April 2011
1 post
When Everyone Thinks You’re Wrong, You Just Might...
Some thoughts on reactions to Obama’s actions in Libya, written for Zahranicna Politika. In the days since President Obama decided to support the UN sanctioned no-fly zone in Libya each little cell on the American ideological spectrum has found out its own unique way to trash him. And yet, if the sheer variety of disagreement reveals anything, it might be that Obama took the most...
February 2011
5 posts
Olive and the fireplace http://instagr.am/p/B0pg5/
so.. is it gone? @ggreenwald Eric Holder obviously deserves a good share of the credit for the DOMA decision: http://is.gd/TPEMu7
what the word for gay urban foodie RT @bulicks: Chia seeds, vitamin D3, and homemade yogurt will cure strep throat, right? #homoeconomics
Inconvenient Democracy. http://post.ly/1di0w
Inconvenient Democracy.
I wrote this column for Zahraničná politika on the eve of the fall of Mubarak’s regime, so some of it is already out of date. However, other parts of it continue to be valid in light of the once-again focused or conflicted reaction of the US administration to unrest in other countries… Inconvenient Democracy Any reasonable person would expect that a people rising up to take...
December 2010
4 posts
Health Reform Might Be Unconstitutional Because...
So, a judge in Virginia ruled the individual mandate in the new health reform law unconstitutional. Big deal? If you are in favor of providing universal coverage to everyone, the individual mandate is key. Yes, there are ways to circumvent it (for example, provide a tax credit to those who purchase health insurance; or charge a penalty to anyone who opts out and then signs up), but as the...
An email from Columbia's SIPA to their students...
“We received a call today from a SIPA alumnus who is working at the State Department. He asked us to pass along the following information to anyone who will be applying for jobs in the federal government, since all would require a background investigation and in some instances a security clearance. The documents released during the past few months through WikiLeaks are still considered...
WikiUgh, or how annoying some reactions to...
Think what you want about WikiLeaks, there isn’t much to like about Julian Assange’s “style.” He kind of sounds like an egomaniacal prick. And yet I was disappointed that people - ones I usually find to be rational and above this kind of thing - can’t somehow get over his persona in their assessment of the latest dump of data or what WikiLeaks does, generally.Last...
The Jon Stewart Philosophy?
From the man who gave us “If we amplify everything, we hear nothing”, comes a new pearl of wisdom: “If there’s total transparency, we won’t really see anything.” I think I see a pattern?
November 2010
34 posts
"a hypocritical and inconsistent opposition is...
RT @AdamSerwer: Main point, the new study McCain wants to do on DADT was done more than a decade ago http://wapo.st/9DzBVu
easy squeezy! My plan for the deficit http://t.co/42GGQqI via @nytgraphics
“If he sounds like this much of a dolt in his own description, imagine how he sounded to his colleagues at the time.” http://slate.me/96YyuY
My new column for Zahraničná politika “Welcome to United States of Absurdity” http://post.ly/1BVLs
My new column for Zahraničná politika "Welcome to...
Welcome to United States of Absurdity “Absurdistan” is a term that has appeared in art and in the press as a sarcastic description of a country where absurdity is the norm. The suffix “-stan” connotes the former Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc generally, so although it could be used to describe several countries, it’s etymology renders it inapplicable outside of that loose geographical context....
Wassup, cupcake? http://post.ly/19z1q
Great take on the latest news on torture, thanks Amy @tnyCloseRead Torture Is Free http://nyr.kr/9cvhj0
Jon Stewart is a White House economic advisor. Kidding. Sort of. http://bit.ly/a5SK6X
If you could dedicate only 50 minutes to politics for the next 10 years, you should spend them watching this video. http://post.ly/19gjI
maybe Olive can catch fish, too? http://bit.ly/9isAYC
it gets better but only a little #tweetyour16yearoldself
“The Democrats lost, but they shouldn’t act defeated.” http://bit.ly/buUYKb
no, thank YOU! @TeamContinuum thanks the hundreds of athletes running with Team Continuum in the NYC Marathon on Sunday
If you could dedicate only 50 minutes to politics...
Glenn Greenwald on civil liberties and terrorism after Obama from The Badger Herald on Vimeo.
funny, he’s still obviously not totally comfortable talking about it. but good step. http://bit.ly/a5UX0y
RT @NewYorker: Gary Shteyngart: An Immigrants’ #Election Party: http://nyr.kr/bTS0nj
“the most eloquent, and disturbing, portrait of the running mind ever made” http://bit.ly/dfGskJ
RT @mattyglesias: The least Obama can do is acknowledge Perriello’s tough votes by appointing him to cushy job as a death panelist.
but then there’s this http://bit.ly/cox8rm RT @gaycivilrights Election Results: What Was Good For LGBT,Progressive Voters http://ht.ly/33T3S
meet “bipartisanship” RT @ariannahuff Funny how Dem compromises keep becoming the starting point from which they’re to further compromise
A man can dream @fivethirtyeight: [new article] 5 Reasons Democrats Could Beat the Polls and Hold the House http://bit.ly/9lGFNF
i think this captures well the problem with the ironic rally for people being nice http://bit.ly/aWe4tp
“waiting” “for” “superman” http://bit.ly/bMQax3
interesting take from @peterbeinart How Jon Stewart Blew It http://shar.es/0UADm
RT @Awl: Would You Like To Watch Four Lion Cubs Learn To Swim? - http://www.theawl.com/?p=59710
depressing RT @AdamSerwer Yesterday’s big wins for the anti-gay rights movement http://bit.ly/a2J97a
$394m in independent campaign spending alone. Gross. http://bit.ly/auzXDl via @PublicI
OR turn off your computer completely? RT @jdickerson On a day like this I could use two more screens and double the size of the ones I have.
hello rhetoric and hypocrisy: anti-spending candidates benefited from gov’t contracts, tax breaks: http://bit.ly/alSDag
all-nighter @fivethirtyeight FYI: We’ll have live coverage of Election Night starting at 5 PM and going until they turn all the lights out.
every bloggers dream? http://xkcd.com/810/
yea, David, let’s take their word for it, all their actions since whenever notwithstanding http://nyti.ms/bgyq4e
Why can’t Americans vote online when Estonians have been doing so since 2007? http://nyti.ms/bqdqWi
October 2010
84 posts
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Just Shut The Fuck Up.
I don’t understand this latest string of developments. DADT is back in effect as a result of a stay issued yesterday. The purpose of a “stay” is to stop the effect of a ruling while it’s being appealed. Fine, I suppose. I can understand the logic of doing this in an orderly fashion (even if I don’t agree with it). But how about the reverse? Shouldn’t there...
Life's Good Now.
Carboloading.
Yea, right.
fundraising goes on, pls donate and/or RT http://bit.ly/dku9wX
thank God for good journalism: “Stimulating Hypocrisy” http://bit.ly/csGUl6
RT @mattyglesias: I’m pro-spoiler. Quality works stand up to foreknowledge of the plot. #macbethdies #thehorseisatrick