Gregory Djerijian likes George W. Bush. But he dislikes torture and Donald Rumsfeld. Two out of three ain’t bad.
A reader rebukes me for paying attention to Glenn Reynolds and Mickey Kaus. If I want to know what Right Blogistan, he asks, why not read, e.g., Greg Djerijian’s Belgravia Dispatch?
Ans.: because I hadn’t heard of it. But, at a glance, it appears my reader is correct. Derijian writes well, reasons like a grown-up, and doesn’t spend all his time proving that his side is always right.
For example, Djerijian is willing to point out that Don Rumsfeld is a doubleplusungood SecDef, and that something very much like torture has been taking place everywhere the U.S. holds prisoners suspected of terrorist links.
Yes, as Brad DeLong points out, the buck doesn’t stop on Rummy’s desk. “The Cossacks work for the Czar.” Djerijian still basically admires GWB, which requires a certain amount of mental gymnstics.
Still, he joins the blogroll.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman