Briefly playing in New York as part of the 2011 Lincoln Center Festival, The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Julius Caesar is an energetic version that emphasizes mise en scene rather than the text, and thus emphasizes the outsize political consequences of political power struggles. Personally, I prefer emphasis on language to spectacle, but spectacle [...]
Archive for Politics and Government
Why the UK army wanted to fight in Afghanistan
If there is a good reason for America’s continuing war in Afghanistan, I have not yet heard it. On the other hand, there are several bad reasons to continue the war, enough to assure us that it will go on.
The British have already figured out that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were blunders, that [...]
Veterans and Classroom Discipline
The new Conservative government in the United Kingdom has released its plan for education reform. The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper 2010 (pdf available here) outlines the plans of Michael Gove, the UK’s Secretary of State for Education.
The report broadly suggests decentralizing and reducing curriculum requirements (eliminating tangential subjects while setting higher standards [...]
Frank Caprio Tells Obama to “Shove It”
Economic and war news is so grim that Americans are fortunate if they can sometimes enjoy politics as theatre, as a small compensation for all the suffering and destruction that politicians cause. Politics is indeed very expensive entertainment, but since we are paying for it whether or not we enjoy it, we might as well [...]
Wars and Tea Party Anti-Tax Demonstrations
The peace movement has proven completely ineffectual in the eight years of war in Afghanistan and seven years of war in Iraq. Public demonstrations and vigils attract no interest and change no minds.
How annoying then that Tea Party demonstrations draw vast crowds and are now considered a serious influence over the decisions of elected officials. [...]
Why bipartisan is a dirty word
This week the president appealed for bipartisan cooperation. Politicians frequently call for or pledge bipartisan cooperation as if it’s a good thing, but it’s usually a good thing only for the two political parties.
The average American citizen should be frightened at the very idea of bipartisan cooperation, and not because one party is always right [...]