At The New Republic, Rebecca Traister writes of the ‘New, Old, Hillary’ Clinton, of the woman who started out as the kind of politician-cum-activist the left would love to have as president, but who became an opportunistic ‘contortionist’, one only too willing to compromise to be accepted, to hold on to power and exercise it:Continue reading “Rebecca Traister On ‘The New, Old, Hillary Clinton’”
Tag Archives: Barack Obama
Sanctimony, Hypocrisy, Nuclear Weapons, and Drones
A couple of days ago, on this blog, I wrote a post attempting to refute the charge of ‘selective outrage’ that is often leveled against critics of Israeli policies in the current conflict in Gaza. In it, I pointed out how the accusation of hypocrisy made against the proponent of a claim does not affectContinue reading “Sanctimony, Hypocrisy, Nuclear Weapons, and Drones”
Iraq and the Pottery Barn Rule: Don’t Break It Any More Please
As turban-wearing hordes ride down on their stallions from the hills, their sharpened scimitars gleaming in the bright Mesopotamian sunshine, threatening to add to the steadily growing mound of heads separated from their now-twitching bodies, should the United States saddle up, lock and load, and ride out to meet them? Should it crush its enemies, see them drivenContinue reading “Iraq and the Pottery Barn Rule: Don’t Break It Any More Please”
Groundhog Day: The US Government Shutdown Version
One of the most bizarrely naïve expressions of hope in the aftermath of the 2013 US Government Shutdown Fiasco has been a variant of ‘perhaps the Republican Party’s extremist faction will learn from this crushing public relations defeat–as evinced by opinion polls and the public statements of their fellow party members–and not engage in similar brinkmanship again.’Continue reading “Groundhog Day: The US Government Shutdown Version”
Ross Douthat the Slippery
Ross Douthat is a very slippery customer. There is just no getting around it. It’s this slipperiness, no doubt, that earns him the appellation of being a ‘thoughtful conservative’ i.e., not a foaming-at-the-mouth wingnut. His latest Op-Ed is a classic instance of this well-greased slipperiness. It is ostensibly a critique of Republican tactics in theContinue reading “Ross Douthat the Slippery”
The US Government Shutdown: Party Like It’s 1995
America awoke this morning to find its government shut down, thanks to Congress’ failure to pass a funding bill. Eight hundred thousand federal workers–including my wife, a staff attorney at the National Labor Relations Board–will be furloughed today. (My wife will go in for the first four hours to carry out an orderly shutdown ofContinue reading “The US Government Shutdown: Party Like It’s 1995”
Ten Years After: The Anti-War March of Feb 15, 2003
Exactly ten years ago, I gathered with hundreds of thousands of others, on a freezing cold day in New York City, to take part in an anti-war march. I was still hungover from a friend’s book party the previous night. We marched, got corralled into pens, felt our extremities freeze, jousted with policemen, lost friends,Continue reading “Ten Years After: The Anti-War March of Feb 15, 2003”
Against Political Speeches, For Political Speech
I’m not sure why I dislike political speeches. By ‘political speeches’ I do not mean ‘political speech’: I am in favor of the latter, the more the better, with some caveats having to do with–among others–Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Karl Rove, Bill O’Reilly, and Sarah Palin. Rather, by ‘political speeches,’ I mean, quiteContinue reading “Against Political Speeches, For Political Speech”
Tales of Three Morning Afters
The 2004 Presidential election was my first. I had not voted in the 2000 election because my naturalization came a few weeks too late for me to participate; I had observed the election itself from afar, in Brazil, and watched, amazed by the Supreme Court’s intervention, as the final, lame denouement came about. In 2004,Continue reading “Tales of Three Morning Afters”
Election Fiascos: Unlikely, and Unlikely to Provoke Serious Protest
John Heilemann at New York Magazine suggests four ways in which the election on Tuesday, November 6, could be headed for a nightmare of narrow ‘illegitimate’ wins or deadlocks. I don’t think any of these apocalypses are likely. They are based on the assumption that the election outcomes talked about will result in widespread protests. InContinue reading “Election Fiascos: Unlikely, and Unlikely to Provoke Serious Protest”
Samir Chopra 