The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    amike's picture

    Xenophobia significant in America? Yes, MHO

    I’ve had better days in the fight for things in which I believe deeply. Nathan Newman began a chain noting a religious split on the question of immigration. I wrote a bit about this over there. I felt rather lonely–far...

    The End of Iraq, by Peter Galbraith

    Highly recommended. This is the smartest analysis I've seen. Galbraith, another of JK Galbraith's sons, offers not only well-informed, biting criticism but thoughts on where to go from here: essentially, to gradually withdraw troops everywhere except perhaps in Kurdistan, where,...
    amike's picture

    This story needs circulation Right Wing Blogger Sues and Wins

    Right-Winger Sues Blogger And Wins -- Lee Kaplan writes at David Horowitz's far-right, anti-Muslim FrontPageMag.com. A college student set up the blog Lee Kaplan Watch to expose what the guy is writing. He was sued by Kaplan in small claims...
    amike's picture

    National Public Radio Hawks Huckabee

    This morning’s Morning Edition featured a puff piece on Mike Huckabee, the title of which on the NPR web page is Huckabee's Appeal Doesn't Help Presidential Bid . The paragraph introducing the story on the web reads: Republican presidential candidate...
    amike's picture

    Reason and Rhetoric Take Back America 2007

    About this time next week I’ll be rubbing shoulders with some of America’s most exciting progressive/liberal spokesmen and activists at the 2007 Take Back America Conference. I know I’ll wish I could clone myself, because there will be simultaneous sessions...

    Fareed Zakaria article in Newsweek, "Beyond Bush"

    The cover story of the new edition of Newsweek (June 11, 2007) features an article by Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, frequent contributor to The Washington Post and numerous other prominent publications, author of several books including The New...

    Choice snippets from The Ugly American

    (from the book, written in 1958, not the far inferior movie, where the Ambassador MacWhite character played by Brando is not much like the Ambassador MacWhite portrayed in the book) pp. 108-109, Philippine Minister of Defense Magsaysay to Ambassador MacWhite:...

    Movie rec: "Half Nelson"

    In portraying a caring, unorthodox, in many ways effective inner-city high school history teacher with a drug problem, Ryan Gosling does about as good a job of acting as anyone I've seen in a long time. He completely sold that...
    amike's picture

    Aristotle Chimes in on the Immigration Debate

    Well, actually he doesn’t, but he said some things worth considering, I think. And they came to mind as I read Nathan Newman’s entry, What looks like a Crappy Immigration Deal. I’m going to come to this in my usual...
    amike's picture

    Aren't We All Working Class?

    I hiked about three or four miles down a bike path converted from an abandoned rail spur this afternoon, with the object of visiting my next door neighbor. I could have visited him by walking the thirty plus feet from...
    amike's picture

    Aristotle Meets Goldilocks

    I do O.K. with Aristotle. Modern philosophers, especially the more mathematical ones sometimes give me the heebie-jeebies. I noticed a few years ago that Aristotle has an affinity to Goldilocks. For him, the Virtuous Mean lay between extremes of deficiency...
    amike's picture

    Patron: Eumenides? Tailor: Why, Euripides?

    Have the groans subsided yet? One hopes to be forgiven, eventually. The university at which I work requires a core history/political studies course of all freshmen, the faculty for which are provided by the history and political science departments. As...
    amike's picture

    To Blog or Not to Blog?

    Hamlet like, I’ve tossed this idea back and forth in my mind for some time now. Do I have anything of interest to put before the readers at TPM Café? Am I obsessive enough to keep at it? Is my...

    Imus discussion on Meet the Press...

    I suffer from insomnia, and on some sleepless occasions, disgusted with the "cute news" with the O'Brians on CNN, I'd turn the tv to the Imus show - it aired between 2:30AM and 6AM on the West coast. There were...

    Palestinian Unity Prime Minister Haniyeh (Hamas) on C-Span

    C-Span will be carrying a speech by Ismail Haniyeh, Prime Minister, Palestinian Authority, Hamas Party. He'll be speaking about the new coalition government. The program will be aired on C-Span1 on Wed. March 21 at 6:09 AM EDT, and lasts...

    Russia

    Following artappraiser's example on China, here are some excerpts, links and notes on Russian activity of interest. ...

    U.S., Iraq propose diplomatic talks w/ Iran, Syria AND New Iraqi oil law

    This new change seems to indicate an abrupt about face in U.S. policy. It's about time that the Bush administration started heeding the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, but it remains to be seen whether this will be a...

    Leaving (soon) on a Jet Plane

    Next month my wife and I are moving ourselves and our two kids to Tbilisi in the country of Georgia for around 20 months. Folks here know that country has been in the news a bit lately, with last weekend's...

    Robert Kagan (today's WashPost): "More Leaks, Please"

    From Kagan's column, the first sentence reads: "It's too bad we won't get to see the full National Intelligence Estimate on 'Trends in Global Terrorism' selectively leaked to The Post and the New York Times last week. Indeed. Out with...

    My Democratic Message

    The Dems will not agree on a single national message. At least if they have, I haven't heard it. So I am free to select my own. It's a formidable challenge. There are way too many targets and sources of...

    David Broder, cont.

    As I work around the corner from the Washington Post offices in DC, I took the liberty of purchasing a copy of Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson's fabulous Off Center and leaving a copy for David Broder at the Post's...

    Carville and Begala, Zinging Them on Military Service

    I'm halfway into Carville and Begala's latest, Take it Back. This from pages 132-33, in connection with their discussion about how to help with military recruitment: "But, let's face it, has-been pop stars and never-was country singers are not going...
    CVille Dem's picture

    Hot Flash! Iraq War Unnecessary!

    We know now that "Regime Change" is the only reason yet articulated that still stands in the Bush reason-of-the-week for invading Iraq. We know that Saddam was a tyrant and the world is better off without him in charge in...

    David Broder, Getting it Wrong Again

    From his column in today's Post: "In the primary, Lamont found his most prominent support on the far-left flank of the Democratic Party. His organization was a hand-me-down from the Howard Dean presidential campaign, bolstered by a blizzard of Internet...

    Which Iraq?

    This past weekend's Washington Post Book World contains reviews of two books on Iraq. I am struck by contrasting accounts of the relationship between Sunni and Shia Iraqis prior to the war in these two reviews. One review is of...

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