Monthly Archive: May 2009

J.L. Wall…

…writes about Leonard Cohen, and you should read it.  It made me want to turn on some Cohen right now.  I think I will….

New Belgium

Good read about “sustainable beer” at American Progress.  Fat Tire is one of my favorite beers, and 1554 and Skinny Dip are pretty bloody good also.  We drink a lot of New Belgium brews...

an ending, but no closure

Wesleyan University is in my hometown. I have many connections to the university, which I won’t share now. I was in fact on campus when the terrible events of Wednesday occured. I wish I...

I dare you to make less sense

These days, “Orwellian” has become a convenient synonym for “things I don’t like,” so I hesitate to use the word in any context. But I don’t think anything else does justice to the sheer...

One More Time Around the Track

“So we’re supposed to react to a situation in which our schools are failing and the teachers’ unions are one of the biggest forces standing in the way of commonsensical and much-needed reforms by...

“A Tale of Two Exurbs”

One downside to Republicans’ lack of interest in “new ideas” is that they’ve effectively ceded policy discussions on a host of emerging issues to liberals, which is presumably why this fascinating piece on exurban...

A Quote for the Afternoon

Via Brad Warbiany at the Liberty Papers. Doug Bandow,David Rittgers, Cato@Liberty: As I have said before, the quickest way to create an insurgent is to burn a man’s livelihood. This may be a competent counternarcotics...

Colbert Off the Bicycle

If you didn’t watch Colbert last night, go here and do.  The first 2/3 was unreal.  A++.  Kool Aid Sheik Mohammed is the new greatest term in existence.

Teaching Moments

This depressing Los Angeles Times story inspired a pretty interesting debate on teacher unions over at the American Scene. In comments, Freddie mounts a persuasive defense of union-backed tenure for professional educators, arguing that...

a quote for the morning

“Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn’t feel right to make fun of crazy people. Better, perhaps, to focus on the real policy debates, which are all among Democrats.But here’s the thing:...

heat

In my current place – where I sit and type this right this very moment – it is too damn hot.  I do not do well in the heat (thinking, writing, organizing etc.) unless...

The Underdog

Gladwell’s latest article is a fun excursion, replete with guerrilla tactics, the press defense, and a few egregious over-generalizations. Read the whole thing here.