Politics Tuesday – The Horn

A Delicate Sense of Balance – Pelican

Just a quick run through the world of politics – or at least what small part of it I’ve noticed over the past few days.

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I posted about the situation in the Horn of Africa the day after Christmas last year, and suggested it had all the makings of a major crisis. It hasn’t quite turned out that way, at least in the short run, with the Ethiopian attack quickly routing the Islamic Courts Union. The passage of time, however, has only served to demonstrate that the real problems in the region simply cannot be solved with military force. The fragile hold on stability is weakening, conditions are eroding, and the US may soon find itself faced with the question of whether to expand our presence in the region, or to distance ourselves and watch it fall apart.

Neither are appetizing, but I have a strong feeling that the decision will be made through the lens of the so-called “war on terror,” which will only serve to demonstrate the way that our terminology and ideological lenses can virtually blind us to the reality that the problems in the Horn run far deeper than any supposed links to Al Qaeda.

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I pretty much always agree with Scott Lemieux on abortion, but his post today documenting the many problems with the arguments in favor of banning the procedure is particularly good. I read that same essay he’s responding to and it infuriated me, so I’m glad someone took her to task. In particular:

Moreover, “leaving it to the states” makes no sense given Lopez’s moral premises, not only because it’s ridiculous to consider a fetus human life in Mississippi but to have this status disappear entirely when the future mother gets on a plane to New York, but the availability in abortion in some state would mean that you’re just banning abortion for women who can’t afford to travel, which makes no sense at all.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

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An interesting Slate piece demonstrating how the Facebook is now a means of breaking a story: Rudy Giuliani’s daughter is supporting Barack Obama.

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A report on the bumper sticker primary from MSNBC.

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