Today I got mired writing one of those loooong posts that involved far more work than I’d envisioned.
And so I’m postponing it, and humbly offer instead this brief foray into frivolity: hat fashion this year at Ascot (and there are plenty more where these came from). Continue reading →
I was listening to a talk show last night in the car and heard an impassioned defense of the SCOTUS decision in Boumedine (see yesterday’s post for my opinion of the merits of the case).
The caller was not only in favor of the Court’s ruling to extend habeas corpus rights to noncombat enemy aliens in Guantanamo, he was clearly very moved by what he felt this meant for the country and the world. Continue reading →
I used to follow the Celtics back in the heady days of the 70s and 80s, when they were the basketball franchise and their matchups against the mighty Lakers or Knicks rivaled the Red Sox/Yankees series’ for excitement.
Then there were the lean years, when I stopped watching or caring, not just about the Celtics but about basketball itself. It seemed the sport had changed and lost whatever it was that I’d enjoyed: finesse, teamwork, passing, outside shooting. Now it was all about power, fast breaks, selfishness, muscle. Some might find it just as interesting—or maybe more—than the old game, but I found it a crashing bore.
Plus, the Celtics had fallen on hard times. Continue reading →
Fausta’s tribute to the graceful Cyd Charisse—not to mention the incomparable Fred Astaire.
Here’s an excellent summary by law professor John Yoo of how the Supreme Court ruling in Boumediene v. Bush is a case of egregious judicial overreach:
First out the window went precedent. Under the writ of habeas corpus, Americans (and aliens on our territory) can challenge the legality of their detentions before a federal judge. Until Boumediene, the Supreme Court had never allowed an alien who was captured fighting against the U.S. to use our courts to challenge his detention…
The Boumediene five also ignored the Constitution’s structure, which grants all war decisions to the president and Congress. Continue reading →
It seems clear that the Michelle Obama “whitey” tape is merely an urban rumor and does not exist, except in the fevered minds and wishful thinking of some who oppose Obama. But even if it were found to be based in fact it turns out there’s no harm, no foul.
Who says so? The staff of the Chicago Tribune, that’s who. You see, “whitey” can’t be a racial slur, nor can it offend, because whites are not an oppressed group.
And anyone who thinks otherwise is just dumb, and therefore deserves to be insulted.
I’m not making this stuff up. Continue reading →
The Washington Post editorial page continues to show a remarkable surge of reason. The editors describe Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s recent trip to Iran and his insistence that he will not abide by Iran’s demands that he abandon the ongoing negotiations for a formal alliance between his country and the US. The newspaper points out that the Democrats have condemned this agreement even before it’s been drawn up.
The WaPo piece sounds as though the editors have woken up from a long period of sleep and are shocked—shocked!—that many leading Democrats are taking this stance. Continue reading →
Tim Russert died two days ago, and he’s been mourned and eulogized by many since then. Quite a few of the tributes have made glowing mention of two books he’d written, both on the theme of fatherhood.
The first, Big Russ and Me, is a memoir about his down-to-earth, loving but undemonstrative, Greatest Generation father. The second is Wisdom of Our Fathers, a collection of letters about fathers that readers sent Russert in response to the first book.
I’ve read neither. But since so many of the heartfelt reminiscences about Russert—who seems to have been one of the rare genuinely warm, decent, and fairminded individuals ever to have risen to the top of the heap in the TV news business—recommended these two books, they sound as though they’d be an excellent thing to read or give as a gift on Father’s Day.
Father’s Day. A sort of poor stepchild to Mother’s Day, although fathers themselves are hardly that. They are central to a family.
Just ask the people who never had one, or who had a difficult relationship with theirs. Continue reading →
One of the points Obama supporters often make about McCain is that he must be dumb since he graduated 594th out of 599th in his class at the Naval Academy.
McCain’s low ranking is true. It’s also is true that McCain’s friends insist he “achieved” this status through design, not lack of intelligence; he did well in those subjects that interested him, such as history and literature.
In this respect he follows the tradition of none other than Winston Churchill, Continue reading →
Are you a nightowl, like me? Do you want to change your wicked ways? And, if so, how badly do you want it?
For instuctions on how to go about doing it, take a look at this entertaining and informative piece in Slate. You may find that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Or you may get your heart’s desire and change into a lark, perhaps forever.
Some of you may have noticed that lately I’ve been putting a bit more fluff on this blog.
Yes, it’s true. It may have started with the post in which I segued seamlessly from Obama to jello, but it’s bigger than that now.
Although the meat and potatoes of politics and world events continue—and will continue to continue—to constitute the bulk of my writing here, there’s something about the interminability of this election cycle that has driven me to glance now and then at such heretofore unexplored blogs as Go Fug Yourself, dedicated to the bizarre fashion choices of marginal celebrities. Continue reading →
Already starting to miss Bush. Go figure.