Month: May 2009
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Going Back to Old Nassau
Today I had the high privilege and distinct honor of fighting the wind with the parade banner for the Princeton Class of 1980, leading a hardy band of quintagenerians in an off-year reunion march at the “Best Damn Place of All,” in the words of the song. When asked which side of the banner I […]
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For Obama, Empathy Trumps the Rule of Law
Sonia Sotomayor likely will become a reliably liberal vote on the Supreme Court, replacing the reliably liberal David Souter. Despite my distaste for identity politics and legislation from the bench, I don’t see this as a disaster — nor do many of the conservative columnists I’ve read. After describing one of Sotomayor’s decisions, James Taranto […]
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Sotomayor: Identity Politics and Legislation from the Bench
I’m generally opposed to the idea of judges legislating from the bench — but I’m not an absolutist about it. Brown v. Board of Education could be described as legislating from the bench, but I think the ruling was necessary and appropriate, and in fact a proud moment in American history. Over the following decades, […]
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Obama’s National Security Policy Looks Like Bush’s Third Term. Thank Goodness.
Krauthammer today: The genius of democracy is that the rotation of power forces the opposition to come to its senses when it takes over. When the new guys, brought to power by popular will, then adopt the policies of the old guys, a national consensus is forged and a new legitimacy established. Exactly right. I […]
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“Obama Derangement Syndrome” May be Mutating; Taranto Gets a Sniffle
I’ve blogged before about Obama Derangement Syndrome, and its more prevalent predecessor, Bush Derangement Syndrome. But the ODS virus now shows signs of mutating into a subtler strain. Let’s call it Obama-Euphoria Debunking Syndrome (OEDS). James Taranto, whose Best of the Web Today is the one blog I make certain to read every day, has […]
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On January 23, 2010, There Will Still Be Detainees at Guantanamo
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M – Th 11p / 10c Guantanamo Baywatch – The Final Season thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor Jon Stewart is an openly partisan Democrat, and sometimes I find that annoying. But he also is a really, really funny man. And to his credit, he doesn’t […]
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I Love the Look, Newsweek — But About Those Horizontal Photos…
The latest Newsweek just arrived by snail mail, and I have to say I’m lovin’ the new design. Bigger, bolder photographs… a more elegant (and yet readable!) typeface… informative fun with graphics in the “Back Story,” which Editor Jon Meacham describes as “a visual dissection or explanation of an important issue or phenomenon that will […]
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Who Says Republicans Have No Sense of Humor?
This gem comes from the Republican National Committee (hat tip: Gay Patriot). It’s the most amusing way you can spend the next 34 seconds. A couple of quibbles about the execution: The word “payback” may originally have meant return on investment, but these days I think the more commonly understood meaning is “the act of […]
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May 15 Is Writers Worth Day
My friend Lori Widmer is a seasoned writer and blogger, and a tireless advocate of better pay for pixel-stained wretches everywhere. Five days a week she offers brief, cogent (and well-written!) advice to writers and would-be writers on her blog, Words on the Page. She has an active commenting community of fellow writers who chime […]
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“The Practice of Civility is Important to Democracy”
Mad props to Michael Gerson, who in today’s Washington Post brilliantly articulates the concept I was struggling to develop in my recent post, “Don’t Blame Me for Rush Limbaugh, I Won’t Blame You for Michael Moore.” (Disclosure: Gerson did not actually consult with me, and may not have realized he was writing this on my […]