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In Iraq, Messy is Better
A close election indicates a strengthening democratic process Iraq’s parliamentary elections in March prompted a 62 percent voter turnout, with 12 million Iraqis voting for the next leaders of their fledgling democracy. For a country that has...
Battlefield Juarez
Time is running out for the Mexican drug war Since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006 promising to end Mexico’s illicit drug trade, more than 18,000 people have been killed, and the death toll rises every month. In Ciudad Juarez,...
Secularism vs. Sharia
The threat of Islamism in Turkey is overblown On Feb. 25, 2010, some 40 top Turkish military officers were arrested for allegedly plotting a coup against...
Memorial Day Reading
This afternoon, I came across George Orwell’s “Revenge is Sour” in a collection of his essays. Originally published in the Tribune in...
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and Harvard ROTC
Protest of ROTC's policies toward homosexuals (at UW-Madison, 1990) At Harvard’s Reserve Officer Training Corps commissioning ceremony this Wednesday,...
The Relative Value of Valor
The New York Times Magazine has a fantastic article about the puzzle of the paucity of valor awards–those medals given for high acts of courage. Only six Medals...
Too Real for the Big Screen?
Two sci-fi allegories provoke unjust criticism Avatar, directed by James Cameron, 20th Century Fox, 2009. District 9, directed by Neill...
Blumenthal Follow-Up
Like Scott Lemieux and Nate Silver, I foolishly trusted the New York Times bombshell about CT attorney general Richard Blumenthal. I jumped immediately...
Scandals: Three-for-One Sale!
It’s scandal day in the world of politics. First, Sue Lowden, the front-runner in the Nevada Republican primary, looking to replace Harry Reid, seems to have...
Georgian President Vows “No Wine For Russia” at IOP
Well, not completely. But Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of Georgia, did boast yesterday that the wine produced in Georgia is simply so good (thanks to his free...
Current Issue: Spring 2010
Religion in America
- Is Godless Great? A New Heyday for American Secularism
The American Way of Faith Compromise, innovation, and tradition
Read more