A few random thoughts on the blessed beginning of the end
As Nice a Mosul Story As There Is, I Suppose
Image from The Guardian
Female peshmerga soldiers have no less love of home or bravery, and maybe more reason to loathe ISIS.
Can Mosul Coalition Hold?
Image from The Guardian
On the first day, the peshmerga do their job, but will do their part? And will everybody else? AN enormous test of what the Middle East will be.
We Interrupt This Mess To Bring You Life on Venus
Note: not a photograph. Artist impression via The Guardian.
The announcement that Venus may have had conditions hospitable for life once again rearranges our place in the solar system.
Michelle Obama’s Speech and The Weight of Men
Our remarkable First Lady–in conjunction with the King of Toads, his wretched princelings, and his grasping sycophants–should make us all think about who we are.
Ain’t it Just Like the Night? Bob Dylan’s Deserved Nobel Prize
What is literature? It’s the beautiful total of our human ambitions. Bob Dylan captured them.
Paul Kagame and the Arc of History
Does the man make his time or does time unmake the man?
Rwanda’s Paul Kagame is taking on France again. His career is a demonstration of the tragedy of history
Some Actual Analysis on Mosul: The Limits of US Power
Donald Trump sketches up battle plans for the taking of Mosul.
Taking Mosul back from ISIS will test the possibilities of a comprehensive Middle East strategy.
The GOP Moving Forward: Trumpism Without Trump
The only difference is who’ll be holding the sign.
The Republican Party is already trying to pretend that Trump himself is an aberration, but will fully embrace its animating principles.
Meanwhile, in Yemen
Saudi Arabia takes a page out of Asad’s playbook, and another country spirals further out of control.
Shooting Irrelevance 