The Reaction in review (April 24, 2009)

A Week's Reactions that deserve a second look:

Today's round-up features the three outstanding posts of The Reaction's new co-blogger, Boatboy:

• "Iraqi liberation and (un)intended consequences" -- This post is about the alleged torture of gays by Iraqi militia members. (4/22/09)


• "As bad as they are" -- This fine essay takes on Christopher Buckley, saying "Buckley's article speaks loudly of two double standards: that of calling terrorists out as monsters whilst employing their own methods against them, and that of the assumption that torture of detainees is productive for US intelligence services but indoctrinating and corrupting for US citizens subjected to the same treatment." (4/22/09)


• "(Misplaced) expectations of decency and honor" -- Editor Michael J.W. Stickings says, "Boatboy has done some fantastic work recently covering the torture issue, including the Bush memos and the ethics of torture generally. Make sure to check out his blog for more. This post, below, is quite long, but it's an excellent examination of Bush's torture regime. -- MJWS) (4/23/09)

Friday

By Creature: "87, 215" -- Creature is the best I know at a succinct and searing paragraph about the cost of the war in Iraq.


Thursday

By Carl: "The rest of the iceberg" -- Carl's post is the best explanation around of the current credit card debt issue -- should be required reading for every card holder. See more wonderful writing: Earth Day and Miss USA vs. gay marriage and Columbine's lessons.

By Carol Gee: "On accountability: the chains that bind" -- A news digest on the latest revelations in the torture scandal lays out the debate about how much accountability to demand.

By Peter S. Henne: "The lessons of Sri Lanka" -- This week's guest poster from the Truman Project writes a very useful essay on the parallel realities of Sri Lanka and our own counterinsurgency struggles, and what we can learn about what succeeds and why.

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Barack Obama and American strength" -- Michael concludes his excellent examination of the Obama/Chavez handshake with, "America is strong again, and we all better for it."


Wednesday

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Did the torture work?" -- Michael's important post takes on a very difficult question for progressives: What was Admiral Blair thinking?


Tuesday

By Capt Fogg: "Dishonesty is strength" -- Fogg writes a superb essay on the Ex-Veep, beginning with "Dick Cheney . . . packs a lot of venom and mendacity into each [of his short declarative sentences]." See also, "Tough guy Ed Rollins."


Monday

By J. Thomas Duffy: "Suspicious mind" -- Duffy's wonderfully edgy post reports on the Rep. Jane Harman story of wiretapping; includes a great set of links to others. See also, "Cirque de Military Analysts ... Pulitzer Prize Winner!"

By Mustang Bobby: "Every cow that farts" -- Bobby's experience on a dairy farm enables him to take on Rep. John Boehner's carbon dioxide lunacy.

By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Canada vs. the pirates" -- No not baseball, real pirates, and the Canadians were heroic!