tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34150962011-04-21T19:29:39.677-04:00The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.comBlogger441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1111677959827320142005-03-24T09:18:00.000-05:002005-03-24T10:25:59.833-05:00

It's a testament to something, my state of mind, the earliness of the morning, that upon opening the MSNBC front page, I was shocked to see this, and immediately concerned for the welfare of Duke's basketball coach. Call it March Madness.It would seem the malady is catching, spreading beyond the world of collegiate athletics and infecting the public at large. But that's not so. In truth, America

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1111097717866583402005-03-17T17:12:00.000-05:002005-03-17T17:15:17.866-05:00

One of these days I'm going to get organizized, and begin blogging once more on a regular basis. In the mean time, I turn your attention to this news, that inhalant use has overtaken marijuana use among young teens. Proof again that kids these days are complete idiots. I'll be back soon.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1109870453679026222005-03-03T11:43:00.000-05:002005-03-03T12:20:53.683-05:00

I've been in a two week dry spell, recovering from trips out of town, from crises of confidence, and from, lately, this weird sort of fever-y cold that I hope to god isn't avian flu. I'm also suffering from a deep lack of interest in all things political right now, one of the phases of my intellectual moon where I'm inclined to say fuck it to the world of governance, because, honestly, what does

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1109277522351821562005-02-24T15:07:00.000-05:002005-02-24T15:38:42.353-05:00

I know I've been derelict. Vacations and prep for tonight's FOTN show have kept me very busy. I promise I'll be back at it next week.In the mean time, I'm going to borrow a schtick from my friend Tim Cooper's friendster page. Tim lists the unusual names of spammers to his email accounts, which have gotten progressively weirder as spam filters (I guess) catch on to the usual monikers. So today I

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1108495377728232822005-02-15T14:01:00.000-05:002005-02-15T14:22:57.730-05:00

Holy cow! Did you guys see the Grammys? They were awesome!What a horrible spectacle. What cheeses me is that so many music commentators say the Grammys have missed the boat by ignoring hip-hop. Hip hop is one of the vibrant, dynamic parts of the music world these days, and it probably doesn't get the attention it deserves, but didn't Outkast win album of the year last year? What blows about the

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1108072252570927732005-02-10T15:30:00.000-05:002005-02-11T12:25:11.580-05:00

Tough news for the President: North Korea officially announces it's a nuclear power, and estimates for the cost of Bush's prescription drug benefit are almost twice as high as Bush had initially claimed. I wonder if Bush will face any questions about either issue when he faces a hand picked crowd in Raleigh, NC today? (The Raleigh News and Observer notes that, "The audience rewarded the president

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1107895203288142972005-02-08T15:29:00.000-05:002005-02-08T15:40:03.290-05:00

This piece is long, but I recommend reading it from beginning to end. As news story after news story has appeared bringing to light our conduct in "security" operations, my disgust with the administration, with the complacency of the American people, and with what has become of this America has grown and smoldered. Seeing the harsh truths set out in one place like this is enough to make me want

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1107798585487444592005-02-07T13:06:00.000-05:002005-02-07T12:49:45.490-05:00

So, the Bush budget battle is all set to begin, as the President sent a $2.57 trillion budget plan to Congress today. The story line the administration is selling is that it's a grand, responsible bit of fiscal planning, and I don't doubt for a minute that, when Democrats try to fight spending cuts in health and education programs, the administration will ridicule them as standing in the way of

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1107445660603826572005-02-03T10:08:00.000-05:002005-02-03T10:47:40.603-05:00

As a blog that purports to be about politics and DC, I suppose I ought to cover the State of the Union speech, huh? Fine, fine. Here are my thoughts. 1)We've seen it five times now, but is there any creepier picture in the world than Cheney and Hastert sitting behind Bush at the SOTU, smiling their crooked smiles? 2)Let the Democratic voices be heard! For a moment I thought I was sitting in the

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1107361477834427162005-02-02T10:49:00.000-05:002005-02-02T14:49:27.983-05:00

It was 30 degrees Fahrenheit for my morning stroll out the back door into the alley, down to the coffeeshop, and on the few blocks to the Columbia Heights metro station. Thirty degrees, under many circumstances, is unpleasantly cold, but mornings of late have been affairs in the teens, where brisk winds draw tears from one's eyes that freeze before they hit the ground. You can understand, then,

