SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2023...in the course of the Georgia trial? Is Donald J. Trump a madman? Here's the way the invaluable Paul Krugman begins his latest column:KRUGMAN (8/26/23): James J. Jordan was a Mad man—a copywriter who devised advertising catchphrases that were annoying b … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2023...Mike Barnicle (pretty much) got it right: Yesterday, all afternoon, we hoped we'd get a chance to show you what Mike Barnicle said. To our chagrin, the invaluable Internet Archive was a little bit slow on the upload.Better late than never! Yesterday morn … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2023...all over blue cable last night: Over in the realm of the reds, Donald J. Trump is already selling product through the allure of his mug shot.In fairness, the tribunes of our own blue tribe are already selling product that way too. As with the earlier "sn … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2023Vice president did the right thing: "How did things ever get so far?"We believe Don Corleone said that.This morning, the famous statement came to mind as we watched pundit reactions to last night's "debate." Many observers focused on this somewhat surpris … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2023...at this evening's event: For starters, no—it isn't a "debate."You could say that Kennedy and Nixon had a set of debates in 1960. On the level of nomination contests, you could say the same about Gore and Bradley, the only two Democratic candidates in … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2023Morning Joe battles Fox: It wasn't exactly comfort food. It was more of a furious pushback.We refer to the opening segment of this morning's Morning Joe. Right from the jump, the Morning Joe gang savaged Fox News for what was said, during yesterday's pro … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2023High-end fuzzy thinking: It used to be a standard part of hackish conservative agitprop. We liberals were the "Blame America First" contingent—though we were more often described as a "crowd."Liberals were routinely said to "blame America first." And then … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2023But here's what Weissmann said: Us and Them is the oldest, and perhaps the most powerful, of all known human drugs.With that in mind, ponder this:Yesterday's Morning Joe began with 59 references to the claim that Trump voters are members of a "cult." To wa … | Continue reading
MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 2023Shakespeare in the schools: Has Shakespeare been banned from the Florida schools? Has something like that occurred?We humans love our tribal Storylines—our tribal lines of attack! That's a lesson we'd take away from today's New York Times.More specifically, … | Continue reading
MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 2023Comfort food is Us: If Donald J. Trump goes on trial next spring, will he be convicted?A second question is this:If he isn't convicted in his first trial, how might that event play out as the November election draws near?Concerning next November's election, … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 2023Also, our own tribe's moral greatness: Sally Hayden, age 34, is an Irish journalist. The thumbnail looks like this:Sally Hayden is an Irish journalist and writer. A foreign correspondent, she has reported from Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda. Her book … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2023The childishness of the whale: As we noted at the start of the week, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) has been involved in a search for the truth.Last Sunday, C-Span's Washington Journal played tape of the congressman's description of his search. The childishness … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2023We're constantly astounded: We'll admit that we constantly find the gap in logic surprising. Consider the headline which appeared on this "news analysis" piece from yesterday's New York Times:After Years of Lies, Election Deniers Face Something New: Conse … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2023Morning Joe, picking and choosing: Bob Dylan released his New Morning album in October 1970. The album seemed to report and explore a new phenomenon—unexpected personal happiness, of the domestic kind. In Day of the Locusts, Dylan seemed to describe a typ … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2023Cites passage which doesn't make sense: When tribes refuse to interact—refuse to confront each other's perceptions and claims—that tends to make each tribe even dumber. So it was at the start of last evening's Last Word as Lawrence O'Donnell gushed about … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2023A primitive, childish assessment: "We live in fictitious times."So said film-maker Micharl Moore, as he accepted an Oscar for his documentary film, Bowling for Columbine.Having said that, Hoo boy! Moore's fuller statement went like this:MOORE (3/23/03): … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2023Georgia should build many jails: We're nor in love with the relentless drive to put Donald Trump in jail. As we've said for the past year or so, we don't think you can solve a political / cultural / journalistic problem by putting Others in jail. The probl … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2023Someone should broadcast "the truth:" We're so old that we can remember the way things were before Fani Willis came down with her indictments of Donald J. Trump.Jack Smith had already presented his federal indictments of Trump. This past Sunday, on C-Span' … | Continue reading
MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2023Post analysis piece disappears: Online, the Washington Post analysis piece appeared way back on August 4.It was briefly featured on the Post's website. We found the headline intriguing:The average doctor in the U.S. makes $350,000 a year. Why?Just for the r … | Continue reading
MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2023[Us and Them] the people: We wish we could escape the feeling that Trump is going to win.Importantly, let's be fair! For tens of millions of fellow citizens, it's a consummation devoutly to be wished that Donald J. Trump should make his way into the White H … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2023Sophocles, by the Aegean: One New York Times reader is sick and tired of people like the Times' David Brooks.His letter will appear in Sunday's editions. His letter goes like this:To the Editor:Re “What if We’re the Bad Guys Here?,” by David Brooks (colum … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2023We're afraid he could be right: Newsweek isn't what it used to be, not by a very long shot.Still, Newsweek isn't nothing yet, and Tom Rogers is its current editor-at-large. Putting it mildly, he isn't real high on Donald J. Trump. His new column starts like … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2023You can be in my dream, Dylan said: As we first reported on Monday, the extremely young Bob Dylan reported a "crazy dream" in May 1962. He reported his crazy dream on his breakout Freewheelin' album:One time ago a crazy dream came to meI dreamt I was walkin … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2023...about Jack Smith and Trump: We hope that Jack Goldsmith is wrong. We're afraid he may be right. Goldsmith is a Harvard Law School professor. He served as an assistant attorney general under George W. Bush. That said, Goldsmith isn't a supporter of Dona … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2023David Brooks' crazy points: Way back in 1962, the extremely young Bob Dylan had been having a crazy dream.Tomorrow, we'll consider the offer Dylan eventually made in his song about that dream. But by 1967, that same Bob Dylan was married with children—and … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2023But what if it got 55?: For the record, you can argue that ballot initiatives should be harder to pass.