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8 years ago
Thursday, July 30, 2009
New Blog On The Block
I try to shout out my friends' new blogs when they start them. A very good friend, and loyal reader/commenter on this blog under the semi-pseudonym BFMc, has started his own. The idea is very original - it's an interview blog, dedicated to the art (some might say forgotten art) of the interview. I am very much looking forward to becoming a loyal reader. The address is http://spittingimageinterviews.blogspot.com/ I recommend you check it out.
Investing In Rail Infrastructure
Phil Longman has a really interesting article out advocating for a big investment in our rail infrastructure. I think it's quite persuasive.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Gatesgate Cont'd
Sorry to use the most tired of journalistic cliches but it sounds too good not to.
In thinking about the upcoming beer that Obama will share with Crowley and Gates I want to remark that I hope both Gates and Obama supply apologies to Crowley for their heinous handling of an otherwise routine police encounter. It will be interesting if anything other than small-talk comes out of this meeting; I think that Obama would be smart to try to turn this episode into something positive. I'm sure he'll think of something.
I also wanted to provide a link to this letter written by a fellow Harvard professor to Gates. It is incredibly eloquent and sums up rather perfectly the case against Gates' hollow accusations. Please read it.
In thinking about the upcoming beer that Obama will share with Crowley and Gates I want to remark that I hope both Gates and Obama supply apologies to Crowley for their heinous handling of an otherwise routine police encounter. It will be interesting if anything other than small-talk comes out of this meeting; I think that Obama would be smart to try to turn this episode into something positive. I'm sure he'll think of something.
I also wanted to provide a link to this letter written by a fellow Harvard professor to Gates. It is incredibly eloquent and sums up rather perfectly the case against Gates' hollow accusations. Please read it.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
In Fact, Bunbury Is Dead.
LADY BRACKNELL: May I ask if it is in this house that your invalid friend Mr. Bunbury resides?
ALGERNON (stammering): Oh! No! Bunbury doesn’t live here. Bunbury is somewhere else at present. In fact, Bunbury is dead.
LADY BRACKNELL: Dead! . . . What did he die of?
ALGERNON: Bunbury? Oh, he was quite exploded.
LADY BRACKNELL: Exploded! Was he the victim of a revolutionary outrage? I was not aware that Mr. Bunbury was interested in social legislation. If so, he is well punished for his morbidity.
—“The Importance of Being Earnest.”
ALGERNON (stammering): Oh! No! Bunbury doesn’t live here. Bunbury is somewhere else at present. In fact, Bunbury is dead.
LADY BRACKNELL: Dead! . . . What did he die of?
ALGERNON: Bunbury? Oh, he was quite exploded.
LADY BRACKNELL: Exploded! Was he the victim of a revolutionary outrage? I was not aware that Mr. Bunbury was interested in social legislation. If so, he is well punished for his morbidity.
—“The Importance of Being Earnest.”
Obamacare
I've been silent thus far on the issue making some of the biggest waves in Washington and throughout the country: healthcare reform. That's because I know very little about it and would be able to offer very little in substantive analysis. What I do know is this: we should not allow our representatives in Congress to ram it through as Obama has requested. This bill requires serious examination due to its complexity and cost.
One of the biggest problems conservatives have had in their opposition to this bill is their lack of possible alternatives. Obama is right that the status quo is unsustainable, the increasing costs of providing healthcare for employers, the government and individuals will eventually break the back of the economy. The situation is dire, but it is certainly not a full-blown crisis yet. There is still time to consider the myriad changes that Obama wants in a healthcare reform bill and let the policy wonks tell us what the effects will be.
Here is an example of what some of the nay-sayers have to offer in the way of thoughtful dissent.
One of the biggest problems conservatives have had in their opposition to this bill is their lack of possible alternatives. Obama is right that the status quo is unsustainable, the increasing costs of providing healthcare for employers, the government and individuals will eventually break the back of the economy. The situation is dire, but it is certainly not a full-blown crisis yet. There is still time to consider the myriad changes that Obama wants in a healthcare reform bill and let the policy wonks tell us what the effects will be.
Here is an example of what some of the nay-sayers have to offer in the way of thoughtful dissent.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Obama Is In Trouble
The story that Obama has literally manufactured as a result of his ill-chosen words about the Cambridge Police Department is not going away. As they say in journalism: this story has legs.
