Just a gaggle of linkage to spread for the day. Some, I'm still behind the curve on, others ... less so. Enjoy.
Great reading by Houston's own State Rep. Garnet Coleman on the current situation at the lege. The Texas Observer has a bit more detail on the plan moving forth, also. Pinkdome is pretty much my source of all goings-ons at the lege these days, but one link worth singling out is this one. In it, we learn of the latest sneaky political tactic to sweep Austin ... the under-the-door political mail dropoff. Really, are rightwing extremists so hard up that they can't afford the 36 cents to put something in the mail for 181 legislators?
One rally that deserves to have an impact. Lawrence Kaplan and Mark Goldberg have a bit of back-and-forth about what to do re: Darfur. Kaplan suggests that some of the very protestors who are favorable to pulling out of Iraq ought to weigh their own inconsistencies in their protests of Darfur. Goldberg doesn't entirely disagree, yet comes up with them anti-gem of a statement that really leaves me guessing what it is he does support:
With no expectation that the 130,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq will be rotated out anytime soon, the requisite number of troops that would be required to pacify Dafur are simply unavailable. But even if it were feasible, it would be neither wise nor prudent to do so. Given the experience in Iraq, there is reason to believe that the U.S. military simply cannot undertake such a task, no matter how noble our intentions. American boots on the ground will bolster popular support for the ruling National Islamic Front. They will also inspire jihadis who have rotated out of the Iraqi theatre to respond to Osama bin Laden?s recent call to arms and mount an insurgency against America in Darfur.
I've said it once, I'll say it again ... the notion that 130,000 troops in one military station make our present military unable to deal with anything else going on in the world is a serious problem. Not the least of them is that it gives credence to someone like Goldberg who suggest we can stop bad things in the world from happening without the fear of an actual bullet being shot every now and then.
UPDATE: One reaction from the latest protesting blitz deserves to be read by all ... that of Congressman Tom Lantos. Hard to beat the guy when it comes to authority and credibility on the topic of genocide. Just go read the whole thing.
The "Bridge to Nowhere" ... still going forward. And still on your dime. Aren't you glad you voted Republican now and spending restraint by the federal government is an "ongoing victory"?
Currently reading, so no time for commentary yet, but Alan Wolfe's latest in TNR re: immigration and Peter Beinart's NYTMag re: summarizing a bit from his new book (due out soon). I had these both ready to read on Sunday, but the entire day sorta slipped out from under me. Good problem to have, for once.
I think Matt Yglesias gets closer to the heart of George Allen's problem. For all of Allen's "southern kitsch" it really hasn't gone too deeply into the conventional wisdom that Senator Allen is very decidedly NOT a southerner in any cultural meaning of the word. That sorta puts his whole fascination with things like the confederate flag and nooses into a new light ... as if some of us needed a new light to put those things into!
The Politics of Definition ... I made it through the first two out of four parts. Let's just say I find it lacking in many regards ... to the extent that I'm shocked Ruy Teixeira would even lend his name to it. 15,000 words that just strike me as being summed up by: "If we speak louder, slower, and use smaller words, we might win." Color me doubtful.
Flipped through Ben Barnes' book. Typical self-serving drivel for the most part. I say that as one who considers himself more-or-less down with Barnes' ideological stripe, but for the sake of historical records, I found David Richards' book far more illuminating on mostly the same stretch of Texas political history.
