Revenge of the Wall St. Nerds
An exposé of the math guys who broke the economy
On the Newsstand:Intellectua
Young Liberal American Jewish Zionism
In his recent essay “The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment,” Peter Beinart laments the disconnect young liberal American Jews feel from Israel and the American organizations that support it (i.e. AIPAC). He argues that Zionist organizations have moved rightward with the Israeli government and have largely shut out liberal dissent: “…by defending virtually anything any Israeli government does, they ... Read More
Judging Kagan, Judging Us
I like to think of David Brooks as The New York Times’ “Chronicler of the Powerful and Rich.” He’s gotten some pretty extravagant (and hilarious) criticism for his work as the Chronicler of the P&R — work which should basically be read as a twice-weekly “What Should I Think?” guide for Upper East Side Manhattanites — but for the most part, honestly, ... Read More
Hypocritical Mediocrity
Why did Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad get a student visa and U.S. citizenship? Marty Peretz argued yesterday that he shouldn’t have because he was mediocre. But I don’t think that Peretz’ reasoning is much better than mediocre itself. The evidence of Shahzad’s mediocrity begins with a Spring 1998 transcript which, quoting the New York Times, “showed that he earned ... Read More
Not Victims: Another Case Against the Clubs
I want to comment on Sam’s final club post from the other day, which I find compelling but nevertheless insufficient. Let me try to explain why. Sam gives us the standard-line “progressive critique” of the clubs. His is an argument that’s been made many times before — by the likes of April Yee here, Sabrina Lee here, and most recently by ... Read More
Justice Stevens Lets Go — Better Hang On!
My Harvard Independent column for this week addresses the retirement of John Paul Stevens and the issue of picking his successor. Read the original here. If they made posters of Supreme Court Justices, I’d put John Paul Stevens on my bedroom wall. The man is a progressive hero — first and foremost, for his longevity. In 2006, the liberal radio ... Read More
Harvard Model UN: Self-congratulations or a glimpse at how the world could be run?
Last weekend, Harvard’s Model United Nations conference for college students took place for the 56th time, drawing thousands of students from all over the world to Boston Park Plaza. As an uber-important (or not) Assistant Director to the E.U. committee, I got to observe first hand how students acted as delegates from countries they didn’t come from and to debate ... Read More
Weighing In: Harvard’s Supposed Crisis of Faith
In his post “Harvard’s Supposed Crisis of Faith,” Sam Barr criticizes Lisa Miller’s recent Newsweek article about the study of religion at Harvard: “Of course religion is important to study, …even or especially if you’re a nonbeliever. But I also said, or implied, that she was wasting her time with this article, because religion is not in nearly such dire ... Read More
Why Andrew Sullivan is a Hack, Part I
No, I don’t think he’s an anti-semite (see Jonathan Chait on that). But he has been reckless enough with the truth, and obsessed enough with Israel, that much of the recent criticism is spot-on. Take Sullivan’s latest post on CPAC for example. He begins by heralding Ron Paul’s surprise victory in the CPAC straw poll, and ends up with yet another diatribe against Israel and the ”neocon” quest ... Read More
Martha Coakley and the Politics of Despair
Here’s the deal: if Martha Coakley loses tonight then it’s good news for Lloyd Blankfein, who’s worried about financial regulation reform, for the super rich, whose taxes will remain low, and for everyone generally interested in preventing Obama from governing this country. On the other hand, her loss is bad news for those of us who care about adequate health ... Read More
E Pluribus Pluribus
Public discourse in the age of the Internet Republic.com 2.0 by Cass Sunstein Princeton University Press, September 2009, $24.95, 272 pp. Create Your Own Economy by Tyler Cowen Dutton Adult, July 2009, $25.95, 272 pp. Cass Sunstein begins Republic.com 2.0 by asking his readers to imagine a world where their control over the media they consume is total.”It is some ... Read More
Conservative Mental Gestures
The last few days, I’ve been reminded of Lionel Trilling’s rather impolite description of conservatism as a philosophy expressed in “irritable mental gestures” rather than ideas. What keeps provoking this thought in me is all the carping about Sonia Sotomayor’s “reverse racism.” I got to thinking about what I find so, well, irritating about this particular conservative mental gesture. And ... Read More
Byron York: Worst Person in the World
I probably can’t add much to what Steve Benen said, but I feel compelled to comment on Byron York’s recent column on “the black-white divide in Obama’s popularity.” York’s entire column is a laundry list of poll numbers showing that Obama is more popular among blacks than whites. His conclusion? “Black Americans will be a valuable pillar of support for ... Read More
