My friend Adam Serwer, in my opinion, is the best emerging online reporter and analyst of the intersection of national security and law. He’s written some of the best pieces in 2009 on the implications of the Obama administration’s embrace of indefinite detention without charge, and his relentless filleting of Andy McCarthy is must-read stuff. [...]

Congratulations to friend and occasional guestblogger Jamelle Bouie, who’ll start next month as a writing fellow at the American Prospect, a platform that has launched many to bright journalistic futures. Consistent readers know that I consider Jamelle to be one of the most promising members of the next blogospheric generation, and you’ve seen him demonstrate [...]

It’s difficult enough finding your footing when discussing Israel when you come up through Jewish publications. Emotions run high and people like to argue in bad faith. Someone who doesn’t often write about the issue can suddenly find himself caught in a briar patch of inscrutable hostility. Hence: Choire Sicha got an email some asshole from [...]

On Saturday, my friends Megan McArdle and Peter Suderman got married, and I was privileged to attend their wedding. Making things even better, lots of my friends and colleagues and acquaintances also attended, which meant that the McSudleman union was one of those rare weddings that turned out to be a lot of fun. TPM’s [...]

Mahmoud Abbas: When asked what he could offer Israelis to show that he was serious about peace initiatives, Abbas reminded the participants that he had addressed the Israeli public in an interview on Channel 10. “Why wouldn’t Bibi go to Palestinian TV and do the same?” said the Palestinian president. “I would never deny [the] [...]

Hi from an undisclosed beachlike area, where many of your favorite and least-favorite bloggers, artists, technerds, lawyers, communications professionals and policy wonks are enjoying a much-needed respite. I’m deeply grateful to Shani, Megan, Scott and Erin for holding this place down while I’m away. Because this week is a hell of a week to try [...]

Tomorrow I leave for an annual vacation I take with my friends to the middle of nowhere. It couldn’t have come sooner: as you may have noticed, I’m writing less frequently and I haven’t been particularly satisfied with the stuff I’ve managed to produce. Actually, vacation could have come much sooner. So I’ll be attempting [...]

My friend Noah Shachtman of Danger Room has become the newest Brookings Institution scholar. This is a milestone for the blogosphere. It’s one thing for young upstarts like CAP and CNAS to let in me and Matthew Yglesias and Andrew Exum. Brookings is the establishment. Noah and Pete Singer have just flown a remotely-piloted vehicle [...]

So, quick programming note: on Monday very-early-morning, I head to Guantanamo Bay. Current schedule is to be there through May 6, but it’s possible that I’ll leave early. The slow blogging today is attributable to taking care of some stuff before I leave, including a 1700-word preview story for the pre-trial hearing of Omar Khadr [...]

For Alan Dershowitz, it’s what you might call a teachable moment. The J Street executive director parries Dershowitz’s dishonest offering by daring him to move past euphemism: You expose your own distortion on your own by quoting what I’ve really said – “resolving the conflict is not only necessary to secure Israel’s future, but also [...]