At the end of the last episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, noted Razzie Award winner Ben Affleck delivered a riveting monologue that damn near erased the memory of “Pearl Harbor” from my psyche. Paraphrasing, he basically said that Democrats are so afraid of being pussies that they capitulate…

In order to clarify the bounds of my thesis, I've read a fair amount of Frantz Fanon in the last few days. And since I think it would be tragic to keep his genius to myself, after the break I've included some powerful reflections from his essays on the various dimensions of the struggle to liberate Algeria from an all-too-brutal French occupation (collected in A Dying Colonialism and Toward the African Liberation). While his insights are obviously immensely valuable as part of that history, at times one also feels that they could scarcely be more relevant to understanding and combating neo-colonialism and American imperialism today.

I really need to see 28 Weeks Later (it’s playing at Harvard Square, btw). And once I see this movie I need to definitively figure out if this is a left-leaning or right-leaning zombie movie.

The first one 28 Days Later is legitimately one of my favorite movies. First, zombie films are awesome. Second, Cillian Murphy is ridiculously hot. And I mean ridiculous, like he could be a legit serial killer.

OK, so perhaps that’s TMI on my part. But, take a look at this post from The Weekly Standard blog by Sonny bunch. He’s objecting to the way in which liberals have claimed this zombie franchise as a reflection of American occupation in Iraq. And actually it’s not even liberals, it’s media outlets like USA Today which talk about American agression. But Sonny is arguing that this can be viewed at from a conservative perspective, I mean the whole zombie thing was precipitated by a bunch of liberals: 

In the original, the film kicks off when a group of do-gooding PETA/Earth Liberation Front types break into an animal testing lab to free some cute, cuddly monkeys. Except these cute, cuddly monkeys are infected with the Rage virus, the disease that ends up destroying England. Instead of listening to reason, the radicals threaten the scientist who discovers them with bodily harm and release the animals.

And for reasons I won’t divulge here Sonny makes the point that the sequel continues in the liberals-are-the-ones-who-are-idiots-and-cause-the-Rage-virus. After I see the movie I'll report on my findings. Alas, Cillian Murphy is not in the sequel. Drats.

Funny, I expected a war czar to be a little more... ferocious-looking. Sort of like General Patton, ya know?

Q: Any chance that the U.S. pulling out of Iraq could have Ewing Theory implications? You know, we pull out and suddenly and inexplicably democracy flourishes and everyone gets along? --Jeff, Philadelphia

SG: No.

(From the Bill Simmons mailbag)

While I won’t get into the actual specifics of the Ewing Theory (if you are so curious read about it yourself here), Jeff from Philadelphia seems to be articulating a common belief among many liberals. It’s the belief that pulling out U.S. troops now is the best scenario for Iraq. The surge (not that Surge!) has so far begun to divide even the Republican Party, as you have politicians like Jim Boehner, Olympia Snowe, and Lamar Alexander that are distancing themselves from the Bush administration. In fact, these are precarious times for Republican moderates.

GOP moderates are seriously imperiled in 2008; they tend to represent states and districts where antiwar sentiment is strong. It's noteworthy that the meeting with Bush was organized by House Republicans from Illinois and Pennsylvania (key states in the '08 presidential race), and that even a congressman from Virginia (an increasingly competitive state) felt compelled to tell Bush that, in one section of his district, he estimated that support for the President had fallen to 5 percent. (via The Philadelphia Inquirer)

I will actually be a little sad if Republican Senator Sununu gets booted out of office come 2008. He has by far the most awesome last name of any current politician.

Below the fold are two different takes on Iraq. Conservatives are still clinging to the notion that staying in Iraq -- even past September 2008 -- is still the only way to insure any sort of stability in the region.

Much has been made of At the Center of the Storm, George Tenet's account of what happened in the months prior to and following the occupation of Iraq. His credibility has been called into question by Richard Perle, the VP has issued a statement, and editorial pages have been ablaze.

For those…

I hope everybody gets a chance to read this piece in The New York Times featuring an awesome photo (amongst other things) of Reverend Peter Gomes.

And not to be outdone, Harvey Mansfield wrote an editorial in The Wall Street Journal called The Case for the Strong Executive. (If only Nancy…

Note: I was about to post a comment on Chimaobi's thread, but then realized it was getting pretty long and that's what the front page is for.  He wrote (in response to pseudonymous "Reader")

The anti-American baggage is there and not going anywhere, however. It was there far before the U.S. launched offensives targerting Saddam on March 20, 2003 with tomahawk missles that missed their high-level targets. It will remain many years after the last military personnel, bases, and warships leave the Middle East (if it ever happens). Getting rid of this sentiment that only spurs to further a negative image of the U.S. and the West and assists Al-Qaeda and other groups in their recruitment of fighters? THAT'S a pipe dream.

So one question, then, to take a cue from Barbara Epstein, is whether it isn't in our best interest, as a matter of national security (let alone the pursuit of justice), to fight imperialism from our position here in the U.S. with the intent of diminishing the cause for anti-American sentiment worldwide? 

So it's not everyday I have a link to The Weekly Standard (it's ok to click, you won't get cooties), but I've been thinking lately that Reid and Pelosi are making some terrible mistakes for the Democratic Party.

First Pelosi is declining to meet with General Petraeus, who will be at The Hill…

Hey y'all, it's been a flurry of a few days, and my 20-pager on Black radical architecture ain't gonna write itself.  Before I disappear for a bit, here are a couple of parting gifts, along with one request.

I had a pretty sad talk with my mom the day the Gonzales v. Carhart decision came out, and this Slate piece by Dahlia Lithwick brilliantly articulates our reasons for dismay.  It's one of those laugh-cry deals.  Enjoy, and while you're at it, sign the Planned Parenthood petition protesting the ruling. 

Next, today marked the premier of "Alive In Baghdad: Uncut," on Veracifier, a new-ish site featuring political video series.  The episode is very much in line with Rami and Deena's call this week to incorporate a humanitarian perspective in our discourse on Iraq.  I'll probably be posting a lot of these videos here, but check out the Alive In Baghdad blog on the regular yourself, too.



Finally, the more I think about this whole Caldwell debacle, and the more I hear from others, the more the situation upsets me.  People are getting hurt because of this shit.  Below the jump, an email I sent out to some friends today, asking folks to write the Crimson and ask for some accountability here.  Let me know what you think, and take it up as a weekend project if you're so inclined.