I think Jonah�s Goldberg�s is the best and the freshest in the marketplace of ideas. Charming, witty, and unafraid of confrontation, his body of work is starting to show flashes of genius. His lasting posting is the closest thing I�ve ever found to a Rosetta Stone explaining why liberals /�our reluctant European allies� think the way they do. It is not to be missed.
Maureen Dowd has lost her edge
Maureen Dowd, the aging doyenne of the NY Times editorial board, seems to have lost her edge.
That or I�m tired of her continuous bitching about �the Bushies�. I suppose though, if you�re a one trick pony and that one trick keeps you in a nice place on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, there is an incentive to do it over and over again.
Her latest piece in America�s so-called �newspaper of record� is actually setup to deliver interesting and profound insights into George Bush fils understanding of America�s place in the world and how the ascension of American culture places it on the same short list as the Roman and Chinese Empire. She could then underscore the differences between those empires of conquest and our empire of thought and freedom.
Heavy sigh
Alas, she didn�t, deciding that the best way to conduct a reasoned argument was to lead with facts, then make a unreasonable summation coupled with an ad hominem attack. The text of the piece concerns a Pentogon study of the empires of yore � China, Rome, etc. and how they keep and spread their influence and power. Personally, I think this perfectly reasonable, even laudable, use of taxpayer money. American policy makers should study history. They should understand that the world is a very dangerous place. They � and us � would be wise to study everything that�s ever happened before and learn form it. Ms. Dowd concludes that this is another example of misguided Republicans striving to enslave the world with our petit bourgeois values and tastes (read �life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness�). Money quote:
As the brazen Bush imperialists try to install a new democracy in Iraq, they are finding the old democracy of our reluctant allies inconvenient.
I don�t think I can quite make the synaptical leap between the study of history during dangerous times and desire for empire. Indeed, it was a careful study of history that allowed American forces to quickly overthrow the Taliban in Afghanistan. We didn�t repeat the tactics of either The British of the Soviets, both of whom really were bent on empire. And somehow I do find it reassuring that we have yet to receive the blessing of our nationalist /socialist �allies� in old Europe.
House hunting
I�m in Carolina, hanging out with my sister and her husband, looking for a house. The New South seems to have learned that much of its� charm cam from its Old South roots. No, not Jim Crow politics or confederate flags, but grace and rooted-ness. Charleston is charming. So is Savannah. The architecture is familiar and comfortable.
Well, developers in Raleigh have finally figured that out and are building new neighborhoods that like, well, old neighborhoods. Development after development is being built to look like Craftsman bungalows or Charleston row houses.
And I am stoked. Let the hunting begin.
08 Mar 03 dpny
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