One of the most disturbing aspects of the rise of Christianism has been the attempt to coopt the armed forces. We have already seen what happened at the Air Force Academy, where Christianists corralled individuals, Christian and otherwise, into public praying along the lines of the religious right. We have seen a top army general … Continue reading Christianism and the Military
A reader remonstrates: "1. The State Department’s comment on the Danish cartoons was brilliant. This is a European problem and we owe Europe nothing. The comment a) gave us a small chance to look good to Muslims (even if the comment was admittedly bullshit) b) allowed the focus of the anger to remain on the … Continue reading Email of the Day
My assessment of the likeliest next Democratic nominee can be read here. HOW TO HELP IRAN’S DEMOCRATS: Some suggestions here. PERSPECTIVE: Yes, it’s important. The vast majority of coalition soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere are doing extremely tough jobs in unimaginably difficult circumstances. Photo essays like these and this are a vital part of the … Continue reading HILLARY ON TRACK
I think even the fiercest critics of president Bush’s handling of the post-liberation phase in Iraq will still be thrilled at what appears to me to be glacial but important shifts in the right direction in the region. The Iraq elections may not be the end of the Middle East Berlin Wall, but they certainly … Continue reading THE BUSH REVOLUTION
They’re all but hoping for allied casualties and failure. Of course, they tend to exaggerate and panic at the slightest whiff of military difficulty as history attests. Here are some details from the Times of London about the astonishing unity among the French in their contempt for the Anglo-Americans: France 2, the state television network, … Continue reading THE FRENCH GLOAT
We will forget.Researchers have long found that the memory of epochal events fade with time. The remembering of such events even has a specific name
flashbulb memory. As time passes, the chronology gets jumbled up; we fumble on the details; we airbrush some parts and highlight others. We re-imagine the past to make it more coherent, meaningful, bearable. One ongoing study at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Psychology Department – of a large, country-wide sample of people – is finding … Continue reading
We will forget.Researchers have long found that the memory of epochal events fade with time. The remembering of such events even has a specific name
“Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm — but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.” … Continue reading THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
