I just read this piece by Christopher Hitchens from Vanity Fair and thought I should post it: A Death in the Family It hit a little close to home, I think. I come from a liberal Irish family too and have a brother in the military, and as a result I really got the part […]
This morning I was on the subway thinking about the Korean War, just on the DL as usual, when it occurred to me that President Bush could learn a lesson from his professed exemplar, Harry S Truman. (No period after the S.) People in the Administration and the military have regularly accused Iran of aiding […]
A good one from Iowa: BETTENDORF, Iowa – Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five sons’ decision not to enlist in the military, saying they’re showing their support for the country by “helping me get elected.” I have no beef with the civilian sons part; they can do whatever they choose with […]
For a heavy but very good read, check out this New Yorker article on the interrogation of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. (h/t Mark.) For some reason we haven’t seen many big pieces mentioning the impact of extra-tough interrogation tactics—the euphemism bell just went off—on the interrogators themselves, but this piece notes that it’s not just the […]
All Democratic strategists need to read this article and memorize its every word: Dems, You Gotta Have Heart It should really be an incredibly simple premise, but I can’t figure out why some Democratic dudes just can’t grasp it: Joe Average doesn’t have the time or the interest to read your policy papers; he has […]
Barack Obama’s comments about talking directly to Iran and North Korea is a great example of just how narrow our political debate really is: the guy’s talking about doing exactly what the U.S. did for 40 years during the Cold War (which we won), and somehow taking this stance means he supports Iran and North […]
Back in my New York days, it seemed that every time you turned around, someone was praising the independent, gritty spirit of 1970s-80s New York, the culture that produced hip-hop, tagging, Reggie Jackson, Taxi Driver, CBGB-OMFUG, The Warriors and other art inspired by the city’s crushing, nigh-bankrupt bleakness. While I acknowledge the period as one […]
As my friend Steve put it, “these sound a lot like people doing imitations of him”: The 50 Dumbest Things … I’m particularly fond of Nos. 50, 44, 39, 35, 26 and 14-13.
I’ve got a little Short Bus from Filter playing on the iTunes right now. What happened to industrial rock? There was a glory era from about 1992-1999 or so, and then it really faded away. Nine Inch Nails are still around, but they just don’t have the prominence they used to have. I blame Clear […]
Lately I’ve been thinking about the immigration debate, and the fact that I spent part of today picking fruit (it’s true) perhaps focused things a bit. It seems to me that if angry private citizens like the Minutemen really want to keep desperate Latinos from coming to the States, they should turn themselves into some […]