What’s the difference between technical jargon and mind-numbing, unthinking cliché? Why, it’s that while I, on occasion, may resort to the former, you, of course, invariably use the latter. In the arid world of politics, however, we are richly blessed with language that is oppressively both and of which the citizenry is the object of […]
Thinking about Egypt
We were thinking about it yesterday in more theoretical terms, about what makes a revolution and the act of rebellion legitimate and humane – true to the liberating spirit that animates it – and how revolutions betray themselves. To think about Egypt more practically is to recognize the social factors in Egypt that make the […]
The Republicans on START: Not Serious, “No Shame”
Image via Wikipedia This remarkable lame duck session of congress contines – upending all conventional wisdom about Barack Obama’s fortunes and election consequences. You might previously have thought the Republicans won the presidency in November. Though it is probably the President’s compromise with Republicans on taxes that set the stage for what is now happening, […]
Republicans: the Party of Stop
They are against the social safety net: social security, unemployment insurance, any form of government guaranteed health insurance or care that doesn’t already exist, and they long to go after what does. They fought gay rights, they fight gay marriage, they oppose the repeal of DADT. If they had their way there would be no […]
The Self-Parody of Sarah Palin
And the essence of Tea Party Inanity (TPI), from Sarah Palin: We know that Obama wasn’t vetted through the campaign, and now, you know, some things are coming home to roost, if you will, which is inexperience, his associations, and that ultimately harms our republic when a candidate isn’t — isn’t vetted by the media, […]