Alex Massie

Alex Massie

Tuesday

Alex Massie

1st Amendment Rights

I'm not quite so pessimistic as Kurt Anderson here, but he does get to the guts of why politics in America can be so wearying these days: Almost any argument about race, gender, Israel, or the war is now apt to be infected by a spirit of self-righteous grievance and demonization. Passionate disagreement isn’t sufficient; bad faith must be imputed to one’s opponents: skepticism of affirmative action equals racism, antiwar sentiment equals anti-Americanism (or terrorist sympathy), criticism of Israel is by definition anti-Semitic, and so on. More and more people think they’re entitled to the right not just to ignore or disapprove, but to veto and banish.

Alex Massie

Move along now son. Or else…

Via NHS, I see Henry Porter is doing good work. You could hardly make this stuff up. It makes Anthony Blair look like a beacon of modesty, transparency and honesty. Yes, it's not just our Labour masters but all the "authorities" that are to blame - but at every available opportunity Labour has enabled and encouraged this sort of madness... Which brings me to the third panel in the triptych of Gordon Brown's conference pieties - his love and support of the freedom to protest. Clearly this does not extend to the demonstration tomorrow, timed by its organisers, CND and Stop the War Coalition, to coincide with Brown's statement on Iraq.

Alex Massie

Reasons to elect Mitt Romney, cont…

Nonetheless, have a gander and tell me if Mitt Romney looks presidential in this clip? It's not just the rather unfortunate - from Romney's point of view that is, since it makes him seem a heartless jackass - encounter with a medical marijuana activist (who is, it should be said, commendably restrained and temperate), it's the whole thing: the ghastly, aw-shucks-thanks-for-coming-out-on-the-weekend false modesty, the terrible, cliched waffling about how the kids are "the future" and eradication-of-freedom agenda everyone else in the world is hell-bent upon pursuing. Now, of course it is ghastly to be subjected to the endless miseries and humiliations of the campaign trail. But since it requires such nonsense would it be too much to ask that candidates be accomplished fakers?

Alex Massie

The Belgian Conundrum

Ages ago - light years in blog terms in fact - Megan noticed The Economist pointing out that the euro has lessened the pressure that Belgian politicians might otherwise face to settle their differences and observes: Now that the European Union has taken over the currency, as well as many of the trade and customs functions of traditional federal governments, Belgium as a state suddenly looks a lot less necessary. One wonders if the current era of economic integration (assuming it continues) might not bring increasing political balkanization. Well, yes indeed. The same might be said of the United Kingdom. Moves towards greater regional autonymy across Europe are a direct response to the increasing power of the EU itself.

Alex Massie

Ron Paul has as much to lose as Fred Thompson?

Time's Jay Carney previews this afternoon's GOP debate from Michigan. Most people will, quite naturally, be most concerned with judging Fred Thompson's debut performance. But Ron Paul has quite a bit at stake here too. Carney says: Finally, there's Ron Paul, whose anti-Iraq War, libertarian message has made him this campaign cycle's surprise phenom. He forces the other candidates to spend more time defending the Bush administration than they'd like. And having pulled in as much money in the third quarter as John McCain, Paul isn't about to fade away. True, but this debate is supposed to be concerned with economic policy. That spells trouble for Dr Paul.

Alex Massie

The Ugly American Abroad: Animal Version

DT Max had an entertaining piece in the New York Times Magazine this Sunday, exploring the Great British Squirrel Wars. Short story: its the worst sort of Squirrel Imperialism. American greys are driving out the smaller, but cuter, British red. Sadly the pair cannot coexist and it is always the red that succumbs - often killed by the mysterious Squirrelpox carried by the greys to which the American interlopers are irritatingly immune. The greys, already rampant across most of England are now targetting the Lake District and Southern Scotland. Something must be done! Happily the World's Greatest Deliberative Body is on the case. I speak, of course, of the House of Lords.

Sunday

Alex Massie

Election schmelection

Official: Gordon Brown bottles it. The News of the World poll showing the Tories with a six point lead in the marginals may have something to do with it. Tee hee: Alex Salmond calls Brown a "big feartie". Also: "Those whom the gods seek to destroy they first render ridiculous, and this shambles leaves Gordon Brown looking totally ridiculous. "Labour are a shambles north of the Border, and shaky south of the Border." UPDATE: Isaac Chotiner says I over-estimate the importance of this. Perhaps. It's true that when the election is held in 2009 this will be ancient history. But it does damage Brown and that will hurt him - and contribute to what I anticipate will be a spike in negative coverage not just this week but for months to come. Whatever.

Alex Massie

Allez les Bleus!

Sympathy? You gotta be kidding me. The New Zealand press has not - suprise! - taken France's stirring victory in Cardiff yesterday very well. Of course, like their neighbours across the Tasman Sea they're not quite so insufferable in defeat as they are in victory. Even so, schadenfreude* demands that one scour the Kiwi press today: Shattered All Black rugby fans can ease their mental pain by sticking with the World Cup until the bitter end, psychologist Marc Wilson says. Ignoring the tournament in the wake of yesterday's shock 20-18 quarter-final loss to France would not help people get over the All Blacks' early exit, said Dr Wilson, deputy head of Victoria University's psychology school. "I don't think you want to go cold turkey," he said.

Alex Massie

Argentina 19 Scotland 13

Bugger. Time to go and talk the game over with Mr John Walker and Mr Macallan. Mr Bruichladdich may also be asked his opinion. I'd consult Mr Highland Park but he's exhausted.

Saturday

Alex Massie

When Morons Attack

It's the baseball play-offs. Hurrah. Let's Go Yankees! But that also means it's time for America's sportswriters to be even dumber than is customarily the case. For the sake of your sanity as well as for proper hilarity, trot on over to the lads at Fire Joe Morgan. Recent highlights include: how your mother probably has a better understanding of the value of "wins" than the average Hall of Fame voter, why yes of course you'd be better off packing your team with people who aren't very good at baseball come the play-offs because, hey, they're plucky! And gusty!

