Category: Uncategorized
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While we wait for the next “Pentagon Papers”
…the traditional policy process was viewed not only as unproductive but “perilous.” Information, that is, could slow decision-making; indeed, when it had to do with a bold and risky venture like the Iraq war, information and discussion — an airing, say, of the precise obstacles facing a “democratic transition” conducted with a handful of troops…
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The Audacity of Hope
Which brings us to the second possible interpretation of Obama’s equivocations. He really is not a political warrior by temperament. He is not even, as the word is commonly understood, a liberal. He is in many respects a civic republican—a believer in civic virtue, and in the possibility of good outcomes negotiated in good faith.…
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I now know what the white supremacist would say.
“A few weeks ago” is beginning to be the expected delay in these posts. Still, a few weeks ago, I got into a dust-up on metafilter about white supremacy. It started here, where I noticed that a character by the name of Milliken was engaging in some heavy-handed, long-winded, over-broad generalizations about black people. In…
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Tasers and Stun Guns at work
Stun guns and tasers are less-than-lethal tools for controlling violent suspects. They serve to demobilize the target and cause serious, but not excruciating, pain. When a police officer uses a stun gun or taser on a suspect, they can usually count on that suspect going and staying limp. Because of this, it’s an extremely stupid…
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Engagement
So just a few weeks ago, I became engaged to this woman: Antoinette Capaccio. We went to college together, and she’s now a law student at Vanderbilt University. Pretty great, eh?
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Out of Iraq
George McGovern‘s plan to stabilize Iraq: Step 1. Leave Step 2. Deputize Iran (and other Arab states) Step 3. Pay for our Mistakes (just like Iraq pays Kuwait) I’m not sure what I think of this, but there it is. Leaving is a tossup: either the destabilized regions continue with their ethnic cleansing by scaring…
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Lakoff 1, Pinker 0
George Lakoff responds to Steven Pinker’s review of Whose Freedom?: The Battle over America’s Most Important Idea. Highlights include shocking charges of deception or incompetence on both sides. This is the only paragraph of vitriol-free prose I could find in the review, and since it’s mostly summary I’ll include it here: Lakoff’s theory is aimed…
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Manifestos
People don’t write manifestos like they used to… Whatever happened to the Surrealist Manifesto? How about the the Italian Futurist Manifesto (and its many spinoffs)? There’s also First and Second OuLiPo Manifestos, Humanist (I, II, & III) as well as Post-Humanist Manifestos, not to mention Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto: “…an ironic political myth faithful to…
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Steven goes 99 Theses on your ass.
The simple truth is that such accumulation of earthly power is ruinous because it takes the eyes of good Christians “off the prize”. Perhaps you wonder what gives me the right to say what is good or bad for Christianity when so many religious leaders would disagree. Because Christianity is the religious faith of another…
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PINR on North Korea’s Nuclear Weapon Test
The article is here, and mostly quotes PINR’s prior analyses. They see little risk of imminent conflict but rather note that this is a matter of asserting influence in the region: As PINR stated in May 2005, “it is feasible that Pyongyang would go one step further to declare itself a nuclear power by testing…