It’s a conspiracy
Dean Esmay has a good post up about how the assumed failure of pre-war intelligence on WMDs is unlikely to have been the result of a conspiracy, but is very likely to have been an error. In it, he talks … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Getting philosophical: life, love, the universe
Poor Cassandra
Varifrank posts a fine rant about those modern-day prognosticators who never seem to be called to account for the failure of their predictions of doom and gloom to come true (with, of course, the sole exception of Bush and the … Continue reading →
The transformation
A while back I was complaining (me, complaining?) about the weather and the lousy fall we’ve had this year. Well, it’s still fall, although just the tail end of it. Most of the leaves are gone, and the rest have … Continue reading →
On the kindness of strangers: the aftermath of Katrina
I know Bush must have given an excellent speech last night because a liberal friend of mine pronounced it “moving” and “inspiring” in somewhat awed and surprised tones. Something he said, or perhaps the way he said it, touched her … Continue reading →
The few vs. the many: the Martin Higby Phenomenon
When I was in grade school, our entire class of thirty-odd marched more or less in lockstep from grades one through six. The community in which I was raised wasn’t very transient; people stayed put, and so we got to … Continue reading →
More about those sheepdogs: what do they think of the sheep?
In my recent “sheep to sheepdog” post, the following question was posed here in the comments section: Richard, I hope NNC really thinks about your question: what do the sheepdogs think about the sheep? Because they prolly have some superior … Continue reading →
From sheep to sheepdog
There are all types of bloggers. I’m a practitioner of the long essay form, for example. And Bill Whittle is a practitioner of the LONG esssay form. When you write LONG, as Bill does, you have to be very very … Continue reading →
Grieving parents, revisited
Dymphna at Gates of Vienna has posted a very personal and utterly heartrending essay on the loss of her daughter. It’s couched as a letter to Cindy Sheehan from one child-bereaved mother to another, and demonstrates great compassion. I urge … Continue reading →
Grieving parents in war–Part II: protesting parents, why now?
[For Part I, go here.] It doesn’t take a therapist to note that many people, when struck by the tragic loss of a loved one, are angry as well as sad. That anger can be unleashed in a variety of … Continue reading →
Grieving parents in war–Part I: from Kathe Kollwitz to Cindy Sheehan is a long road
Who is this woman? The serene young artist, glowing with life: The worn-out older woman, lines of age etched deeper by profound grief: She’s Kathe Kollwitz, one of the greatest graphic artists of all time, in two of her extraordinary … Continue reading →
Imagology vs. reality
There are certain authors I keep coming back to. One of them is Milan Kundera, whom I first read and loved about twenty-five years ago, but whose works, on rereading, seem even more loaded with political and philosophical insight than … Continue reading →
Action and reaction: prayer
At American Digest, Gerard van der Leun has written an interesting piece on prayer and why it isn’t often answered in the way people might want (and sometimes even expect) it to be. Reading it brought to mind an article … Continue reading →