Hitchens v. Bob Wright

Epic debate. Enjoy.

Decide For Yourselves (Corrected)

Here are some readings on the decision to try KSM in federal court, both pro and con. Not necessarily the best on either side but a good start.

First the con:

Read Douthat here and here.

David Feige writing at Slate here.

And the pro:

Steven Simon's op-ed in the New York Times here.

And last but certainly not least, Eric Posner, Professor of Law at the University of Chicago School of Law and son of Richard Posner - US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge, writing on Eugene Volokh's blog (The Volokh Conspiracy) here.


*This version corrects the author of the last link. Thank you reader "Mango" for the correction.

Trying KSM In NY Federal Court...

...Is a horrible, terrible, very bad, no good idea.

I'm going to work to compile some good reads regarding this issue. My initial thoughts are that this will indelibly tarnish Obama's national security appeal for 2012 once people are exposed to the incredible circus this whole affair will generate. Plus the notion that there is technically a chance that KSM could go free is a nightmare and an embarassment. Yes, Eric Holder says "failure [to convict] is not an option." But of course that's a ludicrous thing to say. One doesn't have to strain to remember countless surprise jury acquittals.

Stay tuned for a more in-depth analysis of this whole affair and it how it allows us to pierce the underlying ideology driving the Obama admin's counter-terror strategy, if you can call it that.

Big NIAC Story c/o Eli Lake

Read this.

And for contra-Lake look here.

This story has tremendous implications which is why people (like Andrew Sullivan) are fretting to try to put out the fires as it were.

It's a few days old, sorry...

Ft. Hood Tragedy

My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this awful tragedy. You can find the text of Obama's speech here.

Another Interesting Read

Malcolm Gladwell has a really interesting (and sad) piece in The New Yorker about football and head injuries.

Don't Miss This Article

Great piece from Ross, per usual.

Important Read

Peter Bergen writing at TNR on the links between the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Blogging Is Hard

Sorry for the break. Not sure if any readers are left. I will resume regular blogging now.

I Am Back

Ok, so sorry for the hiatus. The summer proved to be a little busier than expected. But I am back now and will be posting regularly (as in more than once a week).

There is a lot to anticipate this fall in domestic and foreign policy. The health care debate has heated up considerably over the summer, although to the dismay of many I happen to think that much of the momentum for sweeping reform has been lost. I hope to parse that issue fully in a subsequent post. Additionally the nation is in the the throes of a serious commitment evaluation with regard to our presence in Afghanistan. The renowned conservative commentator George Will has written two articles (here and here) that suggest that we should leave both Afghanistan and Iraq. As regular readers of this blog will know, I disagree strongly.

In addition to these pressing policy questions, there are a few big gubernatorial elections this November. I'll be watching both Virginia and New Jersey very closely.

I hope you'll stay around and read regularly. It's a pleasure to write for you and I've missed it this summer. I'll be glad to be back in the swing of things.

Obama: One Termer?

I had an interesting conversation with a good friend last night and amongst other topics covered was how Obama has really seemed to lose his footing over the summer, and has worked himself into an awkward position going into what will likely be one of the most important legislative huddles of his presidency. The administration has seemed out-of-whack lately. What was once a cool group of young, hip, bright politicos (albeit for the first 3 months of the presidency) has become a bumbling and stumbling loose grouping of inexperienced staffers. I think it all began with the President's loose-lips on Henry Louis Gates-gate. What is quickly becoming a mismanaged health care reform push surely isn't helping morale. The newly revised and truly staggering deficit projections for this next year from the CBO will surely deal another serious blow to an administration that is already limping. For the first time I have started to think that Obama might be a one-term president.

This will only become a possibility if Republicans become effective dissenters and offer sensible policies and alternative solutions to what are real and significant national issues.

Obama: Premature Folder?

I have been very surprised with the ease with which Obama has seemed to fold both his IMAC plan (Independent Medicare Advisory Council) and now seemingly the public option as part of his goals for health care reform. I'm not going to offer comment on either of these policies because, to be honest, I feel unqualified. But nonetheless I find it interesting that Obama has been so quick to back down from some of the bigger pieces of his reform ambitions.

One other note: Sarah Palin effectively killed of IMAC herself with her infamous comments (on Facebook no less) about "death panels." Interesting from a woman who most had assumed upon resignation would slip away into irrelevance... I'm not so sure she is going away that fast.

"We're Already Practically A Gerontocracy"

Ross Douthat has a really important piece in today's NYT.

Important Reads

Hey yall, sorry for the light blogging. Will be back up to speed shortly. In the meanwhile, I'll point you to some important reads:

Camille Paglia on Healthcare (via BFMc from Spitting Image - thanks!)

Hitchens (the preeminent Clinton criticizer) on Bill and NorKor

Anne Applebaum on August and Crises

John Mackey (CEO of Whole Foods) on Obamacare

Luttwak on the likely failure of attempts at diplomacy with Iran

Mexico as a declining Futbol Power


Thats probably a good start... Be back soon