So far, at least, the aftermath of the recent Iraqi elections seems to be–as Austin Bay writes–more jaw-jaw than war-war. If even Reuters says so, it’s good enough for me. There’s a lot of post-election sturm and drang, to be … Continue reading →
No, I’m not just being PC. Today is that rarest of days–both Christmas Day and Chanukah at the same time. So I get the opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday at once. I’m giving myself the gift of light … Continue reading →
In other seasons, it’s just a pond. A small and nondescript one at that, subject to some sort of algae-like scum in summer, and with a row of ducks on the side. It’s located in the park where I frequently … Continue reading →
As part of my “literary leftists” series, I’ve been doing research for a possible future post on Richard Wright, the black novelist and poet (and member of the Communist Party from the late 1920s through part of the 1940s), whose … Continue reading →
A while back, I wrote about the important job I thought Second Draft was doing in presenting facts and original material about controversial news coverage–and perhaps misrepresentations–of certain events in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Recently, Second Draft has taken on the … Continue reading →
Is the true meaning of these preliminary Iraqi election results unclear? You bet it is. The trends as they appear so far: a majority of the members of the new Iraqi National Assembly have religious ties– mostly Shiite (44%), but … Continue reading →
Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna has written a fascinating post comparing Iran’s President Ahmadinejad to Hitler. Oh, I know; it’s become downright fashionable these days to compare all sorts of world leaders to Hitler–particularly President Bush. But Ahmadinejad really … Continue reading →
I haven’t written yet about the controversy over government wiretaps designed to eavesdrop on conversations with terrorists. That’s partly because so many have covered the story already, and partly because I like to do a lot of reading on a … Continue reading →
You know them, we all get them–those e-mails written in a sort of elegantly polite and yet utterly fractured English, attempting to prey in equal measure on the reader’s sympathy, naivete, and greed. I receive several almost every day. Usually, … Continue reading →
I once tried to read Harold Bloom’s book The Western Canon, in which he recommends a list of books that a person should read if he/she wants to be truly literate and well-informed in the tradition of Western civilization. Tried, … Continue reading →
Apparently, word of my new and streamlined identity has reached the creators of the original Neo, of “Matrix” fame. I’ve been informed by reliable but understandably secret sources that the Matrix Trilogy is about to become a quartet. A sequel … Continue reading →
Some of you may remember that my ninety-one-year-old mother had a stroke in late July. How’s she doing now? Fair. It’s been a long, long five months. In the beginning, she was able to move her left leg only a … Continue reading →