The Plank
Gates Defends Missile Shield Shift
This would seem to put conservatives in the position of bashing both a Republican defense secretary and the U.S. intelligence community: READ MORE >>
Today At TNR (September 17, 2009)
Yes, Some of the Republican Opposition to Obama Is Racist. So What? by John McWhorter READ MORE >>
Blog Title of the Week
It's only Wednesday, but the honor surely goes to Noah Millman at The American Scene for this doozy: I Want to Keep the Crazies Inside the Tent - and Pissing on the Sleeping Bags The item itself is good as well, and takes its titular metaphor just about as far as it can go. READ MORE >>
"Italics Are Underrated"
So declared Dan Brown at the launch party for his new book The Lost Symbol. In a related literary observation, he noted that "The best part of a novel is the interior dialogue"--I think he means "monologue" here--"that you don't get in a movie or in actual life." Of course, you do get it in movies that feature voiceover and, in "actual life," if your own thoughts are accessible to you. Still, I take his point. READ MORE >>
Getting Serious About Sex
Check out former Bush speechwriter Mike Gerson's column in today's WaPo. It's all about sex and relationships and the death of the traditional "courtship progression" of "dating, engagement, marriage, children." READ MORE >>
Kerry: Path in Afghanistan "Less and Less Clear"
Even though Barack Obama delivered a national address in March explaining his goals for Afghanistan, John Kerry is still not convinced. From his opening statement at today's hearing: And most of all, I am concerned because at the very moment when our troops and our allies’ troops are sacrificing more and more, our plan, our path and our progress seem to be growing less and less clear. READ MORE >>
What the Tea Party Folk Are Reading
On the advice of my physician, I do not watch or listen to Glenn Beck, preferring to follow his exploits via the serial bouts of hysteria he inspires in his fans. So it was news to me to learn that he spends a lot of time hawking the works of the late W. Cleon Skousen, an extremely sketchy right-wing character who lived on the far fringes of the conservative movement and of Mormonism. READ MORE >>
Who Will Watch the Watchers?
Paramount Pictures will, that's who. The studio has released a trailer for its micro-indie horror flick Paranormal Activity--made for a reported $11,000--and the footage focuses less on the film itself than on a test audience's reaction to it: READ MORE >>
