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On the main blog, Philip Giraldi has asked why, given the likely counterproductive nature of Israel’s strikes in Gaza, Israel’s government would go ahead with the planned campaign to destroy Hamas’ infrastructure. There do not seem to be other objectives or grand plans in motion. This is, let us remember, the Olmert government, which has [...]
Filed under: foreign policy, politics
My apologies for having fallen off the map for the last few weeks. I am back in Chicago in time for the new year, and I will resume regular blogging in the near future. Over the break I had the opportunity to read some very interesting books, including Sidney Griffith’s The Church in the Shadow [...]
Filed under: miscellaneous
Thinking more on pragmatism, it occurs to me that the thing that a lot of people mean when they say they are non-ideological, or when they are classified, like so many undecided voters, as “results-oriented” and interested in “problem-solving,” is that they wish to appear reasonable and capable of making compromises with their opponents. Those [...]
It’s all very well to insist that Obama be as forthcoming and transparent as possible concerning any connection between himself and his staff and the Blagojevich matter. Transparent, open government was an important part of what Obama promised as a candidate, and he should be held to his pledges. Even so, am I the only [...]
Filed under: politics
There has been an interesting conversation about pragmatism and “ideology” going on, which began with Glenn Greenwald’s criticism of the way pragmatism and competence are invoked as if they can be defined apart from a particular set of political principles. I should state at the beginning that I think it contributes to a significant misunderstanding [...]
While the Blagosphere has been almost entirely consumed with our governor’s corruption and the state fair auction-like atmosphere that surrounded the Senate seat appointment, some bloggers on the left have begun noticing that reporting and commentary have tried to make the Blagojevich scandals into a serious problem for Obama, despite the evidence that shows Blagojevich [...]
Filed under: politics
James dissects Gerson’s argument in similar terms, and notes an important flaw that mars most of Gerson’s writing: The premise of Gerson’s entire column, and one that seems to undergird his every thought and word, is that outrage compels action, and that if you aren’t acting — now, dammit — you aren’t outraged. In Gerson’s [...]
Filed under: Africa, foreign policy, politics
Alex Massie has said most of what should be said about Gerson’s new woe-is-Africa column, but I will add a few remarks. The irrepressible need to meddle, help and do good that Gerson is always trying to get other people to fulfill seems to require that he cluck his tongue at some insufficiently concerned villain, [...]
Filed under: Africa, foreign policy, politics
Camille Paglia cannot let go of her vision of Palin as the experimental jazz saxophonist of language: I was so outraged when I read Cavett’s column that I felt like taking to the air like a Valkyrie and dropping on him at his ocean retreat in Montauk in the chichi Hamptons. How can it be [...]
Look, I enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire quite a bit, but can anyone seriously say that Jamal Malik showed “Obamaesque” poise? Llosa isn’t done yet: That Boyle managed to tell a Bollywood story without falling into any of Bollywood’s conventions — except for a musical number during the final credits that comes as a summation of the [...]