Don't care much anymore:Leon Wieseltier (yes him)
writes in The New Republic:
It is hard not to conclude from this Israeli action, and also from other Israeli actions in recent years, that the Israeli leadership simply does not care any longer about what anybody thinks. It does not seem to care about what even the United States—its only real friend, even in the choppy era of Obama—thinks.
And I suspect the feeling is reciprocal. In a similar vein, when Israel doesn't care about objections to expanded settlements in the West Bank - which is a big stumbling block to any peaceful accord - why care back?
posted by Quiddity at 6/03/2010 02:06:00 PM
"Commonsense Constitutional Conservative"Is how Palin (or whoever writes on her Facebook page)
describes some guy running for office.
Palin's frequent use of "commonsense" (or "common sense") really grates. Sure, common sense has it's merits, but not everything can be properly analyzed or solved using common sense. It's common sense that things can move faster than the speed of light. Common sense that all numbers can be made from integers and fractions. Common sense that when you start to skid on ice, you should slam on the brakes. Etc.
And common sense is limited in what it can do. People aren't only using common sense when designing a computer chip. Or when doing brain surgery. Or economic research (which is especially true when people treat a nation's fiscal policy as equivalent to a household budget)
As to the "constitutional" adjective, that's simply window dressing. And anyway, which constitution are we talking about? The one in 1800 that sanctioned slavery? Or the one in 1900 that denied women the vote? Or ...?
posted by Quiddity at 6/02/2010 10:28:00 AM 
