On Hiatus

A&S is on hiatus for the next few days, but we'll be back soon.

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 11:53 AM 1 comments

  Yes, I'm Alive

Allow me to indulge in a blogger cliche: sorry for the lack of posts recently.

I'm beginning something of a career transition and it's taking a toll on my blogging time; what time I've had lately has mostly been spent over at The Right's Field, where I've been writing about the Republican presidential field.

Despite a few notable incoming links, A&S remains a low-traffic blog, which is fine, but it also means it's harder to write when I'm less energetic. I expect to continue to use this site to post in-depth analysis of the conservative movement, but the pace around here will be slow for a while. I'm not going away -- I just want to make sure that what I do post is high-quality. In the longer-term future, I might look at ways to expand this project beyond the limited efforts I'm able to make here.

At any rate, have you read this article by TNR's Peter Keating? He explains his skepticism of claims that either Rudy Giuliani or Barack Obama can really change the American electoral math. Given that one bias in political analysis is to overestimate so-called "re-alignments," I'd say his arguments are worth taking seriously.

Labels: Barack Obama, meta, Peter Keating, Rudy Giuliani, The New Republic

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 3:17 PM 3 comments

  Alien & Sedition Will Be Back

...after Labor Day. I'll be bringing back the "advisors" series, and, eventually, the conservative history series.

Also, what the hell is wrong with the Mets? Ugh.

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 11:29 AM 0 comments

  And We're Back

I'm home, and sporting a serious farmer's tan. Way sexy. Too much to catch up on to post tonight; I'll be back for real tomorrow morning.

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 6:32 PM 0 comments

  Going Camping

The vacation continues. This week I really won't be posting much if at all. Back on the 30th or 31st. Until then, have a great week.

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 11:54 AM 0 comments

  Another Travel Day

Off to S.F. Man, I love Seattle, though. Sometimes I almost think I could move back here. But who would look after Brooklyn?

I'll try to be back tomorrow, but things are likely to continue to be sparse here for the next week and a half.

Have you been reading your Perlstein and Scher? Do.

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 10:51 AM 0 comments

  Postcard

Cool and cloudy in Seattle this morning, which means all is right with the world (I understand it was sweltering just a few days ago). I'll pick up with real analysis next week, but in the meantime you can drop by The Right's Field, where I've posted a few items on the presidential race.

Have a great weekend.

Labels: meta, The Right's Field

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 12:14 PM 1 comments

  I'm Off

Travel day. I'll try to check in tomorrow, though as I said things are going to slow down here for a couple of weeks.

See you soon.

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 11:55 AM 0 comments

  Wallyworld, Here I Come

One feature of life on the long tail is that solo bloggers, save for a handful of superhumans, have to take breaks. I'll be on vacation for the next couple of weeks, which means posting will be sporadic until about the end of July -- though I promise not to abandon you completely.

I hadn't really thought about this much until now, but so you know: the door is open at A&S for anyone who might want to contribute occasional guest posts analyzing the conservative movement (or closely related topics). That goes for not just while I'm on vacation, but any time. Just email me, and I'll set you up.

I'll check in later this afternoon with a real post or two; much to be done at the day job before I go away.

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 7:53 AM 0 comments

  Out of Town

Been on vacation the last few days - tomorrow I'll be blogging for the Daily Gotham, live from the New York State Democratic Party's spring meeting. Here at A&S, things are likely to be quiet until Thursday afternoon or so.

See you then...

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 2:04 PM 0 comments

  Busy Writing Next Week's Material

This has been a light week at A&S, despite all the goings-on in the real world, and today's postings will have to be limited as well. We'll be back with a vengeance next week; meanwhile, here are a few things to keep you occupied:

The Third Estate reports on a smart next move for Democrats in the "partial-birth" abortion battle.

Undercover Blue's series on conservatives continues.

Progressive Historians features a debate on the right to bear arms in historical context - going back further than the American Constitution.

One of my favorite liberal writers, Harold Myerson, reflects on the patterns at work in the primary races: "Democrats in conflict, Republicans in space."

And if you haven't read it yet, Phil Nugent has the final word on the Imus controversy. Yes, it's a great read even though you're sick of the whole thing already. (h/t Crooked Timber).

