"I'm The Decider and I decide what is best and what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense," President Bush said last week. (Crooks & Liars has the video.) This strikes me as Bush's version of "The buck stops here." But note the difference. The plaque on President Truman's desk implied that he accepted ultimate responsibility for any decisions made. Bush's phrasing has less to do with accepting responsibility than with asserting power. It reminds... Read more

Roger Ebert seems so stunned in his review of L'Enfant (which I haven't seen) that he gets knocked back into the realm of theology, producing a fascinating little meditation on theodicy. "Theodicy" is a seminary word for the attempt(s) to defend the idea of a good, loving and powerful God against the counterevidence of a world full of pain, suffering, evil. It's an immensely unsatisfying pursuit, but also an immensely important one — even if you don't happen to believe... Read more

I understand that today is a holiday of sorts. Fair enough, but I'm not sure I get the point of this particular holiday. I've got some friends who will certainly be, um, "celebrating" this Thursday, but they also celebrated last Thursday, and, well, every Thursday. And Friday. And Saturday … But I suppose that just as there are Easter and Christmas Christians, there must be 4/20 'heads. April 20 is also commemorated by another, malevolent subculture, since it's also Hitler's... Read more

All is lost. All is not lost. Do over. Second chance. Olly olly oxen free. Happy Easter. Read more

The latest from Seymour Hersh, "The Iran Plans," has me a bit freaked out. Particularly when I read elsewhere that the only country to ever use nuclear weapons isn't willing to rule out using them again. This is insane. And horribly familiar. And later, after I've processed things a bit more, I'm sure I'll have more to say on the subject. Like all good Americans I watch too much TV. My country is in the middle of one unnecessary and... Read more

The "National Day of Action" yesterday was impressive not just for the massive turnout out at the peaceful rally in Washington D.C., but also for the astonishing number of different rallies held simultaneously. Consider, for example, that more than 1,000 people marched yesterday in Georgetown, Del. Some perspective: the population of Georgetown is about 4,800. Word of the gathering had evoked so much discussion among locals, who've expressed anger on talk radio programs about the immigration rallies, that Georgetown Police... Read more

It's for moments like this: Photographer Jennifer Corbett caught this reaction from a group of Delaware second-graders. An educator from the Philadelphia Zoo had just introduced the kids to a great horned owl and the owl had just spread its wings. But it doesn't have to be an owl. Read more