Scott Lemieux

THE POLLACK EVASION STRATEGY. A classic example [via MY] of foreign-policy-writer- who-would-be-wholly-discredited-in-any-rational-universe Kenneth Pollack expressing optimism about Iraq by carefully evading the substantive issue: Do you find the electric power is on more continuously? We found there had been a real shift from trying to repair and defend the national power grid, which was extremely […]

RUDY GIULIANI: UTTER FRAUD. An absolute must-read article by Wayne Barrett in — I swear it, I guess for a week they decided to get away from the escort-ads-plus-Nat-Hentoff-and-Michael-Musto format they’ve been essaying for the past year — the Village Voice systematically destroying the myth of Rudy Giuliani, Terrorism Fighter (TM). Barrett addresses several different […]

“IF ANGELS WERE TO GOVERN MEN, NEITHER EXTERNAL NOR INTERNAL CONTROLS ON GOVERNMENT WOULD BE NECESSARY.” Benjamin Wittes urges Alberto Gonzales to resign “to make possible a serious discussion of the future of FISA.” I think — at least in a fantasy world in which Congressional Democrats didn’t live in a permanent fetal-position defensive crouch […]

“VICTIMS” WHO DESERVE UTERAL BLEEDING. Although it won’t contain revelations to people who have been following the issue closely, Judith Warner‘s Times op-ed on Carhart II is very good. In particular, this part works as a good rebuttal to David Garrow‘s unfortunate op-ed arguing that doctors should just take the risk that the vagueness of […]

“THEY’LL TELL YOU WHO STARTED THE $%*&* CHICAGO FIRE…” Matt, writing about Jane Mayer‘s essential article about the Bush administration’s torture policies, notes that the torture produces highly unreliable information, and is clearly being deployed for other purposes. I’ll have more about this in a longer piece about Stephen Holmes‘s new book later this month, […]

AND THIS MONTH’S VICHY DEMOCRAT AWARD GOES TO…Diane Feinstein, who cast the key vote to let arch-reactionary Leslie Southwick out of the Judiciary Committee. Apparently, she saw the Roberts Court’s first term, liked what she saw, and figured that the federal courts could use yet another neoconfederate judge. This would be one thing if it […]

ANTI CHOICERS: WOMEN NOT RATIONAL MORAL AGENTS. This column by Anna Quindlen has generated some discussion among the “pro-lifers” at The Corner. As I’ve been through in detail before, the idea that abortion can be a serious violent crime against a human life but that the women who are primarily responsible for obtaining them should […]

THE NEW (OLD) PATERNALISM IN OHIO. Legislation has been introduced in the Ohio legislature requiring women to not merely inform fathers before obtaining an abortion but to obtain written permission. And why not? Given that a majority of the United States Supreme Court has argued that anachronistic assumptions about the inferior decision-making capacity of women […]

BEYOND EMBARRASSMENT. I haven’t had the chance to write about the passing of the twin titans Bergman and Antonioni, but in the meantime I should note that anyone who thinks that people who admire Bergman do so because they are “embarrassed by the movies” couldn’t be more spectacularly wrongheaded. The idea that nobody can enjoy […]

MORE ON THE LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT. Dana beat me to the punch in noting that the Congressional attempt to override Ledbetter passed in the House, but is regrettably doomed. I will add that at the ACS panel I discussed earlier this week, reliable business water-carrier Stuart Taylor poo-poohed the decision by noting that it […]