Alex Massie

Alex Massie

Saturday

Alex Massie

Saturday Afternoon Country: George Jones

From our UK edition

If we could choose to sound like anyone, Waylon once said, we'd want to sing like George Jones. And frankly, not too many people have ever bothered to disagree with Mr Jennings' verdict. And like Waylon and so many other country greats, the Possum has not always had his troubles to seek; rather he's plunged head-first into them. For years he was known as "No Show Jones"; these days, happily, George Jones seems pretty content. Still playing, still getting as much satisfaction from keeping his lawn in perfect condition as he does from entertaining his fans. But the voice is the thing. The Possum can take something corny and distil proper country liquor from it.

Friday

Alex Massie

Glenn Beck to Unveil Plan to Save the American Republic

From our UK edition

I really don't know what to make of this. As politics it's bizarre, as a kind of performance art it's mesmerising. And popular. More people watch Glenn Beck than Mad Men. He reaches three million viewrs, which makes him Fox News's biggest star. As Dave Weigel points out, he's influential: Beck's ramblings are helping drive the opposition - he might say resistance - to Obama's healthcare reforms. It's not just Obama of course. There's an entire conspiracy determined to destroy the American republic. It's made up of Obama, Left, International, Graft, ACORN-style organizations, Revolutionaries, Hidden Agendas. These words are not chosen by accident. Take the first letter of each word and you nearly have the answer.

Alex Massie

Is Using a Minotaur to Gore Detainees a Form of Torture?

From our UK edition

Well is it? This is one of the great moral issues of our time. Happily, (after the jump) there's a panel of experts available to debate the matter. The awful thing is that this is horribly close to being a verbatim report from some ghastly cable TV "news" shoutfest. Thank god for the Onion, proving once again that the "fake" news is often better than the so-called "real" news. At least it's entertaining, not enraging. Is Using A Minotaur To Gore Detainees A Form Of Torture?

Alex Massie

On Clausewitz and the Art of Cricket

From our UK edition

Earlier this summer, at the end of a conversation on other matters, the (excellent) American blogger Kevin Drum asked for more cricket-blogging. I'm happy to oblige! He said he finds the game "endlessly fascinating" if also puzzling. "I'm pretty much agog" he wrote "at the idea that you have a sport that frequently ends in a draw even though it takes five days to play." This is a common observation and an aspect of cricket that mystifies many people, by no means all of them American. But of the three most common results - a win, a loss and a draw - it is not an overstatement to say that the draw is the most important. Because it is the draw, or more accurately the possibility of the draw, that gives the game its texture and much of its near-endless variety.

Thursday

Alex Massie

Kentucky Fried Chicken Disappoints Glaswegians

From our UK edition

  According to the Los Angeles Times, KFC are bringing new finger-lickin' goodness to market. This is the "Double Down" a sandwich made from: two Original Recipe fillets, bacon, Swiss and pepper jack cheese and something called the Colonel's sauce Sounds delicious! But why are they testing this exciting new product in Rhode Island and Nebraska and not in Glasgow? It can only be because they know it will be a hit amongst Glaswegians and need to discover if non-West-of-Scotlanders will show comparable enthusiasm for a breadless meat sandwich...

Alex Massie

Hannan & Powell, Round 2

From our UK edition

Danny Finkelstein says my Churchill analogy is "cute" but wrong. Churchill had his flaws but is primarily remembered for getting One Big Thing Right; Powell had his qualities but is primarily remembered for getting One Big Thing Wrong. In other words, the two aren't really comparable and my argument is wrong. I confess this thought occurred to me this morning. I should have updated my argument to make that clear. In other words, Danny is right. That said, I also think that when a man is asked who his heroes and intellectual influences are and replies Ayn Rand, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman and, in a British context, Enoch Powell it is pretty obvious that he is pretty unlikely to share Powell's views on immigration.

Alex Massie

Obama, Likud & Self-Loathing Jews

From our UK edition

Occasionally you hear or see or read people complaining that Barack Obama's administration is openly hostile towards Israel and Israeli interests. The purported evidence for this attitude has never persuaded me, but perhaps I'm wrong to be quite so stubborn. Matters become even odder, however, when that criticism is extended to all of liberal American jewry when any disagreement with Likud is characterised as a betrayal of Israel that can only be explained by Jewish self-loathing. So, at the risk of arguing from some authority, let me point you towards Leon Wieseltier's latest piece in the New Republic. Wieseltier disagrees with quite a bit of Obama's middle eastern policies, but, well, read for yourselves...

