Month: July 2006

Three recent pieces are now available in the "Latest Essays" box on the right: my take on the evolution of Bush’s foreign policy, my celebration of the Hamdan decision, and a memoir of a trip to my home town in England.

"Well, of course, when you cut taxes, government revenues go up. Why couldn’t I see that before?" – Mike Kinsley’s first words after coming round from brain surgery.

"No one can believe that this will stop without a huge victory for Hezbollah and for Syria. I haven‚Äôt felt so optimistic since 1973. I think we are closing the noose on Israel. This may be the last battle, and we may be able to redraw the map of the Middle East, but not on the schedule of America’s plan for the greater Middle East," – Imad Fauzi Shueibi, a political analyst who often works as a consultant to the Syrian government.

The talented Washington Times writer, Eric Pfeiffer, dissents from Karl Rove’s recent attempt to coopt Teddy Roosevelt as a fore-runner of George W. Bush.

"In such circumstances, unrestrained by the power of the throne, they would, no doubt, have set sail on the stormy sea of democratic politics, swayed by the gusts of popular eloquence and quarrelling for power with the governing class of a city which did not even belong to them, before any real sense of community had had time to grow. That sense – the only true patriotism – comes slowly and springs from the heart: it is founded upon respect for the family and love of the soil. Premature ‘liberty’ of this kind would have been a disaster:  we should have been torn to pieces by petty squabbles before we had ever reached political maturity, which, as things were, was made possible by the long quiet years under monarchical government; for it was that government which, as it were, nursed our strength and enabled us ultimately to produce sound fruit from liberty, as only a politically adult nation can," – Livy, "History of Early Rome."

London, 4.30 am.

Flying through the air – on invisible skateboards. Cooler?

Edinburgh, Scotland, 9.30 pm.

Glenn Reynolds believes I take "talking points" from the "Townhouse crowd." I just had to Google to find out what the "Townhouse crowd" is. It refers to an email list-serv to which I don’t subscribe. Maybe he’s referring to my respect for Glenn Greenwald’s analysis of Reynolds’ views. And, sure, if I had to choose between Glenn Greenwald and Michelle Malkin, I’d choose Greenwald. Instapundit’s a Malkin fan. I guess that’s our difference. But I should say that my view of Glenn’s politics is drawn entirely from his site. I don’t think even my severest critics believe I need other people to spoon-feed me my own opinions, however misguided I may be.

The online fun continues. There’s a Bush version as well.