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Iran Looms Large in Bush’s Third Term
Risking police violence in Tehran (Photo: mousavi1388) I’ve said that regarding foreign affairs, Obama has been serving Bush’s third term. It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek perhaps, but there’s plenty of substance behind the label. So I…
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Here’s Hoping Iran is the Next Domino for Democracy
Pity the mullahs who cling to power in Iran. With budding (albeit flawed) democracies to the east and west, with tens of thousands of angry people protesting the tainted election of a figurehead, with web-savvy…
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Rush Limbaugh Has a Voice, But Doesn’t Speak for Me
Former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, a thoughtful and elegant writer, today takes on the notion — voiced mainly by wishful, self-deluding Democrats — that Rush Limbaugh is the voice of the Republican party. The Democrats…
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AOL to Acquire Maplewood. Sort Of.
(Welcome, New York Times readers.) Comes today the news that AOL is acquiring Patch.com, the owner of Maplewood Patch, a stalwart member of the Maplewood BlogolopolisTM. (I’ll have you know I taught myself how to…
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A Religion of Peace? Only With Careful Editing
I’m a fan of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies — an organization I was predisposed to love as soon as I heard their name. Their weekly FDD Update newsletter provides an extremely comprehensive review…
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Wanna Buy GM Stock? Better Hurry, the Price is Rising!
As you may have heard, General Motors, once the world’s largest company by market capitalization, is bankrupt. You and I, along with 300 million of our closest friends, are going to end up owning about…
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No, “Work-at-Home” Pimps, I Won’t Write Blog Posts for $5
This post is dedicated to my friend (and competitor, I suppose, but whatever) Lori Widmer at Words on the Page, who is the force of nature behind Writers Worth Day. The video features science fiction…
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One of These Things Is Not Like the Others
Think of this chart (from Donald Marron, via Greg Mankiw) the next time you hear someone say that we are in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Based on GDP, it appears we’re…
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American Ideals in Bush’s Third Term
President Obama sometimes sounds a lot like President Bush — and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Barack Hussein Obama, Cairo University, June 4, 2009: But I do have an unyielding belief that…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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).…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Don’t Blame Me For Rush Limbaugh, I Won’t Blame You For Michael Moore
Parts of the rightosphere are in high dudgeon about the fact that President Obama, at the annual White House Correspondents Association yuck-fest dinner, laughed at “jokes” told by “comedian” Wanda Sykes about wanting Rush Limbaugh…