contrapositive

And we've got plenty of moral disasters to deal with already.

// posted by Contrapositive @ 12:56 PM |

The families--ordered from the islands by the British government--packed the court of appeal to hear the ruling, which condemned government tactics preventing their return as unlawful and an abuse of power.

The court ruled that thousands of people who were tricked, starved and even terrorised from their homes could return immediately, with the decision likely to draw a line under what is widely seen as one of the most shameful episodes in British colonial history

// posted by Contrapositive @ 9:27 AM |

The problem with Paul is that his very presence in the race draws attention to some ugly realities about the GOP in the Bush era: That the post-9/11 national security and foreign policy consensus among so-called conservatives is out of sync with the party's history; that it consists chiefly of vacuous bumper sticker phrases; and that its central tenets (e.g. "fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here") don't hold up under real scrutiny.

Paul didn't get the memo that Republicans are supposed to close their mouths and clap louder. And it appears that there may be a constituency in the party for someone who has the foreign policy views (extreme versions of them, admittedly) of a pre-9/11 Republican.

It could be an interesting few months.

(For even more on Paul, read this post from June, 2005.)

// posted by Contrapositive @ 10:44 AM |

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: "Did the White House ask you to seek the removal of any US Attorney?"

Gonzales responded with neither a denial nor a variation on "I do not recall." Instead, he provided a long-winded answer which included the phrase "it's conceivable that in those meeting there was some discussion about someone leaving..." before Scott (alas) cut him off.

This seems like a significant concession from Gonzales. For the first time, he appears to be granting that the White House may have been involved in the firing of US Attorneys. Which is a lawyerly way of going on the record with a hedge--in case evidence proving White House involvement emerges soon.

What am I missing?

// posted by Contrapositive @ 10:52 PM |

In it, WHITE NOISE is filed under "classic" while the novella THE BODY ARTIST and the stage play THE DAY ROOM are both labelled "avoid."

Each of the latter works are challenging, but for what it's worth, I'd recommend them both. Dare I say that they're two of the more compelling works of fiction I've read during the last five years?

// posted by Contrapositive @ 9:31 PM |