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1107266897683219422005-02-01T09:05:00.000-05:002005-02-01T09:08:17.683-05:00

If you haven't been reading Krugman on Social Security privitization, you should be. Always at his best when examining economic issues (as one would expect), he's been in top form over the past few weeks. Visit his NYT page here.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1107214676240601252005-01-31T18:05:00.000-05:002005-01-31T18:37:56.240-05:00

So, I know I'm really late to the party on Philip Roth's, "The Plot Against America." Everyone already wrote tons about it last year. And I don't even really know what they said. Whether they liked it or didn't. Whether it was an intellectual exercise or a warning to modern Americans. None of this will stop me from writing my own thoughts on the book. As most of you know, the book is an

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1106931476221840272005-01-28T11:10:00.000-05:002005-01-28T11:57:56.220-05:00

It's been a busy week. Late nights at work, lots of practice in preparation for FOTN's first show, and sadly, the blog gets the shaft for the week. Post-show, the Bellows will be back on what passes for a regular schedule. So, Michelle Cottle has a piece over at TNR on Hillary's little cuddle-fest with the pro-lifers (as opposed to all us good Democrats, who are solidly anti-life). The thrust is

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1106579071764061792005-01-24T10:03:00.000-05:002005-01-24T10:04:31.763-05:00

But, here's William Saletan saying what I was trying to say.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1106322562758109882005-01-21T10:22:00.000-05:002005-01-21T10:54:19.940-05:00

Yesterday, I made my way downtown to watch the spectacle of the President's inaugural parade. Or rather, as security fences kept crowds hundreds of feet away from the parade route, to watch those watching the spectacle of the inaugural parade. It was an unpleasant experience. The crowd was overrun with two of my least favorite groups of people. On the one hand, there were the red-cheeked,

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1106317084947932622005-01-21T09:15:00.000-05:002005-01-21T09:18:04.946-05:00

Seriously, it doesn't make sense to invest in snow equipment like, you know, Buffalo might, because all we ever get is an inch or two. But then stuff like this happens. And everyone laughs at us. Sigh.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1106316804582256732005-01-21T09:12:00.000-05:002005-01-21T09:13:24.583-05:00

Is this.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1106147635591394572005-01-19T09:42:00.000-05:002005-01-21T09:13:56.750-05:00

Of course, today is only a snow day in the sense that it might snow. While this morning saw the icy fingers of a alberta clipper curling around the sunrise, destined to bring some flakes, I still found myself trudging toward the metro, staring madly through the air for the the first frozen fleck of white. Now I'm at work, and it can snow all it bloody likes, but it won't do me any good. Tomorrow

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1106082244051786762005-01-18T16:02:00.000-05:002005-01-18T16:04:04.050-05:00

Not back yet, just thought I'd leave you all with an article of the day, something that's sure to be rustling through your sewing circles this week: Seymour Hersh on Iran.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1105713921474299252005-01-14T09:40:00.000-05:002005-01-14T09:45:21.476-05:00

Crap is it rainy, today. It occurs to me that this blog is not exactly what I'd had in mind when I decided to get back to blogging. My new job has been very demanding, as has my band. Frankly, without spending appropriate time on this site, it has begun to suck, and there's nothing worse than putting mediocrity on display for all the world to see. So, I'm going to pause and rethink my MO.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1105629705427038362005-01-13T09:56:00.000-05:002005-01-13T10:21:45.426-05:00

So the hunt for weapons of mass destruction is officially over. And, uh, we didn't find any. The justification for invading Iraq was essentially baseless. That means we've spent two years at war, suffered the loss of almost 1500 American soldiers with tens of thousands more maimed and scarred, killed unknown thousands of Iraqis, spent hundreds of billions of dollars, left American forces

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1105397758057751532005-01-10T17:55:00.000-05:002005-01-10T17:55:58.056-05:00

For an update on Gitmo, see this.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1105397490423220752005-01-10T17:11:00.000-05:002005-01-10T17:54:26.426-05:00

