently spent time on college campuses, have much more exposure to the freak show that is the "antiwar" movement, exemplified by the likes of Peter Kirstein. Just as Reps. Jim McDermott and David Bonior probably gave the Republicans a big boost in this week's election with their Baghdad Jane act in September, idiot profs are very likely refuting their own arguments in the minds of many students.

But hey, maybe we're underestimating the power of the antiwar cause. After all, the "Not in Our Name" petition keeps growing and growing. Here's the latest signatory list:

• Mihel Aeildrhondel, "Aeildrhondelin Nation"
• Lisa Lynn Alyson, "self-made thinker"
• YASSIR DHATSMEH BEH-BEH
• Eva Braun, "Hausfrau"
• Daisy Cutter, "I volunteer to drop in on Saddam and deliver this message of peace"
• patricia daniels, "person of light and peace"
• Michael Danza, "Voter and Human"
• Fletch F. Fletch, "Shepherd"
• Leland Hall, "School" (click here to find out "who" Leland Hall is)
• Jack Handy, "Deep Thoughts Inc."
• Rudolf Hess, "retired pilot"
• Hugh G. Reckshun, "facilitator/actitivist"
• Joern Christian Reppenhagen, "The world will not survive a second Hitler. Show that you have learned from the past: Say NO if asked for your support of total war. Say NO to Adolf W. Bush"
• James Taranto, "Juvenile hurmorist"
• Lisa Taranto
• Sesroh Tootap, "FFA"
• Emille Turdekowski, "Sanitation Engineer"
• Olivia Turner, "can not be used in listing"

In case you're wondering, no, we didn't really sign the petition; some prankster who can't spell humorist did.

Our Friends the Saudis
In an editorial entitled "Utterly Reprehensible," the Arab News denounces America for the missile strike in Yemen that killed six al Qaeda terrorists:

Unfortunately in a civilized society, extra-judicial murders are not acceptable. Ali Qaed Senyan Al-Harthi may indeed have been a terrorist with blood on his hands, but it was not for the American CIA to act as judge, jury and executioner. Though it would undoubtedly have been far more difficult and might have caused the loss of further lives, the right thing to have done would have been to have apprehended Al-Harthi and brought him to trial. Butchering him and his body guards with a remotely fired missile was wrong.

This from a newspaper in Saudi Arabia, a country that has no system of civil law and that beheads scores of people every year.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that one of the six terrorists, "identified by a government newspaper as Ahmed Hijazi, had U.S. nationality."

Then Again, Gulliver Didn't Have Daisy Cutters
Mexico's Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda "said smaller countries on the United Nation's Security Council should tie up the U.S. to bring it in line with their views on issues such as Iraqi arms inspections," Bloomberg News reports. "I like very much the metaphor of Gulliver, of ensnarling the giant," Castaneda said in an interview with the newspaper Universal. "Tying it up, with nails, with thread, with 20,000 nets that bog it down: these nets being norms, principles, resolutions, agreements, and bilateral, regional and international covenants."

Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has the latest from Lilliputia (last item):

Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has received an interparliamentary delegation from Europe, the Iraqi news agency INA's website reported on 5 November. The delegation included representatives from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, and Ukraine. According to INA, Finnish delegate Bakko Lakkso, speaking on behalf of the delegation, expressed the group's solidarity with Iraq and its rejection of the "military aggression" of the United States. Lakkso reportedly also told Aziz that the U.S. goal is to sideline the UN and replace it with NATO.

This Is Your Jihad on Drugs
"U.S. officials announced charges Wednesday involving alleged plots to sell drugs to finance weapons purchases for Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization and a Colombian paramilitary group," the Associated Press reports:

Three people are charged with trying to sell heroin and hashish to buy four shoulder-fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles for the Al Qaeda terror network. An indictment says the Al Qaeda link was provided by the suspects themselves.

No doubt the next issue of Reason will include an article deploring the way the "war on terror" has intruded into the drug culture.

A Religion of Peace
"A prominent reformist scholar was sentenced to death on charges of insulting Islam's prophet and questioning the hard-line clergy's interpretation of Islam," the Associated Press reports from Tehran. Hashem Aghajari, a professor, "also was sentenced to 74 lashes, banned from teaching for 10 years and exiled to three remote Iranian cities for eight years." However, the AP helpfully notes, "in cases where the death penalty is imposed, other long-term punishments are not carried out."

The Massacre That Wasn't--XX
The Village Voice has a report from Jenin, the West Bank terror center where Arabs falsely accused the Israelis of a "massacre" last spring. Although the far-left weekly does its best to blame Israel, it can't help reporting the facts:

Ian Rimell, a 52-year-old Brit, is an explosive-ordnance-disposal expert. Ian's Scandinavian-funded de-mining team has cleared thousands of "improvised terrorist devices" from the rubble of the camp.

