The New York Times is taking a friendly interest in Rick Perry (please excuse the crude linking as I am away from home.) The Times notes that Perry is no George W. Bush http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/us/politics/06perry.html?hp=&pagewanted=all It also turns out that Perry is pretty good at . . . . Continue Reading »
Today was a day for patriotism, and Tocqueville describes two kinds. One is the natural love humans develop for the place and polity they were raised in, for its folkways and so forth. The second is a more reflective patriotism that, aided by enlightenment rationality, “grows with the exercise . . . . Continue Reading »
I don’t know what to think about Rick Perry running for President. I sure don’t have anything against him running, but several points as to Perry’s political strengths, 1. Perry gets a lot of credit because Texas under his governorship has had population increase . . . . Continue Reading »
1. Here are BIG THINK comments on the Declaration and all that. 2. There are some good comments below on the statesmanship of Eisenhower’s farewell speech that includes the stuff about the military-industrial complex. 3. My objections are to the perspective that develops when that stuff and . . . . Continue Reading »
George Wil l is endorsing and so trying to mainstream a new book convincingly making the case case that a Democratic president and Congress prodded the basically unaccountable Fannie Mae (dominated by Democrats and basically a huge Democratic interest group) to abandon ordinary prudence or good . . . . Continue Reading »
According to lots of Republican experts , the race for the nomination has already been winnowed down to Bachmann, Romney, and Perry. I agree with Pete that Pawlenty could come back if Bachmann self-destructs before Iowa, but that seems very unlikely. Perry, at first glance, seems like the mean . . . . Continue Reading »
Marilynne Robinson is not Rock, and this is not a song. Rather, it is simply a three-word sentence dropped by the acclaimed novelist last fall, when I heard her speak at Skidmore College. But the following was initially provoked by another writer, Bill Kaufmann. Kaufmann is a hard one to . . . . Continue Reading »
1. And a movie the Porchers can almost believe in. 2. It’s a movie that’s parts of lots and lots of movies about home, friendship, family, and ETs who just want to go home. It could easily be understood as Abrams’ suck up to Spielberg. But there is, after all, a good side to . . . . Continue Reading »
That’s supposed to be, as I explain, Obama’s “hidden advantage.” . He won’t have any primary opposition that might weaken him. There’s a lot to say, but it is true that nobody doubts that Obama is a real Progressive, just as nobody doubted that Reagan is a real . . . . Continue Reading »
Got Some Truth! Emphasis on the some. Being against Carter in 1980 was an easy step. A number of rockers got the political jitters towards the end of the 70s—Bowie famously suggested, under whatever mix of drugs I know not, that Britain might need a fascist strongman, and even Paul Weller, as . . . . Continue Reading »
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