In 2008, during that year’s interminable election season, bars in my neighborhood posted signs they were showing the Democratic primary debates, the presidential debates, the vice-presidential debates; we all seemed to be comfortable and enthusiastic about the notion of election debates as spectator sport. I made plans to watch the vice-presidential debate between Sarah PalinContinue reading “Debates: Good for Drinking Games”
Category Archives: Politics
Birthdays, Coincidences, and Divination
I was born on the 156th anniversary of Percy Bysshe Shelley‘s expulsion–on grounds of atheism–from Oxford. (Thomas Jefferson Hogg, his collaborator on The Necessity of Atheism, was expelled with him; the two were accused of ‘contumacy in refusing certain answers put to them’ by the master and fellows of University College.) My birthday is also, remarkably enough:Continue reading “Birthdays, Coincidences, and Divination”
Let ‘Em Eat Birdies (and Eagles Too)
My weekend posts should really have been titled: Being Some Notes on the State of the Union–Especially Its Urban Components and Their Budgetary Shenanigans–In the Twenty-First Century. Like my post on Camden yesterday, this post needs little commentary. So, here we go. Shelley said poets and philosophers were the unacknowledged legislators of his generation. InContinue reading “Let ‘Em Eat Birdies (and Eagles Too)”
Camden Can’t Afford Its Police and Its Union Any More
Today’s blog post has little ‘analysis’; all I need do is point. Perfect storms should be ‘admired’ from a distance. When I’m done, let the chants of ‘USA! USA! USA!’ ring out, loud and proud. So, let us get started. Here is a little piece of news: Camden, NJ has decided to disband its policeContinue reading “Camden Can’t Afford Its Police and Its Union Any More”
Responding to Caitlin Kelly on Journalistic Standards, Writerly Solidarity, and Bloggers’ Responsibilities
Caitlin Kelly from the New York Times writes in my comments space in response to my blog post from a few days ago and I respond. I want to expand on that response because I think her comment and mine bring to light some interesting issues. (The comments space also features some very good remarksContinue reading “Responding to Caitlin Kelly on Journalistic Standards, Writerly Solidarity, and Bloggers’ Responsibilities”
Marijuana Legalization: States Lead, the Center Follows, and Obama Stops Giggling?
Jacob Sullum at Reason.com looks at the marijuana legalization initiatives under way in Colorado, Washington and Oregon, and notes that there might be parallels with the repeal of alcohol prohibition, where the lead was taken by state initiatives: By the time the 21st Amendment ended national alcohol prohibition in December 1933, more than a dozenContinue reading “Marijuana Legalization: States Lead, the Center Follows, and Obama Stops Giggling?”
Pankaj Mishra on the Supposedly ‘Inevitable’ American ‘Retreat’ from the Middle East
Pankaj Mishra suggests America’s ‘retreat’ from the Middle East is ‘inevitable’ as its ‘financial clout’ diminishes and with it, its ability to control the ‘bewilderingly diverse and ferocious energies unleashed by the Arab Spring.’ Now, the language of inevitability in a domain as complex as geopolitics generally signposts intellectual arrogance: Can the interactions of people,Continue reading “Pankaj Mishra on the Supposedly ‘Inevitable’ American ‘Retreat’ from the Middle East”
Talkin’ ‘Bout Men Getting Up Close and Personal
Last night, I participated in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s daily show Life Matters, hosted by the ever-dynamic Natasha Mitchell on Radio National. The topic for the day was ‘Male Intimacy’. Being on live radio is a pretty strange experience; I’ve only done it once before, on John Sutton‘s excellent, but now defunct, Ghost in the Machine on EastsideContinue reading “Talkin’ ‘Bout Men Getting Up Close and Personal”
Stenographers, Megaphones, or Journalists?
Yesterday I posted the following on my Facebook status: The New York Times gives us ‘news’ on the CTU strike and includes this: ‘Mayor Rahm Emanuel has focused on trying to improve the quality of public education, with a longer school day and more meaningful teacher evaluations. The Chicago Teachers’ Union, meanwhile, has been intentContinue reading “Stenographers, Megaphones, or Journalists?”
Breaking Bad Season 5 Speculation: Reconciliations for Redemption
Having finished watching Season 4 of Breaking Bad, and having no access to Season 5 till it emerges on DVD or streaming, I’m going to go ahead and speculate a bit about the show’s eventual direction and conclusion. Many of the issues raised and provoked by the first four seasons seem to require resolution ifContinue reading “Breaking Bad Season 5 Speculation: Reconciliations for Redemption”
Samir Chopra 