Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

"I�m going to drive my car off a cliff. Should I or should I not wear a seatbelt?"

By Steve Hynd


My collegue Hotsbuddy points me to a delicious bit of Rory Stewart snark in an interview with the Financial Times:



Since arriving at Harvard in June last year, he has been consultant to several members of Barack Obama�s administration, including Hillary Clinton, and is a member of Richard Holbrooke�s special committee for Afghanistan and Pakistan policy. �I do a lot of work with policymakers, but how much effect am I having?� he asks, pronging a mussel out of its shell.


�It�s like they�re coming in and saying to you, �I�m going to drive my car off a cliff. Should I or should I not wear a seatbelt?� And you say, �I don�t think you should drive your car off the cliff.� And they say, �No, no, that bit�s already been decided � the question is whether to wear a seatbelt.� And you say, �Well, you might as well wear a seatbelt.� And then they say, �We�ve consulted with policy expert Rory Stewart and he says ...��


A perfect description of Obama administration policymaking as decided by the select few. Unsurprising that none of the hawkish interventionists that McChrystal talked to want to listen to Stewart's expert opinion - or that of anyone else who might advise that driving off the cliff in the first place is contra-indicated.



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3 comments:

  1. HalAugust 5, 2009 at 3:04 AM

    I'm just wondering who on earth thinks this is any different? This is a problem with *humans* of all kinds. Especially those who have been given vast powers. I mean, what kind of bozo do you have to be to think this is particular to the Obama administration? And "select few" Puh Lease. Geebus. Yes, committees have always proven far superior to having individuals. That's why the motto for a team is "none of us is stupid as all of us".
    Let's crowd source foreign policy!!1! We'll web 2.0 and twitter their ass.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Steve HyndAugust 5, 2009 at 6:31 AM

    Hal, you've got to be a drive-by commenter as you can't even be bothered clicking links to find out why they're a "select few". It's not just about committees, it's about a monopoly on who gets considered for the committees. Hawkish interventionists only may apply.
    And yes, it's no different from Bush's policy - at least you got that bit right.
    Regards, Steve

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  3. HalAugust 12, 2009 at 12:40 PM

    No, I'm actually a regular reader through RSS. My shock is that you think this is shocking. That one person's expert opinion is somehow more expert than another expert's opinion...
    I understand that only hawkish people make up foreign policy, just like conservative businessman make up financial appointments.
    My point is that you should grow up and realize that this is a *human* problem and stop acting shocked and breathless when it happens.

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