Hippies with iPhones
I was at the natural health food store last night with my family and there was this hippie girl there, completely decked out in hippie garb with a guitar, a knapsack – the complete...
Monthly Archive: August 2010
For the democratic process…
Let me start out by saying that had I been a California voter in 2008, I would’ve voted against Prop 8. Period. Easy choice. As a self-described traditionalist, I support same-sex marriage because I...
Thought for the Day
While watching the intro to Top Chef: Washington, DC last night: “The Washington Monument looks like a politician. Giant dick, no balls.” – The Enduring Wife
The Gay Rights Movement’s Pyhrric Victory
I’m still wading through the text of the Perry decision, but this post sums up my feelings on the legal strategy of gay marriage advocates:
First Reactions on Perry
Here are my hasty reactions to a decision I’ve only partly read. I’m distracted by personal matters tonight, but I’ll probably update as the evening goes on. One big loser in all this is...
I’m not Harriet Tubman either
I don’t think the pro-choicers and the pro-lifers are going to agree on this one. But I do think that Ta-Nehisi is either missing what I’m trying to say here, or he – and...
No, I am not Frederick Douglass
[updated] Okay. Perhaps I stirred the pot a bit too vigorously. In any case, let me clarify a few things. Ta-Nehisi Coates – whose work I admire greatly, too!* – has quite a lot...
Reputation and the Realistic Novel
Very belatedly indeed, I’d like to offer a rejoinder to Ross Douthat and Alan Jacob‘s explanation for the absence of good George Eliot-style realistic novels in our time. Jacobs in brief: I am inclined to think...
Bloomberg’s Tribalism
I hate to be the turd in the punch bowl, but Bloomberg’s latest proclamation on the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ would be a bit easier to take if he wasn’t such an avowed defender of...
Bloomberg’s Address
If you haven’t read or heard it yet, this really is a special, stirring bit of speechmaking from Mayor Bloomberg defending the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” that exemplifies the best of the American tradition. ...
Perry, Hayek, and Immanent Critique
I don’t have any inside gossip on Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, whose decision will be announced this afternoon. For that see bmaz, who calls it for the plaintiffs. As I’ve said in the past, I’m...
Suicide Mission
In what can only be described as a marriage straight outta Hell, our own E.D. Kain has accepted an offer to contribute to John Cole’s Balloon Juice under the official title of “sane conservative.” ...
Empire of Illusion, Ch. 4: Shiny, Happy People Vs. Chris Hedges
As any blog-reader can attest, there’s something very satisfying about a good thorough debunking. Seeing a smart critical thinker beating back the tide of bulldada is invigorating; and now that ideas have been unmoored...
How Not to Beat al Qaeda
I haven’t seen anyone sum up the absurdity of the “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy quite as well as Jeffrey Goldberg today: “Bin Laden wants a clash of civilizations; the opponents of the this mosque...
Family Values Magic
Ta-Nehisi Coates writes of the imperfect parallel between same-sex marriage and anti-miscegenation laws: [T]he comparison with interracial marriage actually understates the evil of reserving marriage rights for certain classes of people. Banning interracial marriage...
The Breeders
Inspired by Jason’s latest post, I decided to pick up a copy of A Farewell to Alms yesterday. After reading a chapter or two, I think some of his criticism misses the mark. First,...
Thiessen: US Law Applies Most Outside of US
Arguing that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s (who is neither a US citizen nor a US resident) document dump on the War in Afghanistan is a criminal act (a violation of the Espionage Act and, possibly, material...
Abortion, slavery & personhood
So several of Andrew’s readers disagreed with my post on abortion and slavery. And at least one of my readers had some particularly colorful things to say to me in an email after it...
Anne Rice quits Christianity
[updated] Anne Rice offers up some bizarre reasoning for quitting her faith: I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist....