Labels: meta, Other blogs

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 10:50 AM 0 comments

  The Mark of Quality

So apparently Blogger's robocops have flagged A&S as a possible spam blog. Meaning:

Blogs engaged in this behavior are called spam blogs, and can be recognized by their irrelevant, repetitive, or nonsensical text, along with a large number of links, usually all pointing to a single site.

We weren't holding out hope for a Koufax, but we didn't know it had gotten that bad.

Presumably the fine folks at Blogger will sort this out forthwith - until then it's only a matter of the extra inconvenience of word verification before every post. And the bruise to our delicate ego.

Labels: Blogger sux, meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 10:06 AM 0 comments

  The Stench of Stale Hubris

Wolcott:

When Dick Cheney famously told Pat Leahy to go fuck himself, he and the rest of the administration clearly never anticipated the day when Leahy would return to powerful chairmanship; I think they internalized Karl Rove's visionary scheme of a permanent Republican majority and thought the future was in the bag. Now they're holding the bag and it's leaking all over their laps.

I've never mentioned it, but there was a particular point implied when I named this blog Alien & Sedition. It's also why there's a picture of Jefferson in the top corner there. The point is the same one made by the proverb about the Chinese emperor who asks his wise man to tell him one thing that will always be true:

"This, too, shall pass," is the answer.

Labels: Dick Cheney, James Wolcott, meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 1:48 PM 4 comments

  Programming Note

I apologize to regular readers, but this is going to be another TWICO-less week. It's an exhausting feature to write and I can't really do it if I'm busy on Wednesday and Thursday nights, as I have been for the last two weeks.

I'll make a special effort to get one done for next week, though. Meanwhile, more to come this afternoon. Cheers...

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 1:38 PM 2 comments

  Please Have a Seat in Our Waiting Room

Welcome, Buzzfeeders. I'd offer you some snacks but the marriage people ate them all. Please feel free to hang out and admire the artwork.

Dear regular readers: This Week in Conservative Organs will appear shortly. The editor has set himself a strict deadline of 4:00pm EST, by which he means 5:00pm EST. We realize that some of you may be planning to leave "work" and go "home" to enjoy your "weekend." We ask you to reconsider. Surely it's worth staying in the office a little longer to read what Thomas Sowell has to say about the big-government conspiracy to nationalize the golf courses.

Meanwhile, to entertain you, here's a little light D'Souza bashing.

UPDATE: By which he means, maybe 5:30. brb.

Labels: Dinesh D'Souza, meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 2:01 PM 0 comments

  Ahhh, Finally

Couldn't get into Blogger all morning. Have I mentioned how much I love Blogger?

I know, I know.

At any rate, today will be one last day of light posting; tomorrow we'll pick up with the Right-Wing Think Tank Review, and also begin a series on conservative debates over the movement's future.

Meanwhile, here's Jonathan Chait on why Rudy's swagger is so silly:

Giuliani's presidential campaign is starting to win a cult following among conservatives. It's not his position on domestic policy that's doing it — he has nothing to say about that. Lord knows it's not his social issue positions, which even his strongest backers acknowledge are his political weak point. No, he has somehow built a record as a foreign policy guru despite having no experience beyond the municipal level.

What's the basis for this 'guru' reputation? 9/11 mythmaking plus Rudy's penchant for tough-guy talk. Which is not particularly reassuring:

If having a macho swagger and talking tough about bad guys were enough to make a good commander in chief, we wouldn't have the worst foreign policy disaster in U.S. history on our hands right now in Iraq. And, need I remind anybody, one of the reasons Giuliani hasn't been able to fulfill his Bin Laden execution fantasy is that Bush allowed the Al Qaeda leader to escape at Tora Bora by using Afghan proxies instead of U.S. ground troops.

But a candidacy based entirely on fiction may be a good fit for a movement that developed an entirely fictionalized view of itself:

So they're strong on foreign policy, except insofar as it involves actual policy. They tend to be much better, however, at comparing themselves to figures such as Winston Churchill or Abraham Lincoln. They make such comparisons incessantly. Last week, Giuliani said that Lincoln had "that ability that a leader has — a leader like George Bush, a leader like Ronald Reagan — to look into the future."