Obama has a way with words, most of the time. Sometimes, far more often than he or his admin would like, he says some really foolish things (and I often do thought-experiments about what would happen if Bush had made the remark instead to my chagrin and frustration). Remember his Special Olympics comments on the Jay Leno show? Now he's claimed a police department (and insinuated about an officer) acted "stupidly," and he made these comments without "all the facts." One thing you probably don't want to do is lose the support of the law enforcement community (or present yourself to be at odds with them, especially unnecessarily!), as they are a powerful community who command respect throughout the nation (and rightfully so). Obama seems well on his way to seeing a serious popularity hit as a result of these foolish off-the-cuff comments. As more and more information comes out regarding the officer's stellar record (he even taught the department's class on racial profiling) the President's comments are starting to look very premature and outside the mainstream. Look for damage control today or early next week.
Obama has a way with words, most of the time. Sometimes, far more often than he or his admin would like, he says some really foolish things (and I often do thought-experiments about what would happen if Bush had made the remark instead to my chagrin and frustration). Remember his Special Olympics comments on the Jay Leno show? Now he's claimed a police department (and insinuated about an officer) acted "stupidly," and he made these comments without "all the facts." One thing you probably don't want to do is lose the support of the law enforcement community (or present yourself to be at odds with them, especially unnecessarily!), as they are a powerful community who command respect throughout the nation (and rightfully so). Obama seems well on his way to seeing a serious popularity hit as a result of these foolish off-the-cuff comments. As more and more information comes out regarding the officer's stellar record (he even taught the department's class on racial profiling) the President's comments are starting to look very premature and outside the mainstream. Look for damage control today or early next week.
The Arrest Of Henry Louis Gates Jr. Cont'd
As many of you know by now, the storm created by the arrest of Gates one week ago took a dramatic turn two nights ago at President Obama's press conference. At the conference, the President fielded a question about the arrest and put forth rather honestly that he did not have all the facts in the case (and that Gates was a friend), seeming to want to avoid any serious commentary on what has been a rather touchy issue. Quickly following that admission though, the President declared that the Cambridge Police Department had acted "stupidly" in its arrest of Gates. The President, like so many others, seemed to get caught up on the fact that Gates was in his house when he was arrested. Add to that fact that the police were called to the scene by someone who thought a robbery was taking place and yes, it does seem incredibly unjust that someone would be arrested in their own house for breaking and entering. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED. Gates was arrested for DISORDERLY CONDUCT, something (initially) even his Harvard ID couldn't protect him from, much to his surprise. We all can be arrested anywhere and at anytime for disorderly conduct, yes even in our own kitchens and living rooms and front porches.
I understand that it would be a little frustrating to have the police come to your house after you arrive home from a long trip (Gates had been in China working on a film) after you had just broken into your own house because you didn't have a key. But that does not give you a right to harass and taunt police officers whether you are black, white, Harvard professor or otherwise. You still have to obey the law, cooperate with the police and they will leave you alone. That is not what happened here. Gates got incredibly belligerent and at a certain point the officer decided that enough was enough, and booked him for being disorderly. That doesn't seem stupid to me. In fact, it seems like justice. What is stupid is that large numbers of people are being duped into believing that there is some sort of racial profiling going on here and taking it out on an officer who was just doing his job and was verbally abused by an angry and arrogant black Harvard professor. What a shame.
I understand that it would be a little frustrating to have the police come to your house after you arrive home from a long trip (Gates had been in China working on a film) after you had just broken into your own house because you didn't have a key. But that does not give you a right to harass and taunt police officers whether you are black, white, Harvard professor or otherwise. You still have to obey the law, cooperate with the police and they will leave you alone. That is not what happened here. Gates got incredibly belligerent and at a certain point the officer decided that enough was enough, and booked him for being disorderly. That doesn't seem stupid to me. In fact, it seems like justice. What is stupid is that large numbers of people are being duped into believing that there is some sort of racial profiling going on here and taking it out on an officer who was just doing his job and was verbally abused by an angry and arrogant black Harvard professor. What a shame.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Thoughts On The Arrest Of Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested last Thursday at his home in Cambridge, MA. It seems, though that many people are confused as to what he was arrested for. He was not arrested for breaking and entering, rather he was booked for disorderly conduct, which all accounts thus far certainly justify. Here are some pertinent links:
1. The Crimson article that broke the story
2. The first AP story re: Gates
3. The New York Times story from this AM
4. Perhaps most importantly, the Cambridge Police report of the incident (PDF)
Read the police report and you will see the foolishness with which Mr Gates conducted himself. If anyone is curious what a jail cell looks like, the best way to find out is to disrespect and taunt a police officer. It's called disorderly conduct, and it's illegal.
It's very clear that the officer was willing to let Mr Gates go scot free. He had confirmed that the residence belonged to Mr. Gates and was ready to leave. However, Mr Gates' continued disrespect, childish bullying, and the worst of Harvard Entitlement Syndrome ("You don't know who you're messing with!") was criminal, and it showed how truly arrogant a human being Mr. Gates is. And now he (and his army of bloodthirsty race-card soldiers) have the audacity to make this into a race issue?! What a joke!
