Paul Krugman calls like he sees it. And like Jeremiah in the Old Testament, he catalogs the ills of letting this economic malaise fester. Let’s talk, in particular, about what’s happening in Europe — not because all is well with America, but because the gravity of European political developments isn’t widely understood. First of all, [...]
I was reading this list of remembrances in the NY Times and I was reminded of the goodness of the American spirit. I was an Army combat correspondent with the First Air Cavalry Division in 1965-66. One day in December 1966 I accompanied a group of Army doctors and dentists to a remote hamlet in [...]
If you ever wondered why it was that France sent a Statue of Liberty to America, read this column in the New York Times. It is part of Disunion, a live blogging of the Civil War, live + 150 years. This article describes how the US Civil War was interpreted in France. Here is the [...]
In the past, my position has always been that societies have always had a threshold for crimes, that some crimes so grievously violate the norms of society that the perpetrators deserve to be permanently removed from the society and earth. In debates about the death penalty, I would always point out that the Bible’s “eye [...]
I have been seeing bumper stickers saying “Jesus is___________” with a web address in small print. I was puzzled because the viewer can fill in the blank in ways unintended by the author of this public relations campaign. And this is a public relations campaign. But I don’t know what the goals are. Remind people [...]
I wrote a post on 9/11 being fetishized and checked to see if it was cross posted to Facebook. It was. The next thing in my stream was this 9/11 Memorial app for iPad and iPhone is a free download today Oh, stop already. This digusts me.
In the ten years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the event has been fetishized. It was right to mourn the victims, but the event is treated as more than it was: the act of a few individuals committed to an irrational agenda. The attacks could have been prevented if the Bush Administration had been [...]
I like John Amato. His site, Crooks and Liars, has a lot of good stuff. But I think he gets this one wrong. It seems that he is attempting to tar Tim Pawlenty with the company that Pawlenty keeps. His brush? A guy named Ray Shakir. There is video at that link and a list [...]
Andy Borowitz is the funniest guy on the web. Rabid Dog Briefly Mistaken for Tea Party Candidate Receives Standing Ovation at Missouri Rally JEFFERSON CITY, MO (The Borowitz Report) – A rabid Doberman Pinscher jumped on stage at a Tea Party rally in Missouri on Labor Day and barked at the crowd for nearly [...]
Philip K. Howard was on The Daily Show last night. I remember his book, “The Death of Common Sense”, when it came out, but didn’t read it. I could say that this is irony made manifest, that a show on Comedy Central is bringing light to issues of governance, while cable television shows avoid it. [...]