http://lines.blogdrive.com/ LinesofLattitude Tue, 11 Jul 2006 14:20:08 PDT http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2006. Politics (new) Satire People http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/85.html Tue, 11 Jul 2006 18:22:23 GMT When I started this site two years ago, nearly to the day -- the big anniversary was this past 4th, in case you missed it, and was coronated nationwide with large fireworks displays, barbecues, and parades. It was lovely, and quite touching. My thanks to all who showed their appreciation for what transpires here by participating -- I was a frustrated grad student disheartened by the state of debate and analysis of the pressing political issues in the country. 9/11 was three years down the road, the war in Iraq was nearing its first "mission accomplished" accolade, and the tight presidential... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=85 http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/84.html Mon, 26 Jun 2006 03:07:02 GMT In yesterday's Times magazine there is an interesting article on Britain's current dilemma of how to deal with its sizeable Muslim population and the threat its more zealous individuals may pose to the UK and others abroad. Written by Christopher Caldwell, it details a society that is grappling to come to terms with this issue in the wake of last July's transit bombings as they try to strike a balance between the protection of civil liberties and religious freedoms with increased security for the wider population. For a location that is as geographically small, highly populated, and... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=84 http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/83.html Mon, 12 Jun 2006 04:28:22 GMT An article in the latest NY Review of Books, "Power Grab" by Elizabeth Drew, has convinced me to revisit a topic we've touched on several times here, that of the presidential signing statement. As mentioned before, our president, the Great Decider, has a historically unique penchant for these statements, both for how pronounced they are in their power and how proficient he is at their issuance. Delivered in near or complete silence for an unprecedented 750 items (according to the Boston Globe report referenced in my May 14th post), these statements seem to know no limits in their scope or... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=83 http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/82.html Mon, 29 May 2006 17:04:08 GMT There is an interesting article in the latest NY Review of Books on Israel and an academic paper from a pair of professors whose treatment of the subject has caused a bit of a stir amongst cognoscenti and pundits alike. The paper, written by a pair of Harvard and University of Chicago professors -- Stephen Walt for the former and John Mearsheimer the latter -- posits that "the centerpiece of US policy in the Middle East has been its unwavering support for Israel, and that this has not been in America's best interest." Seems plausible enough. And yet this simple, rather obvious assertion,... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=82 http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/81.html Mon, 15 May 2006 02:28:36 GMT The events of the past week, beginning with Porter Goss' surprise announcement Friday that he would be resigning as head of the CIA after only 18 months on the job and leading to the President's nomination three days later of Gen. Michael Hayden as his replacement, has created an interesting debate here in Washington. Centering around the importance of civilian control of our country's intelligence agencies and the proper role of the military therein, the argument is over more than simply whether Gen. Hayden is qualified to run the Central Intelligence Agency once Goss departs, it's also over... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=81 http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/80.html Wed, 03 May 2006 01:32:07 GMT As life has intervened on my normally sunny existence these days -- not to mention my ability to think clearly or concentrate -- I'll try to keep this one short. (As short as is ever possible for me, that is.) In the wake of this weekend's White House Correspondents' Dinner, hosted by the inimitable Stephen Colbert (which if you haven't seen his speech yet, you owe it to yourself to do so. Pretty funny stuff that can be seen here at Ifilm.com -- parts one, two and three), we'll begin with the latest exploits of my favorite target, that of the Great Decider. After just receiving his lowest... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=80 http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/79.html Wed, 19 Apr 2006 12:57:16 GMT Mired in this town's weird political variation of a Save Ferris campaign, the non-stop onslaught by the Pentagon this week to save Donald Rumsfeld's job -- there's the flood of calls to talk radio stations, the relentless TV coverage, and the impassioned best wishes of some of his peers. I'm sure the T-shirts and parade are just around the corner... -- the man himself finally took the stand today, as it was, and said, when asked if he was considering stepping down, if only to help his beleaguered President and his Republican compatriots running in the fall... "No." Well, there's a shocker.... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=79 http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/78.html Tue, 04 Apr 2006 01:07:41 GMT The memo released last week by the British government, detailing a meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair less than two months before the invasion of Iraq, is important for two reasons. One, it shows that despite public statements to the contrary at the time and repeated assertions since then, the President, as many already assumed, had decided to go to war with Iraq well before our bombs ever hit the ground there. According to the memo, which was written by Blair's top foreign affairs advisor, Bush stated he was ready to go without a second UN resolution, he would go... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=78 http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/77.html Tue, 21 Mar 2006 14:54:12 GMT On the third anniversary of the war in Iraq, the little operation that could, this weekend, the President and other members of his cabinet celebrated by giving us their optimistic outlooks on where we've been and where, exactly, we're headed. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said that "the terrorists seem to recognize that they are losing in Iraq" and that he believes "history will show that to be the case," adding that "now," much like most of the past three years, it seems, "is the time for resolve, not retreat." (You be sure and let us know when retreat -- or exiting, to use a less... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=77 http://lines.blogdrive.com/archive/76.html Tue, 07 Mar 2006 03:21:18 GMT This past week brought to light the two latest installments in the long-running comedy of errors that is this Administration, two more nuggets of truth for the ever-burgeoning stockpile of evidence in the case prosecuting their relentless incompetence. The first is the videotape obtained by the AP of a pre-Katrina briefing where President Bush is told about the very real threat -- or "very, very grave concern," to quote one of the officials on the tape -- of the levees being breached in New Orleans once the hurricane hit. The tape, which features presentations and discussions among several... (more) http://lines.blogdrive.com/comments?id=76