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LATEST ARTICLES ( 1455 )

• “Inequality For All”

  

  Robert Reich’s film, Inequality For All, spotlights a problem that’s real. But it’s very complex, with no simple answers (“tax the rich;” raise minimum... Read more

  Posted on 06 February 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Inequality Obsession

  

  Continuing my discussion of George Kennan’s book (see previous post), he also addressed inequality. So have I (here, here, and here; maybe thus my own... Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• George F. Kennan: Grumpy Old Man

  

  George F. Kennan (1905-2006) was considered one of our great wise men. A diplomat, he was a key architect of the cold war “containment policy” toward the... Read more

  Posted on 31 January 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Momma’s Boy: “Elsewhere” by Richard Russo

  

  Richard Russo is a novelist, author of Nobody’s Fool, Empire Falls, and other major works. Elsewhere is a memoir. He should have called it Momma’s Boy. Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Egypt, and the Future of Democracy

  

  Egypt’s new constitution was approved last week by a 98% vote. When a vote is 98%, you know it ain’t democracy. In this case, no opposition campaign was even... Read more

  Posted on 21 January 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Benjamin Franklin: Reason Versus Romanticism

  

  Impressed by Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs bio, I thought I’d read his Benjamin Franklin – though familiar enough with Frankliniana that another immersion might... Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2014 CULTURE, HISTORY, SOCIETY

• “It’s a Recession When Your Neighbor Loses His Job; It’s a Depression When You...

  

  Harry Truman said that, and it’s relevant to the current debate over extending unemployment insurance (UI). The basic UI program is meant to tide people over... Read more

  Posted on 12 January 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Poverty and Inequality: The Business Cure

  

  Poverty has long been a cause celebre; inequality seems the cause du jour. The oceans of ink spilled on these topics are mostly finger-pointing, short on... Read more

  Posted on 07 January 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Our New Year’s Inaugural Diversity Bath: A Great Country Altogether

  

  Yesterday, I was an invitee at the inauguration of Albany’s new mayor, Kathy Sheehan. After 43 years here, it was the first time I didn’t feel like some kind... Read more

  Posted on 02 January 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Nietzsche, Romanticism, Reason, Nazism, and Squished Worms

  

  The other day in the post office I saw two caregivers wheeling severely disabled people – and I do mean severely. Such sights are disturbing to me, like seeing... Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Modi for India

  

  I have a mental “Wall of Shame” with pictures of the world’s baddies (and relish X-ing out the face of any who (like Qaddafi) goes down). In 2002, Narendra... Read more

  Posted on 27 December 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Book Review: The Koran

  

  Having enjoyed great success with his first book, The Bible, God followed up (after a gap of centuries; writer’s block?) with The Koran.I am cognizant that... Read more

  Posted on 21 December 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• What is It Like to Be a Bat? A Cat? Or Me?

  

  I’ve written before about the problem of the “self.” What is it like to be a bat? was the title of a famous article by philosopher Thomas Nagel. Read more

  Posted on 15 December 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Pacific Rim: R E A L L Y B I G Monsters

  

  We saw Pacific Rim because we were at a resort and that was the film shown. The night before was Grown Ups 2; it had a great cast; but also Adam Sandler. We lef... Read more

  Posted on 11 December 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Israel: Triumph and Tragedy, Past and Future

  

  A recent Thomas Friedman column discusses a book by Israeli newspaper columnist Ari Shavit – My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel. Read more

  Posted on 06 December 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Nelson Mandela: Will and Goodwill

  

  My remembrance post about Margaret Thatcher lionized her for something all too rare in political “leaders” – will. Thatcher knew what was right. That’s not... Read more

  Posted on 05 December 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Robert Nozick and a Socialist Libertarianism

  

  The late philosopher Robert Nozick authored a classic libertarian text, Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Subsequently, he didn’t exactly recant it, but did decide it... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• My 25th Anniversary: A Beautiful Life

  

  November 27 is my 25th wedding anniversary. Such occasions can be considered meaningless calendrical artifacts. But they do provide prompts for reflection and... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Bloody Mindedness

  

  OK, I’m supposed to be an optimist.So there’s this place in Japan called the Yasukuni shrine, a memorial to Japan’s war dead. Fine, except that it enshrines som... Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• “Nestor Chylak Killed Kennedy”

  

  Nestor Chylak“Nestor Chylak killed Kennedy,” was a graffiti I found scratched on a wooden school desk almost 50 years ago. It lodged in my brain because it... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2013 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY