It's Not Just The Small-potatoes Post-9/11 Homeland

The Idea Of The Overton Window Is That There`s A Fairly Narrow Window Of Proposals In Any Particular Policy Area That People Will Take Seriously That Wouldn`t Get You Written Off As A Kook. The Way To Move Or Expand That Window Is To Advocate Super Extreme Positions Which Change The Realm Of What`s Politically Possible Because After Something Super Nuts Has Been . Floated, Thereafter, Slightly Less Nuts Positions Will Start To Look Acceptable And Moderate By Comparison.

[dan Fried] Is The Department`s Foremost Russia Expert And He, Too, Is Now Leaving At A Time When Arguably The State Department Needs It Most, The State Department Will Not Have The Benefit Of His Insight Going Forward.

I Feel Like I Have More In Common With Conservative People Who Have Activist Causes In Their Hearts And Who Are Interested In Electoral Politics Than I Do With Somebody Who Doesn't Care, Doesn't Have Any Political Interests, Doesn't Know What Policy Is, And Doesn't Think Any Of It Matters To Them. If You Care, We're Actually Going To Have A Basis Of Conversation. We Might Supplementally Get Along Very Well, And That Might Be Complicated And Fun In A Way That Is More Constructive Than You'd Expect.

I Have A File Of Letters And Bits Of Ephemera From Friends Who Have Died. I Have Had Lots Of Friends Who Died Of Aids.

We Ought To Realize By Now (see Korea, See Vietnam, See Afghanistan, See Iraq, See Iran) That Deploying The Us Military, Or Dealing Billions Of Dollars A Year Of Arms To Our Ally Of The Moment That Can Serve As A Regional Rival To Our Enemy Of The Moment, Is Not Always The Best Way To Make Threats Go Away. Our Military And Weapons Prowess Is A Fantastic And Perfectly Weighted Hammer, But That Doesn't Make Every International Problem A Nail.