"We found 4668 items, of which 804 were live," Ian says. "The first load we buried in 30 cubic meters of concrete. Now we blow everything up.

"There was a lot of Israeli stuff, including missiles which they said they didn't use," he harrumphs. "But most of it was Palestinian. We found six factory sites with components for making bombs. They were even making their own gunpowder."

Ian's team gets called all the time by "people who are not happy about things . . . like two-meter-long pipe bombs planted in the road near their houses."

"They trust us and want the stuff taken away because they just want a peaceful life," he says. "We keep their trust. We refuse to tell the Israelis where we find stuff because we're afraid they might take retribution by knocking down the houses there." . . .

"And there were instances when guys with guns would show up and demand their bombs back," says Ian, who has done similar work in Kosovo, Albania, and Bosnia. "I always give it back--I have a wife and family."

You Don't Say--I
"Shift in Power Emboldens Bush and G.O.P. Lawmakers"--headline, New York Times, Nov. 7

You Don't Say--II
"Now that Republicans have recaptured the Senate, President Bush should have a much easier time getting his nominees for federal judgeships approved."--lead sentence, Knight Ridder Newspapers, Nov. 6

You Don't Say--III
"Jeffords May Be Loser in Election"--headline, Brattleboro (Vt.) Reformer, Nov. 7

Cigar, but Not Close
A United Press International analysis argues that Republicans actually did better than it appeared in Tuesday's election. "The GOP racked up relatively large advantages in the total national vote," notes correspondent Steve Sailer. "It was definitely not a landslide, but in a year when the smart money was expecting a 50-50 outcome, the Republican margin over the Democrats in overall votes cast was noteworthy." Specifically, Republican candidates won 52.8% of the aggregate two-party popular vote in governors' races, 52.2% in Senate races and 53.4% in House races.

These numbers have no formal meaning, of course, any more than the presidential "popular vote" does, but they do debunk the myth that Republicans just got lucky by winning a few close elections. A blogger called Tacitus looks at another set of numbers: Of the 34 Senate seats at stake on Tuesday, 20 were held by Republicans and 14 by Democrats (before Paul Wellstone's death). Republicans held 19 of their seats; Democrats only 10 or 11 of theirs (depending on the Louisiana outcome). That means the GOP had a retention rate of 95%, vs. just 71% or 78% for the Dems.

Here's Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe's latest attempt to spin the results, courtesy of the New York Times:

Mr. McAuliffe disputed criticism from some Democrats that the party shared much of the blame for what went wrong, arguing that Democrats had not been able to overcome Mr. Bush's popularity or Republican spending. "I could clearly make the argument that George Bush should have done a lot better last night," the Democratic chairman said.

It'll be interesting to see if he spends the next two years arguing that Bush should do better.

Republicans did well down the ballot, too. The Associated Press reports Republicans gained some 200 state legislative seats. "That contrasts with a traditional midterm election, . . . in which the party in the White House typically loses about 350 seats."

The Republicans' net loss of governorships doesn't seem to have been as great as expected, though you wouldn't know it from reading the New York Times, which published an error-filled map. Andrew Sullivan, who pointed this out, says there are five mistakes, but he undercounts. The Times map leaves Georgia and South Carolina blank and lists Alaska, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Vermont as Republican "wins." All of these states, in fact, were Republican "gains"--states whose governorships the GOP picked up from Democratic or independent incumbents. That's a total of seven errors, all in the Dems' favor.

Karmic Relief
Out in the fever swamps of the left, they're really depressed. A pitiful posting on DemocratsUnderground.com is titled "I really need a karmic hug":

Does anyone else?

Please tell me that no matter wha [sic]--we still love each other--the way the freepers [readers of the generally right-wing Free Republic Web site] never can/will. Oh please sweet Jesus please say we do. I am hurting so bad. I know I'll be better once I sober up but goddess, I really believed we'd do better than this.

We usually don't quote from Michael Moore, because the man is just so insufferably idiotic, but we can't resist his Sunday prognostication:

Well, folks, Tuesday is the day! The day that George W. gets taught a long overdue lesson. The day that we, the MAJORITY--the 52% who never elected him--get our chance to reclaim a bit of our former democracy (back when ALL the votes used to be counted).

What if, on Tuesday, all of us, regardless of our political stripe, and just for the fun of it, decided to serve one big-ass eviction notice that said, you have two years to remove yourself from the premises--and you had better not damage anything on your way out?

Well, Michael, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all be as "big-ass" as you are.