Alex Massie

A Romney Pipe Dream

From our UK edition

Anyone who wants to see Mitt Romney fail now should hope he follows the advice given by Lisa Schiffren and Peter Roff and runs for the now open Senate seat in Massachussetts; anyone looking forward to kicking Multiple Choice Mitt in a couple of years time should hope his political instincts haven't yet deteriorated beyond the point of no return and that, consequently, he'll decline this exciting invivation to failure. As James Joyner suggests, this idea makes no sense at all, not least from Romney's perspective. The fact that it's being offered in a friendly spirit is quite astonishing.

Wednesday

Alex Massie

Daniel Hannan & Enoch Powell: Spectacular Media Stupidity Guaranteed

From our UK edition

If a politician expresses admiration for Winston Churchill do you immediately think that he's a great fan of, among other considerations, casual indifference to the Bengal famine, the use of chemical weapons in Iraq or the pulverisation and total destruction of German cities? Of course you don't. But when a politician says he admires Enoch Powell it's as if he'd decided to fill the Tiber with blood by scurrying around the country and slaughtering the children of every immigrant in the land. This is, as you might expect, also nonsense. But, lo and behold there's a mini-rumpus and a song and dance over some comments made by Daniel Hannan to reason.tv. Hannan's crime? To say that among his political heroes: "In the British context, [was] Enoch Powell ...

Alex Massie

Who will succeed Kennedy as Master of the Senate?

From our UK edition

Patty Murray, Herb Kohl, Johnny Isakson, Michael Enzi, Mike Crapo, Jeff Bingaman, Tom Carper, Daniel Inouy, Thad Cochrane, Blanche Lincoln... You need to be a pretty keen political junkie to know that each of these men and women are current members of the United States Senate. Nor have I cheated by including recent arrivals such as Roger Wicker who are still freshmen and, consequently, justifiably unknown to the rest of the country, never mind internationally. Still, its remarkable how many Senators make no impression whatsoever upon Washington. (Of course, one often has cause to regret the impression made by those that do insist upon making waves, news and bad legislation. But still...) Doubtless the Senate has never been as classy a joint as its members like to think it.

Alex Massie

Ted Kennedy’s Finest Speech?

From our UK edition

Well, his address to the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City is probably Kennedy's most famous speech. It may not have been his finest hour but it was certainly Bob Shrum's. Indeed, so successful was it that Shrum has subsequently tried to capture its echoes in speeches written for other, invariably lesser, politicians. You need stature to be able to carry this sort of thing off. Which is one reason why other Shrum clients such as John Kerry and Gordon Brown have struggled with the speeches Shrum has written for them. Nor, it should not need saying, does one need to agree with the argument to appreciate that it's a great speech. The peroration is, I guess, the most famous part.

Alex Massie

The End of an Old Song: Ted Kennedy 1932-2009

From our UK edition

  There was plenty to dislike* about Edward Kennedy and some of the opprobrium he attracted was deserved. Some of it was also an honour: Kennedy was worth disliking and, yes, fearing too. He mattered. His death marks the end of an era. Though his son sits in the House of Representatives, Ted Kennedy was the last of the clan to stroll across the national stage. It has become customary to refer to him as the great "Liberal Lion" of the Senate and, for once, that's a fair description. No Senator in modern times has done quite so much. There is scarcely an area of American life untouched by legislation written or sponsored by the Senator from Massachussetts.

Tuesday

Alex Massie

America’s Worst Congressman

From our UK edition

The loathsome Peter King is at it again. Speaking to Politico, he's up in arms that some people think torturing prisoners is wrong. King, channeling both the sense of outrage and of political opportunity felt in parts of the GOP, defended in detail the interrogation practices — threats to kill a detainee's family, and or to kill a detainee with a power drill — detailed in a CIA inspector general report released yesterday. "You're talking about threatening to kill a guy, threatening to attack his family, threatening to use an electric drill on him — but never doing it," King said.  "You have that on the one hand — and on the other you have the [interrogator's] attempt to prevent thousands of Americans from being killed.