That's right. Giuliani, not content to compare Bush to Lincoln, actually compared Lincoln to Bush.

That sound you hear is reality, weeping quietly in the corner.

Labels: 2008, meta, Presidential election, Rudy Giuliani

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 2:30 PM 0 comments

  Do Adjust Your Sets

No TWICO today - I just haven't had time. In part that's because I've been working on some exciting New York politics-related stuff, which (I hope) will be announcible within maybe a month or so.

So anyway, what about conservative humor? you ask. You didn't ask? Well, that's probably smart. I won't actually say that conservatives can't be funny - they've got South Park. But fifteen seconds of Julia Gorin makes me want to claw my eyeballs out, and I'm afraid that's more representative of the right's efforts at organized comedy. I've heard conservatives be quite funny in actual conversation. But, for the most part, television seems to bring out their mean-spirited and clueless sides.

So here's Vernon Lee, on the right's latest crime against comedy, which we were promised would be a conservative version of the Daily Show:

Perhaps all that Wingnut Welfare has made our brave men and women of the conservative fold soft.

For sadly, the creators seemed to have missed the point of TDS: its satire is not aimed at Republicans, it's aimed at the media and politics. (Republicans have largely dominated the political landscape, hence their overrepresentation in the goofball derby that is TDS.) Clearly, Jon Stewart is liberal; he endorsed John Kerry in 2004. And none would doubt that the show has a liberal slant.

But that's not because it attacks Republicans directly. Only indirectly. All of those Airhead Journo remotes - or better yet, faux remotes in front of greenscreen backdrops - are designed to mimic the vapidity that is our journalistic profession as practiced on teevee. And that is the heart and soul of TDS. [...]

The day conservatives leave the Barbra Streisand jokes behind is the day they lose their souls. (Or so they must believe.) But they wouldn't be losing their souls - they'd be gaining an audience.

Yeah, but I can never get enough Streisand jokes. And Michael Moore! Man, is he fat.

Labels: conservatives, Media, meta, Vernon Lee

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 3:43 PM 0 comments

  New on the Blogroll

The Right's Field is an outstanding group blog covering the Republican presidential contenders.

Undercover Blue does thoughtful commentary on political mindsets in America.

And five before chaos reports on war, Christofascism, Blaxploitation, and Spaghetti Westerns. Plus a Jethro Tull clip. Beat that!

Labels: blogroll, five before chaos, meta, The Right's Field, Undercover Blue

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 1:11 PM 0 comments

  Programming Note

This Week in Conservative Organs will not be seen this week, as I've spent all my serious blogging time getting the Summit writeup done. But starting next week, I'll try to return to a rough schedule on the regular features: the Right-Wing Think Tank Review on Mondays, Reading Conservative History on Wednesdays, and TWICO on Fridays. Plus, of course, all kinds of other stuff. Also, Justin has some posts coming up that I'm very excited about.

Look for a review of Ryan Sager's book on Sunday, too.

Thanks to all the folks who've come over from Daily Kos and elsewhere. Your visits and your feedback mean a lot to me. I do hope you'll keep checking in from time to time.

Now, I've got to get some work done...

Labels: meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 12:16 PM 0 comments

  Blogger Sux

Don't know if you can read this, 'cause I can't see my own blog, but here's a message in a bottle. I'll be back as soon as the infinite number of monkeys at Blogger stumble across a fix to the demon known as bX-vjhbsj.

It makes me feel a bit better, though, to know that Ann Althouse has the same problem:

Jordan, you say if we do everything and still can't solve the problem,
we can contact the blogger team, but the URL you give for doing that
takes me to a page with some options that never get me to a place
where I can write a message. I've wasted a huge amount of time trying
to figure out how to write to you people! All I can even think of to
do is to write posts on my blog -- http://althouse.blogspot.com --
which has over 10,000 visitors a day -- explaining the trouble I'm
having with new Blogger (which is that the feed won't work). I've
spent hours trying to solve the problem myself, including posting a
comment in the Blogger Help group. I've resorted to just posting on
the blog about the problem, in the hope someone will help me, though I
know what's most like is a lot of comments from people telling me to
leave Blogger:

So there's some balance in the universe...

Labels: Blogger sux, meta

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 8:31 AM 2 comments