The Golden Compass

Hanna has the best piece on the subject, natch. Money quote:

You can probably guess how things turned out. Given enough time and effort, Hollywood can tweak and polish and recast even the darkest message until it would seem at home in a Fourth of July parade. In the end, the religious meaning of the book was obscured so thoroughly as to be essentially indecipherable. The studio settled on villains that, as Emmerich put it, “feel vaguely kind of like a fascistic, totalitarian dictatorship, Russian/KGB/SS” stew. The movie’s main theme became, in one producer’s summary, “One small child can save the world.” With $180 million at stake, the studio opted to kidnap the book’s body and leave behind its soul.

Of course, that won’t stop the Catholic League having a cow. Christianity Today has a thoughtful and intriguing review of the controversy.

Getting Angry

A reader writes:

You write:

The argument for judicial safeguards on wire-tapping is popular and important. It’s a vital and simple precaution against abuse of government power. Until Democrats and traditional Republicans stop being craven in the face of the far right’s bluster – until they get angry at the idiocy and un-American authoritarianism of the Hannity-Limbaugh-Giuliani right, they will lose, and deserve to lose.

Many of us have gotten angry, yourself included. The question is why our supposed leaders haven’t. Why haven’t any of them come forward and shouted "Because we’re America, goddammit!" Do they think so little of us the public as to fear that no one would support them?

That’s the question that makes me angriest. The question that keeps me up, though, is wondering whether they might be right.

Kucinich Meets Shark, Jumps

From the Plain-Dealer blog:

"I’m thinking about Ron Paul" as a running mate, Kucinich told a crowd of about 70 supporters at a house party here, one of numerous stops throughout New Hampshire over the Thanksgiving weekend. A Kucinich-Paul administration could bring people together "to balance the energies in this country," Kucinich said.

YouTubes vs Homer

A reader writes:

I can’t deny that watching videos of people getting the shit kicked out of them gets my adrenaline rushing and makes me want to see more of the same. But if these Youtube beat downs are our society’s stand-in for Homer we’re living in serious cultural poverty. I realize (hope?) the author of the post you quoted had tongue grinding in cheek when he wrote, but just in case… The Iliad shows men in the quest for honor crushing, piercing and mangling each other’s bodies, sure. But Homer weaves scenes of brutality in with descriptions of the idyllic farming and family lives that these men have left behind.

And while Achilles is probably the most hot-headed character to grace the pages of Western literature, describing that character was not a difficult achievement on Homer’s part (as these videos make blatantly clear). The really moving parts of the Iliad are when the work appraises the brutal streak in man and asks the reader to digest its significance. The climax of the book isn’t when Achilles kills Hector, it’s when he gives the body of Hector back to Priam, the mourning father. Homer shows both the savagery of man and the his ability for empathy and understanding. These Youtube videos invariably end with one man standing contentedly over someone who’s been seriously hurt and feeling smug. Cheap thrills, not Homer.

The Politics of the Surge

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We really won’t know, it seems to me, just how durable the current tactical security gains are in Iraq until troop levels start declining in the spring. But let’s assume that Petraeus does pull off an amazing feat – stabilizing Iraq at a local and regional level at least to the extent of freezing an incipient civil war. What does that do to the war debate in the US? I know some are somewhat desperately claiming "Mission Accomplished" and hoping to have the same pay-off from that slogan that they did for five minutes several years ago. But the deeper truth is: that was several years ago. The Pew poll finds a calmer, saner public. Money quote:

A rosier view of the military situation in Iraq has not translated into increased support for maintaining U.S. forces in Iraq, greater optimism that the United States will achieve its goals there, or an improvement in President Bush’s approval ratings.

By 54%-41%, more Americans favor bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq as soon as possible rather than keeping troops in Iraq until the situation has stabilized. The balance of opinion on this measure has not changed significantly all year.

Similarly, Americans remain evenly divided over whether the U.S. is likely to succeed or fail in achieving its goals in Iraq; improved perceptions of the situation in Iraq have not resulted in a changed outlook in this regard. In addition, Bush’s overall job approval now stands at 30%, which is largely unchanged since June and equals the lowest marks of his presidency.

A majority, in other words, wants to seize this opportunity to get the hell out of there as fast as we responsibly can. Maybe that will shift if the security situation continues to improve. But it suggests to me that there is, in fact, no serious public support for the indefinite occupation of Iraq for the next few years, as Bush now wants (and a future president Clinton would – out of fear of Republican attacks – acquiesce in). If the election is fought over who wants to occupy Iraq for ever, then the GOP may be in worse trouble than when the question was: do you want to quit the war in the middle of a security meltdown? At least, that’s my best read as of now in a very fluid situation.