Alex Massie

Alex Massie

Sunday

Alex Massie

Tim Russert’s Shoes

This isn't a criticism of Tim Russert, per se, rather an anecdote that, though trivial, is also rather revealing. From Mark Leibovich's nicely-judged piece in the New York Times: My last encounter with Mr. Russert was at a Democratic debate in Cleveland, which he was moderating. I was with his colleague Mr. Matthews — I was writing about Mr. Matthews for the New York Times Magazine — and we ran into Mr. Russert in the lobby of the Cleveland Ritz Carlton. He had just worked out and was wearing a sweaty Bills sweatshirt and long shorts and black loafers with tube socks. An MSNBC spokesman who was with us tried to declare Mr. Russert’s attire “off the record,” which I found hilarious, and which I was of course compelled to include in the story. When I called Mr.

Alex Massie

The Dubya Has Landed

Via Jim Manzi, it seems that thousands and thousands of people are being inconvenienced by George W Bush's arrival at Heathrow. Well, I don't particularly begrudge him his security (but do they really need three planes and four helicopters?) but why aren't they using an RAF base instead of the country's busiest airport?

Alex Massie

K is for Kapil

Apologies for the delay in publishing this latest installment in our marathon series. Still, here it is at last. So far we have has featured teams skippered by: Armstrong, Benaud, Constantine, Dexter,  Edrich,  Fry, Gower,  Hutton,  Imran and Jardine. Now it is Kapil Dev's turn. 1. Gary Kirsten (SA)2. Rohan Kanhai (WI)3. Vinod Kambli (IND)4. Jacques Kallis (SA)5. Alvin Kallicharran (WI)6. Alan Kippax (AUS) 7. Kapil Dev (IND) (Capt) 8. Alan Knott (ENG) (Wkt)9. Anil Kumble (IND)10. Khan Mohammed (PAK)11. Bart King (USA) Country representation in the series: England 41, Australia 23, West Indies 15, India 12, Pakistan 11, South Africa 10, New Zealand 5, Sri Lanka 2, Zimbabwe 1, USA 1. Lower those eyebrows. Un-drop your jaw. Cease your incredulous blinking.

Saturday

Alex Massie

The View from Beyond Westminster Bridge

Since I wrote this, I'm hardly likely to disagree with the thrust of Matthew Parris's column in The Times today, am I? I distrust clichés such as “Westminster village”, but there are occasions when they fit. Within the space of an afternoon a relatively small number of people - MPs, broadcasters, journalists, party hacks - gathered within a relatively confined space and, communicating mostly with each other, worked each other up into a clear, sharp and settled judgment on the question of the hour. By now it was almost unanimous. The judgment was conveyed electronically to the offices of the national press, bouncing back at Westminster in the form of vituperative editorials and opinion columns by dawn the next morning.

Alex Massie

Sometimes Washington Really is a Small Town

Like anyone else who's spent any time in Washington these past 20 years, I was stunned by the sad news of Tim Russert's death, aged just 58, on Friday. these must be terrible times for his friends and family. Like Matt Yglesias, I've criticised Russert before, but de mortuis nil nisi bonum and all that. For myself, I never thought Russert as "tough" as his legend suggested. "Tougher than Bob Schieffer" isn't quite the same thing. American journalism - and politics - of course, makes a virtue of having a less cynical, less antagonistic style than that which those of us brought up in Britain are accustomed to enjoying.

Friday

Alex Massie

David Davis: Principled Troubador or Egomaniac?

Everyone agreed that David Davis's resignation yesterday was extraordinary political theatre and that it would be a rash man who predicted its consequences. Some pundits were prepared to acknowledge the bravura  - even the foolhardy courage - of Davis's decision to risk ridicule and disaster on a supposedly quixotic personal crusade but, as the presses rooled and Friday's editorials and analysis columns were pinged onto the internet, something remarkable happened: after a day spent wondering how brave a man must be to predict the consequences of Davis's actions, the Westminster press corps and its gaggle of pundits and metropolitan swells came to a single conclusion: David Davis must be mad. Dissenting voices are hard to find.

Alex Massie

These People Are In Your Government

How can you tell if David Davis is right? Easy! As Mr Eugenides says, just look at these reactions:: JACQUI SMITH, HOME SECRETARY Faced with a crucial decision on the safety and protection of the British public, the Conservatives have collapsed into total disarray on what is their first big policy test since they have come under greater scrutiny. David Cameron must come clean on what has really happened and why David Davis has really resigned. DAVID BLUNKETT, FORMER HOME SECRETARY David Davis's behaviour is a pure piece of political theatre, even more bizarre than John Major resigning as leader of the Tory Party in order to stand again against his own colleagues. This is childish and immature and it is not worthy of a major political party to engage in such theatre.

Thursday

Alex Massie

The American-Americans

Matt Yglesias posted an interesting map the other day: It's a map drawn from US Census bureau data on ethnicity and ancestry. According to the census, however, some 7% of Americans look puzzled when you quiz 'em about their ancestry and write American rather than "Irish" or "Polish" or Korean" or "Cuban". This map shows where those American-Americans live, leading Matt to argue, vis a vis Jim Webb's prospects for the Vice-Presidency, that "Webb's favorite ethnic group, in short, seems to be the ethnic group with the least ethnic consciousness." (I concur with Matt, incidentally, in recommending Eve Fairbanks' fine Webb profile in this week's New Republic) Well, yes, and that's one of the reasons Webb felt compelled to write his history of the Scots-Irish in America, Born Fighting.

Alex Massie

America Under Siege!

American icons are under threat! The Chrysler building has been sold - gasp! - to Arabs; now the Belgians have launched a bid to buy - double gasp! - Budweiser... The governor of Missouri has, of course, pledged to do all he can to prevent the company from falling into (filthy) foreign hands. Where-oh-where will it all end?

