Daily HotShots! 13*11*06

Watching the dedication of the Martin Luther King memorial in Washington. CNN is airing all of the President's speech, having shown some of Bill Clinton's (who signed the legislation for the memorial) and some of Oprah Winfrey's.

Architecturally, the monument looks quite inspired. Hopefully, once it takes shape it will equal the power of the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials between which it will stand.

Just a random thought: Martin inspired much of my childhood. I cannot tell you how much I tried to organize and train my soul to accord with the meaning of his words. Perhaps it's trite, but the notion that it's that spirit that is the true memorial says something.

Anyway, I'm finding that few bloggers are covering this event--right or left. RawStory doesn't even have a blurb up on it.

[h/t to Mike for the picture at the right]

US ELECTIONS AND IRAQ Summarizing John Boyd's comments, this piece provides a useful framework within which to orient thoughts about moving into the future. Of note is the conclusion that confrontation with Iran seems a live issue. Without going into the political aspects of this issue, the author appears to assume that a Democratic Congress will be playing catch-up for some time and ultimately might buy into the prevailing mind-set about how to solve the Mideast chaos, ie, attack Iran. I oversimplify though. This author's view would seem to align itself with Pat Lang's assessment vis a via GW's next two years; that is, that GW intends in no way to change his policy towards the mideast and we can expect continuing escalation in violence and perhaps greater regional instability.

God's Terrorists A very short intro to the Wahhabis. The author says there's a known and unknown history of this group--known for its most famous adherents, the Saudi royal family and Osama bin-Laden.

Labouchere of Arabia As the somewhat predictable title indicates, this is a story about a French military officer who has adopted some unconventional military tactics in fighting the insurgents. Provides some compelling descriptions of problems and possible solutions for how to fight a counter-insurgency. Of course, this assumes that being there in the first place is what should be.

Trading the First Amendment? Another installment in a discussion at this blog on a much larger subject that I wish would gain some public debate: the need to revisit the constitution through some form of national convention.

Revolution of World-View in the 21st Century Some academic statements by a noted Japanese scholar on how Marx's later world-view sees nature as the source of true value and not labor. Includes some interesting side-remarks on Heidegger.

spontaneity as our innermost 'nature' Insightful remarks on bio-genetic engineering and its effects on our true identity by sociologist/philosopher Habermas. Very interesting comments from a thinker whose work has influenced the left.

Movie Review: Babel A mixed review of the film I haven't seen yet from the neo-conservative, theocon magazine, First Things. It drubs the director for inadequately capturing the presence of God in the world. ...but that's the point isn't it?

Book Review: Finkelstein on Jimmy Carter's Peace Not Apartheid (New York: 2006) The controversial critic of the so-called Holocaust industry reviews former President Jimmy Carter's chapter on the Israeli policy of persecuting Palestinians.

Evangelicals in a Post-Haggard, Post-Rumsfeld World Wouldn't you know it? As soon as I make the wise-crack about NT Wright bringing biblical scholarship into the public sphere in his comments on terrorism, I find biblical scholar Ben Witherington discussing Ted Haggard, no less! Now that's relevance. Seriously, Witherington gets to the heart of the issue: those Xtians who seem to confuse true blue apple pie and the belief in the true Jerusalem.