I’m not going to hold my breath until Patrick Lynch, Rhode Island’s Attorney General, declares whether he wants to investigate William McKinney III for sex crimes, but a statement from him is called for. According to a NYTimes article (4/15/10), McKinney’s lawsuit against Brown University, which was just transferred to federal court, rests on whether Brown […]
The word itself does no harm, and it has practical use, especially when talking about health research, as in which group is more likely to get certain diseases. But it also has a function, in the popular culture, of forcing people into a self-examination of their own tastes and appetites, and even their values, as if every one […]
By now, it’s no longer a question of if, but when. At least 20 years ago, I put the likely date as 2020, but, then, I’m no psychic. The point is it’s making less and less sense for the country to be stretched like taffy whenever any significant governmental program is in question. And I’m not talking […]
On his CNN show today, Fareed Zakaria publicly admonished former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen and former Chairman of the Fed Alan Greenspan for their, in his opinion, gutless evasion of the need for tax increases. He replayed part of their interview with David Gregory on last week’s Meet The Press. They both expressed a […]
Yesterday’s diatribe from Paul Krugman (NYT, 1/29/10) concerned the federal government’s failure to fix the unemployment problem, which he called short-term, and the looming deficit, which is a long-term problem. As for the short-term fix, he felt it was a virtual no-brainer that we should pump up the deficit in order to create jobs […]
Until its unsatisfying ending, Up In The Air is a slick, breezy Hollywood entertainment that deals with a man’s fear of emotional commitment, and the midlife crisis that it causes. It deals with that theme in familiar ways, but with knowing skill and some sophistication. One reason that critics are overpraising it, however, is […]
With baited breath, are we soon to have the thrill of seeing another indictment of a “Big Time” Wall Street crook? And — dare I say it — will we see the WALK ? My appetite was tingled by an unusually lucid and well-researched piece in the Times (12/24/09) that described preliminary investigations into possibly criminal […]
I couldn’t let this go. The Times felt obligated to give the l-a-r-g-e-r view of the (half) critically acclaimed film, Precious, when it urged people to see this (reputedly) somewhat unappetizing movie about black urban life. Not being content to simply praise it for honesty and its inspiring, uplifting message about overcoming racism and poverty, […]
Now that it seems likely that Obama will increase troop levels in Afghanistan, I’m forced to rely on my “gut” instincts in saying that I think it’s a mistake. I have no choice. My gut tells me that our limited goals for “victory” are still beyond our ability at this time. Of course the reason […]
Today’s NYTimes had an article about a controversial new book about Martin Heidegger. The author, Emmanuel Faye, apparently believes that the German philosopher’s connection to Nazism so severely damages any value to be derived from his ideas that philosophy should disown him outright, and refrain from any serious critical evaluation of his work. Although I haven’t […]
