Now that we are finished with both rather conventional and predictable Conventions, the “race” for the Presidency begins in earnest. The seeming fragmentation of the body politic into discrete and intensely focused “voting blocs” which are fought over between the … Continue reading
Category Archives: I’ve Been Thinking
The other day a man, Wade Michael Page, now sketchily described as a neo-Nazi white supremacist, shot some followers of the Sikh religion at their Wisconsin Temple, a patently deplorable action regardless of the backstory of either the perp or the victims. Beneath … Continue reading
American columnist and humorist Art Buchwald wrote the best stuff I ever read in a newspaper. His column ran in some New York paper (the Post?) when I was a teenager and I loved its often staccato style: a series of … Continue reading
A little knowledge is axiomatically asserted to be a dangerous thing; let me be dangerous. Here is an excerpt from a blurb received today via the National Association of Corporate Directors (a great organization; disclosure: I am on the New … Continue reading
Criminal law addresses several issues with assumed results. It addresses the need for fairness and closure by punishing disfavored behavior. It addresses the need for moral retribution in the same fashion. It is supported by lawyers and lawmakers as having … Continue reading
I am reminded of the lyrics from Hair as I read the New York Times account (May 17) captioned “Whites Account for Under Half of Births in U.S.” There is a tinge of fear in the reporting; fear that our … Continue reading
It is always dangerous to write something that could function as a putative “history” at a point in time close to the events being discussed. One lacks the perspective of time, and the information that future events provides to illuminate … Continue reading
Yesterday I saw a jacket lettered on the back “Occupy Boston.” Although the jacket was not crisp-looking and might even be viewed as ratty, it suggests some steps for the commercialization of this social protest movement. Normally, causes advertise themselves … Continue reading
My father lived to almost 101; as for birthdays, he started counting at 39. So for me today, November 10, I am by my dad’s count 39 years old for the 31st time. It of course feels no different from … Continue reading
I don’t want to re-engage here the by now much-overworked debate as to whether there is a coherent message or an identifiable plan emerging from the “occupy” movements, or whether those movements will survive the winter snows of Boston or … Continue reading