"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
The continuation of war by other means
Listening to today’s coverage of Samuel Alito’s confirmation hearings, I wasn’t sure which reality applied: the reality I grew up in, or the reality of the alternate universe next door. Like this unitary executive business: what the hell is that? Out of nowhere comes, to hear the media tell it, this well-precedented and widely-accepted doctrine […]
On the matter of Stanley “Tookie” Williams, Crips street gang co-founder and convicted murderer who was executed in California early this morning, I look into my soul and can’t find an ounce of outrage. Simply put, I’m not opposed to the death penalty. I’m not opposed to retribution. I’m not opposed, that is, so long […]
It seems I’m a centrist. Socially liberal, economically moderate. I “exhibit a very well-developed sense of right and wrong and believe in economic fairness.” And here I thought I was a big fat commie pinko. Or at least a socialist. Kinda fun: the OKCupid Politics Test. Credit where credit’s due: spotted at Sadly, No!
This, for example. From the Whiskey Bar: Our goal is to get the work done quickly. And taxpayers expect this work to be done honestly and wisely — so we’ll have a team of inspectors general reviewing all expenditures. George W. Bush President Discusses Hurricane Relief September 15, 2005 In total, 64% of the IGs […]
During the response to Hurricane Katrina, three important people said three incredible things. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers: “The headline, of course, in most of the papers on Tuesday – ‘New Orleans Dodged a Bullet,’ or words to that effect.” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff: “I have not […]
Belle Waring says: Say what you like about casting blame for the unfolding tragedy in NO, the bare facts of the matter are these: America suffered a serious attack on Sept. 11, 2001. That was four years ago. I think we had all assumed that in the meantime a lot of wargaming and disaster-mitigation planning […]
I want to comment on two articles I read in the New York Times. The first article is about random bag searches in NYC subway stations: Privacy Rights Are at Issue in New Policy on Searches As the New York Police Department begins randomly checking the bags and backpacks of people entering the city’s subway […]
Yesterday was the day the Defense Department, under court order, was supposed to release the rest of the Abu Ghraib photos and videos – the really bad ones (which we all just can’t wait to see). But the government refused to turn them over and is filing new appeals, arguing that their release will threaten […]