In response to my note that “The Guantanamo Detainee” be named TIME‘s person of the year because of the legal and political convulsions and hemorrhaging that will be caused for years ahead by institutionalized extralegalism there, Michael Scheuer sent me a thoughtful note of his own on the subject that needs to be read.
(Graphic credit: Mario Loundermon) Gary Sick of Columbia University sent me today this fascinating and thoughtful essay, “The Coming Liberal Cycle,” written by Matthew Kohut.
An interesting set of headliners — including former National Security Adviser to Ronald Reagan Robert “Bud” McFarlane, former NSA Director and Bush family pal Bobby Inman, and Committee on the Present Danger Co-Chairman R.
J.K. Rowling is way ahead of Al Gore and Barack Obama on Time Magazine‘s poll for “Person of the Year.
Imagine a society where even the firemen were trained to spy on a nation’s citizens — reporting back to central “big brother headquarters” what suspicious things that they may have seen while in someone’s home ostensibly to save lives and squelch fires.
Delancey Place has a nice clip from Anthony Everitt’s Cicero: The Life and Time of Rome’s Greatest Politician. Cicero’s efforts 2000 years ago to balance monarchy, oligarchy and democracy became the defining feature of the American Constitution and republic.
The Washington Post and ABC News have just released a new national poll on the relative positions of Democratic and Republican candidates: Republicans Giuliani — 25 pct Huckabee — 19 pct Romney — 17 pct Thompson — 14 pct McCain — 12 pct Paul — 3 pct Hunter — 2 pct Democrats Clinton — 53…
Sorry for the late notice, or early — depending on your spot on the globe, but I’ll be doing a segment on Australia’s ABC Radio National Late Night Live with Phillip Adams in a few minutes (at 6:15 AM EST).
Last Thursday, the 6th of December, I spent my evening at a 50th Anniversary black tie dinner commemorating the founding of the Japan America Society of Washington DC with former Vice President of the United States and Ambassador to Japan Walter Mondale.
I don’t buy the argument that Scooter Libby has dropped his efforts at an appeal because of the time, hassle, and money involved in continuing the appeal. Although since presidential candidate Fred Thompson was one of those hosting fundraisers for Scooter’s legal defense fund, perhaps the distractions of the presidential race have taken a toll….