Month: May 2009
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Israel vs. Iran: Staying On the Sidelines?
Over at The New Atlanticist Donald Snow has a post in which he reflects on prospective reactions of the Israelis to the threat posed to them by Iran’s nuclear development program. The article begins with a discussion of the comments of two participants in a symposium, dean emeritus of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies…
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Death of the ‘B’ Side
In the discussion on my post about whether rock and roll died with John Bonham, commenter Michael makes an interesting point: I was discussing it with my wife over the weekend and she made an interesting observation: there is no longer a “B” side. Her specific point was that musicians often used the “B” side…
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Tom Ridge Senate Bid?
Former Pennsylvania governor and Department of Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge is considering running for Arlen Specter’s seat in the Senate, Roll Call reports (via Taegan Goddard). Very interesting. With Specter in the race for the Republican nomination, it was expected to be a two-way rematch with Pat Toomey. Now, there’s speculation that former senator…
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Talkin’ ’bout My Generation
Scott Payne laments that, owing to high ticket prices, rock concerts are now mostly attended by old, rich people who are ruining the experience for young people who want to get stoned and dance. Meh. Photo by Flickr user marfis75 under Creative Commons license.
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We’re Not the Khmer Rouge!
Richard Fernandez laments that, “History will probably remember the Guantanamo Bay prison for longer than the already forgotten Prison S-21, where up to 20,000 people were tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge.” As for me, I prefer being held to a higher set of standards than Pol Pot. I mean, of course we’re better…
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Jack Kemp Dead at 73
Jack Kemp has died. Jack Kemp, the ex-quarterback, congressman, one-time vice-presidential nominee and self-described “bleeding-heart conservative” died Saturday. He was 73. His spokeswoman Bona Park and longtime friend and former campaign adviser Edwin J. Feulner confirmed that Kemp died after a lengthy illness. Kemp had announced in January 2009 that he had been diagnosed with…
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Quote of the Day – Retirement Edition
“What starts with f, ends with k, and means screw your workers? That’s right—401(k).” – James Ridgeway A great line, even though I disagree with his premise. He’s arguing that the rise of privatized retirement was the doom of the relatively short-lived social contract that arose in the postwar years in which employers and the…
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Joe Biden: Avoid Airplanes!
Rebecca Frankel collects Joe Biden’s Top Five Political Gaffes, which make for an amusing list. She rightly gives top honors to Biden’s comments on swine flu. In case you missed it (I’m catching up a bit myself), Biden said this Thursday morning: Appearing on NBC’s “Today Show,” Biden said he has already advised his family…
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Chrysler Bankruptcy, Obama, and the Rule of Law
King Banian persuasively argues that this statement by President Obama on Chrysler’s bankruptcy was “utterly contemptible.” While many stakeholders made sacrifices and worked constructively, I have to tell you some did not. In particular, a group of investment firms and hedge funds decided to hold out for the prospect of an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout. They…
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Rambo in Afghanistan
Christian Bleuer reviews Rambo III and finds that, despite its ostensible setting in Afghanistan and featuring a highly competent Special Forces operative as the protagonist, it is not an accurate depiction of warfighting in South Asia. Additionally, it is not an ideal source for those wishing to study weapons technology circa 1988 or looking for…
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State of the Republican Party
Some loosely related threads seen on memeorandum this morning: California’s Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger allows as to how he could conceivably endorse a Democrat as his successor — while insisting that he will himself remain a Republican Texas Republican Congressman Joe Barton likened the Bowl Championship Series, which determines college football’s top division’s national championship,…
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Somali Piracy Creation Myths and the Tragedy of the Commons
There’s an interesting article in the Miami Herald, derived from an interview with one of the pirates apprehended off the coast of Somalia. Obviously, I can’t testify to the veracity of what the man has to say but I think it provides a little more context for the upsurge in piracy there: In a long…
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Souter Retiring in June
A couple weeks back, I wrote a post called “Souter Retiring?“ The speculation was apparently well founded, as several outlets are now reporting that Justice David Souter will in fact step down at the end of the current session in June. NPR’s Nina Totenberg makes the interesting observation that, “At 69, Souter is nowhere near…