Racism in Sport

Brian Phillips compares soccer hooliganism to American fans’ troubled relationship with black NBA players. A taste:
Unlike American racism, which can be seen as an internal social problem transformed by changing attitudes within one overarching culture, the history of European nationalism was decided by relatively recent battles between armies whose sources of legitimacy were external to [...]

Southern Comfort

If you’re looking for some interesting (and occasionally infuriating) liberal commentary on the South’s political and cultural influence, I recommend this diary from OpenLeft, this article from Salon, and this entry from the Democratic Strategist.
Here’s a provocative excerpt from the Salon article:
Today the division is no longer between slave and free states, or agrarian and [...]

To The Barricades

Liberal writer Ezra Klein is confused by libertarian writer Will Wilkinson’s lack of sympathy for anarcho-socialist-something-or-other Naomi Klein’s anti-statist tendencies. I’m afraid I don’t find this very confusing at all. Naomi Klein is something of a romantic – witness her schizophrenic ideology, distaste for traditional political organizing, and general infatuation with any breakdown of social [...]

It’s Just Wrong

Does it make sense to work your way back to first principles with a preferred outcome in mind? For example, I agree entirely with JL Wall when he writes:
Basic status as human beings: this is distinct from the concept of universal human rights. It is not a statement that there is a basic natural right [...]

I’m so hood

I couldn’t resist. The introductory segment of the neighborhood’s 40th anniversary pamphlet describes Hollin Hills as a revolutionary community on par with the PRC and the German Democratic Republic. My dad assures me that this is entirely tongue in cheek, but it’s difficult to detect any hint of irony from the text. In 20 years, [...]

Backlash

Having already written the best “federalism good” impact turns known to man (if you’re a policy debater, throw your hands up!), Steven Calabresi now turns his attention to the coming Obama Administration apocalypse:
A whole generation of Americans has come of age since the nation experienced the bad judicial appointments and foolish economic and regulatory policy [...]

Required Reading

Everyone should check out this excellent Ben Smith post on the road not taken by Republican operatives in 2008. I’ve expressed my frustration with this phenomenon before, but Smith does a fantastic job of explaining why the naked cultural appeals of McCain’s media enablers are so politically ineffective.
It’s also worth noting that it didn’t have [...]

A Minor Quibble

I’m sure it’s a bit presumptuous of me to criticize a professional political theorist (teaching at Georgetown, no less!), but as a recovering liberal, I feel obliged to defend my former ideological compatriots. Patrick Deneen:
What struck me about this is that Frum is aware, and already has been working, on an intellectual and policy re-definition [...]

Libertarianism, reconsidered

Joe Carter posts a lengthy critique of libertarianism. Do read the whole thing, but I think this quote sums up his argument:
The primary flaw in libertarianism is that it is rooted in an ethic of utilitarianism rather than virtue ethics. Without a person developing the corresponding moral character necessary for self-restraint, his liberty is bound [...]