Category Archives: United States

Free Tibet?

Maybe not:
President Barack Obama has refused to meet the Dalai Lama in Washington this week in a move to curry favour with the Chinese. The decision came after China stepped up a campaign urging nations to shun the Tibetan spiritual leader. It means Mr Obama will become the first president not to welcome [...]

Remember

It’s September 11. When it happened, I was sure the date would be marked and observed every year. Certainly it still resonates; and I’m sure there are ceremonies in New York today. I’m in Scotland, though, and largely disconnected from the day-to-day. So this is my ceremony.

Offered Without Comment

… but in the admitted hope of blowing your mind:
Justice Thomas, in particular, remained willing to front new theories on critical questions, often writing only for himself, as in NAMUDNO. No other member of the Court is so independent in his thinking. The irony of course is that there remains a public perception, [...]

Two Speeches

President Obama and former Vice President Cheney both gave speeches today on the same topic: America’s response to terrorism. The two speeches—whose back-to-back timing was apparently coincidental—constitute a rare and important thing: a thoughtful, lengthy, and well-articulated statement of two contrasting policy approaches to one of the major issues of our time. Others [...]

Texas, My Texas

Rick Perry made headlines last week with his seeming endorsement of Texas secession. A Rasmussen poll found that “only” one in five Texans would vote to secede, while fully a third believe the state has the right to leave the Union. Perry’s comments have provoked not a little eye-rolling, as well as commentary [...]

Thought For the Day

Texas is a distinct society within the United States.

Speaking of Non-Sequiters

The Times: Michelle Obama meets Carla Bruni and wins on points:
Michelle Obama might have been trying to appeal to a certain English eccentricity when she paired an asymmetrical Junya Watanabe cardigan with a full-skirted dress by Jason Wu and added debutante-style pearls for a photocall earlier this week with Sarah Brown.
It was a relaxed look, [...]