The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

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The Washington Post just reviewed Unreasonable Men

As Michael Wolraich argues in his sharp, streamlined new book, “Unreasonable Men,” it was “the greatest period of political change in American history.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/book-review-unreasonable-men-on-p...

Michael Wolraich's picture

Upgraded!

Hi folks, I want to offer my gratitude to everyone who helped out with the dagblog upgrade, both those who tested the new site and those who contributed to the development cost. I received $424.22, which by coincidence almost exactly covers the cost. You guys are the best!

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Michael Wolraich's picture

The Valkyries' Lament

There is something odd about the chorus of criticism against President Obama's foreign policy. Normally, the age-old debate over military intervention revolves around a particular conflict. From WWI to the Iraq War, hawks and doves have always squabbled over the ethics, efficacy, and necessity of attacking a particular enemy at a particular time.

But Obama's critics haven't focused on any particular conflict or enemy. They speak of the peril in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Ukraine, and the South China Sea. They warn of threats from Putin, Khamenei, Kim Jong-Un, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Taliban, or, more generally, dictators, fanatics, and terrorists. George W. Bush's Axis of Evil has become a Legion of Doom with new enemies, like ISIS, regularly joining the pantheon of international bad guys.

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Michael Wolraich's picture

Dag's New Digs

Dear friends,

Dagblog will turn six years old this September, which is 42 in blog years. Like many of us in our forties, the site has become a little chunky. OK, I'll be blunt. Dag's fat. Way fat. 9290 blog posts, 442 creative posts, 5250 news links, and 109,567 comments. Along with williamkwolfrum.com, who hangs out on the same server, dagblog often violates the 640 MB RAM limit, which is why it's been stalling and crashing so often.

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Michael Wolraich's picture

Eating Eric Cantor

If revolutions eat their children, then Eric Cantor is the plat du jour. Just a couple years ago, he was the supposed leader of the right-wing House insurgency. The press waited hungrily for him to revolt against John Boehner and claim the Speaker's crown for himself. But Cantor chose to wait it out, and now the same insurgent spirit that bolstered his ambition has tossed him out of the House entirely.

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Michael Wolraich's picture

Unreasonable Men: First Book Review

From Publishers Weekly:

From 1904-1912, the American political system underwent enormous growing pains, and political writer Wolraich (Blowing Smoke) gives this decade an exhaustive, detailed examination, from the first “creeping sense” of a new political body into a “war with only two sides” that birthed America’s enduring bipartisan identities.

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Michael Wolraich's picture

Dagslog

Hey folks, as you may have noticed, dagblog hasn't been feeling well today. I apologize for the downtime and log-in problems. Dag is feeling a bit better now, so blog away.

Meanwhile, we're working on an upgrade and a new daghouse that will make poor dag happy and peppy again. Stay tuned.

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Michael Wolraich's picture

What Would Teddy Do? Theodore Roosevelt on Net Neutrality

“Above all else,” President Theodore Roosevelt admonished Congress in 1905, “we must strive to keep the highways of commerce open to all on equal terms.”

Roosevelt could not have imagined digital computers and fiber-optic cables. He was talking about railroads, the highways of commerce in his day. But though the technology has changed, the principle TR expressed remains as essential as it was a century ago. We ignore it at our peril.

Until now, our digital highways of commerce have been open to all on equal terms. Media conglomerates and big-box retailers transmit information through the same pipes as bloggers, startups and boutiques. This principle of equality, known as net neutrality, has stimulated competition and spurred innovation since the Internet began.

But it might not last much longer.

Read the full article at Reuters

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Michael Wolraich's picture

Bloomberg's Gun-Control Campaign: Right Idea, Wrong Guy

Former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg has a bold plan. He hopes to single-handedly revive America's comatose gun-control movement with a $50 million cash infusion and a fresh political strategy. He has money, connections, and an astute appreciation for what it will take to counter the gun-rights mania that has hijacked national politics. Too bad he's not the guy to pull it off.

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Michael Wolraich's picture

Your Top Ten Anti-Christian Acts of 2013

The title of this post comes from the subject line of an email that I received from Dr. Gary L. Cass, head of the "Christian Anti-Defamation Commission." If you read on, you'll notice that none of the "top ten anti-Christian acts of 2013" represent actual discrimination against Christians. Most of them are about Christians' "right" to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

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TypeTitleAuthorRepliesLast updated
Blog entryHow Robert Mueller Outfoxed Donald Trump Michael Wolraich206 years 2 months ago
LinkMSNBC: Manafort reaches deal? Richard Day326 years 3 months ago
LinkAmerica's new, combustible four-party system artappraiser616 years 3 months ago
Reader blogTrump: The Hour of Reckoning is Approaching NCD586 years 3 months ago
Blog entryThe Tears of a Billionaire Michael Maiello416 years 3 months ago
LinkCOHEN PLEADS GUILTY AND IMPLICATES TRUMP artappraiser436 years 3 months ago
Blog entryTariffs: the Time Bomb That Could Shatter the GOP Michael Wolraich696 years 3 months ago
LinkTrump Org CFO Granted Immunity Michael Wolraich96 years 3 months ago
Blog entryNo, Colleges Still Require Shakespeare Doctor Cleveland266 years 4 months ago
LinkManafort Rests? Richard Day96 years 4 months ago
Blog entryYes, You Can Still Watch Woody Allen Movies and Ignore Nick Kristof Michael Maiello2706 years 4 months ago
Reader blogHow to Break Up with Donald Trump artappraiser326 years 4 months ago
LinkKeep Up the Blanket Coverage of Trump. Ipt Hurts Him rmrd0000616 years 4 months ago
LinkClip: Who is America? Michael Wolraich06 years 5 months ago
LinkThe Rise of Radical Incompetence Michael Wolraich76 years 5 months ago
Reader blogTHE TIMES THEY ARE ACHANGEN! Richard Day26 years 5 months ago
Blog entryTrouble at the Red Hen Ramona1506 years 5 months ago
Blog entry"They're Not Sending Their Best..." Michael Maiello246 years 5 months ago
Reader blogTom Arnold's Plan B artappraiser46 years 5 months ago
Reader blogSome History and Current Affairs Books I've Especially Appreciated AmericanDreamer356 years 5 months ago
LinkGeorge Will: Defeat the GOP! Michael Wolraich166 years 5 months ago
LinkMueller Report Coming Soon? Michael Wolraich136 years 6 months ago
Blog entrySilver Lining: the Skin I'm Not In PeraclesPlease216 years 6 months ago
Reader blogAN IMMODEST PROPOSAL Richard Day126 years 6 months ago
Link'Today I renounce my membership': Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt announces he's leaving the party AmericanDreamer136 years 6 months ago

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