Here’s what’s backed up in the blog queue right now. Take a look and let me know what you think would be the most interesting…
1. I’ve just finished reading Geoffrey Stone’s ‘Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime‘. Reading this raised three interesting issues for me:
* The role of law in our society;
* The balancing act between building support and freedom to dissent;
* The history of dissent and debate in wartime America.
Each of these ought to be a long and thoughtful blog post and discussion; if I’m lucky I’ll get one post out of it.
2. I never finished my comments on Nick Cohn’s ‘What’s Left‘, and now Johann Hari has his own – which I strongly disagree with – and which is deserving of some comment, which will also give me a chance to extend my comments on Cohn’s book.
3. I was in New York (in a hotel with TV!) and got to watch the Democratic debates. I’m depressed, but still think it’s vital that a Democrat win for a variety of reasons. I probably ought to explain those and try and convince you all…
Cohen, not Cohn. As opposed to Nik Cohn, who also writes books. I have some disagreement with his book, but I’ll hold them for a bit. Interesting to hear your reaction. When I moved to London nine years ago, he was a great columnist. But I think he’s lost his way a bit. But that deserves a more lengthy comment too.
Personally, I might be most interested in the first item since it pertains to history and I’ve just finished reading Mark Neely’s “The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties”:http://www.amazon.com/Fate-Liberty-Abraham-Lincoln-Liberties/dp/0195080327 The other subjects might be more constructive though. I find this bit from Hari to the point:
bq. _Cohen’s thesis applies with laser-accuracy to these parts of the left, and it is here that his critique is most powerful: they have indeed become reflexive defenders of the far right. Against this, Cohen quotes the Iranian author Azar Nafisi: “I very much resent it when people – maybe with good intentions or from a progressive point of view – keep telling me, ‘It’s their culture’… It’s like saying the culture of Massachucets is burning witches.” Again, he exaggerates the extent to which these thoughts are part of the mainstream left._
A.L., I’m with PD on this. #1 one would be most interesting to me right now as I’d be very interested to know how similar the current debate is to past debates. #3 will be very interesting in about six months. But PLEASE not right now.
Make that three votes for #1. For you Democrats, that would add up to nine votes at least, even if you accidentally lose my vote in San Francisco Bay.
#3 was tempting, though. I’d like to know why I should vote to send Barak Obama and an unknown number of congressional cretins on a whirlwind tour of every scumbag nation on earth. All of them decked out in kaffiyeh and burkhas too, no doubt. I don’t know what I or my beloved country have done to deserve this humiliation, but the reason for it must be so mind-blowingly awesome that it must surely change my life forever. I don’t think I’m ready for that.
OK, #1 it is – along with a helping of Gaddis’ book on the Cold War (reading them back-to-back was v. interesting…)
Give me a few days…
A.L.
#3 please. I would really care to hear your reasoning behind voting a Progressive into the WH. Why should the US give itself over to the Communists when we spent so much treasure to defeat that murderous ideology?
The Hobo