Today the AP reports on the state of the US detainee camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and finds that the camp is taking on a look of permanence, with new facilities being structured to hold the prisoners, most of which are "no longer considered of significant intelligence value." Allegations of abuse and the fact that most detainees are denied access to an attorney have generated some outcries

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1105111044695823562005-01-07T10:05:00.000-05:002005-01-07T10:17:24.696-05:00

I know, I know. It's been ages since I've posted. I blame complications in my personal life, and a complete inability to process the negative news inundating the country these days. Had I been of a mind to post over the past week, I don't know where I'd have started. There's the increasing toll of the tsunami, which I've briefly touched upon already. The rapidly deteriorating situation in Iraq,

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1104429533149152342004-12-30T13:42:00.000-05:002004-12-30T12:58:53.150-05:00

Last night on Crossfire, Paul Begala and Bob Novak discussed, with James Gilmore and Eleanor Holmes Norton, the response of the United States to the tsunami disaster in South Asia. From the CNN transcript of the show, we get these exchanges: NOVAK: Ms. Norton, to listen to the left-wing media and the left-wing members of Congress, you would think that we've been cutting foreign aid. I want to

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1104162139511769332004-12-27T10:31:00.000-05:002004-12-27T10:42:19.510-05:00

It's my first day back from a little vacation trip home, and I'm not up to any heavy lifting just yet, so I'll leave you with two links to think on as we approach the new year. First, something to be thankful for: democracy triumphant, a positive step for a nation long put upon by autocrats, and a challenge to its regressing eastern neighbor, Ukraine peacefully solved its election crisis and

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1103567795564500452004-12-20T13:35:00.000-05:002004-12-20T13:36:35.566-05:00

If you've never seen it before, a classic holiday piece from The New Yorker.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1103472220011515952004-12-19T10:14:00.000-05:002004-12-19T11:03:40.010-05:00

I hate to feel completely captured by a film. Not to feel completely caught up in the story, but to feel like the lives and the ideas on screen are my life, or the parts that matter, anyway. Damn it all, I want to be an original character. But damned if there aren't, apparently, tons of people out there living my life, and damned if Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy don't capture that life in all its

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1103150080036483662004-12-15T17:34:00.000-05:002004-12-15T17:34:40.036-05:00

Just like I been sayin: http://tnr.com/etc.mhtml?pid=2456

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1103145361348169562004-12-15T15:27:00.000-05:002004-12-15T16:16:01.346-05:00

So, I've been going over many of the arguments that followed Peter Beinart's much-discussed TNR article on the desperate need for Democrats to seize upon national security and the fight against Islamic fascism (IF) if they ever want to win another election. There are tons of places to find good responses, and, as a lazy person, I'm not going to link to them. I will, however, let you in on what

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1103045257267031872004-12-14T13:13:00.000-05:002004-12-14T12:27:37.266-05:00

Check out this excellent piece from Franklin Foer, mainly about the state of neocon thinking on the situation in Iran but also an excellent primer on the difficulties the United States faces there. The money quote, from AEI's Tom Donnelly: The horse is ninety percent out of the barn. They're going to get the bomb unless we invade. That's not an option. So, I'd say, the time to stop this from

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1102688438460795612004-12-10T09:11:00.000-05:002004-12-10T09:20:38.460-05:00

Paul O'Neill is the one on the left.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1102609574322878662004-12-09T11:08:00.000-05:002004-12-09T11:26:14.323-05:00

Check out this, from James Surowiecki. He's wrong that this practice dates from the 70s (the South has been on this bandwagon since the 30s, at which time such corporate goodies frequently faced state constitutional challenges), but he's right that it's a big waste, money thrown away on economic inefficiencies. These cities and states are essentially buying employment, which they could do more

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1102602013149029362004-12-09T09:03:00.000-05:002004-12-09T09:20:13.150-05:00

Today in a Post editorial, TNR's Peter Beinart saddles up the horse he rode last week in his home magazine. He is, it would appear, a man on a mission, determined to spread the gospel that Islamic totalitarianism is the new "great political reality," akin to Soviet totalitarianism in another age, and that Dems will keep losing elections until they realize this and get tough. I disagreed earlier

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1102435719234472892004-12-07T10:35:00.000-05:002004-12-07T11:08:39.233-05:00

