Cultural Comment by Lizzie Widdicombe, New Yorker 10/21/19 For argument’s sake, let’s imagine that Trump’s tweet was wrong, and the “Civil War like fracture in this Nation” doesn’t come to pass. Instead, he and his allies lose the 2020 election. A new Administration comes in, dedicated to helping the nation “work off” its historical crimes, … [Read more…]
In a NY Times obituary today, “President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico announced the death on Twitter, calling Mr. Toledo “a true defender of nature, customs and traditions of our people.” No other details were given.”
‘Scary for democracy’ Adam Gabbatt in Youngstown, Ohio Wed 21 Aug 2019 It was in the late 1920s that the Ku Klux Klan regularly began gathering outside the home of William F Maag Jr in Youngstown. Maag owned the Vindicator newspaper, which unlike others in this once prosperous part of Ohio, had been willing to … [Read more…]
In a New Yorker book review, Elizabeth Kolbert tells us about “Barnum: An American Life” by Robert Wilson. Her review is very interesting in that it brings to the surface the similarities between Barnum and Donald Trump, even if she never actually makes the leap. Embedded in the review are some fascinating details making it … [Read more…]
In the New York Review of Books, this essay Real Americans by Joseph O’Neill is noteworthy. O’Neill reviews two books, This America: The Case for the Nation by Jill Lepore and This Land Is Our Land: An Immigrant’s Manifesto by Suketu Mehta. O’Neill delivers a fine essay covering many points of the current state in … [Read more…]
Yet another reason why you should turn off the TV, it makes you stupid. How trashy TV made children dumber and enabled a wave of populist leaders, Washington Post, Andrew Van Dam July 20. By 1990, 49 out of 50 Italians could watch Mediaset — half of the country had gained access in just five … [Read more…]
Without us noticing, we are entering the postcapitalist era. At the heart of further change to come is information technology, new ways of working and the sharing economy. The old ways will take a long while to disappear, but it’s time to be utopian. Paul Mason Fri 17 Jul 2015
(From Wikipedia) Qian Xuesen, (11 December 1911 – 31 October 2009), was a prominent Chinese aerodynamicist, cyberneticist and politician who contributed to rocket science and established engineering cybernetics. Recruited from MIT, he joined Theodore von Karman’s group at Caltech.[1] Later, he returned to China and made important contributions to China’s missile and space program. During … [Read more…]
George Monbiot hits all the right words in his article in todays Guardian: rebellion, ecological and apocalypse. He is as usual, dramatic but what he says is right. It makes me think and that is good. As the author Jeremy Lent points out in a recent essay, it is almost certainly too late to save … [Read more…]
An enlightening essay in the WAPO on what the immigration court system does, how it is administered, and contains some ideas on how to fix it: I’m an immigration judge. Here’s how we can fix our courts.