Robert Kagan’s article in World Affairs is instructive here and there, but ultimately it is an extremely misleading, even irresponsible account of American history and the history of American foreign policy in particular.
Kagan argues that a bold, interventionist, [...]
Archive for April, 2008
Robert Kagan and the Myth of a Neo-Con Nation
Posted in ideas, politics, tagged foreign policy, Iraq, Kagan, neoconservatism, war on April 11, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Prosperity and Optimism
Posted in Free Market Apologists, politics, tagged economy, income, inequality on April 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Two headlines are worth a look for readers of this blog. First, one article reports that income inequality in America is accelerating: average incomes for people in the bottom fifth of the American income distribution have dropped 2.5% in the last eight years, whereas incomes in the top [...]
Fish on French Theory
Posted in Europe, culture, ideas, politics, tagged Derrida, Fish, Foucault, political correctness, postmodernism, theory on April 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Stanley’s Fish’s New York Times post on the history of French theory is well worth reading, and in very nearly equal parts right and wrong. He’s perfectly right that by forsaking all foundations or teleological destinations for language in relation to truth or to “the world as it really is,” French postmodernism neither offered nor [...]
Leatherheads
Posted in culture, tagged movies on April 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It’s not nearly as bad as several reviews claimed. Yes, the pacing is off from time to time (especially at the beginning and the end), and it also can seem torn between simply being a 30’s and 40’s movie, and being a contemporary movie about America in the [...]
Martin Luther King, Liberalism and Life.
Posted in politics, tagged liberalism, life, Martin Luther King on April 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
E.J. Dionne hopes to see a new start for American liberalism, a liberalism that will finish the unfinished legacy of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. I have my doubts about that reemergence for reasons I’ve written about here, but I would be delighted to be proved wrong on [...]
Christian Converts (from Islam) in France
Posted in Europe, culture, faith, tagged Christians, conversion, France, Muslims on April 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A fascinating article in Le Monde discusses the situation of Muslims who convert to Christianity in France. The numbers are small but not negligible (i.e., some Catholic dioceses report about a dozen a year, and there are evangelical converts as well). The initial reasons for exploring conversion are interesting– [...]
Patriotism vs. Nationalism
Posted in culture, ideas, tagged nationalism, patriotism on April 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Matthew Yglesias contributes to an ongoing debate about the distinction (if any) between patriotism vs. nationalism that includes Wilkerson, Salam, and Larison, among others. Yglesias says this (the bold print is mine, italics his):
What I have to say boils down to this — life is full of attachments and affections that aren’t strictly rationally defensible [...]
The Friendly Confines, the (Green) Monster Cometh
Posted in Uncategorized on April 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Wrigley Field – Home of the Chicago Cubs – Panorama Part 2
Originally uploaded by supernova9
Yes, it’s opening day! The Red Sox begin their title defense Stateside tomorrow; the Cubs look to break the curse in their 100th season since their last World Series victory; the [...]