What Next for the Dems?
Dick Gephardt has given up his post as House minority leader; his colleagues will choose his successor a week from today. The candidates: Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi, a left-wing San Francisco Democrat, and Rep. Martin Frost, a moderate Texan. Most observers expect Pelosi to win, and The New Republic's Peter Beinart suggests that's bad news for the Dems:

The left, for the first time since the 1980s, has a shot at taking over the party. The defeat of moderate Democrats in swing states and districts inevitably tilts the congressional party toward ideological hardliners in safe seats. Ted Kennedy and John Conyers would have yanked the party left in 1994, had not the Clinton White House moved in the other direction. But now there is no counterweight. And that is what makes the Democratic Party's current predicament so dangerous. The ideological vacuum atop the post-September 11 Democratic Party will inevitably be filled. And if it is filled by Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Kucinich, the United States will no longer be a 50-50 nation; it will be a 40-60 nation for a generation.

Barbra Streisand, Headline Writer
"Gebhardt Won't Seek Demo House Job"--headline, Billings Gazette, Nov. 7

Theft in South Dakota?
National Review's Byron York suggests the Democrats may have stolen the Senate election in South Dakota, in which incumbent Sen. Tim Johnson edged out Republican challenger John Thune:

Early Wednesday morning, with 99.65 percent of South Dakota's precincts reporting, Thune held a narrow lead over Johnson. It was only when the last three precincts (out of a total of 844) were counted that Johnson finally edged ahead. What has made some Republicans suspicious is that those final precincts were located in a southwestern county that was in the news for allegations of voting fraud in the weeks leading up to the election. . . .

Republicans want to be careful in the course they choose. They have already won the Senate, and they do not want to embroil the party in a long, acrimonious fight over a contest that will not affect the balance of power in Washington. In addition, they do not want to embark on a Democratic-style legal battle if there is no solid evidence of fraud. But at this point, they want to know what happened. The circumstances of Johnson's last-minute comeback look a little odd, and Republicans want to learn the story behind the numbers.

Sen. Tom Daschle's term ends in two years, and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports he hasn't yet decided if he'll retire, run for president or seek re-election. If he decides to leave the Senate, and this year's election comes down in Johnson's favor, the leading candidate for the Daschle seat will presumably be John Thune.

We Have Overcome
A new study shows that "economic disparities between the descendants of former slaves and free blacks largely disappeared within just two generations following emancipation," the Dartmouth, an eponymous Ivy League student newspaper, reports. "There's nothing positive you can say about slavery," says economist Bruce Sacerdote, the study's author. "But what the study shows is how little slavery actually has to do with today's problems. It seems rather unlikely that slavery itself caused a lot of the racism problems present in the U.S. today."

Rodent Roils Reuterville
"A squirrel is spreading terror in a Cheshire town where it keeps attacking people," Reuters reports. "The rogue squirrel's latest attack was on toddler Kelsi Morley who was bitten on the forehead. 'It was awful because she (Kelsi) was spinning around and we couldn't get it off,' her mother told the [Times of London]. 'From the amount of blood there was, I thought it had taken Kelsi's eye out.' "

Excuse us, Reuters, the squirrel is spreading terror? Isn't that an awfully "emotive" word? The headline even says "Squirrel Terrorizes Town," and the piece quotes one local resident who says: "I'll never trust squirrels again." Doesn't Reuters realize that Sciuridae is a family of peace, and that one man's terrorist is another's nut gatherer?

(Elizabeth Crowley helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Allen Thorpe, Paul Stinchfield, Russ Emerson, Mara Gold, Lucas Simmons, Joel Engel, Robert Witt, Angie Schultz, Joel Goldberg, Bill Paisley, Greg Sandmeyer, Thomas Tirney, Judy McCandless, Pavel Bouska, Raghu Desikan, Marie Bourgeois, Richard Haisley, Michael Segal, Monica Showalter, Sol Ezekiel, Rosanne Klass, S.E. Brenner, Monty Krieger, Chris Hall, Janice Lyons, C.E. Dobkin, Stuart LeVine, Howard Weiser, Kevin Compton, Jerome Marcus, Chris Arfaa, Tom Elia, Jose Guardia, Barak Moore, Keith Eggeman, Joe Hancock, Andrew Solovay, Kary Schulman, Dennis Feuerbacher, Edward Himmelfarb, Aaron Gross, David Sherzer, Dennis Sevakis, Joel Fuhrmann, Robert Salmon and Jim Orheim. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)

Today on OpinionJournal:

• Review & Outlook: Now the Republicans have to deliver, especially on the economy.
• John Fund: The GOP's cup runneth over? No, it's half empty.
• Pete du Pont: America turns right. What a difference a day makes.