First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Sen. [...]
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
“Free” speech
Posted in Politics, tagged law, philosophy, prudence, security on 5 April 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Collier and Côte d’Ivoire
Posted in Politics, tagged Côte d'Ivoire, Collier, economy, governance, law, realism, sovereignty on 13 January 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I was pointed to Paul Collier’s latest Guardian column on the violent political standoff in Ivory Coast by the always entertaining Wronging Rights blog. In the piece, Collier advocates for a military coup openly supported by regional and international powers. Indeed, he supports the option to: …generate a credible threat of force from the government’s [...]
Do as I say, and all that.
Posted in Politics, tagged censorship, faith, freedom, New York, otherness, prohibition on 3 September 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve let this space go idle this summer for a variety of reasons, but none that seem to add up to more than procrastination and laziness. Not that I haven’t been able to keep busy, of course, but what are a few minutes to take down some thoughts? But since this joint is low traffic [...]
Narratives
Posted in Politics, tagged Berlin, justice, otherness on 10 November 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Coverage of the commemorative activities of the fall of the Berlin Wall, now twenty years ago, has been surprisingly insightful. Surprising, because the meta-narrative of the thing has surely been solidified well enough to fit decently into any Western (liberal, democratic) tale of societal progress, etc. While it is of course disingenuous to assert the [...]
Theoretical peace?
Posted in Politics, tagged justice, Nobel Prize, Obama, peace on 9 October 2009 | 3 Comments »
It has just been announced that President Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, for his administration’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” This is a remarkable decision, and though I’m just about as entrenched an Obama supporter as a common citizen can be, it may not be remarkable for [...]
Hear, hear.
Posted in Politics, tagged jus in bello, just war, justice, torture on 17 September 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve been catching up on some reading tonight, and have been struck by two gentlemen whose credentials are the ultimate vouchers for their claims. While their position is hardly novel in either academic theory or political discourse, it seems worth at least a moment to reflect on the fact that they are both retired Marine [...]
Irony and exceptionalism
Posted in Politics, tagged exceptionalism, just war, law, realism, torture on 7 May 2009 | Leave a Comment »
So, another month of silence on this blog… Anyway, I’ve got an hour before I need to run off to rugby practice, so let’s see what I can come up with. Ah, I know…how about the paradox of American exceptionalism. That should be an easy one. This morning, I came across some interesting thoughts by [...]
Debate and casuistry
Posted in Politics, tagged justice, law, non-cooperation, Obama, otherness, realism, sovereignty on 9 February 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A tenet that will surely continue to be heard as the new administration establishes its image on the world stage is that compromises between ideals and security will no longer be tolerated. The notion featured prominently in the President’s inaugural, and was most recently repeated by the Vice President in his speech to the Munich [...]
The anchor of society…
Posted in Politics, tagged conservatism, progressivism on 30 November 2008 | Leave a Comment »
There is nothing initially wrong with the claim that conservatives and conservative politics have, in various eras and under numerous circumstances, provided a healthy balance against idealistic, but perhaps irresponsible, liberalism, or diluted progressive spirits so as to make them palatable to a broader public. Indeed, conservatism generally might be regarded as a social anchor, [...]
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