The Ministry of Truth Recently, I had the good fortune to be invited by NPR to submit an essay on a favorite thriller of mine. I decided to write about George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is both an excellent thriller and an increasingly powerful and relevant political warning — a combination readers of my latest … Continue reading
It’s Just a Leak One of the great things about being a novelist is that the form enables me to dramatize the way the government and establishment media collude to manipulate public opinion. The phenomenon of the mainstream media laundering government talking points into news in exchange for access to even more such talking points … Continue reading
Torture Talisman, Torture Taboo Recently an otherwise seemingly thoughtful person said to me, “I know torture ordinarily doesn’t work because you can’t coerce someone into giving you trustworthy information. But don’t you think there are times when the government has to step over the line to save lives? You know, if terrorists have a nuclear … Continue reading
Death-Defying Institutional Brands I’m increasingly intrigued by the ability of certain brands to outlast the loss of their underlying substance. Facts are stubborn things, John Adams said, but sometimes, it seems, not as stubborn as brands. Let me offer a few examples, and then let’s see if we can identify any principles at work behind … Continue reading
Advertising Bullshit I just arrived home after a week on the road, part of it in London. At Heathrow, I was struck by two fantastically ill-conceived Accenture billboard advertisements. The first was a Photoshopped image of an elephant riding a wave on a surfboard. The caption read, “Who says you can’t be both big and … Continue reading
Fear, With Good Reason Last week, Dahlia Lithwick had a terrific piece in Slate in which she ponders America’s “Terrorism Derangement Syndrome.” America does seem to be in the grip of morbid fear, doesn’t it? KSM could irradiate Manhattan if he’s given a trial there… terrorists can melt the walls of supermax prisons… the Underwear … Continue reading
Torture Tales There are various factors behind America’s growing embrace of torture, but among them, largely overlooked, is a brilliant campaign of cross-promotion between right-wing ideologues and right-wing entertainment. First, the right reduced the entirety of torture to a simple talking point: “Can you really say torture never works?” And then answered the question through … Continue reading
Paper Earthworks and Digital Tides Don’t be misled by the self-serving narratives Amazon and Macmillan have advanced following their recent eBooks battle. Amazon’s narrative is “We’re Pro-Consumer;” Macmillan (and paper publishers in general) counter with “We’re Anti-Monopoly.” Neither of these narratives is untrue, but neither addresses the real cause of this war. What’s happening is … Continue reading
If the Hippocratic Oath Applied to Intelligence I’m just about done with Tim Weiner’s phenomenal Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. Two themes are at the heart of the book. First, the Agency has been incompetent from its inception. The roster of incompetence includes subversion operations that cost the lives of hundreds of … Continue reading
The Best Lack All Conviction If you want a pristine example of why people view Democrats as feckless wimps, here’s Obama’s statement from yesterday on what the Dems should do about health care reform following Brown’s Massachusetts victory: “Here’s one thing I know and I just want to make sure that this is off the … Continue reading