A Gilded Planet

10. This week, the National Front Party, led by reliable fascist Marine Le Pen, won the first round of regional elections in France. 9. Another thing happened this week that you may have heard about. Donald Trump, the presumptive frontrunner for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, proposed a total ban on Muslims entering the United States.  But he hasn't called for the deportation of all Muslims residing in the United States. At least, not yet. 8. Senator Marco Rubio believes a woman's right to choose to end a pregnancy via abortion should be banned totally even in rape cases. But that stance is within the Overton Window , so he's not a fascist as such. 7.  “It’s not about closing down mosques. It’s about closing down any place — whether it’s a cafe, a diner, an internet site — any place where radicals are being inspired.”  - Senator Marco Rubio of Florida (source) , who is definitely not a fascist and we shouldn't call ...

The Dark Knight Rises 2012. 164 minutes. USA. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Watchdate: 7/20/2012. If The Dark Knight was The Godfather Part II of comic book movies, this movie is thankfully not The Godfather Part III of comic book movies (that dubious honor belongs to X3: X-Men United ). That may not be the kindest way to begin discussing this movie, but it feels honest to me. Leaving aside the tragic events that occurred in Colorado when the movie opened, I see a lot to like about The Dark Knight Rises but it is also clear to me that all of The Dark Knight's weaknesses are present with interest in this sequel - the hurried editing, the narrative overambition, the underdeveloped characters. However, the biggest problem is that these weaknesses are not excused by strengths nearly as formidable as those of its predecessor. Still, I will give the movie a considerable amount of credit for two of its overarching aspects. First, its sly determination to bring a dizzying co...

Antiwar activists, foreign policy realists and fans of Woodrow Wilson's principle of national self-determination should celebrate as the New York Times reports that many within both the Obama Administration and the military are skeptical of General Stanley McChrystal's plan to escalate the eight-year-old war in Afghanistan with a massive new commitment of additional troops and resources. It seems that the president is considering other options for moving forward in Afghanistan, including focusing a smaller number of troops on fighting terrorists rather than a directing larger number of troops to undertake a long-term project of nation-building with a necessarily imperialistic character. I am ecstatic at this news. It shows that the White House is realistic about its approach to the Middle East but more importantly it demonstrates that there are people in the Obama Administration who are seriously opposed to an indefinite occupation of the Middle East on the basis of muddily de...