College basketball season is upon us, and I'm happy to see that Tobacco Road is 7, 8, 9, and 10 in the Coaches' Poll. Basketball is a religion in portions of the south, and, like any religion, it can offer lessons about life and leadership. I'd like to take a moment to recall a moment of tribulation from the gospel of Ryan, in the hopes that we can all learn something from my shortcomings. In my

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1102371028777781452004-12-06T16:24:00.000-05:002004-12-06T17:10:28.776-05:00

Last week, The New Republic posted a rather feisty piece by Peter Beinart, suggesting that Democrats have performed so poorly in recent elections, and will continue to do so, because the party's liberal base has not adjusted its worldview in the wake of September 11th. The principle comparison Beinart repeatedly draws in the article is that of modern lefties ignoring the Islamo-fascist scourge to

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1101999131335600862004-12-02T09:21:00.000-05:002004-12-02T09:52:11.336-05:00

Riffing on the last post, I came across this article today from my home town newspaper, in which it appears a Raleigh developer is proposing the construction of the city's tallest building. News like this always excites me, as I'm a bit of a Triangle cheerleader, and I always enjoy evidence that North Carolina is arriving, but I think the reactions of City Council members reveal a great deal

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1101997210597608212004-12-02T09:10:00.000-05:002004-12-02T09:20:10.596-05:00

This post is not about the CIA. Rather, on favorite blog Ahab's Dream, James MacDuff gives me another opportunity to shamelessly plug my thesis. MacDuff cites a line from the Canadian film, "Les Invasions Barbares," which is, "intelligence is not an individual trait, but is a collective phenomenon, national and intermittant." I take this to mean that intelligence is best realized when surrounded

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1101742457905999732004-11-29T09:47:00.000-05:002004-11-29T10:34:17.906-05:00

Of all the angles from which to view the situation in the Ukraine, two seem to me to be the most interesting. The first is the general demeanor of the crisis. This is the Ukraine, where current President Leonid Kuchma allegedly ordered a hit on a critical journalist, which is supposed to be under the thumb of crypto-fascist Vladimir Putin, in a region of the world where political bloodshed is

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1101223994461017902004-11-23T09:37:00.000-05:002004-11-23T10:33:14.460-05:00

I'm so glad the latest bit of NBA tomfoolery has been getting the attention it deserves. I'd hate for America to focus on Bush's cabinet reshuffle, or the situation in Iran, or the grilled cheese Madonna. You know, serious news. Perhaps the most obnoxious reactions to the brawl came in the wake of the next day's South Carolina-Clemson football game, which likewise ended in fisticuffs. Said many,

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1100735988902560052004-11-17T18:57:00.000-05:002004-11-19T08:33:37.653-05:00

On November 2, Governor Mike Easley of North Carolina made headlines by handily defeating his Republican challenger, Patrick Ballantine, in a south as Republican as it's been since the end of Reconstruction. The victory garnered Easley some national attention and the occasional mention as a darkhorse candidate for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. The highlight of Easley's first term

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1100043499055641012004-11-09T18:37:00.000-05:002004-11-09T18:38:19.056-05:00

I understand the data files I appended for the last post don't turn out so well. Try saving them and opening them in MS Paint. Or, try visiting www.bea.gov and www.census.gov for the numbers with which to do your own analysis.

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1100043416704015112004-11-09T18:07:00.000-05:002004-11-09T18:36:56.703-05:00

So, among the many jokes making the rounds regarding last week's election (it's usually phrased as a joke), is that the blue states of the nation ought to find some way to secede (perhaps joining up with Canada to create something fun like this). Fun to kick around and laugh about, until someone on the right goes and takes the idea a little too seriously. The author of the alluded to article (

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3415096.post-1099955649375895572004-11-08T17:22:00.000-05:002004-11-08T19:04:49.783-05:00

Start The Bellows...now. Over the past six days, there's been an epidemic of hand-wringing among leftist pundits over how the Democrats lost America, how they lost touch with the red states, even, as Slate (ironically?) put it, "Why Americans Hate Democrats." I think one excellent answer is that after Democrats lose, they spend months in weepy self-examination asking themselves why Americans

The Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348006650760924341noreply@blogger.com0