Month: January 2008

A new word: the kind of sadness that is affecting many human beings as their climate and familiar landscape shifts:

It’s a mashup of the roots solacium (comfort) and algia (pain), which together aptly conjure the word nostalgia. In essence, it’s pining for a lost environment. "Solastalgia," as [Glenn Albrecht] wrote in a scientific paper describing his theory, "is a form of homesickness one gets when one is still at home.’"

I guess we’re all getting used to it. And, of course, this impulse toward environmentalism is a deeply conservative one. We need to harness it to wrench a shift in attitudes on climate change on the right.

(Photo: Peter McDiarmid/Getty.)

Another story:

A small-town child, I spent much of my American life daydreaming of a phenomenal job and a Manhattan apartment on a high floor. At 40, somebody did hire me for a phenomenal job, and I did rent a Manhattan apartment on a 39th floor. Four weeks after arrival in fall 2002, I met a glorious soul with a singular face. He’s Colombian, and his residency would expire, so I began to study the issue, and thereby did I learn something I’d never imagined: I’m actually unlucky to be American. Of course, I had to quit the job, we had to flee America, and we’ve lived in London for two years.

We’re still peeling ourselves up from the canvas, if you’ll pardon the aching sports cliche.

Obama’s college kids flock back to Iowa. Clinton appeals to older women. We’ll see if the youth vote finally makes a difference tonight.

A reader writes:

I was talking to an African-American friend last week and they mentioned their mother was seriously frightened for Obama that "something will happen to him if he is nominated" i.e. he will be assassinated. Is this a generational concern or more widespread? Have you picked up on any such concern?

I hear it all over the place – and it’s a common assumption among many African-Americans. I hope his security is getting tighter.

Chase Martin hears rumors of a caucus strategy.

Ahem:

Second, I suspect the Purdue poop-sniffing story has more to do with poor choice of dissertation topic,  I can’t wait to get up every morning and resume working on mine:

"Staying Power: The Mainstreaming of the American Hard-Core Film Industry."

Karl Rove reveals his personal motto. No, I’m not kidding. Then this for his greatest fear:

Living foolishly above my means and running out of money.

While Rove was in the White House, according to the GAO, his party and president added $32 trillion to the debt the next generation will have to pay.

Back to his roots. Dish coverage of the Kenya disturbances – and the Rwanda resonances – here. A helpful time-line of recent events here.

The importance of some kind of national reconciliation before the surge winds down in earnest is hard to over-estimate. Here’s Petraeus’ recent assessment of progress:

There have been accomplishments, especially in recent weeks. They approved a pension law that extends pension rights to tens of thousands Iraqis who were left out, cast off. They agreed to the Security Council resolution extension, which gives us our mandate. They have debated accountability and justice, which is the de-Baathification reform legislation. The budget for 2008 should come up for a vote very soon after they return from Eid and the hajj. So, the progress has been halting, but there are a number of encouraging signs on the horizon.

"Debated" accountability and justice? Somehow I think that’s not-so-hard.