I want to take a break from the standard fare here (whatever that is) to very publicly wish my wife, Maia, a happy anniversary. Maia and I eloped, so we never had the big wedding. We always figured we'd do something major for our tenth as compensation; but I dragged her to Columbus for the year,...

There's been something of a debate in IR journals over the past decade about what a reunified Germany was likely to do, since the basic components of its foreign policy as set after the Second World War rested on assumptions that were no longer valid. Specifically, postwar Germany was a) divided...

Last night my wife and I watched Epsiode 9 of Serial Experiment: Lain. Over the course of the episode viewers are given a synopsis of UFOlogist claims about Roswell and Majestik 12, Vannevar Bush and his concept of the memex, John Lilly’s psychedelic experiments and his ‘contact’ with ECCO, the...

The Congressional Research Service has recently (October 3) estimated that the Iraq war is costing about $6 billion per month. DOD’s current monthly average spending rate is about $6 billion for Iraq, $1 billion for Afghanistan and $170 million for enhanced base security for the first nine months...

The ripples on Dan's tenure decision continue to spread. Today the New York Sun published an article entitled "Blogging Prof Fails To Heed His Own Advice" (hat tip: David M.). Key quotations:On Friday, Mr. Drezner's first blog entry came back to haunt him: He was informed by his department that he...

Here's a friendly hint to David Brooks: it probably isn't such a good idea to write "I believe in the lost tradition of American politics, the tradition of Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, and the Bull Moose" if most of the policies you're about to advocate are exactly the opposite of their...

[I wasn't happy with the earlier version of this post, so I've revised it substantially]I've talked about the role of multivocal signaling in American politics before, particularly in terms of "dog-whistle politics": the art of sending different signals to different audiences. Henry Farrell's...

Dan let us know today that the Political Science Department of the University of Chicago decided not to extend him tenure. Given how upsetting this is for Dan, I thought his announcement on his blog displayed a great deal of class and wit.There's been some discussion of the matter on Crooked...

Readers of some of my other posts expressing a certain skepticism about the value of statistical analysis might be surprised to learn that when it comes to baseball, I'm a devoted "seamhead" -- one of those technically inclined fans who thinks that quantitative analysis is the best way to figure...

I get mad about Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" and its ilk for a whole host of reasons, but chief among them is how they represent a perversion of national priorities and needs. The US has compelling reasons to spend money improving and expanding its transportation infrastructure, much of which is...

... is a local community's big, fat welfare check from the American taxpayer. My favorite part of the wire story?Jack Shay, a member of the Ketchikan Borough Assembly who proposed the renaming the airport after Young, said he would have no problem deferring the funds for a year if the money is...

And now, a phrase I never thought that I would write: "I agree with Charles Krauthammer.". . . the Supreme Court is an elite institution. It is not one of the "popular" branches of government. That is the reason Sen. Roman Hruska achieved such unsought immortality when he declared, in support of...