Tony Judt: Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century (2008, Penguin Books)

Another collection of essays written between 1994 and 2006, mostly book reviews, on scattered subjects, mostly 20th century history, mostly European, by the author of the monumental Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945. Judt was born in London in 1948. He is Jewish; at one point he explains that his family was involved in the Bund, so he grew up Leftist, Marxist, and Anti-Communist. That may also have given him some distance from Zionism, although he mentions that he went to Israel to help out just before the 1968 war, and that he spent some time on a kibbutz. Two essays are more or less critical of Israel, the later essay much more so. He clearly has a great fondness for Anti-Communist intellectuals, with very sympathetic essays here Arthur Koestler and Whittaker Chambers. Several more essays contrast European and American takes on history, especially regarding the sense of social bonds and security nets. Extensive quotes follow.

Given the length of the quotes, just go the permanent book page.

Michael Kinsley: Please Don't Remain Calm: Provocations and Commentaries (2008, WW Norton)

I occasionally ran across Kinsley on television back during his buckraking days, where he supposedly represented the left end of the political spectrum. He seemed like a MOR Liberal, which meant he typically conceded about 75% of the argument, then got his ass kicked. I never much followed his writings. He was the first editor of Slate, which I never read unless I had a direct link to something reportedly interesting, then he moved on to the Los Angeles Times, ditto there. But I did briefly glance at his previous essay book, Big Babies: Vintage Whines (1995), and found that I thought he had a point -- an interesting take, even.

This is his second essay collection, picking up from where the previous one left off. I figured given the times he'd have plenty to whine about. The serial nature of opinion column books is sort of a memory aid, given as it is to exaggerating the importance of fleeting sensations and exposing short-lived misconceptions. On the other hand, such books are rarely worth hardcover price. But I found this one in the library, and figured this to be my chance. Started out by jotting down all of the section headings (in bold, including subheads), and started flipping the pages, reading bits here and there, copying down what seemed most relevant. Got quite a bit: some good stuff (turns of phrase, a fairly keen sense of Bush's political and moral contradictions), some gaffes (actually, more like errors in judgment). Pretty good writer; pretty fair thinker. More with us than against us, but often tempted to argue the other side, not so much to be ornery as to convince himself that he's fair.

Given the length of the quotes, just go the permanent book page.

We had a pretty quiet primary in Kansas yesterday. A couple of things are worth reporting. In particular, Johnson County Republicans spared themselves the embarrassment of nominating Phill Kline for District Attorney. Kline had used his one term as Kansas Attorney General obsessively to harass abortion services throughout the state. He was so monomaniacal about this that Johnson County's Republican District Attorney Paul Morrison switiched parties to run against Kline, winning 58%-41% in 2006. Kline, in one of the great chutzpah moves on Republican political history, revenged himself by moving into Johnson County, wrangling an appointment to fill the remainder of Morrison's term, fired virtually all of Morrison's staff, and spent the last two years conducting his holy war from Morrison's old office.

Because Morrison was elected District Attorney as a Republican, his successor was nominated by a caucus of the county GOP -- fewer than 500 Republicans in a suburban Kansas City county with more than 500,000 people, who gave Kline a margin of 35 votes. Kline lost his bid for a legitimate nomination by a 60%-40% margin.

In the other Republican primary race of note, former US Rep. Jim Ryun lost his bid to run against Nancy Boyda, the Democrat who had defeated him in 2006. Before he was first elected to the House in 1996, Ryun was best known as a legendary Wichita track star, the first high school runner to break the 4-minute mile. Since then, he's become known more as a religious nut case -- his son has a featured role in Michelle Goldberg's report on the Christian right, Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism. Ryun lost to the more moderate and more respectable State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins.

So the Republican Party managed to dodge a couple of big time embarrassments. But there are plenty more left on the ballot, including presumably safe Sen. Pat Roberts, sitting on $4 million in payola, and Rep. "Tanker Todd" Tiahrt, with at least $2 million. Both are poster boys for Washington's sleazy corruption, and Tiahrt is another religious nut job, although not quite as unhinged as Ryun. It would be a public service to get rid of both, if only the Democrats are up to fighting the system their complaisance has made possible.