I filed a post for TheAtlantic.com from Tahrir.
Filed under: Atlantic Monthly, Egypt, Middle East
27 June 2011 • 6:39 pm 0
Project Runaway
Alamo deserter lives on to become Texas’ most infamous coward
Originally appeared in The Daily.
In August 1990, when President George H. W. Bush wanted to send a message to Saddam Hussein, he used the toughest language he knew: that of his adoptive home state of Texas. Bush warned Saddam that “a line has been drawn in the sand,” and that the U.S.-led coalition would remove him from Kuwait by force if necessary. Saddam was not a man of rhetorical subtlety in any language, but he could be forgiven for wondering what “line in the sand” his adversary was talking about. If the dictator did not know his Texas history, the imagery would have perplexed him — and if he did know his Texas history, it might have perplexed him even more. Was he supposed to cross it, or not?
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Filed under: Daily, history, Texas, United States
26 June 2011 • 1:38 pm 0
Trotsky and Tahrir
24 June 2011 • 6:35 pm 0
Silent as a Grave
An accused Salem witch pays for the right to say nothing in court
Originally appeared in The Daily.
The right to remain silent is a beautiful thing. In 1692, at the height of the Salem Witch Trials, a gray-bearded farmer was asked whether he was a wizard and he refused to say. He was brutally executed. But if the Constitution has secular martyrs, that old farmer, Giles Corey, is surely the patron saint of its Fifth Amendment, and one of history’s greatest champions of keeping one’s trap shut. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Daily, history, relig, United States
12 June 2011 • 6:09 pm 1
The Card Trick that Stumped Houdini
Originally published in The Daily.
The most important rule of magic — other than remembering to check for rabbit-droppings before putting your hat back on — is never to perform the same illusion twice on the same occasion. The temptation can be excruciating: The trick has already proven its ability to fool, and the audience has proven its susceptibility. But the magician who gives his audience a second chance to catch him out always slips up eventually, especially if the audience includes an eagle-eyed fellow magician.
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5 June 2011 • 6:42 pm 0
Playing the hand dealt
Long an outlaw activity, poker gains a respectable reputation
Originally appeared in The Daily.
The World Series of Poker is underway in Las Vegas, and a record number of fools will be lining up for the privilege of being parted from their money. The buy-in is a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $50,000. Around 75,000 players will enter, and the very best will walk away with millions in prize money, as well as a champion bracelet that will mark him (they’re all men, so far) as someone you should never, ever play cards with.
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