A Running Diary of Thought

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Whitman's Resignation

A naive assessment by Tapped:

But in truth, it won't really matter whom the White House picks to replace Whitman, for the very same reason Whitman resigned: With few exceptions, senior appointees at the cabinet departments and agencies have little role in forming policy anymore. The Bush administration, more than any in recent memory, has shifted decision-making away from senior appointees and towards K Street lobbyists; most big policy packages are put together behind closed doors, in meetings between senior White House personnel, industry officials, and the congressional leadership. For the most part, committee chairs, citizens groups, and senior appointees are have been frozen out.

Yes, senior appointees may have little affect in "big policy packages," but how many decisions are made on a daily basis that aren't micromanaged by the WH? the skeptic doesn't claim to know, but is willing to venture it's a more-than-insignificant amount.

Also, Tapped charges "Whitman found herself overruled early and often by the White House." Sure, but raising those objections may have the effect of moderating impending policy choices--or at least slowing them down.

posted at 12:38 PM |

 
Sometimes, science is just beautiful: "There could be a big blue elephant sitting not a millimeter away in another dimension, but we wouldn't know it's there because everything we use to 'see' is stuck to our brane."

posted at 12:23 PM |

 
Posner writes:

Plagiarism of work in the public domain is more common than otherwise. Consider a few examples: "West Side Story" is a thinly veiled copy (with music added) of "Romeo and Juliet," which in turn plagiarized Arthur Brooke's "The Tragicall Historye of Romeo and Juliet," published in 1562, which in turn copied from several earlier Romeo and Juliets, all of which were copies of Ovid's story of Pyramus and Thisbe.

"Paradise Lost" plagiarizes the book of Genesis in the Old Testament. Classical musicians plagiarize folk melodies (think only of Dvorak, Bartok, and Copland) and often "quote" (as musicians say) from earlier classical works. Edouard Manet's most famous painting, "Dejeuner sur l'herbe," copies earlier paintings by Raphael, Titian, and Courbet, and "My Fair Lady" plagiarized Shaw's play "Pygmalion," while Woody Allen's movie "Play It Again, Sam" "quotes" a famous scene from "Casablanca." Countless movies are based on books, such as "The Thirty-Nine Steps" on John Buchan's novel of that name or "For Whom the Bell Tolls" on Hemingway's novel.

Many of these "plagiarisms" were authorized, and perhaps none was deceptive; they are what Christopher Ricks in his excellent book "Allusions to the Poets" helpfully terms "allusion" rather than "plagiarism." But what they show is that copying with variations is an important form of creativity, and this should make us prudent and measured in our condemnations of plagiarism.

Especially when the term is extended from literal copying to the copying of ideas. Another phrase for copying an idea, as distinct from the form in which it is expressed, is dissemination of ideas. If one needs a license to repeat another person's idea, or if one risks ostracism by one's professional community for failing to credit an idea to its originator, who may be forgotten or unknown, the dissemination of ideas is impeded.

Sure, blogging allows for insta-footnoting, but it also impedes the skeptic's ability to disseminate ideas!

posted at 11:45 AM |

 

Random Links, Part II

1. Terror in Morocco means no filming in Morocco.

2. Cohen blames the Post for the Lynch fiasco.

3. Blair's interview makes him sounds like a paranoid...

4. Wondering how the Democratic Primary is shaping up? TNR's got the standings. Who's doing the best? Dick Gephardt and Joe Lieberman. the skeptic thinks he's going to be sick.

5. Salam Pax documents first hand the importance of NGOs in Iraq. Also, he writes, "Why does it feel like they are using the [lets-try-this-lets-try-that] strategy? Trial and error on a whole country?" (sic)

The UN had experience in rebuilding countries after war. It seems reasonable to assume they would have had the experience and capacity to better handle the reconstruction. Wonder what the cost of that would have been...

6. The Beeb: "African cinema also came up with its own version of James Bond last month - the Cameroonian film Engagement Critique (Critical Assignment), starring an African action hero called Michael Power."

Interesting...

posted at 12:38 PM |

 

Fighting Terror with Policy

Greene says the recent terror attacks in Saudi Arabia prove that American foreign policy isn't the root of terrorism. After all, we have ended our sanctions on Iraqi civilians, pulled our troops from Saudi Arabia and made an effort to restart the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. And what thanks do we get? Terrorism attacks in Saudi Arabia.

His conclusion is that "The real issue, as Bernard Lewis has argued, is that Islamist terrorists and their sympathizers are in permanent and furious denial of the state of the contemporary Muslim world."

There's something to this, but perhaps it's oversimplified somewhat. Removing "legitimate" grievances may undermine support for terrorist groups. Launching preventive wars may increase support for terrorist groups. How does one gauge these things?

If you thought terrorism would stop if only the U.S. changed some of its policies, you've got a tough argument to make. But don't fool yourself into thinking that American policies don't foster an environment that encourages terrorism.

posted at 11:22 AM |