For those of you of a prayerful bent, you might take a moment to pass one along for my friend Jo-Jo. In an example of perfect timing, she arrived to visit family in Lebanon a little over a week ago. She’s a smart cookie, and a tough one, but it’s hard not to be a [...]
An interesting take on the gay marriage debate in Slate, today. The basic premise of the article is that many (most?) opponents of same-sex marriage aren’t really opposed to gay rights at all; their opposition to same sex marriage isn’t based on bigotry. Rather, their opinion is derived from confusion/fear about changing gender roles, and [...]
For those who haven’t been following the news, an oldie but goodie made it back this summer: a Constitutional amendment to ban burning of the flag! That’s right. Now, I’ll say up front that I think the whole conversation is ridiculous. Flags are symbols that stand for ideas, not the instantiation of those ideas. (This [...]
Slate covers Barack Obama’s speech to a Call To Renewal convention last week. I’ve heard this speech mentioned, in passing, a couple of times now. And each time, in reverential tones. I’m working up the courage to actually listen to it myself…
The NYT has an article today about Warren Buffett’s kids, which I found strangely fascinating. I don’t know much about Buffett, but the more I read the more curious I become. Fabulously wealthy, and yet seemingly down-to-earth and with kids who are pretty put together; a mogul in every sense of the word, and yet [...]
From the World Bank comes More Than A Pretty Picture: Using Poverty Maps to Design Better Policies and Interventions. Neat stuff, and very smart use of cool tech, too.
Slate has a nice article on why Mitt Romney needs to stop making polygamy jokes if he wants to be a serious presidential contender in a year or two. I still don’t understand how the man ever became governor of Massachusetts. If you want proof that the Massachusetts Democratic Party is a little bit goofy, [...]
My back still hurts, which is too bad, but a little less than yesterday. I’m also being more aggressive with the ibuprofin, and that seems to help a bit. Tomorrow is the first ultimate practice of the year. Being able to throw for that is all I’m really shooting for right now. Today also kicks [...]
This Snopes page was pointed out to me yesterday. Pretty funny stuff.
Francis Fukuyama, writing in the New York Times Magazine, explains the neoconservative political philosophy and how it’s failed. (A suggestion: go read this now, before it falls behind the TimesSelect curtain.) Taz notes the article as well, though I think he’s wrong about how many people Fukuyama means to include in his reconsideration/renunciation. I think [...]
I’ve been reading Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat, and rather enjoying it. He came a little late to the party, and his analysis isn’t anything significantly different from the mainstream, but the anectdotes and interviews make the book worth reading. I do want to cite two things in particular, one in passing and the [...]
Presented without comment, from Justice Brandeis’ concurrence in Whitney v. California: Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears. To justify suppression of free speech there must be reasonable [...]
Bono’s remarks to the National Prayer Breakfast a couple of days ago… (Everything below this is him, not me) Thank you. Mr. President, First Lady, King Abdullah, Other heads of State, Members of Congress, distinguished guests… Please join me in praying that I don’t say something we’ll all regret. That was for the FCC. If [...]
I went to see Good Night, and Good Luck, at the Kendall Square Cinema. Sort of a last minute decision on the way home from work; I’m not usually much of a solo movie-goer. The movie covers a short period in the life of Edward R. Murrow, a newsman for CBS from the 30′s into [...]
Three different things that I’ve been thinking about, and which I’ve decided to combine into one big-ish post since they’re all basically reviews of things. Blink, by Malcom Gladwell Blink is, basically, an argument that the part of our brain that forms our first impressions is right more often than it’s wrong, and that we [...]
Michelle Bachelet was elected President of Chile yesterday, joining Fidel Castro (of Cuba), Hugo Chavez (of Venezuela), and Evo Morales (of Bolivia) on the list of leftist leaders in Central and South America. Castro, of course, has been around for a very long time. Chavez has had a rocky road, but he’s been around for [...]
In Slate, a Field Guide To Conservative Jurists. A pretty interesting round-up of the myths about Federalist judges. Worth reading, most definitely. And an additional piece of philosophical exploration from Slate: Michael Kinsley, in Give Me Liberty or Let Me Think About It goes into some detail about how the wiretapping question reveals differences in [...]
Tom Friedman says in an op-ed today (which is, of course, behind a subscriber screen — BOO) that environmentalism is the new macho: Sorry, but being green, focusing the nation on greater energy efficiency and conservation, is not some girlie-man issue. It is actually the most tough-minded, geostrategic, pro-growth and patriotic thing we can do. [...]
The Christian Peacemaker Teams brief on Iraq, issued very soon after Bush’s speech ended up Sunday night, is worth reading. Basically, they’re trying to give a view from the ground, and show how it differs from the television version. A good quote, from a CPT member in Baghdad: “I tried to watch President Bush’s speech, [...]
Colin Powell told The BBC two interesting things in a recent interview, summarized in a Wire Service brief. First, he mentioned that European governments were aware of the US Government’s rendition policy, before news reports first broke about it. Nothing particularly shocking about this revelation, in my mind, but it’s nice to have someone outside [...]