Some In-Flight Reading Material

Well, Ginny and I are headed out to Chicago. I honestly don’t know if I’ll be able to post anything while I’m gone — historically, these shoots keep us pretty busy, but in this case, the visit isn’t dedicated to the video shoot. This time, there’s a larger context to the visit, and in a sense, we’re just “tagging along” to get a couple of interviews. I’ll know more once we get there.

Before I go, I would like to make mention of a few interesting columns in today’s Post. Give ’em a read, and just pretend that I had something original to say. First up is E.J. Dionne’s column, “Taking Satan Seriously,” which provides an interesting perspective both on the inherent impossibility of instilling religious tolerance among fundamentalists and on the Bush regime’s dilemma in dealing with General Boykin’s comments (there’s also an amusing — and enlightening — Letter to the Editor on the same topic). Next, Richard Cohen’s got a piece entitled, “Master of Fiction,” which does a wonderful job of exposing the biggest liar in the Duh-bya camp: Dick Cheney. Not that I learned anything I didn’t know before, but one thing’s for sure — after reading this column, I’m going to start using some of the more colorful appellations for tricky Dick, such as “Bush’s ventriloquist” and “Chicken Little.” And finally, Bruce P. Jackson of the Project on Transitional Democracies writes about the true origins and consequences of the Russian Secret Service’s arrest of Russian oilman Mikhail Khodorkovsky in “The Failure of Putin’s Russia,” covering not only the overt power play at the heart of the prosecution, but the inherent anti-Semitism that none of the major media (at least none I’ve seen) have seen fit to even mention (the Post’s editorial staff has its own editorial on the arrest’s likely import — also worth at least skimming). And yes, I’m fully aware that Jackson’s a right-wing nut job, and we would no doubt diverge radically on the best course of action, but the points he makes are still worth exposure.

So read, comment, and at the very least, I’ll be back on Halloween.