SerPolUS_IDES

Julian E. Zelizer, author of "Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security -- From World War II to the War on Terrorism," is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He points out that accusations of "soft on defense" are not new - they have existed since WW II. And he argues that they had very bad effects on US policies in the 1950s & 1960s.

Esquire's interview with Governor Tim Pawlenty, whom many expect to run for president in 2012, on bailouts, health care, whether Obama is a socialist, and where Republicans go from here

Palin is undermined by questions about her qualifications

But only 1/8 very familiar with Tea Party, with favorable ratings split. Sarah Palin has lost popularity.

Brooks states Obama mistook 2008 landslide as American readiness for a new New Deal, rather than a referendum on GWBush. Americans are reacting against "government over-reaching." He sees 2 alternatives (among 4 available): Harsh&Arrogant (pass health reform by reconciliation) vs. Weak&Feckless (switch to incremental changes). Brooks favors the latter as less likely to bring a political rebellion that will "decimate policy-making for a generation." (He thinks the actual current "alternative" being pursued is "Incoherent & Internecine."

Brooks commends Obama as a thoughtful, disciplined pragmatist, not an ideologue. Nevertheless, he sees Obama's gargantuan appetite for reform in many sectors as an "over-stepping" that provokes American anti-government suspicions. He advises one year of demonstrating how government is a humble servant, rather than an imperious leviathan.

Brooks admiringly describes how well Obama & Biden get along, & how tranquilly the White House staff operates despite all the recent setbacks. "Some would say the administration is underreacting to the incredible shift in the public mood. Some would say they need more voices from the great unwashed. But no one could accuse them of panicking, or of scrambling about incoherently. In their first winter of discontent, they are offering continuity and comity. Whatever their relations with the country might be, inside they seem unruffled. The bonds of association, from the top down, seem healthy - especially for a bunch of Democrats."

Brooks suggests Obama should get out on the road, as a "saner" version of Perot, with charts & graphs, to educate Americans on how dysfunctional American government has become, and to ask for the political support needed to change things. If Obama doesn't do this, someone else will come along and do it.

Review by Judith Shulevitz (author of "The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time"): Wade asserts "the God gene" & its evolutionary function - "to bind human beings into cooperative groups," making altruism, group (over self-) interest & solidarity a matter of conscience (with the gods as enforcers). Shulevitz's criticism is "that he has under-ambitiously portrayed religion as less encompassing and consequential than it is."

Yoga at hotels & spas.

Protecting personal privacy on Facebook

Better Calling for Less: With a solid signal, smart-phone users of Wi-Fi phone applications (e.g., with Skype) should have good sound quality and no dropped calls, in WiFi zone (instead of using cell towers, etc.)

Small, competent, 12 megapixels, 3-in screens, hi-def video capture, image stabiliz'n, face recognition, zoom 10-12X. BUT: still shutter lag, low-light noise, blown-out highlights.

Perils of ignoring Medicare isues at age 65

Out of Tragedy, Questions About God: 4 out of 5 letters (surprising proportion for NYTimes) object to Wood's either/or view of theodicy: if God is omnipotent (& doesn't prevent suffering), he is cruel; if God is loving and good (and only comforts, but doesn't prevent suffering), he is weak and worth ignoring. They affirm the mystery "that God is deeply present in and through the events of the world - often inscrutably, but always powerfully and lovingly - and though we cannot for the life of us see how, even catastrophes include divine presence and power." A Christian notes that fellow believer "might counter [that] suffering and death come to all, even to a God who in his love took on our mortal, vulnerable condition as his own."

New Yorker writer James Wood addresses different theodicies (God punishing or teaching, or self-comforting) in "Between God and a Hard Place," Sunday, 1/24/10

This parody is making its way around the Web quickly. Best I can tell it comes from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Despite obstacles, Obama has made blacks more optimistic

Haiti's tragedy & right-wing obscenities in blaming the victims for God's punishment

Praise for Kidder's true story of a Burundi refugee who came to US, went to med school, & returned to build a clinic