A Thinking Reed

  • Climate and conservation

    This article in today’s Post discusses how people responsible for wildlife conservation are having to change their approach because of global warming. The old model, where you set aside a certain fixed area of land to protect the wildlife within it, is becoming obsolete as changes in the climate will, or are already, driving those…

  • Moyers, Frank, and Sirota on the economy

    Bill Moyers’ Journal hosted an interesting discussion with Thomas Frank and David Sirota on the bailout, the economic stimulus, and what people can expect and/or hope for from Obama. I think Sirota’s point (toward the end of the segment) about the longing some people feel for an “authoritarian capitalism” or a “czarist” model for fixing…

  • Comments

    The WP spam filter is usually pretty effective, but I’ve noticed a couple of legitimate comments being swept up in the dragnet recently. Looks like I’ll have to be a bit more vigilant. Thanks for your patience, esteemed readers!

  • Is marriage sacred?

    In arguments about gay marriage you sometimes hear suggestions that we should have a strictly civil version of marriage (or union) for the public realm that applies to gay and straight people alike, while leaving “sacred” marriage to religious bodies. This may or may not be a good idea, but what I wonder is whether…

  • McGovern: Don’t escalate in Afghanistan

    An open letter to the President from Mr. “Come Home, America” himself (via A Conservative Blog for Peace).

  • Just say nein!

    The president of the German government’s advisory body on environmental issues has suggested that, for environmental reasons, Germans should cut back their meat consumption to “prewar” levels and strive for a diet more like the Italians. Predictable attacks from industry about trying to deny consumers “freedom of choice” follow. (Via the–somewhat unfortunately named, given the…

  • Heavy metal name flow chart

    This is great. I think my favorite category is “badass misspellings,” as contrasted with “pointless misspellings.” (via Jeremy, in comments.)

  • A dual-aspect political theory?

    I started reading Thomas Nagel’s Equality and Partiality, on the subject of moral and political philosophy. Those familiar with Nagel’s work will note a recurring theme concerning the different, and often apparently irreconcilable, views of ourselves that we’re compelled to take by personal experience and more reflective, impersonal stance. For instance, from my own first-person…

  • (Non-human) animals who use tools

    Very cool. It seems like birds, in particular, are proving to be smarter than we thought. The mole rat face mask is pretty incredible too.

  • Big screen Eddie

    How cool is this–Iron Maiden is releasing a big-screen tour documentary. Equally cool–singer Bruce Dickinson is a licensed pilot and flew the jet they traveled on (appropriately named “Ed Force One”) for much of the tour. The movie is called Iron Maiden: Flight 666. Doesn’t get much more metal than that.