The Whole World Was Watching
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COMEY ON THE HILL STEPHEN F. HAYES • MICHAEL WARREN JUNE 19, 2017 • $5.99 THE WHOLE WORLD WAS WATCHING CHARLOTTE ALLEN on the appalling protests at Evergreen State WEEKLYSTANDARD.COM Contents June 19, 2017 • Volume 22, Number 39 2 The Scrapbook The Obamas get the royal treatment, NPR euphemisms, & more 5 Casual Joseph Epstein on jokes that lose their mojo 7 Editorials Comey v. Trump • The Republican Future • Violent Portland Articles 10 A Memo-rable Hearing BY MICHAEL WARREN Comey unloads 11 Rules of Disorder BY FRED BARNES 2 The president leads himself astray 12 One Seat That Should Be Safe BY TONY MECIA Pugnacious politics in the Palmetto State 15 All Politics Are National BY CHRIS DEATON Trump might as well be on the Georgia ballot 16 A Separate Place BY ALICE B. LLOYD Where every young man is a king 18 Macron, Le Terminator BY ANNE-ELISABETH MOUTET Le winner and les losers 7 21 Foundering Fathers BY JAY COST 10 Is there no historical figure good enough for today? 24 Of Tribes and Terrorism BY LEE SMITH How do you solve a problem like Qatar? Feature 26 The Whole World Was Watching BY CHARLOttE ALLEN The appalling protests at Evergreen State College Books & Arts 34 Let Them Eat Cake BY SARA LODGE Islands at sea unite over tea 21 36 Remember Malmedy BY GABRIEL SCHOENFELD The truth, and untruth, of a German atrocity 38 State of the City BY ROBERT WHITCOMB There’s no place quite like Singapore. But for how long? 39 Irresistible Force BY DIANE SCHARPER Love in the shadow of Israeli-Palestinian conflict 40 Crosses to Bear BY MAUREEN MULLARKEY The limitations in the academic study of faith 43 Comic Critics BY JOHN PODHORETZ Ideologues drain all the wonder from a popcorn flick 26 44 Parody Post-Paris pollution COVER BY DAVE MALAN THE SCRAPBOOK That’ll Be the Day ven in Texas, where everything’s ner of Texas, where small museums film, and tech industry crowd, the E bigger, the little guys can still win celebrate and highlight that past,” ac- city already dominates the state’s one. In the latest case, the little guys cording to the paper. “There’s Turkey, modern music scene. Who wants to are the nearly 40 private music muse- where the Bob Wills Museum is locat- give Austin even more influence over ums across the Lone Star State. Their ed. And San Benito’s Freddy Fender Texas culture? The opening of a cen- defeated foe? A plan backed by Gov- Museum and the Buddy Holly Center tral museum would have also made it ernor Greg Abbott, Austin politicians, in Lubbock, along with Arlington’s harder for museums of narrower or and the state’s preservation board to Texas Blues Museum and the Light niche focus to remain open. build a taxpayer-funded Texas State Crust Doughboys Hall of Fame and One such museum is the Texas Music Museum. Museum in Hillsboro.” Polka Music Museum in Schulen- As the Houston Chroni- But as plans began burg. Based on its website, there’s cle gleefully reports, two bills for the big state muse- nothing flashy or interactive about to establish the state-run um, these communi- this museum. But it does appear museum died in the legisla- ty museums spotted to be run by its board of directors, ture late last month. That a threat. Austin, an earnest group of polka-loving news pleased those who with its hip indie Texans who are keeping alive the have long been develop- music scene and tradition passed down from their ing their own Museum of German, Polish, and Czech immi- American Music History grant ancestors. The TPMM opened in Houston. But the fail- in 2010 in a historic building in ure to create an official downtown Schulenburg, serving to state music museum also conserve polka history, showcase gave the owners and op- polka bands and DJs, and organize erators of Texas’s numerous an annual polka festival. small, independent music mu- And don’t forget the Tex Rit- seums cause to celebrate. ter Museum at the Texas Country The Chronicle noted the many Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, in musical styles and influences that “Keep Austin Weird” ethos, was seen Panola County. make up Texas’s “rich music his- as encroaching on claims of musical A small-town museum is as tory”—everything from German tradition in other parts of the state. American as apple pie, and it’s why polka to Mexican folk to country to As host city of the annual South By THE SCRAPBOOK is dancing a polka blues. “That history was developed in Southwest conference and festivals, on the grave of the Texas State small towns and cities in every cor- which draw an international music, Music