IRAQ DEBATE NOTES. Scattered, and scattershot, comments from yesterday’s American Prospect/New Republic debate on war with Iraq. First, Julian’s right–Barber and Chait were cartoony versions of the anti- and pro-war camps, whereas William Galston and Kenneth Pollack were nuanced and hard-hitting. Like Julian, my position didn’t change much based on the debate–I left the room about 75% anti-war, which is about where I started. Questions for Kenneth Pollack: So… this is a war for oil. (Pollack pretty much said so.)... Read more

YALIEN LIFE FORMS, and others: Oxblog‘s petition opposing the drive to get Yale to divest from companies doing business with Israel. I signed it. I oppose attempts at economic isolation in general and this one in particular. You’ll soon see (probably tomorrow) that I am not a Zionist–here’s an earlier, fairly hopeless post about Israel, and here are a couple follow-ups–but the attempts to make Israel a pariah state strike me as completely wrong. And divestment is the worst of... Read more

SANCHEZ ON THAT IRAQ DEBATE. I don’t have too much to add, but will do a brief postmortem late tonight. Read more

THOUGHT OCCASIONED BY AN EMAIL FROM THE SHAKESPEARE THEATER: If I were two actors, I’d really want to be named “Ziemba and Snook.” Read more

FAMILY TIES: My JWR column on “Malcolm in the Middle.” After a disappointing season premiere, MITM is back to greatness. Read more

INSOMNIA sucks. FYI. Read more

“[John Adams] had pored over Machiavelli, Bacon, and Descartes; he had reflected on the arguments advanced by Hobbes, Harrington, and Locke; and he was therefore inclined to associate erudition and intellectual acuity with a heightening rather than with a diminution of the force of the passions.” –Paul Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern, vol. 3: Inventions of Prudence: Constituting the American Regime I had better finish this book soon. I’m already sick of typing that title. Read more

“THE COUNTRY’S GOING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET. I BLAME THE MEDIA-BLAMERS” (“King of the Hill,” last night): A column on the New Republic’s site blames the Democrats’ election losses on the GOP’s big bucks and control of the media (=talk radio and FoxNews). Democrats are cast as Sen. Jefferson Smith of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” fame–they’re standing there valiantly telling the truth, but no one in their home states can hear them because the Syndicate controls the means... Read more

WELCOME TO THE WORKING WEEK: Best thing about being unemployed–I mean, freelancing–is that I can play my music while I work and nobody can stop me!!! Oh, PS: Do you have a publication? Do you pay money? Make me write for you! Email [email protected], and do it fast, because my rent goes up next month…. Read more

“Had Hamilton been fully successful in his quest to strengthen and render more vigorous the national government and to subordinate the states to it, the Union might never have been rent asunder and the nation might have escaped the horrors of civil war.” –Paul Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern, vol. 3: Inventions of Prudence: Constituting the American Regime Read more