Garance Franke-Ruta

MIDDLE MANAGEMENT. Regarding Matt‘s and Ezra‘s contentions that Democratic initiatives to strengthen and build the middle class by making it easier and less expensive to attend college are less important than focusing on high-school drop-outs, I’d just like to note that Hillary Clinton is probably taking this approach because Democratic presidential candidates have in the […]

ABOUT TIME. I finally got around to reading today’s New York Times op-eds, and I have only one thing to say to Paul Krugman: “Thank you.” Can we all please stop treating the neocons like serious people now? Also, in a media environment that rewards people for being provocatively wrong rather than quietly right, can […]

NOBODY DOES IT BETTER. Complain all you want about liberal bloggers going after Joe Lieberman — when it comes to taking out one of your own, nobody does it better than the GOP. This week the gang at National Review goes after Rudy Giuliani with the sharpest of knives. Click through to see what I […]

EMBASSY CLOSURES: WHAT DOES IT TAKE? Curious to see what kind of political upheaval it normally takes to close a U.S. embassy, I googled around and found the following recent examples: In late February 2003, “certain families of American diplomats started to leave” Damascus, Syria, and by March 21, “American and British embassies in Syria…closed […]

MESSAGING THE CONFLICT. Via Laura Rozen, MSNBC has this about the evacuation, which confirms the American commitment to keeping the embassy open and an American presence in Lebanon. I should note that this is probably also a gesture of support for the Lebanese government, and not just the Israelis. U.S. Brig. Gen. Carl Jensen, who […]

WHY IT’S TAKING SO LONG. A reliable source tells me that the reason the United States has been so slow in evacuating its citizens from Lebanon is that the public diplomacy (i.e., P.R.) issues raised by evacuating under Israeli assault are so complicated. Individuals within the State Department, I am told, have been reluctant to […]

NEGOTIATING A WAY OUT. I noticed that some commenters replying to Matt‘s item this morning were skeptical about the possibility of a negotiated disarmament of the Hezbollah terrorists. I’d like to point them to this story from The Jerusalem Post on the situation: There are already Israeli government ministers discussing the need for some sort […]

ON A LIGHTER NOTE. Shamu is back at number one on the New York Times most e-mailed list. –Garance Franke-Ruta

IRAN’S CHESSBOARD. Kevin Drum takes up the question of how involved Iran and Syria have been in recent events in the Middle East. While Los Angeles Times reporters speaking primarily to American or U.S.-based sources painted an inconclusive picture, a Gaza-based New York Times reporter’s overseas sources pointed a more direct finger at Tehran: An […]

ANOTHER TECHNICAL PSA. Did you know that you can get an attachment for your iPod that turns it into a recording device, allowing you to record your interviews or thoughts as MP3 files transferable to your computer? Or that there are a bunch of plug-ins for Skype that let you record your VoIP to landline […]