Archive for November, 2009
Collapsing Into Nothing
Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by Michael Preston.
As something of a nerdy birthday present to myself, I downloaded J.J. Abram’s re-imagined Star Trek movie the other day from iTunes. If you haven’t seen it, it’s quite good; it’s visually stunning, action packed and actually funny. The plot itself is a bit hard to describe (there’s some time travel/alternate reality stuff going on), […]
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Ivan The Terrible . . . Ivan the National Security Threat?
Posted on 19. Nov, 2009 by Nicholas Martinez.
Last week, crowds flocked to their local electronics stores with smiles on their faces and money to spend. The day they marked on their calendars months ago finally arrived. And despite the long lines and large crowds, nothing was going to stand in their way of achieving their mission: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare […]
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'We're All Doomed' is not a good campaign slogan…
Posted on 16. Nov, 2009 by Robert Voris.
“Because one can almost feel it: what a bleak and merciless world this host lives in – believes, nay, knows for an absolute fact he lives in. I’ll take doubt.” – David Foster Wallace, “Host” Recently departed Nixon speechwriter and grammar police commissioner William Safire once wrote that liberals were, “nattering nabobs of negativism.” For […]
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Guantanamo Bay Detainees Get their Day in Court (FINALLY)
Posted on 15. Nov, 2009 by Maria Clark.
Obama’s first move as president is becoming a reality. Guantanamo Bay prisoners are finally being brought to court. Of the 240 detainees, 30 cases have already been heard and dismissed. Some prisoners even got the opportunity to testify by video transmitted from Cuba to the panel of 15 federal judges. But as the government accelerates […]
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Army or Jail?
Posted on 15. Nov, 2009 by Kaili Boyd.
This weekend I met a young lady who just graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point. Sitting along side of her was another older woman’s whose husband was once a career soldier. As we three discussed the young graduates propsects for the future and her fears about possibly being sent to Iraq or […]
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Do Something Obama!
Posted on 15. Nov, 2009 by Collin Orcutt.
“You kidding me? You can’t be serious man. You can NOT BE SERIOUS!” –John McEnroe, Wimbledon, 1981 and Collin Orcutt’s inner monologue, New York City, 2008 This past Wednesday, the Catholic Archdiosese of Washington made a threat to the District: change the same-sex marriage bill or we’ll stop running the social service programs (that you […]
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Jack Bauer Vs. The Obama Adminstration . . .
Posted on 12. Nov, 2009 by Nicholas Martinez.
On Sunday January 10th 2010, America’s favorite son returns to face another day of intense action and suspense-filled plot twists and turns. Yes, Jack Bauer will blast his way through New York in order to save the city from another looming terrorist threat – – or die trying. But with the eighth and possibly last […]
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The Return of the Paranoid Style in American Politics
Posted on 12. Nov, 2009 by Michael Preston.
I must confess to the fact that I’ve never read Richard Hofstadter’s classic work, The Paranoid Style in American Politics, cover to cover. However, I feel like I’ve read enough to know that, were he alive, Hofstadter would probably be morbidly fascinated by how presciently he’d described our current political moment. Of the paranoid style, […]
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Hillary: America Has Lost Its Flex
Posted on 10. Nov, 2009 by Joel Schectman.
In a moment of striking candor, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the financial crisis has left America’s power blunted. The United States, unfortunately, has lost leverage in the world because of the global economic crisis and because of the steps that this administration had to take to try to prevent, frankly, a worldwide […]
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Mike and Collin Tackle the Presidency
Posted on 10. Nov, 2009 by Collin Orcutt.
Fellow “Obama Presidency” blogger Mike Preston and I were discussing the Ft. Hood shootings over lunch today. At first, we tried to figure out what to make of the tragedy. But then Mike presented an interesting idea. He wondered if the shootings were reflective of something bigger, a darker mood emanating from the American people. […]