In a quiet professional manner, the psychiatrist bent slightly toward the patient reclined before him and asked the difficult question that promised insight into the man's character and many problems. Would you be willing to reflect on the interesting surmise my secretary has formed as to the source of your maladies? I will, certainly, what... Continue Reading →
Introduction The outcome of the 2016 Presidential election still rankles and puzzles. How did Donald J. Trump get elected? How could anyone vote for him? How could that many people vote for him, the sixty-two or so million people who actually did? I don’t know the answer. Perhaps no one does. Because the times are... Continue Reading →
Harpers Magazine included an excerpt in its January 2018 issue from Virginia Eubanks’ book Automating Inequality, just published by St. Martin’s Press. According to Eubanks, government officials, using sophisticated computer technology, are now able to routinely ensnare poor people in the digital equivalent of the poorhouse of yore by tracking them down, monitoring them, stereotyping... Continue Reading →
Introduction Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and twelfth Librarian of the Congress of the United States, authored a book in 1961 entitled The Image: Or, What Happened to the American Dream. I read the book in 1992 when the 25th year anniversary edition came out, with the addition of an Afterword by George F. Will,... Continue Reading →
A much loved teacher, when asked about teaching, attributed her success to the “culture of respect” she had been able to develop in her classrooms. Respect, she explained, opens the heart, as well as the mind, to the lives of others, generates empathy, and transforms the classroom into a vibrant learning community. Children discover that... Continue Reading →
Who’s in on this? I see Skip and Stephen A., Dan, Keith too. Wilbon, where’s your sidekick? He’s parking the car. Ruth, you in? Ruth who? Marcus. I’m in. I see coach just walked in the door. Glad to see you Don. Who else? Chris Matthews. Check. Jon Stewart. Check. Shannon, Woody, Marshall, you guys... Continue Reading →
Author's note: This essay, first published in September of 2012, is particularly relevant now that Donald Trump is running full bore for the Presidency of the United States. While I've retained its original title for filing purposes—it is after all easier to reblog than rewrite—it is renamed Double Dump on Trump here to highlight his no apologies/no retractions habit of doubling down on... Continue Reading →
I recently had the opportunity to see Carl Colby's documentary film THE MAN NOBODY KNEW: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby. The trailer, available through the filmmaker''s website, portrays the storyline faithfully. William Colby's service to the United States is laid out in sympathetic detail in his biography in Wikipedia. Another useful... Continue Reading →
Welcome to my blog. I tend to take the world seriously, probably a fault, but a personal habit nonetheless. This seriousness includes the presumption that what passes in public as truth probably isn't, and that the glances and sniffs one gets walking around are signs of and on a trail toward truth. I grant myself... Continue Reading →
