updated

Continuing from earlier posts, including repeats.
Atrios

"Wednesday Graphic Novel Blogging
Watchmen was actually really good. I thought the movie was... I dunno. I'd read the book and still had no idea what the movie was about."

In fact the movie "demonstrat[ed] a remarkable, at times almost demented, fidelity to the original."

Back to the arguments in the first link above, on Farrell's dislike of The Dark Knight Rises. Liberals are individualists, debating libertarians because they take them seriously. Conservatives are simply mocked. But libertarians, like fascists, conflate individualism and aristocracy, celebrating heroes over whatever system they claim to defend. Historically at least, conservatives defend systems over individuals. The rule of law is conservative; the ACLU is a conservative organization. (see below)

Watchmen, the book and the movie, are equally reactionary and equally a mess. That the book succeeds where the movie fails is a matter more of art than intellectualism. That contemporary liberals don't understand their own contradictions, prejudices and preferences, is a mark of the decadence of the age.

DB again

Really Bad
Yes this is really horrible and stupid.

But, hey, it's Rahm...

The link is to Glenn Greenwald.

Rahm Emanuel’s dangerous free speech attack.
Should government officials be able to block businesses from opening or expanding due to disagreement with the political views of the business’ executives? Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel evidently believes he should have this power.

From the past, Bertram

The right frame, in my view, is to think of the state as “we, the people” and to ask what conditions need to be in place for the people, and for each citizen, to play their role in effective self-government. Once you look at things like that then various speech restrictions naturally suggest themselves.

From five days ago.

I'd like to be able to have a sophisticated conversation on art and politics, either or both, but it ain't gonna happen.

Greenwald opposes hate speech laws: he's written on them in the past and links here in an update to the ACLU page on Skokie. He's also the only well known blogger linked regularly by members of the white reality based community who has a link to As'ad AbuKhalil on his sidebar.