Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on...

Or so goes the old Arab proverb. I've been reminded of that saying a lot lately watching "the debate" over the President's birth certificate (although debate is elevating that conversation to a level it doesn't deserve) so I decided to give my blog that name as well.

Of course, it's also an homage to Truman Capote, whose 1973 book bore the same title. Before he succumbed to the bottle and all the rest of it, Capote was as fine a writer as could be found in America and an awesome social commentator, with an astounding ability to notice tiny details that revealed everything about topic he was writing about. "In Cold Blood" was one of the first grown-up books that I read and I still think it is one of the best pieces of American writing from the 60's. Moreover, Capote virtually single-handedly created the genre of literary journalism. I'll do my best to live up to that very high standard.

So what's this blog about? Politics. Economics. History. Foreign Policy. And general observations on American culture as well. I read a lot, particularly in history and I tend to see things in a longer term historical framework, so I'll be blogging about that.

I'm hoping to have an active conversation going on in the comments as well, but I would like to keep it civil, so please bear that in mind when commenting.

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