December 13th, 2004
The New Donkey is a promising centrist Democratic blog which I’m enjoying quite a lot so far, except for this silly post.
The Donkey (and whoever you are, will you please drop the anonymous handle; it’s distracting and unnecessary) talks about the Jack Abramoff scandal and mentions Andy Ferguson’s brilliant piece about Abramoff in The Weekly Standard. Donkey then goes on to essentially ignore Ferguson’s work except for interpreting it for deeper institutional meaning in the conservative world.
Reading pieces as institutional signals and not individual expressions is a pet peeve of mine. When an institution wants to weigh in with something, they do so with editorials. Writers are not automatons scribbling away at the behest of their editors. And their work should be evaluated as an individual’s work–not as a signal of some larger master plan. To do so is insulting.
This is a non-political point–Lord knows conservatives and liberals are equal-opportunity offenders. My cry here is for greater respect for writers in general. When you read an article in a magazine or newspaper, you should credit your admiration or displeasure to the writer, not the institution. The guy slaving away at his keyboard deserves at least that much respect.
0 commentsDecember 13th, 2004
Galley Friend Mike Russell has a sensational offering over at CulturePulp. Russell, who’s a geek’s geek, does reported, non-fiction comic strips (in addition to very perceptive film criticism). This medium is not unheard of, but it is off-speed enough to deserve notice. And the skill with which his strips are executed deserves applause. Go check out the CulturePulp.
Also, see the Fark thread which immortalized this week’s strip.
0 commentsDecember 13th, 2004
In case you care, my Where Are They Now? on Howard Dean is up now.
0 commentsOffice of Strategery
December 13th, 2004
I haven’t met many people in the Bush administration who are either smart or nice, let alone both. But Pete Wehner sure is. He is truly one of the good guys. Be sure to catch Dan Balz’s excellent profile of a guy who will be doing interesting things for a very long time to come.
0 commentsDecember 13th, 2004
Jonah Goldberg has a great column up at NRO about the liberal response to Peter Beinart’s call for liberalism serious enough to take on Islamo fascism. Keeping up the cheerleading for Beinart’s side, George Will and Paul Mirengoff have also rallied to his side.
I’m sad to say that Beinart is looking awfully lonely out there.
0 commentsDon't Question This Man's Patriotism!
December 13th, 2004
Whatever you do, don’t you dare question Robert Jensen’s patriotism. He loves America just as much as any red-neck, homophobic yahoo who has a “traditional” view of patriotism.
Just because Professor Jensen says:
* “The United States has lost the war in Iraq, and that’s a good thing. . . .”
* “as a U.S. citizen, I welcome the U.S. defeat . . .”
* “When we admit defeat and pull out — not if, but when — the fate of Iraqis will depend in part on whether the United States makes good on legal and moral obligations to pay reparations and allows international institutions to aid in creating a truly sovereign Iraq. . . .”
* “The planet’s resources do not belong to the United States. The century is not America’s. We own neither the world nor time. And if we don’t give up the quest–if we don’t find our place in the world instead of on top of the world–there is little hope for a safe, sane and sustainable future.”
Keep your neocon grumbling to yourself; this man is a patriot!
0 commentsDecember 13th, 2004
Dept. of Obvious: “Polls: Europe Negative on Bush Re-Election.”
0 commentsDecember 10th, 2004
Believe it or not, I had actually heard about this story a few weeks ago when Gonzales was first nominated. I decided not to move with it not out of any affection for Gonzales, but because his stepson, Jared Freeze, is a young graphic designer and this job working for Hustler was his first gig out of college. Right or wrong, it seemed to me that he didn’t deserve to have his life ruined because of his step-father’s job.
Still, now that it’s out, I’ll be interested to see the reaction.
0 comments
