A sharp little piece by Katie Roiphe in Slate both skewers Susan Estrich and praises her. The journey from the Anita Hill hearings to the Schwarzenegger election is indeed a revealing one for feminism in America. During that period, and especially during the Clinton wars, I gradually realized that my early support for sexual harassment laws was too crude, and that the consequences of such laws – the legal asault on privacy – were far worse than the evil they were trying to prevent or ameliorate. By that time, of course, I loathed Clinton, but I realized a limited defense of his sexual privacy (if not his perjury) was actually a truly conservative position. We all learned something in that decade, I think. Roiphe’s best point, however, is her last:
What the evolution of Estrich’s views does tell us though, is that the kind of burning melodrama that surrounds sexual issues vanishes as quickly as it appears; that a woman who can write passionately about “women’s silence” one minute can later take a man’s side. It is precisely the opinions that seem the most rigid, absolute, and emotional that are subject to the whims of fashion.
Ah, yes. But only if they haven’t been thought through. Sometimes, absolute and emotional responses are legitimate and right, as long as they are also intelligent. If they’re not, they’re just a secular form of fundamentalism.
THE RUMMY MEMO: It’s the most reassuring statement on the terror war I’ve yet read. The important thing about any administration in its third year is that it not be complacent, that it not be in denial, and that it ask tough questions of itself. Rumsfeld sure is no McNamara. And if I were a terrorist, I’d be alarmed at how earnest the U.S. government now is about tackling the threat. Of course, a MoDo column ridiculing this is now inevitable. Which is more indication that it’s an encouraging sign.
ANTI-SEMITISM WATCH: Right here, in the U.S. This story alarmed me, I have to say:
One of my friends is a guy I met in grad school a few years ago. He’s a lawyer that practices IP law and was pursuing a MS in Computer Science to further his knowledge of programming. He is brilliant. Went to U of Chicago undergrad, then Northwestern University Law. He works for one of the biggest law firms in the world…
And, according to this blog, at least, he has Mahathir-like views. For the rest of the story, click here.
The Dish 