(If memory serves, such arguments center on the tendency of the electorate to approve contradictory ballot measures. If memory serve, the initiative-fri … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2023Creedence Clearwater's crazy dream: The Summer of Love took place right there in San Francisco in the summer of 67.Those on the youthful cultural left were streaming into that city, "flowers in their hair." As they did, an early type of culture war was fo … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2023Was the election stolen? For almost three years, Donald J. Trump has been crazily claiming that the last election was stolen.He has never produced a "white paper" presenting his evidence for that remarkable claim. That's because no such evidence actually ex … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2023So says Brooks' dream: It's as we noted yesterday. Way back in May 1962, the extremely young Bob Dylan reported a troubling dream. At the tender age of 21, Dylan dreamed that he was walking through World War III! He reported the contents of that dream in Ta … | Continue reading
MONDAY, AUGUST 7, 2023David Brooks imagines: Way back in 1962, on his Freewheelin' album, the extremely young Bob Dylan reported a troubling dream:One time ago a crazy dream came to meI dreamt I was walkin' through World War III!I went to the doctor the very next dayTo see what k … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5, 2023A pledge to start slitting throats: Many generations have contributed to advances in the American experiment, vastly imperfect as that experiment has been.Quite famously, Tom Brokaw has called the group which fought and won World War II "the greatest gener … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2023Fruit of the tribal impulse: Vice President Harris said that she was very upset by Florida's new course of study.She flew to Florida and sounded off about it. Over at the National Review, Charles C. W. Cooke then sounded off about her.You can read Cooke's es … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2023Our planet's brutal past: As we first explained on Monday, Kevin Drum said it was no big deal. We agreed with him on that point.The task force which had composed the state of Florida's new (barebones) K-12 course of study had included a minor (and accurate) … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2023Steve Benen gets it right: Life in this age of Trump has been an anthropology lesson—a lesson in human nature.On the one hand, it's been a lesson in the ability of tens of millions of people to place their fervent belief in wholly unfounded claims. (It sta … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2023Drum's ideas and ours: As Chekhov once had it, "The appearance on the front of a new arrival...became the topic of general conversation."On Tuesday evening of this very week, the new arrival was Jack Smith's indictment of Donald J. Trump. Understandably, c … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2023...to discuss the new indictment: We had some family visitors this morning. They arrived here live and direct from Maine, on their way to Durham. We'd already watched two hours of Morning Joe, where the new indictment was being discussed. Before our famil … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2023It's all anthropology now: We hadn't yet returned to campus last week when Kevin Drum offered this post.The post concerns the number of people who (say they) agree with this somewhat improbable statement:A secret group of Satan-worshiping pedophiles is ruli … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2023...but our thought leaders rushed to perform: So start the dog days of August! High atop the front page of the New York Times, the depressing twin headlines say this:Biden Shores Up Democratic Support, but Faces Tight Race Against TrumpA New York Times/Sien … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JULY 31, 2023Empires, democracies die: Stretching back about thirty years, liberals have tended to view Frank Luntz in a highly unfavorable light. Some elements of this capsule bio help explain why that is:Frank Luntz (born February 23, 1962) is an American political and … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JULY 31, 2023No (Perceived) Outrage Left Behind: Friend, have you reviewed the contents of Florida's new history curriculum?(For the record: We don't know why the various elements of such curricula are now referred to as "standards.")We have read through the Sunshine Stat … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2023Also, some free advice: Back on July 5, we announced that we would be gone until "at least" the next week.That turned out to be a bit of an understatement. Today, we offer some free advice, derived from our recent medical adventure:If you're going to get a su … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2023Also, one way to avoid going broke: We won't be posting for the rest of the week and possibly for a while longer.Yes, it's a surgical procedure! We expect to be back next week.Meanwhile, we apologize for the way we've wandered the countryside in the course … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2023Today, we have several fewer: The city of Baltimore is full of good kids.We started meeting those kids, in their fifth grade manifestation, in the autumn of '69. In the last few years before Covid, we had occasion to observe the behavior of some young adults … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2023Final thoughts on the latest miasma: By all accounts, the state of Mississippi has been working, very hard, to improve its public schools.We applaud every person who has been involved in those ongoing efforts. That said, has the state engineered a "Mississipp … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JULY 3, 2023So far, the answer is no: Is an "education revolution" underway in Mississippi's public schools?[NOTE: We're posting one day early.]Has a "Mississippi miracle" occurred? Have the state's education officials engineered a "huge success story?"At this point, we'd … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2023Ethnicity (not quite) all around: In total fairness, we'd have to say this:If Harvard's self-reporting can be trusted, the famous school doesn't seem to admit a lot of lunkheads due to their "legacy" status.Back in 2018, the school released the average SAT s … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2023Several key questions emerge: Long ago and far away, the Associated Press published a lengthy report under a very familiar type of feel-good headline:‘Mississippi miracle’: Kids’ reading scores have soared in Deep South statesActually, the report appeared on … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2023Matched by relentless indifference: Yesterday, in an interlude, we invited you to return to the days of Jonathan Kozol's first book.That took us back to the mid-1960s. It took us back to the fateful year when Kozol taught fourth grade in a crumbling "inner ci … | Continue reading