Category Archives: Politics
But they started it: a few thoughts on partisanship and when it’s OK to point a finger
For the last year or two, several of my friends and I have fashioned a mini-tradition out of emailing political articles to each other. As often as not, these email chains die on the vine, with nary a reply in sight. But the occasional subject will touch a nerve, prompting a barrage of reply emails with all the requisite jousts and parries.
The most recent
addition to the series was sent by Ben* with the subject line, “Sometimes, I just hate politics…” The email linked to a YouTube video posted by the Wisconsin GOP in which Democratic politicians denouncing hateful rhetoric from the right were juxtaposed against footage of liberal protesters engaging in identical behavior. To Ben, the hypocrisy was nauseating: even the specter of a recent assassination attempt, far from halting the partisan bickering, instead served as a catalyst for more of it.
Unable to resist the bait — and I use the word “bait” loosely here, as that was not Ben’s intention — I responded, arguing that “equating Hosni Mubarak signs [used by public-sector employees in Wisconsin]…with, say, bringing guns en masse to town hall meetings is a bit of a dubious analogy.” I concluded with the estimate that “realistically, at least 75% of [the hyperbolic rhetoric] is coming from the (very far) right.” Continue reading But they started it: a few thoughts on partisanship and when it’s OK to point a finger
A tale of two countries: Egypt, America, and the strangling of democracy
Charles Dickens’ classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities, begins with the immortal phrase, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” And so it remains today. Nothing in the intervening century and a half, from the publication of Dickens’ Tale to the 2011 wave of protests rocking the Arab world, has changed the immutable veracity of that simple paradox.
Instead of two cities, however, I’m thinking of two countries. Let’s start with a simple thought experiment. One month ago, imagine if someone had predicted that, in Tunisia and Egypt, massive protest movements would emerge ex nihilo to shatter the status quo; that these movements would, furthermore, contain no traceable elements of radicalism or Islamism in any form; that, in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, which the West has feared for so long, would at least initially linger in the shadows and allow the secular and leaderless crowds to lead the way; and that, finally, the demands of the protesters would remain eminently reasonable and, most significantly, democratic. Such a prognosticator would have been mocked relentlessly.
As it turns out, this has all taken place over the course of the last several weeks. And the American response? To hesitate, to triangulate, to hedge its bets according to the ever-shifting political winds, and — finally and most heartlessly — to work furiously behind the scenes to orchestrate a return to the pre-January 25 status quo while halfheartedly trumpeting the Egyptian revolution in the public sphere. Continue reading A tale of two countries: Egypt, America, and the strangling of democracy
Two random observations on the Egyptian revolution
1) Did anyone else notice that essentially no pro-government attackers in Tahrir Square posted on Twitter, which was dominated entirely by anti-Mubarak sentiment? And that, furthermore, this seems to have been the case in Tehran in 2009 as well? Is one of the prerequisites for supporting a repressive regime that you can’t have the slightest idea how to use social networking?
2) As violent and disturbing as these clashes were, it’s a bit ironic to imagine what the American version would look like. Those Egyptians didn’t have access to guns. Now picture Times Square awash with New Yorkers, Californians, Texans, and Alaskans all vying for space and using guns, not stones, to mark their territory. ‘Twould be an ugly sight.
Al Jazeera and real journalism
A little addendum to my earlier post on Bill Keller, The New York Times, and real journalism: for a prime example of real media courage, Keller would do well to look to Al Jazeera, which not only was the first major network to cover the Tunisian protests and lend the movement instant worldwide credibility, but has also continued to broadcast in Egypt, despite all attempts to shut it down, block it, and revoke its press credentials.
Hard to believe, but the NYT hates being upstaged by Julian Assange
Bill Keller is the executive editor of The New York Times. On Wednesday, January 26, his article for the Magazine, “Dealing with Assange and the WikiLeaks Secrets,” was published, detailing the behind-the-scenes process of his newspaper’s collaboration and eventual falling-out with the enigmatic vigilante journalist.
Keller’s implicit message, however, was impossible to miss: Julian Assange is a reckless, harmful individual whose self-delusion and visions of grandeur belied his inability to produce real journalism — a task which, of course, is ostensibly exactly what The New York Times does on a regular basis.
Except for when it doesn’t. As I read Keller’s piece, I was often astonished at his utter lack of introspection — from both a personal and professional perspective — as well as his defense of some very questionable decisions made by him and his staff. Here, below, are a few of my thoughts, in no particular order: Continue reading Hard to believe, but the NYT hates being upstaged by Julian Assange
So much for Al Jazeera’s supposed cozy relationship with Arab governments
This is an American criticism that has never really made any sense. It now makes even less sense.
Home sweet security state
The Republican Party, in an effort to reduce the size of government and return civil liberties to the American people, has proposed recording users’ online browsing history and IP addresses.
Wait, what? Not only does that stand in stark contrast to their stated values, it also happens to directly contradict their opposition to data aggregation by online behavioral targeting firms, who essentially do the same thing but with more restrictions against using personally identifiable information. Apparently, only the U.S. government is above the law (something I suppose we should’ve learned already from the Bush years).
The New York Times crowns Jon Stewart the Edward Murrow of today
This seems just a tad overblown, although certainly flattering. I can’t wait for Part 2, where Glenn Beck is exposed as the Joe McCarthy of our era.
Oh wait, that’s pretty much already happened.
The reverse Al Franken
If a former comedian can become a member of Congress, why can’t a current representative become a comedian? At least give Barney Frank credit for trying:
I called Barney Frank, assuming the gay pioneer would be optimistic. He wasn’t. “It’s one thing to have a gay person in the abstract,” he said. “It’s another to see that person as part of a living, breathing couple. How would a gay presidential candidate have a celebratory kiss with his partner after winning the New Hampshire primary? The sight of two women kissing has not been as distressful to people as the sight of two men kissing.”
Because of the Defense of Marriage Act, he added, “it’s not clear that a gay president could use federal funds to buy his husband dinner. Would his partner have to pay rent in the White House? There would be no Secret Service protection for the paramour.”
Frank noted that we’ve “clearly had one gay president already, James Buchanan. If I had to pick one, it wouldn’t be him.” (The Atlantic blogger Andrew Sullivan aims higher, citing Abe Lincoln, who sometimes bundled with his military bodyguard in bed when his wife was away.)
Frank said that although most Republicans now acknowledge that sexual orientation is not a choice, they still can’t handle their pols’ coming out. “There are Republicans here who are gay,” he said of Congress, “but as long as they don’t acknowledge it, it’s O.K. Republicans only tolerate you being gay as long as you don’t seem proud of it. You’ve got to be apologetic.”