Museum. ♦ BRUNSWICK RECORDS HOLLY, TWS ART; Not in Her Name soldiers who stopped the rampage. It shouldn’t have come as a sur- urveys consistently rank Scan- prise her name would go on a West S dinavian countries the hap- Bank women’s center—hers is a piest on earth. But now, even go-to moniker for such things. Pal- they are getting ticked off by estinians had already named a pub- the Palestinians. lic square, two girls’ high schools, a The brouhaha began with the computer center, a soccer champi- decision by Norway and the Unit- onship, and two summer camps for ed Nations to help fund a women’s Mughrabi. The New York Times in center in the Palestinian territories. ahem, Palestinian activist. Problem is, 2010 quoted a Palestinian official say- What could go wrong with that? Dalal Mughrabi was a member of the ing, “For us, she is not a terrorist, [but Well, it turns out that after the cen- Palestinian Liberation Organization. rather] a fighter who fought for the ter was constructed, in the West Bank She led a 1978 terrorist attack outside liberation of her own land.” town of Buraq, Palestinian officials Tel Aviv that killed 38 Israeli civil- Norway, though, was shocked at decided to name it the “Martyr Dalal ians, including 13 children. She was the naming and asked last month Mughrabi Center” after a well-known, killed in a shootout with the Israeli that its association with the center BACKGROUND, MOHAMMAD HIJJAWI TWS ART; 2 / THE WEEKLY STANDARD JUNE 19, 2017 be erased. In Nordic solidarity, Den- mark pledged to freeze contributions to Palestinian organizations. After some mealymouthed re- sponses, the United Nations also is- sued an admirably stern statement: “The glorification of terrorism, or the perpetrators of heinous terrorist acts, is unacceptable.” Alas, the U.N.’s check had already been cashed, so the best they could do was to ask “for the logo of UN Women to be removed immediately” from the women’s cen- ter wall. That’s all well and good—refresh- ing, even. But such concerns are per- haps best expressed before forking over money to groups with a history and habit of celebrating terrorism. ♦ BO Brummell arack and Michelle Obama are B setting lifestyle standards most Americans could only dream of, but there’s no shortage of publications urging us to dream. Under the heading “Celebrity Food,” People magazine published an online list of some of the fabulous eat- eries where Barack and Michelle have recently been spotted. The article was titled “The Obamas Still Have Fan- tastic Taste in Restaurants.” And if that weren’t enough praise for their culinary savoir-faire, there was this drooling sub-headline: “The former president and his family continue to dine at the world’s coolest—and most tailoring. The New York Times shows style, as “most Milanese men are too delicious—restaurants.” Good luck us how with an early June article, “In hidebound to be seen wearing open- getting reservations. High Style, Obama Returns to the necked shirts,” but “Mr. Obama seized Not only can one dine like the World Stage.” While in Milan, he wore on an element of European style— Obamas, one can travel like them “a slim dark suit over a white dress sprezzatura, the art of studied careless- as well. Travel+Leisure featured “the shirt with two buttons left open.” Two ness,” to achieve a “fusion style” that luxurious estate where Barack and buttons! Social media went into a fren- the Times describes as “the full-inter- Michelle Obama vacationed” when zy, “so effortlessly and ineffably cool national.” To get the look, don’t forget, recently in Italy. The Tuscan mansion did he appear.” It wasn’t quite Italian it’s two buttons, not one. where they stayed features “a 60- In part, all of this urging to foot pool, tennis and bocce courts, copy the Obamas’ food, drink, and a fully-equipped gym with resort, and clothing choices is sauna and steam room, along with just the commonplace stuff of a basketball court.” In bold type, modern celebrity. But THE SCRAP- Travel+Leisure raves of the estate: BOOK wonders if there’s not also “You can rent it too, but it will something strangely monarchi- cost you.” cal about it. Mr. Obama is being And while in Italy, don’t for- treated not unlike the prince in get to dutifully emulate Barack’s Regency England—someone JUNE 19, 2017 THE WEEKLY STANDARD / 3 with not very much to do, but whose “It shows a group of students con- style of doing nothing-very-much is fronting a biology professor named closely followed and copied. Bret Weinstein because he questions So far, this is being done in an in- certain diversity policies on campus.” formal way.