The Chicago Sun-Times has a scathing editorial on the decision by the French government to pull its Special Forces troops from Afghanistan just as the Taliban seem to be on the offensive. As they say, quelle surprise…

One law professor spills the beans on how things are really done when it comes to grading law school exams. I always suspected as much…

“I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as though a million brews suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.”

John Hodgman (who plays the PC in the Apple commercials) delivered this moving speech just after the September 11 attacks that’s well worth reading. (Hat tip to Mitch Berg)

CNN has the headline Lawmaker wants to shoot Madonna into space.

To save you time, no it isn’t a one-way trip, and no, it isn’t to the sun.

Remember, in space no one can hear you scream in a painfully forced English accent…

This isn’t the sort of thing they teach you in Civil Procedure. It also contains one of the best legal footnotes I’ve ever read: “The Court suggests that serious discussion occur after counsel have eaten. The temperaments of the Court’s children always improved after a meal.”

David Ansen has a glowing review of Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center.

I’ve never been a fan of Stone’s work, but everything I’ve heard about this film has been positive. Stone’s decision to make this a story about personal heroism rather than some political conspiracy thriller makes this a movie that sounds accessible to everyone. I’m not sure how easy it would be to watch this film, but I think if the reviews are correct, Stone deserves a lot of credit for letting the story of that terrible day tell itself.

David Frum in NRO:

If a drunken Mel Gibson did indeed call out, “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” then there can be only one possible place for a man who believes such things: as the next Secretary General of the United Nations.

John McCain’s son Jimmy is joining the Marines.

While I disagree with many of the Senator’s positions on key issues, there’s no doubt of his heroism, and it looks like his son is ready to carry on that tradition. Best of luck to him.

The Washington Post has a wonderfuly acerbic review of the Sci-Fi channel reality program Who Wants To Be A Superhero. I’m not sure whether to applaud or be disgusted by the use of the term “coin slot”…