Alex Massie

Obama’s Summer Reading List

From our UK edition

Since we're speaking of lists and, you know, it's still August, Barack Obama's summer reading list  is a mixture of the good (George Pelecanos) the middlebrow (David McCullough) and the too-contrived-and-appallingly-written (Tom Friedman). Joe Carter critiques the list and asks: In all seriousness, though, what books would you recommend the President read during his vacation? Assuming you had to stick to the same  3:1:1 ratio (3 novels, 1 biography, 1 policy-oriented nonfiction) what books would you slip into his travel bag? This, obviously, is a game everyone can play. So here are some suggestions: 1. Lincoln by Gore Vidal.

Alex Massie

Movie List Mania!

From our UK edition

So, a big hello to Cappuccino Culture, the Spectator's new culture blog where I see Pete has reposted the list he helped compile for the Spectator's 50 Essential Films supplement. Just for good measure, Pete's added another 35 films that would be contenders for his own personal list. Brother Hoskin is a much greater cinephile than I am, but his inclusion of Eyes Wide Shut as a candidate for his own "Top 50" suggests he's also keen on offering needless provocation. That said, I was delighted to see that the charming Whisky Galore! also made his list. Since everyone love to make movie lists, here are some films that, off the top of my head, I'd consider strong contenders for my own - middlebrow! - Top 50.

Alex Massie

Welcome to Guardian Country…

From our UK edition

From the Guardian's Comment is Free today: 1. Cuba is an inspiring country for Americans like me to visit – and going there is an important act of civil disobedience 2. A Swedish report about supposed organ-harvesting by troops in the West Bank isn't antisemitic – it's just bad journalism. 3. Meerkat forces? Not good enough. Yup, Peter Jones complains that a car insurance advert featuring Meerkats is racist. This is not a spoof. This is Guardian Country. Imagine how ghastly living there must be...

Alex Massie

How Conservative is The Wire?

From our UK edition

Thanks to Brother Hoskin for mentioning Chris Grayling's bizarre comparison of urban Britain with the Baltimore of The Wire. Bizarre not because there aren't problems in Britain but because he's talking abut a show that, though brilliant, barely anyone watches. One of the great things about the programme, however, is that it's open to multiple interpretations. This is something I've considered before. Let's just say, however, that the Tories' manic enthusiasm for the War on Drugs fits rather oddly with the reality of life on the streets of Baltimore as depicted by The Wire.

Alex Massie

Special Relationship Fretting: Cui Bono?

From our UK edition

There's no need for me to take pro-American lessons from anyone but that doesn't mean I necessarily or secretly want to be American. That can't be said of everyone on the British right. Take Douglas Carswell for instance. The MP for Harwich and Clacton is deeply upset by the Scottish government's decision to free Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. That's his right. What's odder is that he seems to be more upset by the fact that the Americans are upset than by anything else. In one post he suggested that the US ban those responsble for freeing Megrahi from entering the United States. In another, he asks "Is Britain a Reliable Ally?

Alex Massie

Trotting Towards Victory

From our UK edition

Sorry for the light posting: a house full of friends and family explains that. Normal peace and quiet has returned this morning. Which means that, yes, as some readers have suggested it's time to say something about the Ashes and, for that matter, Jonathan Trott. I had, after all, suggested that England's decision to choose him (and retain Ian Bell) was gutless, pusillanimous and asking for disaster. Well, you calls 'em as you sees 'em. Selectors 1 Me 0. Which is, of course, a Very Good Thing. This wasn't a classic series in terms of the quality of the cricket. But it was rarely dull and often fascinating and gripping. In the end, when it mattered most England were able to press home their advantage and Australia were not.

Alex Massie

Amazon & Wodehouse

From our UK edition

The thinking is, I suppose, that this book is about a valet and Wodehouse's writing featured a gentleman's gentleman too. Plus, he did make those unfortunate recordings while held prisoner by the Nazis. Nonetheless, I was a trifle surprised to receive an email from Amazon.com suggesting that... As someone who has purchased or rated The Mating Season by P.G. Wodehouse, you might like to know that With Hitler to the End: The Memoir of Hitler's Valet will be released on September 1, 2009.  You can pre-order yours at a savings of $8.48 by following the link below. OK! Well now I know! UPDATE: Just to be clear, like Fergus Pickering in the comments, I too am fed up with the "Wodehouse as a Nazi" nonsense.