Why I am so Wise

The Conservative Catholic Majority?

2005-09-12T11:56:00.000-05:00

As the Supreme Court nomination process is in full swing, we are waiting for President Bush to make his choice of successor for Justice O'Connor. Many are talking about nominating a Hispanic and/or a woman. I will comment on all that stuff, not to mention my first three weeks of law school, in further posts. But for now, I only want to point out something rather interesting and suprisingly under

2005-06-15T15:15:00.000-05:00

This piece in the NYT yesterday amused me a great deal. A profile of the current summer class of interns at the Heritage Foundation, the article describes the young interns as the creme-de-la creme of contemporary conservatism. Having been an intern at Heritage myself (class of 2004), I agree partially with this assesment. Some people I met while an intern were in fact quite interesting and

Battlestar is pretty good!

2005-06-12T17:56:00.000-05:00

So I have been spending my week downloading episodes of Battlestar Galactica (thank God for BiTorrent), and its actually quite good. Sophisticated plotlines (even though the last episode I watched, ep. 9, was a bit of a letdown), and an arch that is quite interesting and keeps you coming back for more. I would recommend downloading/waiting for the 1st season on DVD. For Star Trek fans who have

the lessons of watergate for today's law students?

2005-06-06T14:22:00.000-05:00

The ever interesting David Brooks has this very interesting op-ed about the lessons we learn from Watergate. For a man far past my tender age, he has an amazing knack for describing how the world I live in really works. I was of course slightly taken aback by the "thousands who go back to law school" comment, although ironically I suppose I am not "going back" but simply going straight through.

Non!

2005-05-31T14:14:00.000-05:00

A furor is raging in Europe as I write this, after the French people voted to not ratify the EU constitution (the full text of the treaty can be found here). This is being hailed as a historic moment in the history of the European Union, and it is perhaps so. John Simpson has argued here that the no-vote marks the end of the idea of a United States of Europe, and he is probably correct in his

Life after college

2005-05-25T18:05:00.000-05:00

So, this past weekend, a milestone in my life was attained. I graduated from college. I of course hardly noticed it happening, given that I was too exhausted from writing two honors theses, one of which I defended after graduation, and so was given presumptuous honors. As it turned out, I received High Honors on one of said theses, and just plain old Honors on the other one. If you had asked me a

Shameless plugs etc.

2004-12-16T20:04:00.000-05:00

My best friend Andy, whose blog is referenced here occasionally, has produced two very astute blog entries, here and here. Thomas Friedman actually wrote something that wasn't condescending today, so I figured I should make a plug for it too.It's actually quite good.

"Just Do It" Humvees

2004-12-16T16:01:00.000-05:00

Maureen Dowd, one of my least favorite columnists (alongside Anne Coulter and Barbara Ehrenreich; no I am not a male chauvinist, I also don't like Paul Krugman too much) wrote a screed for the Times today, mocking the Secretary of Defense and the Bush administration's allegedly insatiable appetite for wanting to involve the private sector in everything. She throws out a suggestion to Rumsfeld,

Faces

2004-12-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

As finals are coming to an end, my blogging resumes. So, a couple of days ago, I read this absolutely amazing excerpt out of Malcolm Gladwell's new book called blink. It was about Silvan Tomkins, apparently a very famous psychologist who had not come to my attention until then. Below, I have posted a series of facial expressions that Tomkins believed are universal to all of mankind. I am curious

Something something i hate finals

2004-12-13T23:34:00.000-05:00

otnemem0224: who the fuck is teresa wiltz dopeymanX: ? otnemem0224: i am looking at the reviews for finding neverland otnemem0224: and they are all so fucking cynical otnemem0224: "classic tearjerker" otnemem0224: "oscar recipe" otnemem0224: and

Bush and the minorities

2004-12-13T05:33:00.000-05:00

Here is Part II of the administration's track record on minorities, namely all the minorities who have been nominated and denied a vote by the wonderful Senate Democrats: Miguel Estrada Janice Brown Claude Allen Aside from these exceptional individuals who have all been denied a vote alongside a dozen or so other nominees, the administration has nominated and received confirmation for a

Westoxification

2004-12-13T04:50:00.000-05:00

The title of this post is a buzzword from the Iranian Revolution 25 years ago, referring to the poisonous effect of Western culture on Iranian society. It came to symbolize what the revolutionaries hated most, and an earthly replication of Imam Ali's reign was what they wanted to achieve, I suppose. A quarter century later, they certainly haven't found the latter, and from this piece written by

