…with the concept of first name versus surname. It’s hard, hard I tell you (hint to Times: “Scott” is the first name, “Walker” is the surname): This was not an ordinary article, either, that just lacked an editor’s eye. It … Continue reading →
This piece by Jonathan Chait that appeared in New York Magazine has become the talk of the internet. It’s about the overwhelming monster that insistence on PC thought has become, which is apparently alarming even the liberal Chait. He’s not … Continue reading →
This article by Suki Kim is an excerpt from her book Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite, based on her experience teaching English in North Korea. From a review of the … Continue reading →
The folks here decided to do an analysis of presidential speeches over time: Using the Flesch-Kincaid readability test””the most well-known reading comprehension algorithm””Vocativ analyzed over 600 presidential speeches, going back to George Washington. We measured syllables along with word and … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Part I is here.] It turns out that the case of autistic 13-year-old author Naoki Higashida is more complex than that of Rom Houben. When I Googled his book (The Reason I Jump) online, I was expecting (hoping, anyway) … Continue reading →
Back in 2009 I wrote a post called “Wanting to believe in miracles.” It was about the case of Rom Houben, a severely brain-damaged patient in Belgium who was said to be communicating complex thoughts through a method known as … Continue reading →
Read it.
Continue reading →Take a look at this excerpt from a piece by Beutler in TNR about the racial situation in Ferguson, Missouri [emphasis mine]: You’ve probably seen the statistics by now. Ferguson is about two-thirds black. It’s police force is nearly 100 … Continue reading →
“Undocumented” ones. The transformation of our language from meaningful to propaganda on the issue of new arrivals to this country is pretty much complete. One would think the opposite of “legal immigrant” would be “illegal immigrant.” But “undocumented immigrant” seems … Continue reading →
…is on the upswing. I’ve noticed it among the young. I’m a woman, but I’m not an upspeaker. That’s because I’m old. And very opinionated. Polite, but opinionated. And I don’t like upspeak, in men or women.
Continue reading →I was wondering what the left would have to say about it all—mostly, how the attack on Brat would start to be framed—and this article by Jonathan Chait was instructive but unsurprising in that regard: Brat’s a “Rand-loving right-wing crank.” … Continue reading →
It became clear as soon as the background information about Bergdahl began coming out that the left would say the right was swiftboating Bergdahl. After all, as I wrote previously here, “swiftboating”: …has become a synonym for “a political low … Continue reading →