Tripoli and More

The big news in the past few days has been the sudden breakthrough by the rebels fighting Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi into Tripoli, the country's capital. Though the rebels had been making significant progress in the last few weeks, particularly in the west, their sudden advance coordinated with an uprising in Tripoli itself was a surprise. Though initial reports exaggerated the extent of their victory and intense fighting no doubt lies ahead, at least until Gaddafi himself is captured or killed, it is still an impressive achievement.

Of course while the overthrow of a dictator is something to celebrate, there is still no guarantee that Libya will end up much better off, as there is still danger that it could descend into chaos. But with a sufficient effort by the Libyans themselves, strong support from the West and other allies, and a dose of luck, Libya can become a much better place than it was before -- once Gaddafi is completely defeated, that is. Until that happens, everything is still up in the air.

Here are some interesting links on a variety of other topics.

On the intellectual paucity of our times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/the-elusive-big-idea.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
While this writer, like most people, may have a slightly rosier view of the past than is warranted and thus be judging the current age too harshly (it's hard to judge these things objectively without the perspective gained through the passage of time), he makes some interesting points.

On the recently deceased Jerry Leiber (and Nickolas Ashford):
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/08/jerry-leiber-and-nickolas-ashford.html
There's no question that Leiber and Stoller should be numbered among the originators of rock and roll. Lieber also had respect for those who came after him; he once said the Beatles were "second to none".

Some articles from a few weeks ago on the debt deal (these two are among the more critical; there were a few that made reasonable arguments why the deal wasn't so awful but unfortunately I didn't copy those links at the time):
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/92991/did-obama-get-rolled
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/opinion/the-president-surrenders-on-debt-ceiling.html
My favorite part of Krugman's piece is his analogy about that "those demanding spending cuts now are like medieval doctors who treated the sick by bleeding them, and thereby made them even sicker."

For a closer look at one of the vital programs endangered by the budget cutting obsession:
http://www.economist.com/node/18958475
This is a great illustration of all the harm that can be caused by the budget slashing approach, most importantly because people depend on these programs, but also because they stimulate economic activity.