Posted in daily notes on November 30, 2006 | No Comments »
the reviewer didn’t like but..
The big idea is that the United States, alone among the world of nations, subsists in its symbols: Upon the virtue of its symbols it depends for its survival. “Take away the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and perhaps various public speeches that lie behind those documents or pass them [...]
Posted in daily notes on November 29, 2006 | No Comments »
To the point.
Thomas Ricks and Robin Wright at WaPo examine the increasing tendency of the American political class to blame the Iraqis for the political turmoil there.
I see. The US invaded their country, abolished their army, gutted their civil service, occupied their cities, and now it is the Iraqis’ fault.
Source: Informed Comment
Posted in daily notes on November 28, 2006 | No Comments »
realistic sort of but the implication that it is the Arab/ Islamic fault avoids the deeper issue of western imperialism and our support of Hussein. But given that, could it even be done with 150,000 extra troops? The cost, and the resentment. It would tend to make a major front of Iraq against militant slam, [...]
Posted in daily notes on November 28, 2006 | No Comments »
This is powerful. I hadn’t understood that Clinton handed over a surplus that gave Bush the opportunity to cut taxes. I realize that the populists are interested in income redistribution without vitalizing business, and that centrists want to keep things as they are. We can hope that the fiscal conservatives gain the upper hand in [...]
Posted in daily notes on November 28, 2006 | No Comments »
Hamilton Jordan, who masterminded Democrat Jimmy Carter’s underdog campaign for the White House in 1976, and Douglas Bailey, the veteran Republican consultant and co-founder of the daily online news briefing The Hotline, have teamed up to lead a grassroots movement that promises an alternative to the partisanship that has polarized Washington. The objective of their [...]
Posted in daily notes on November 27, 2006 | No Comments »
Posted in daily notes on November 27, 2006 | No Comments »
But Rutenberg writes: “Republicans close to the White House said Mr. Rove was already arguing that Mr. Bush should move to bolster his support with conservatives, who make up his base and will compose a greater proportion of the Republican Congressional caucus after an election in which many moderate Republicans lost their seats, some to [...]
Posted in daily notes on November 27, 2006 | No Comments »
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBHKNBE0VE.htmlI had a lingerig semicnscious awareness that they were still coming, just because they hadn’t happened. Good example of the complexity of mind and news.
It was not the hurricane season we expected, thank you.With cataclysmic predictions that hurricanes would swarm from the tropics like termites, no one thought 2006 would be the most tranquil season [...]
Posted in daily notes on November 26, 2006 | No Comments »
Very good article, lots of detail.
Summary: After dispelling myths about Tehran — that the regime is unitary, evil, and about to collapse — Ray Takeyh’s skillful book on U.S.-Iranian relations offers pragmatic prescriptions to Washington: against regime change and for more engagement.
Source: Foreign Affairs - A Selective Partnership: Getting U.S.-Iranian Relations Right - Gary [...]
Posted in daily notes on November 26, 2006 | No Comments »
I don’t know Krause’s politics, but the issues he raises indcate the degree of tension in the emergence f fate in Mexico.
The postmodern spectacle that took place in the historical center of Mexico City is bizarre and ominous but also very serious. This is not a British “shadow cabinet,” in which individual opposition politicians scrutinize [...]
