John Kerry, that most consistently inconsistent of politicians, is reinventing himself, according to a Boston Globe article entitled, “Kerry adopting the rhetoric of a DC outsider.” Now, even the Globe sees Kerry as a poseur; “adopting the rhetoric,” rather than … Continue reading →
Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna has thoughtfully and helpfully codified the 10 Commandments of PC. Here they are (please go to his post for further explanation): 1. America is uniquely evil. 2. America is never justified in defending itself. … Continue reading →
I missed this when it first came out. But I think it presents a highly credible thesis–heretofore unremarked upon– on the deep and powerful affinities between rappers and bloggers.
Continue reading →There’s a new drug for a syndrome that isn’t actually new, but that’s gotten a new name. The drug is Neurodex, and the syndrome is now known as pseudobulbar effect, or PDA. The unsettling and positively creepy-sounding symptoms are as … Continue reading →
By now you may have noticed that I like quotations. So far, I’ve done Orwell, Churchill, and war (hmmm, is there a theme emerging here?) So, in honor of Mother’s Day (and a break with that theme), I thought I’d … Continue reading →
I’ve learned through Brainster that there’s a newly-formed organization called the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation. Their website is a bit sparse as yet, but this looks as though it could be a fascinating project. A group of Vietnam Veterans, some … Continue reading →
British politics is another of the many topics on which my expertise is virtually non-existent. But I just wanted to say that, about a year ago, on the eve of the Australian elections, I was pretty pessimistic. The three major … Continue reading →
I know it’s not a real cheerer-upper, but I recently read Tolstoi’s The Death of Ivan Illych. Actually, you could say that I re-read it, since my first encounter with the novella was in a Russian literature course I took … Continue reading →
The weather report for this weekend–Mother’s Day weekend–for virtually all of New England: in the 40’s (that’s the daytime figure, by the way), heavy rain and wind. This isn’t funny. This is extreme, even for this part of the country. … Continue reading →
Well, here we go again. Excuses, excuses–I’m full of them! I thought I’d be publishing Part 4C of the “Mind is a difficult thing to change” series this week, but it’s not nearly ready, although I’ve been working on it. … Continue reading →
Vietnam’s been on my mind recently, for obvious reasons. I’ve been thinking and writing so much about it lately that I’ve only just gotten around to reading this article by Stephen J. Morris, which appeared in the Op-Ed page of … Continue reading →
Sometimes when an ordinary, garden-variety murderer is caught (or even a more-than-garden variety serial killer, such as Ted Bundy), I am struck by how normal he looks. Normal, as in “you would pass him on the street and not suspect … Continue reading →