Filibusters and Nukes

2004-12-13T04:38:00.000-05:00

The WP has this story about the Senate GOP's consideration of the "nuclear option". Finally, someone has actually bothered to explain what this nuclear option is exactly. Now, most of you have probably realized by now that I am not exactly a lefty. But I like to fancy that I am at least consistent in my political opinions. And this "nuclear option" is really bothering me. What it amounts to

Safire and his successor

2004-12-12T20:24:00.000-05:00

William Safire is leaving the Times early next year, it has been announced. Thus, one of the finest minds in American journalism makes his exit, and I have to say that my reaction is mixed. I found myself agreeing with his conservative politics on many occasions, yet his views on the Israel-Palestine are frankly repulsive. His affection for the state's police powers is something I could do

Religion blogs

2004-12-12T20:20:00.000-05:00

I guess today's blogging has been alot about religion, so I thought that passing this link along to a religion blog hosted by New York University faculty might be interesting. Apparently, The Oregonian has also begun a religion blog hosted by a fairly conservative Christian fellow. I am sure there are Muslim bloggers out there, and I suppose that I should make my religious views clear in some

More news outlets

2004-12-12T19:56:00.000-05:00

I have to add two news outlets to my list: BBC News- excellent news source. Still one of the best in the world I think. Daily Star- fantastic Lebanese newspaper that offers some of the most insightful news about the Middle East. Very nice complement to Ha'aretz.

Religious Freedom in Britain

2004-12-12T17:51:00.000-05:00

Saw this story on the BBC about Rowan Atkinson's attempt to protest new laws restricting "hate speech" against religions in Britain. This reminded me of a story I heard this past summer about the trend toward increasing restrictions on speech in Britain, and I thought I would share the story. So, a couple of years back, this guy was standing in a public square in a seaside resort town in Britain

Can't thank God

2004-12-12T17:16:00.000-05:00

So the Maryland public schools have outdone themselves this time. As this story indicates, it is now impermissible for teachers in St. Mary's County to talk about the fact that the Pilgrims sat down to thank God when they celebrated Thanksgiving. Clearly, that would be teaching religion. The problem is that trying to teach about history and bleeping out all things religious is sort of like

2004-12-12T04:26:00.000-05:00

As you may have figured out by now, I read alot on the web. Here are two other interesting articles I ran across that I thought were worth sharing. Malcolm Gladwell, an amazing guy, has this piece on the ambiguity of pictures in the New Yorker. And then there is this excerpt from Gladwell's coming book, Blink. Read it! You will be stunned. Wow. Michael Ignatieff writes this interesting piece for

2004-12-12T03:15:00.000-05:00

On Aldaily I found this very interesting article written by an English teacher in Damascus, basically recounting conversations with Damascenes who were pro-Bush. Mr. Golson hits upon a number of fairly interesting points, including the realization that the "moral issues" that drove voters in this country to the polls have very strong resonance in the Muslim world as well. Social conservatives

2004-12-12T02:33:00.000-05:00

The Times' Magazine has a fantastic piece entitled "The Ideas of 2004", worth checking out. contains such gems as an explanation for witch trials and a proposal to outlaw "reckless sex".

2004-12-12T02:20:00.000-05:00

Todays' Times has this story about the South American agricultural revolution in the making. It appears that the Brazilians and the Argentinians are leading something unprecedented, turning our backyard into the breadbasket of the world. So what is the key to this success? Science seems to be driving it, with new technological solutions enabling the farmers to quintuple yields on land that was

2004-12-11T13:06:00.000-05:00

So, to today's news roundup: Ah, Mr. Kerik. He was essentially forced to withdraw his name from consideration for the DHS post (here, and here), because he once may have employed an illegal immigrant. This, for the record, is the fourth time in the last decade that a nominee for a cabinet secretary position has been put in this position. In a separate entry, I will talk about immigration a

2004-12-11T01:41:00.000-05:00

So, the liberals have spent alot of time talking about how this administration is some sort of throwback to racially insensitive days. I mean, come on, right. They came to power by disenfranchising African-Americans, then they had the balls to file a brief in the Supreme Court against affirmative action, and the president wouldn't even go speak at the NAACP. This is just bigotry reintroduced into

