If you don't read James Lileks, you should. I don't care if you spend your days grousing about your evil capitalist overlords, you'll appreciate Lilek's ability to turn a phrase. Here are some highlights, but head over here to find a good compilation of his greatest hits. And for the smooth flavor of a filterless Lileks, check out The Bleat (turns out, he's a geek).
The left is terribly worried about what the popular kids are saying about them in the United Nations. "We've alienated the world! For heaven's sake, we've alienated China! Oh, and Free Tibet!" The right couldn't care less, but what can you expect out of a party that would rather get married to Great Britain than have an affair with France?I wouldn't have found it without Daly Thoughts. And if you know of a similarly creative phrasesmith on the left, let me know.
What does (Richard Clarke) counsel? In a recent piece in Time magazine, he's frank: "In addition to placing more cameras on our subway platforms, maybe we should be asking why the terrorists hate us." OK, Mr. Terrorist, what do you want from us? "We want you to lose." Hmm. Well, there's only one reasonable, nuanced response: Would you be happy with the Sudetenland?
Getting bombed by al-Qaida because you helped topple a fascist regime is a stark reminder that you did the right thing. You have the right enemies. A country should worry when al-Qaida doesn't regard it as a target, because that would mean it appeared to be a house of rotten wood, easily collapsed when the time is right.