People like Mr. Gates have their fingers on the trigger waiting, longing really, for an opportunity to Rodney King-ify every last encounter they have with authority. Their entire existences are built upon the conspiratorial notion that the world is against them (e.g. when Gates exclaimed "Why, because I'm a black man in America?!" in response to the police officer asking him to produce identification to prove the house was his). They have no credibility whatsoever when it comes to these accusations of racial profiling. I will say this: if anyone is guilty of racial profiling, it's Lucia Whalen, the woman who upon seeing two black men trying to pry open the door on the house across the street, called the police to report it.
The bottom line is this: the argument that Gates would not have been arrested had he been white is completely ridiculous. Calling a police officer "racist" and repeatedly yelling and taunting him is illegal (which means that even a black Harvard professor can be arrested for it, despite what Mr Gates seemed to think). It's also highly unprofessional for someone who holds the esteemed position that Mr Gates does, both at Harvard (University Professor) and within the black community writ large. Instead of coming to his defense and claiming racial bias, people should be lambasting Gates for his foolish behavior, more reminiscent of a rebellious teenager than a grown man.
Harvard should suspend him indefinitely for his unprofessionalism. But of course they won't, because irrational outrage at faux racially-charged events is chic.
1. The Crimson article that broke the story
2. The first AP story re: Gates
3. The New York Times story from this AM
4. Perhaps most importantly, the Cambridge Police report of the incident (PDF)
Read the police report and you will see the foolishness with which Mr Gates conducted himself. If anyone is curious what a jail cell looks like, the best way to find out is to disrespect and taunt a police officer. It's called disorderly conduct, and it's illegal.
It's very clear that the officer was willing to let Mr Gates go scot free. He had confirmed that the residence belonged to Mr. Gates and was ready to leave. However, Mr Gates' continued disrespect, childish bullying, and the worst of Harvard Entitlement Syndrome ("You don't know who you're messing with!") was criminal, and it showed how truly arrogant a human being Mr. Gates is. And now he (and his army of bloodthirsty race-card soldiers) have the audacity to make this into a race issue?! What a joke!
People like Mr. Gates have their fingers on the trigger waiting, longing really, for an opportunity to Rodney King-ify every last encounter they have with authority. Their entire existences are built upon the conspiratorial notion that the world is against them (e.g. when Gates exclaimed "Why, because I'm a black man in America?!" in response to the police officer asking him to produce identification to prove the house was his). They have no credibility whatsoever when it comes to these accusations of racial profiling. I will say this: if anyone is guilty of racial profiling, it's Lucia Whalen, the woman who upon seeing two black men trying to pry open the door on the house across the street, called the police to report it.
The bottom line is this: the argument that Gates would not have been arrested had he been white is completely ridiculous. Calling a police officer "racist" and repeatedly yelling and taunting him is illegal (which means that even a black Harvard professor can be arrested for it, despite what Mr Gates seemed to think). It's also highly unprofessional for someone who holds the esteemed position that Mr Gates does, both at Harvard (University Professor) and within the black community writ large. Instead of coming to his defense and claiming racial bias, people should be lambasting Gates for his foolish behavior, more reminiscent of a rebellious teenager than a grown man.
Harvard should suspend him indefinitely for his unprofessionalism. But of course they won't, because irrational outrage at faux racially-charged events is chic.
Hip Hop Beef Through The Lens of International Relations
Marc Lynch, whom some of us know as Abu Aardvark, has a really wonderful IR analysis of the newly established beef between The Game and Jay-Z.
So what does Jay-Z do? If he hits back hard in public, the Game will gain in publicity even if he loses... the classic problem of a great power confronted by a smaller annoying challenger. And given his demonstrated skills and talent, and his track record against G-Unit, the Game may well score some points. At the least, it would bring Jay-Z down to his level -- bogging him down in an asymmetric war negating the hegemon's primary advantages. If Jay-Z tries to use his structural power to kill Game's career (block him from releasing albums or booking tour dates or appearing at the Grammy Awards), it could be seen as a wimpy and pathetic operation -- especially since it would be exposed on Twitter and the hip hop blogs.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The F-22
Interesting information regarding the F-22.
The rest of us have to choose how to allocate limited resources. At this moment, with no imminent need for such an advanced fighter, the Defense Department should as well.
The rest of us have to choose how to allocate limited resources. At this moment, with no imminent need for such an advanced fighter, the Defense Department should as well.
