Philosophy
It has been interesting to see the Republican primary process work itself out. The party is clearly not satisfied with Mitt Romney, for whom they have been trying repeatedly to find a substitute. None of the other flavors of the month which came and went were terribly strong. Newt Gingrich, seemingly the last one standing, has generated panic among party powerful. There have been calls for a savior to enter the race since it started and they continue, albeit somewhat muted at this late point.
There are stronger candidates that could have stepped up and chose not to -- Jindal from Louisiana, Christie from New Jersey, Daniels from Indiana, even McCain with another run. During the process, there seemed to be a weakened incumbent, so why did the field that developed turn out to be so weak? Is the threat of an incumbent so powerful that even with a bad economy, it seems too high of a mountain to climb? Is there something amiss in the party recruitment apparatus? Has the tea party fractured the GOP in such a way that the usual recruitment mechanisms don't work? How did the Republicans come to have the field they did and not a stronger one, even in their own estimation?
- Modern Mencken
Tomorrow is Mencken day at the Enoch Pratt Library, honoring one of the great intellects of Baltimore. Who would be the modern day version of H.L. Mencken? Is there a writer who is smart, ascerbic, conservative, and wry? P.J. O'Rourke? ...
- Fricking Fracking Fixtures
Two questions from Michael Schmidt. First, "Frack" a suitable substitute for the expletive "fuck," and "frickin'" (or "frikkin'") is a suitable substitute for the participle "fuckin'". Why, then, is "frick" rarely used as a substitute...
- Mitt Romney And Richard Grennell: Is There An Obligation To Stand Up For Your People?
The Richard Grennell flap has me thinking. Mitt Romney hired a gay conservative who worked under John Bolton in the George W. Bush administration to be his spokesperson for foreign policy matters. Grennell is open about his sexual orientation. ...
- Are Critics Artists?
It's an old cliche, "Everyone's a critic." While it may be easy to be critical, it is not easy to be a critic. Real criticism takes a work of art, literature, or film and uses it as the basis for an insightful discussion that weaves...
- Historians, Archaeologists, And Scientists
Are historians scientists? They frame hypotheses about the causes and effects of real events and use empirical evidence to support their accounts. But they don't do not look for regularities to make into laws; to the contrary, they account...
Philosophy
Why Was the Republican Field So Weak This Time?
It has been interesting to see the Republican primary process work itself out. The party is clearly not satisfied with Mitt Romney, for whom they have been trying repeatedly to find a substitute. None of the other flavors of the month which came and went were terribly strong. Newt Gingrich, seemingly the last one standing, has generated panic among party powerful. There have been calls for a savior to enter the race since it started and they continue, albeit somewhat muted at this late point.
There are stronger candidates that could have stepped up and chose not to -- Jindal from Louisiana, Christie from New Jersey, Daniels from Indiana, even McCain with another run. During the process, there seemed to be a weakened incumbent, so why did the field that developed turn out to be so weak? Is the threat of an incumbent so powerful that even with a bad economy, it seems too high of a mountain to climb? Is there something amiss in the party recruitment apparatus? Has the tea party fractured the GOP in such a way that the usual recruitment mechanisms don't work? How did the Republicans come to have the field they did and not a stronger one, even in their own estimation?
- Modern Mencken
Tomorrow is Mencken day at the Enoch Pratt Library, honoring one of the great intellects of Baltimore. Who would be the modern day version of H.L. Mencken? Is there a writer who is smart, ascerbic, conservative, and wry? P.J. O'Rourke? ...
- Fricking Fracking Fixtures
Two questions from Michael Schmidt. First, "Frack" a suitable substitute for the expletive "fuck," and "frickin'" (or "frikkin'") is a suitable substitute for the participle "fuckin'". Why, then, is "frick" rarely used as a substitute...
- Mitt Romney And Richard Grennell: Is There An Obligation To Stand Up For Your People?
The Richard Grennell flap has me thinking. Mitt Romney hired a gay conservative who worked under John Bolton in the George W. Bush administration to be his spokesperson for foreign policy matters. Grennell is open about his sexual orientation. ...
- Are Critics Artists?
It's an old cliche, "Everyone's a critic." While it may be easy to be critical, it is not easy to be a critic. Real criticism takes a work of art, literature, or film and uses it as the basis for an insightful discussion that weaves...
- Historians, Archaeologists, And Scientists
Are historians scientists? They frame hypotheses about the causes and effects of real events and use empirical evidence to support their accounts. But they don't do not look for regularities to make into laws; to the contrary, they account...