Politics

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 […]

BUSH AND UNILATERALISM….A BOGUS CHARGE?….I got an email the other day telling me I should lighten up on Bush: judge him by his deeds, not his words, it said. Today, Dan Drezner says essentially the same thing: In its first six months, the administration committed the cardinal sin of assuming that it should reflexively oppose […]