Joe Stiglitz, Noble prize winning economist, savages Bush in a must read article over at Vanity Fair. In the article he predicts a generation long struggle for America to recoup its position in the world, not a pretty picture.
Will the doomsayers win this time around? Or will the US pull off another remarkable recovery? Only time will tell…
John Stoessel has a brilliant op-ed response to Michael Moore’s Sicko in today’s Wall Street Journal.
Great reading and highly recommended.
I have always wondered where the dance moves in WoW come from. Wonder no more, this is absolutely awesome!
Walter Mondale, former Vice President to ex-President Jimmy Carter, has a must-read editorial in today’s Washington Post. Mondale details how he partnered with then President Carter to re-define the role of the Vice-Presidency, from backwater political office to the President’s closest and most trusted advisor.
Carter & Mondale’s re-definition continued through both Republican and Democratic Presidencies. Mondale argues that Dick Cheney has re-defined the office yet again. According to Mondale (& I heartily agree), Cheney’s re-definition has taken the VP office in a disturbing direction, from trusted advisor to a powerful political office that attempts to actually limit the policy options presented to the President.
Yet another scathing examination of a Presidency in tatters. What will be the future ramifications of Cheney’s Vice Presidency? Who knows? The best possible outcome is that it is forgotten, a grimmer possibility is a permanent politicization of the office and for future Presidents the loss of another trusted objective voice.
As expected Tog has come out with a small review of the iPhone user interface. See my earlier post about Tog & the iPhone.
I love this one:
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Enjoy!
Lawrence Lessig just lobbed a bombshell on his blog in this entry. To summarize, Dr Lessig has decided to shift his activism and focus from technology, the Internet, & IP to, quite simply, corruption. Dr. Lessig is and has been a towering figure who has contributed an incredible legacy of thought and activism, his lack of full-time involvement will be sorely missed. If you have missed any of his books make it a point to read them. They are just as relevant today as they were when first written. And if you have never had an opportunity to see Dr Lessig give a talk, run over to youtube, you will be absolutely delighted at his ability to captivate an audience.
I am excited to see where Lessig goes next. He is a unique and deep thinker, one that will bring a fresh perspective to the fight against corruption. In his latest blog entry Lessig cites Obama’s book and Gore’s presentations as inspirations for his change of focus. He alludes to a “Republican of Prominence” as providing the final push that resulted in his decision to move away from his “traditional” issues.
I sincerely hope Dr. Lessig well on his new focus, he will need it.
Recently I had an opportunity to see Michael Moore’s latest titled Sicko. Sicko is a devastating indictment of the US healthcare system. In a work that evokes the great muckrakers of the past Moore tackles a deep and complex subject in a coarse, and at times, vulgar way. That shouldn’t be taken as an indictment of the film or the message. Moore is quite effective at driving his point home, devastatingly so at times.
I am not a big fan of Moore’s work but Sicko is a profound moving movie with an effectively delivered and important message. American healthcare needs to be reformed and it needs to be reformed sooner rather than later. Hopefully our politicians will wake up and do something and if they don’t Sicko may wake up enough people to prompt some action. I highly recommend Sicko and I hope Moore stays out of politics.