What does a man who’s won, not only the Nobel peace prize, but—far more impressive—an Oscar, do for an encore? Al Gore could merely rest on the very considerable laurels he’s earned as Bill Clinton’s two-term Vice-President, and in the … Continue reading →
David Mamet’s Village Voice piece on his political conversion—“Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal’”—has caused a minor sensation. To me, of course, it’s an old story, not only because I experienced something of the sort myself, but because … Continue reading →
Michael Yon describes the extreme disconnect he sees between the facts in Iraq and perceptions about it. Never the twain shall meet; at least not yet, although he’s doing his bit to change that. Why has the corrective news of … Continue reading →
[Part I of my interview with McDermott challenger Steve Beren can be found here. We take up the second half of the interview shortly after 9/11, when Beren had become convinced that the unity the country faced was temporary and … Continue reading →
When I read that ultraliberal Jim McDermott‘s eminently safe seat in the mostly-Seattle 7th District of Washington was being challenged by a Republican who was actually attempting to mount some sort of viable campaign, I was intrigued. And I was … Continue reading →
When I was writing about the 1979 Iranian revolution I asked the following question: The Shah’s secret police–SAVAK, usually referred to with an adjective such as “dreaded” or “hated” before the acronym–was active in Iran to stifle those who would … Continue reading →
Reginald Bohannon is a Republican. That in and of itself is not remarkable. But what is unusual–although certainly not unheard of–is that he is a black Republican, raised in a culture in which 90-95% of the ethnic group to which … Continue reading →
The cover of last Sunday’s NY Times caught my eye with the following teaser: He was the Taliban’s spin doctor. So what’s he doing at Yale? Okay, I’ll bite. What’s he doing there, indeed? Well, according to the article, by … Continue reading →
Having studied the stories of so many political “changers” (most recently, Kanan Makiya), it strikes me how similar the paths to such change often seem to be. Oh, the details vary, of course–different countries of birth, different turning points. But … Continue reading →
I had read some of Kanan Makiya’s writings before. But I’d never realized that he was another “changer.” This interview with Makiya, appearing in a recent Democratiya, makes that clear. For anyone interested in “changers,” it’s a fascinating read. Born … Continue reading →
Via Dymphna at Gates of Vienna, I came across this article by one Jonathan Freedland, a writer for the Guardian. Jonathan Freedland is what Norm Geras might call a “principled leftist”–at least, Freedland sounds like one. In the essay, he … Continue reading →
Every now and then I see comments here made by people who assume that my post-9/11 change was quick, and was prompted by fear at the event itself. The comments tend to be on the order of “You cowardly idiot, … Continue reading →