"The pursuit of balance can create imbalance, because sometimes something is true." — Daniel Okrent, public editor of The New York Times (quoted by Gary Bass in The New Yorker) Read more
"The pursuit of balance can create imbalance, because sometimes something is true." — Daniel Okrent, public editor of The New York Times (quoted by Gary Bass in The New Yorker) Read more
I suppose, as someone who is both religious and left of center, I should weigh in on the current, potentially fruitful, round of the ongoing discussion of religion and the left. For a roundup, see "Things I Don't Believe" and "Self-inflicted Wounds" from Patrick Nielsen Hayden, who also points us to this post from everythingsruined. Allen Brill chimes in with "The Progressive Penchant for Self-Destruction," which follows Melanie's comments on "Shooting Self in Guts." And Kevin Drum offers his own... Read more
Regarding the recent kerfuffle over John Kerry's standing as a Catholic politician, we would do well to remember the rise and fall of New York Governor Al Smith, the Democratic candidate for president in 1928. Thomas Fleming recounts Smith's campaign in a 2000 article called "The Catholic Question: How Religion Defeated Al Smith": … the Protestant establishment attacked Smith savagely. A prominent Episcopalian lawyer published an article in the Atlantic Monthly, questioning Smith's ability to function as president as long... Read more
The unsigned editorials in our paper tend to be conservative. Not in the sense of right-wing, but in the sense of trying not to offend anybody by going out on a limb. They offer qualified opinions — very, very qualified opinions. On national matters, they circumspectly avoid getting ahead of the curve. So we were a bit startled last night in the newsroom to see today's lead editorial, "Military draft may be way to sustain Army on all fronts." Noting... Read more
My brother-in-law is among the thousands of math teachers gathered this week at Philadelphia's Convention Center. My sister and their four kids came along and we've had a fun — if very busy — week. Having an uncle who works nights means he gets to spend all day with you — even if that means he doesn't have time for blogging (or sleeping). (more…) Read more
… I am in blood Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er — Macbeth, III, iv As the month of April began, Gen. Mark Kimmitt was responding to the killing and mutilation of four paramilitary contractors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah: Well, quite simply, we will respond. We are not going to do a pell-mell rush into the city. It's going to be deliberate, it will be precise and... Read more
Left Behind, pg. 45 And but so anyway, Rayford Steele and LaHaye & Jenkins are moving along and so must we. Finally in the terminal, Rayford found crowds standing in lines behind banks of phones. Most had angry people waiting, yelling at callers who shrugged and redialed. Left Behind was written in 1995, before cell phones had reached the tipping point and become indispensable and omnipresent. Much of the book therefore is occupied with the now anachronistic-seeming logistics of pay... Read more
Left Behind, pg. 45 Rayford Steele and Hattie Durham make the long walk back to the terminal, carefully threading their way past the smoldering wrecks of various crashed planes. "All around were ambulances and other emergency vehicles trying to get to ugly wreckage scenes," LaHaye & Jenkins tell us. One pictures Rayford wheeling his little pilot's bag behind him, muttering G-rated curses under his breath as it pops up onto one wheel and drags on its side after bumping over... Read more
Also in the April 13 press conference, President Bush repeated this characterization of the decision to invade Iraq: The United Nations passed a Security Council resolution unanimously that said, disarm or face serious consequences. And he refused to disarm. This description portrays the decision to invade Iraq as something conditional to that country's actions — something that might have been avoided and a decision that had not yet been reached even in early 2003. But as Paul O'Neill and Richard... Read more
QUESTION: … And, Mr. President, who will you be handing the Iraqi government over to on June 30th? THE PRESIDENT: We will find that out soon. That's what Mr. Brahimi is doing; he's figuring out the nature of the entity we'll be handing sovereignty over. … (From President Bush's April 13 press conference.) Don't worry folks, Lakhdar Brahimi will fix everything. We are in a jam, but Lakhdar Brahimi will save us. It has come to pass that, to a... Read more
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