[Hat tip: commenter “Griffin.”] Andrew Sullivan is one of those writers of whom you can say that when he’s good, he’s very very good, and when he’s bad he’s horrid. In this essay he’s good: And that is the only … Continue reading →
Howard University is instituting a new policy described in this WaPo op-ed by Cornel West and Jeremy Tate: Upon learning to read while enslaved, Frederick Douglass began his great journey of emancipation, as such journeys always begin, in the mind. … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I noticed this word appearing again lately, so I think it’s time to repost this. I originally wrote it in December of 2015.] I’ve noticed the word “kapo” cropping up now and then in the comments section of this … Continue reading →
I’d never really thought about it before, but there are quite a few songs that feature “stutter” lyrics. Why is it done? Emphasis, I think, and perhaps just in the name of variety. Songwriters and lyricists like to use different … Continue reading →
Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is a work of genius. But I think its greatest element of genius lies in Orwell’s basic insight about the left’s use of language as a tool for leading the public to believe a very bad thing … Continue reading →
Commenter “Philip Sells” asks a good question: Does not Orwell’s concept of Newspeak presuppose something like Sapir-Whorf? And commenter “Frederick” responds this way: Yeah, it did, which lessened the book a bit for me…Reading it now is a little jarring… … Continue reading →
At the time, it was looked on as something rather scandalous. This headline at Reuters tries to turn it into a Republican attack on Obama: “Obama seeks to blunt Republican attack over comment.” An excerpt: President Barack Obama said on … Continue reading →
… in the future, it may be that you’re not to be mentioned on the floor of the House. It’ll be “parent” and “sibling” for us all: Proposed changes to the rules of the House of Representatives would “honor all … Continue reading →
The school system in Burbank, California has added the following five books to its “banned in Burbank” list: Until further notice, teachers in the area will not be able to include on their curriculum Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, … Continue reading →
“Why is it so hard to see the truth?” Because it contradicts the narrative. Because propaganda works. Because a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its boots on. I’ve cued up the … Continue reading →
A number of people wondered if the video I featured yesterday of Joe Biden bloopers from a speech he made recently in Pennsylvania was authentic or whether it had been doctored to make him sound worse. I became curious, and … Continue reading →
In the debate last night when Trump referred to “coyotes” – the slang word for smugglers of would-be illegal immigrants from Latin America – a lot of people mocked him for thinking that the actual animal known as the coyote … Continue reading →