Status Check: Iraq
I've been reading a number of articles lately (see here, here, and here) that I believe rightly declare that with the withdrawal of American troops from Iraqi urban centers, an early step in our eventual exit strategy, the US has achieved victory in Iraq. These articles also make the tragic observation that as recent as two years ago, very few people were saying that anything resembling what we see now in Iraq was possible. In fact, most people were saying the exact opposite, throwing patience and rationality to the wind and succumbing to selfishness by demanding that we withdraw immediately. For the sake of the Iraqi people and the greater Middle East, I'm very glad that George W. Bush did not cave in to popular opinion, which in that moment was very misguided.
While our foolish media was caught up in the storm surrounding the King of Pop's death, as well as a few other tabloid-y stories like Palin's resignation, our brave men and women were being moved out of cities all throughout the nascent democracy in the heart of the Middle East. They've fought valiantly and with grit, showing tremendous skill and an ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. It seems like no one is paying attention to their victory. Of course our men and women in uniform would never seek to be honored or demand recognition for their accomplishments; this is not the character of our soldiers. Regardless of this fact, their blood and sweat and toiling in the desert heat in the name of democracy and security for Iraq's people, and their success in achieving these goals, requires that we appreciate these tremendous achievements. And if neither CNN nor MSNBC nor ABC nor NBC will recognize this fact, I will: Thank you to all of the American servicemen and women who contributed to this effort. You have done exceedingly well, and the world is safer for it. The mission is not yet finished, but an important milestone has been reached.
On to Afghanistan.
While our foolish media was caught up in the storm surrounding the King of Pop's death, as well as a few other tabloid-y stories like Palin's resignation, our brave men and women were being moved out of cities all throughout the nascent democracy in the heart of the Middle East. They've fought valiantly and with grit, showing tremendous skill and an ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. It seems like no one is paying attention to their victory. Of course our men and women in uniform would never seek to be honored or demand recognition for their accomplishments; this is not the character of our soldiers. Regardless of this fact, their blood and sweat and toiling in the desert heat in the name of democracy and security for Iraq's people, and their success in achieving these goals, requires that we appreciate these tremendous achievements. And if neither CNN nor MSNBC nor ABC nor NBC will recognize this fact, I will: Thank you to all of the American servicemen and women who contributed to this effort. You have done exceedingly well, and the world is safer for it. The mission is not yet finished, but an important milestone has been reached.
On to Afghanistan.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Fast Pitch, Soft Power
Baseball in Iraq.
Even so, Madlool says he loves the game "because it is more enthusiastic than any other." His family was delighted with his new sport and encouraged him to go on. Eventually, he wound up coaching a women's softball team, which won a championship. "I felt as if I were the No. 1 man in the world," he beams.
To watch a major league game, he has to go to the home of a friend who has subscription-only channels. He likes the Los Angeles baseball team, though he's not sure of its name. (Probably the Dodgers , but it could be the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim , according to Angels owner Arte Moreno .)
"There is one player on the L.A. team that made me love the whole team," Bashar says. "I don't even know his full name. I think his name is James." So it's not Manny just being Manny.
At one practice last week, the players — most of whom had just finished university exams — spent their time on drills. The sandstorm that had hung over Baghdad for days had cleared off. Under blue skies, in 110 degree heat, they ran laps around the field, then tossed their three balls back and forth in an Arabic version of a pepper warm-up.
None of the players owns a pair of spikes, so they all wear Chinese-made, off-the-rack running shoes.
Before a game, the team gathers in a circle, clasps hands, chants a verse from the Koran and shouts " Baghdad !"
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
BACK
I am back from vacation.
I had a wonderful time and will post some pictures/video when I can. I don't want to divulge too many personal details because that's not the purpose of this blog but two highlights of the trip included spending some time in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is a beautiful city that I would recommend to anyone, as well as sailing and snorkeling in St. Thomas with some sting rays and beautiful coral reef (and no sharks).
Not too much seemed to happen while I was out of the loop though if I am wrong please let me know (other than the hubbub about the Michael Jackson memorial service).
Hope everyone had a wonderful week and a half and looking forward to getting back into some blogging.
I had a wonderful time and will post some pictures/video when I can. I don't want to divulge too many personal details because that's not the purpose of this blog but two highlights of the trip included spending some time in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is a beautiful city that I would recommend to anyone, as well as sailing and snorkeling in St. Thomas with some sting rays and beautiful coral reef (and no sharks).
Not too much seemed to happen while I was out of the loop though if I am wrong please let me know (other than the hubbub about the Michael Jackson memorial service).
Hope everyone had a wonderful week and a half and looking forward to getting back into some blogging.
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