Alex Massie

Gordon Brown’s Just So Stories

The Tories don't really want a November election, but after a successful conference - producing a bounce that has them level with Labour in one poll and three points behind in another - they're quite happy to see Gordon Brown hoist on his own petard. Brown's dance of the seven veils on the question of an election has damaged his authority. It's not a very Prime Ministerial carry-on.

Alex Massie

The Gentleman’s Gentleman Shrugged

Your weekend essay question comes from Blood and Treasure: It always struck me that the antonym of Ayn Rand is PG Wodehouse. In Wodehouse world, it’s the servants who have all the brains, do all the work and generally carry everybody else. If Jeeves shrugged, society would collapse. Who is John Galt? Bertie Wooster, that’s who. This is maybe why no-one takes Rand seriously in Britain. And Ayn Rand done by Wodehouse definitely strikes me as an opportunity missed. Discuss. Personally, I've generally been under the impression that Ayn Rand was something of an Aunt Agatha type. Best avoided, then.

Alex Massie

Picture of the Day | 6 October 2007

I trust that Steve Clemons, pride and joy of the New America Foundation, won't object if I thieve this adorable picture of his dogs, Oakley (left) and Annie. I grew up with spaniels and have no idea about Weimeraners at all. Are they loopy and excessively highly-strung? Or are they as beautifully melancholy as they look? Explain, people, please. PS: Now that I think of it, the Weimeraner is a cousin of the (regal) Vizsla, is it not?

Alex Massie

OK, let’s talk Turkey…

Andrew Sullivan says Turkey may be the United States' "most important ally" (really?) and condemns "myopic" Europe for not immediately welcoming a non-European country into the EU. Easy for him to say of course. So does Andrew support the resolution coming before Congress that would (finally) recognise the Armenian genocide? Or does he line up with the American foreign policy establishment and think this is a subject best left under the carpet? I think I can recall Andrew being pretty vociferous about the horror of western indifference to Darfur and I doubt he'd be quite so friendly towards anyone who denied the Jewish (and gypsy and homosexual) holocaust so where does this Turkophilia* come from? Which is it, posturing or principle?

Friday

Alex Massie

I hate kids too. Just for different reasons…

I have no real interest in the SCHIP brouhaha and am puzzled by Bush's to veto a bill that would expand children's health insurance. This can't be a very sensible move, politically-speaking. Anyway, my only interest in the matter was in the proposal that it be funded by taxes on tobacco.  I was interested to see (former smoker) Matt Yglesias say this: The bill would also raise cigarette taxes, which, again, is a good thing to do since higher cigarette taxes cause either more revenue (a good thing) or else less smoking (a good thing) or else some combination of these two good things. Well, ain't that a pretty thing: let's make the poor pay for health insurance for middle-income people. Now you may say that this is fine; poor people should be discouraged from smoking too. Fine.

Alex Massie

Friday Night Heartbreak

Yay! Friday Night Lights returns this evening. If I hadn't already seen the first episode of series two online I'd be setting the Tivo. If you haven't seen the first series yet I highly recommend you do so soon because, alas, I fear the second series may prove a disappointment. If I'm right, it will be because NBC has killed the show in an effort to save it. It's pretty well known now, I think, that despite all the (entirely-merited) critical acclaim it received, FNL struggled to find an audience throughout its first season. Was it a show about Texas high school football? Or was it a show about families and relationships and their struggles in a small and somewhat-down-on-its-luck town in the middle of nowhere? NBC couldn't make up their minds. But we can tell they have now.

Thursday

Alex Massie

An American Life and Death

Christopher Hitchens' piece in this month's Vanity Fair is quite something. Mark Daily, a young officer in the Seventh Cavalry, volunteered for the army despite his reservations about the wisdom of the war in part because some of Christopher's articles inspired him to do so. Hitch's latest piece reflects on that heavy burden (shared to one degree or another by all of us who supported the war) and on the life and death of a remarkable young American. If you read one thing today, make it this article. Here's Christopher describing his first meeting with the Daily family: As soon as they arrived, I knew I had been wrong to be so nervous. They looked too good to be true: like a poster for the American way.

Alex Massie

From the White Cliffs of Dover to the Tweed (But No Further)?

Yes, I'd noticed this part of Cameron's speech too: And those changes have brought us success, in local elections we have taken Plymouth, we have taken Lincoln, we took Chester, we took the council right here in Blackpool and as William reminded us in that great speech on Sunday we are back in the North of England, a force to be reckoned with in every part of our country. Daniel Larison raises an eyebrow and asks: Except Scotland.  Or maybe this was an intentional oversight? My sense is that it was an unintentional slip. It's true that neither Scotland nor the Union were mentioned in Cameron's speech but that's understandable for a number of reasons. First, and most practically, the next British general election will not be won or lost in Scotland.

Alex Massie

The Monstrous Regiment* of Women

Garance picks up on Ann Coulter's latest grenade: deny women the vote and all America's problems would disappear. As GFR says, this should be a gift for Democrats: I would like to see that quote, “If we took away women’s right to vote, we’d never have to worry about another Democratic president. It’s kind of a pipe dream, a personal fantasy of mine,” as the header on GOTV mailers along with pictures of Coulter and whichever candidates were stupid enough to associate themselves with her earlier in the year. I would like to see it on television ads. However, it's not a new position for Coulter.

Alex Massie

Bart goes to J-School

I've written before that I think the wailing and gnashing of teeth over Rupert Murdoch's purchase of the Wall Street Journal is, like, way overblown.