Alex Massie

The Importance of Kicking Gordon

Defeat for Gordon Brown on 42 Days yesterday would have been catastrophic. But, as I suggested, victory hasn't done him much good either. The Spectator samples press reaction: "Desperate Brown scrapes through" says the Guardian, quoting Dianne Abbott saying it was a “grubby bazaar”. Just how grubby is shown by the Daily Mail which names those concessions. “Winner or Loser?” asks The Independent’s front page and editorial argues for the latter (“A victory that only exposes Mr Brown’s weakness”). The Mirror’s spread says simply “Day of Shame”. The Times’ leader says simply “Westminster for Sale” saying this horse trading will only further lower the public’s opinion of British politics. All true.

Alex Massie

Responsibility, Duty, Decency

Mr Eugenides observes that for all the talk - much of it reasonable - that the Tories are soft on liberty and that we lbertarian-types should therefore vote for UKIP (no thanks!), UKIP's only MP, Bob Spink, voted with the government on 42 Days. In the comments, Trixy, of Is There More to Life Than Shoes fame, says this was fine because he wasmerely reflecting the views of his constituents. Which means it's time to give Edmund Burke's famous 1774 speech in Bristol another airing... "Certainly, Gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a Representative, to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents.

Alex Massie

The Fresh Winds of Principle

David Davis, the shadow Home Secretary, resigns his seat to fight a by-election on the principles of liberty and justice. A startling move, by any measure. And one worthy of respect. If he wins - and the Lib Dems have said they will not put up a candidate to oppose him - then, happily, he'll make it harder for the Tories to succumb to their worst instincts and backslide on the repeal of 42 Days and other intrusive government legislation, once they return to power. UPDATE: New Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve says the Tories will repeal 42 Days. Good. If Davis's actions forced this clarification then that alone seems a decent enough justification for his move. As you would expect, Iain Dale has more.

Alex Massie

Zimbabwe’s Dr Benito Speaks!

Many thanks to Isaac Chotiner for pointing out the latest example of what he rightly considers to be Scoop-turned-fact. One the one hand, Zimbabwe's opposition leaders are being detained, on the other there's the confiscation of American food-aid which, rather than reach its intended target, was requisitioned to feed ZANU-PF supporters. When the Americans complained about their convoy being hijacked... Wayne Bvudzijena, spokesman for Zimbabwe’s national police, did not respond to the substance of Mr. McGee’s charge when contacted on his cellphone on Wednesday, but instead contended that there was no place named Bambazonke in Zimbabwe. “If you can go back to the honorable ambassador and verify your facts, madam,” Mr. Bvudzijena said, then hung up.

Wednesday

Alex Massie

Snuff Moves

My old friend Gerald Warner has, I'm glad to discover, a blog at the Telegraph entitled Is It Just Me? (sometimes, yes, Gerald, I'm afraid it is...). In his most recent post Gerald reports that the health industry has opened a new front in the Tobacco Wars. Not content with persecuting smokers, the unco guid are preparing to take aim at snuff aficionados. Seriously. As Gerald observes, this is no surprise: Of course, it had to happen. The health fascists, having overrun the cigarette, cigar and pipe-smokers, are now advancing on the snuff-takers. We have been here before. Persecution of snuff-taking began in the early 17th century when Sultan Amurath IV of Turkey made it a capital offence.

Alex Massie

Department of Why On Earth Would You Do That?

Astonishingly, Barack Obama returns Scarlett Johansson's emails. Equally charmingly, Miss Johansson professes herself surprised by this: “You’d imagine that someone like the senator who is constantly traveling and constantly ‘on’ — how can he return these personal e-mails?” she asks. “But he does, and in his off-time I know he also calls people who have donated the minimum to thank them. Nobody sees it, nobody talks about it, but it’s incredible.” She adds, “I feel like I’m supporting someone, and having a personal dialogue with them, and it’s amazing.

Alex Massie

Brown’s Pointless Victory

It's a measure of Gordon Brown's weakness that he's come so close to losing the vote on 42 Days. But, as Ben Brogan reports, he's done it: The DUP are on board, Diane Abbott has been spoken to by Gordon Brown for the first time in 20 years, cash for sick miners and help for Cuba has been whistled out of nowhere, and so the vote is won. I spoke to David Davis earlier, who knows a thing or two about whipping and numbers. The 54 Labour rebels he knew about on Friday were down to 44 last night, and the DUP will support Mr Brown. At that rate the game is up. But what use is this shabby triumph? The DUP and other rebels have been bribed and everyone knows that the government has retreated in a shambles, all order and discipline lost.

Alex Massie

The DUP’s Calculation

MPs are voting on 42 Days now. I only watched the last part of the debate and am biased in favour of the opposition but even so, the weakness of the case made by Jacqui Smith and her lackeys was startling. Still, the funniest comment on the whole ghastliness comes from Fraser Nelson: The DUP could of course take the government's £200 million and still vote with the Tories. But it would be mad to close the door to further bribes. There are two more years to go of Brown and, the way things are going, the DUP may be starting a long and fruitful relationship and may be able to negotiate control of Western Scotland. Frankly, they're welcome to it.

Tuesday

Alex Massie

Department of Advertising

Shamefully, I don't think I'd heard of Billy Beer until Mike Crowley posted this fantastic advertisement at The Stump. I mean, what better slogan could there be? Could an reader who's actually tasted the stuff let me know what it's like? Bonus points for using Billy Beer as a vehicle for measuring and interpreting the successes and failures of his brother's Presidency.And if, as John McCain claims, a Barack Obama presidency will, in some mysterious fashion, be Jimmy Carter's second term does that mean that Billy Beer will make a comeback too? We can but hope...