Kevin Drum

2002 BOOK REVIEW….Recommended books from my 2002 reading: A Beautiful Mind, by Sylvia Nasar. I read the book after I saw the movie and was genuinely shocked that the movie was essentially completely fabricated: aside from the fact that it’s about a mathematician who goes crazy and then eventually wins a Nobel Prize, there’s barely […]

THE FREEDOM TO BREATHE….Ah, the eternal struggle between principle and self-interest. Looks like self-interest might be getting the upper hand this time. And by coincidence, the source of Megan’s inner conflict was the subject my first ever blog post! My advice: just relax and wallow in a bit of pure unprincipled selfishness. Hell, everyone else […]

STRATEGY VS. EXECUTION….IT’S EXECUTION BY A LANDSLIDE!….Charles Murtaugh, in his year-end wrap-up, recommends this article from the New Yorker titled “The Talent Myth.” It’s a good piece and makes a point that too few people pay attention to these days: it’s important to hire smart people, but it’s more important to have a good organization […]

TIME MAGAZINE: PAWN OF THE REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE?….With all due respect to my fellow liberals, can someone tell me why the lefty blogosphere has been obsessing over this Time/CNN poll showing that Bush’s approval numbers have now dropped to 55%? I mean, it did appear in Time magazine, and as much as we internet-savvy bloggers […]

EDUCATION TODAY….My friend’s 16-year-old daughter says her English class is studying 21st century literature. “That sounds like sort of a thin subject,” I said. “Oh, actually that class isn’t until next year.” Well, in that case, there should be plenty of material….

HAPPY NEW YEAR!….And for all you pessimists out there, remember that long term statistical trends predict that 2003 will be a better year than 2002.

NEGOTIATION OR APPEASEMENT?….OR IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?….Josh Marshall wrote a piece yesterday that’s gotten a bunch of blogospheric attention: This entire crisis [in North Korea] — and it’s foolish to pretend it’s not a crisis — is an administration screw-up of mammoth proportions. The administration is trying to portray this as just another crisis that […]

ANALOGIES….Atrios makes the following observation today: If there’s one thing I’ve learned about arguing with conservative assholes – never use analogies. never use comparisons. Well, I don’t know for sure if this is something that’s unique to conservatives ? or to assholes ? but it definitely rings true. I’ve noticed that whenever I write something […]

PUBLIC WATERS….The California Coastal Commission is one of the most hated government bodies in the state. Hated, that is, if you’re a property owner, because it enforces coastal protection provisions enacted by California voters in 1972. Approval from the commission is required by anyone making a change to their property, and usually it takes the […]

MORE ON FOREIGN POLICY….OxBlog also has several posts today on the subject of rhetoric and unilateralism: Anyway, the real issue here is how supporters of American foreign policy can address the perennial argument that America’s record of immoral actions in the Cold War invalidates any aggressive initiatives the United States plans today….I think the proper […]