2004-12-10T13:10:00.000-05:00

NBC and CBS have refused to air an ad from the United Church of Christ. As you can see, the ad has a very clear message, namely that whereas other denominations turn gays away from their church pews, the UCC welcomes them with open arms. The ads also says that Jesus didn't turn away anyone, thus implying that the other denominations that do turn away gays are going against Jesus. The alleged

2004-12-10T02:40:00.000-05:00

So, reading Townhall, I came across this very interesting piece about medical marijuana by Jeff Jacoby. In this column, Jacoby talks about the Wickard standard, something I had never heard about before. Basically, this guy Filburn was growing more wheat than allowed by federal law, but it was all staying on his farm. The Supreme Court decided that the interstate commerce clause still applied

2004-12-10T01:06:00.000-05:00

Amazing stuff. So I figured that before this blogging frenzy ends for the night, I have to write about Finding Neverland, one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time. I won't give away spoilers, but as the title may indicate, it is the story of playwright J.M. Barie and the tale of how Peter Pan came about. The acting is amazing, the direction superb, the cinematography fantastic,

2004-12-09T23:27:00.000-05:00

Something else that has been on my mind over the past few weeks is the crisis in Ukraine. What strikes me is that the entire thing provides enormous support for the argument that it is impossible to shove democracy down any society's throat until the people themselves are in a position where they rise up of their own volition and enact change. I think this is the fatal flaw in the neocon theory,

2004-12-09T23:09:00.000-05:00

Here is another very interesting and insighful piece about the current situation in the Middle East, and the ideological battle raging back home between the neocons and their opponents. The neocons hold up Bernard Lewis as the great scholar on Islam and argue that the only way forward is to create a Kemalist secular democracy in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. But Michael Hirsh argus very

2004-12-09T22:05:00.000-05:00

Here are some interesting websites that I visit regularly. Arts & Letters Daily - amazing stuff. best place to go on the web for intelligent opinion. articles, essays, book reviews on just about anything, from philosophy and politics to science, religion and art. check it out. Slate- Also good stuff. Lots of smart columnists with pretty fast analysis and reaction to the news of the day, as well

2004-12-09T21:39:00.000-05:00

This piece in the Times by Ian Buruma on Islamic Democracy in Iraq is one of the most insightful I have read so far in the mainstream press. It articulates very well the current developments in Iraq, and tries to make a case that Ayatollah Sistani and his follower may actually be the best hope for democracy in the new Iraq. I spent most of my summer working on bringing together research material

2004-12-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

So, it has been a really crappy day weather-wise. I woke up, sort of went to class, and then spent several hours writing portions of my thesis on Ottoman legal institutions in the 16th and 17th centuries. Having had dinner, now I am sitting down to read the day's news. This will be a recurring feature, i.e. me reading the news and then commenting on it. Rumsfeld and the troops. The WP has

2004-12-09T02:37:00.000-05:00

so, this thing is back. finally, after a long time. inspired by mr. andy guess's newfangled blog. the first thing i want to blog about is an utterly retarded conversation I witnessed yesterday. So I am walking down the hallway in the history building and I see this fat, balding 30-something history TA talking to two students, both with their eyes wide-open obviously waiting for some golden words

2003-10-27T00:17:00.000-05:00

At 2 AM, (or 3 AM; things get a bit confusing with DST) , I returned from what was possibly the worst debating experience I have had. The Columbia debate tournament was supposed to be the first of the grand slams of debate, an unopposed affair. The tournament began at 6, when it was supposed to go off at 4. Due to a lack of judges (a couple of years ago, the tournament paid a homeless person to

2003-10-22T01:29:00.000-05:00

Long long day of classes. So, most of my day was spent reading the great John Rawls. An interesting little tome called "Poltiical Liberalism", where this guy chucks much of his previous thesis about Justice and what it is out the window. So, he takes on this project of trying to figure out how we can hold completely different moral doctrines, say on the one hand orthodox jews and on the other

2003-10-20T22:30:00.000-05:00

So, my blogging resumes. It's been an interesting month so far. The acadmeic calendar progresses as usual, with papers and midterms and such. I have been to a couple of debate tournaments, mostly ones that have made my head spin with frustration and/or anger. This last weekend was a welcome respite, as the Hopkins tournament was very well run and fun. Of course, I have not seen a movie in almost