I’ve been writing about politics for eleven years now, and never have I felt such a sense of dread about it. Dread mixed with a certain lassitude caused by overload. The slowly-approaching and already nearly endless-seeming election campaign of 2016 … Continue reading →
Here’s someone who specializes in moral psychology, discussing the pros and cons of telling kids that Santa exists, knowing that some day they’ll find out he doesn’t and realize that you lied to them. The conclusion? Hard to say what’s … Continue reading →
I watched most (not all) of the debate last night. Regular readers may recall that I detest political debates in general, but this one bothered me especially much. Mulling over why that might be, I’ve come to the conclusion that—at … Continue reading →
My friend and fellow-blogger Bookworm had this to say about the work of a blogger: There is probably no higher expression of patriotism than the willingness to serve in your nation’s military. I serve my nation sitting in my warm … Continue reading →
…for talking to your progressive friends and relatives who might want to stir things up with you at the Thanksgiving table. How to give offense without offense being taken. Easier said than done. At Thanksgiving, I just try to keep … Continue reading →
It keeps hitting me that this coming election is the last one that matters. Actually, I felt that way last time. But this time the hour has gotten even later. But maybe it was always too late. When we play … Continue reading →
This tidbit about Cruz (from commenter “Orson”) is certainly interesting, and it explains a lot: According to Sean Hannity, Cruz has eidetic aural memory. He remembers everything he hears ”“ and thus, at the debate, segmented his complaints with perfect … Continue reading →
Now that we’ve turned the clocks back—boy, it’s getting dark earlier. And it will be getting dark even earlier before it starts reversing itself. That’s one of the things I dislike about this time of year, and here up north … Continue reading →
I noticed that there’s a proposal to ban the n-word in Boston public schools: “The critical thing is making sure the students understand that we want to do this with them and that this is not about punishing them,” said … Continue reading →
Only two days left, but still worth celebrating. I’ve always had a certain devotion to caramel. But ever since the dread hand of chocolate-induced migraine descended on me several decades ago, and chocolate became a distant, poignant, and beautiful but … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This is a slightly-edited repeat of a post from 2008.] No doubt all of my readers, being unusually well-informed people, were already aware that today is National Candy Corn Day. But did you know it is estimated that in … Continue reading →
…that Democrats thought Republicans were evil and Republicans thought Democrats were stupid. Remember the old saying? But on the comments thread from the Hillary mendacity post, beginning around here, it’s clear that at least some people have now graduated to … Continue reading →