It’s pretty messed up how much some dudes are into the German side of the Second World War. It’s pretty messed up how much some dudes are into the Civil War, too, but that makes a little bit more sense. If your grandfather fought valiantly to keep black people down — I mean, for states’ rights — I can see why you’ld care about what he did. But very few Americans are descendants of Nazis. So why is there such a thriving culture of Wehrmacht fetishists?

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Posted at 29 January 09 at 20.01 in Books

Rarely does Barack Obama miss a chance to draw parallels between himself and Abraham Lincoln, and rarely do the media fail to indulge him. The cabinent selection process was particularly ripe for comparision to Lincoln, as pundits turned frequently to Doris Kearns Goodwin’s concept of a Team of Rivals.

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Posted at 27 January 09 at 20.01 in Politics, Books

A little over a year ago, the day after the Iowa caucuses, I wrote an essay called “From Iowa to the Inaugural.” But the real story of this election dates back to 1968. This was an election steeped in symbolism and parallel. Rare is it in American history that the analogies drawn and metaphors painted by politicians are as poingnant or as rich as those created by Barack Obama.

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Posted at 25 January 09 at 22.01 in Politics, Culture, Obama 08, Books

In Foxbats over Dimona, two Russian Jewish authors argue that the Six-Day War between Israel and the Arab countries in 1967 was not a regional conflict, as it is generally understood, but was in fact instigated by the Soviet Union as an attempt to consolidate its position in the Middle East. The USSR immediately began to back away from its role as soon as everything collapsed (Israel bombed the crap out of Egypt’s air force, and ended the war before it began).

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Posted at 07 January 09 at 18.01 in Books

The 1990s were a damn good time. Fueled by technological advances and fiscal responsibility, the economy boomed. With the end of the Soviet Union, peace in our time was at hand. Domestically and abroad, the United States was strong and respected. Today, hated and broke, it is tempting to look back on this as a golden age. In many ways, it was. But a careful examination — particularly of foreign policy — reveals a tragic number of missed opportunities.

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Posted at 04 January 09 at 17.01 in Books

There are a few ways to look at the Bush Administraton’s approach to the war on terror. The two we hear the most from are on the fringes — left-leaning civil libertarians argue that we need to close Guantanamo and repeal the Patriot Act and FISA, and right-leaning Unitary Executive lunatics argue that the powers granted the President in wartime (nevermind that we are not at war) transcend the Constitution. There is not enough said from the center.

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Posted at 01 January 09 at 17.01 in Law, Books

It is easy to believe that we are in a new, post-partisan, happy time, where all that remains to be done is to look forward and grin and shape a new tomorrow. The reality is not so simple. Countless lies were told in the past eight years. Countless crimes were committed. We can count the lives lost and the dollars spent as a result. We must make a conscious effort to do so in order to make sure that the lessons we say we have learned are not forgotten.

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Posted at 29 December 08 at 17.12 in Books